"I had that infamous decree set aside," he said grimly. "It was a matter of duty and of conscience, and I did it without remorse. . . . They were on what they supposed to be a wedding trip. But I had warned her." He shrugged his massive shoulders. "If they were not over-particular they were probably happy. Then he broke his neck hunting--before you were born." "Was he my father?" "I am taking the chance that he was not." "You had reason to believe----" "I thought so. But--your mother remained silent. And her answer to my letters was to have you christened under the name you bear to-day, Philip Ormond Berkley. And then, to force matters, I made her status clear to her. Maybe--I don't know--but my punishment of her may have driven her to a hatred of me--a desperation that accepted everything--even _you_!" Berkley lifted a countenance from which every vestige of colour had fled. "Why did you tell me this?" "Because I believe that there is every chance--that you may be legally entitled to my name. Since I have known who you are, I--I _have_ had you watched. I have hesitated--a long while. My brokers have watched you for a year, now; my attorneys for much longer. To-day you stand in need of me, if ever you have stood in need of anybody. I take the chance that you have that claim on me; I offer to receive you, provide for you. That is all, Berkley. Now you know everything." "Who else--knows?" "Knows what?" "Knows what you did to my mother?" "Some people among the families immediately concerned," replied Colonel Arran coolly. "Who are they?" "Your mother's relatives, the Paiges, the Berkleys--my family, the Arrans, the Lents----" "What Lents?" interrupted the young man looking up sharply. "They live in Brooklyn. There's a brother and a sister, orphans; and an uncle. Captain Josiah Lent." "Oh. . . . Who else?" "A Mrs. Craig who lives in Brooklyn. She was Celia Paige, your mother's maid of honour." "Who else?" "A sister-in-law of Mrs. Craig, formerly my ward. She is now a widow, a Mrs. Paige, living on London Terrace. She, however, has no knowledge of the matter in question; nor have the Lents, nor any one in the Craig family except Mrs. Craig." "Who else?" "Nobody." "I see. . . . And, as I understand it, you are now stepping forward to offer me--on the chance of--of----" "I offer you a place in this house as my son. I offer to deal with you as a father--accepting that belief and every responsibility, and every duty, and every sacrifice that such a belief entails," For a long time the young fellow stood there without stirring, pallid, his dark, expressionless eyes, fixed on space. And after a while he spoke. "Colonel Arran, I had rather than all the happiness on earth, that you had left me the memory of my mother. You have chosen not to do so. And now, do you think I am likely to exchange what she and I really are, for anything more respectable that you believe you can offer?