"Oh, of course I will leave if you must see her alone." "Thank you," said the taller of the men dryly. "Our business is with Miss Doane." He accompanied Mrs. Smith politely to the door and closed it, then, returning, drew a chair near to Drusilla. "We are the bearer of news to you, Miss Doane." Drusilla clasped her hands a little tighter. "Has anything happened?" she said. "But nothing could happen that would matter to me, unless--" a panic stricken look came into her old eyes "unless--the Committee hain't decided that I can't live here, has it? They ain't goin' to send me to the county house, be they? I work real well, Mr. Thornton; I work as hard as I can. I'm sure I pay fer my keep." The tall man cleared his throat and said stiffly: "No, Miss Doane, we are the bearer of _good_ news." The short fat man bent over and impulsively patted the hands that were so tightly clenched in her lap. "No, Miss Doane, you don't need to worry about the county house. You're not going to it yet." Drusilla drew a deep breath of relief, and the frightened look died from her eyes. She leaned back in her chair. "Then I don't know what you've got to tell me. It can't be that some one I know is dead, because all of my friends died long ago." Mr. Gale said, "Tell her, so she'll understand. You're worrying the poor soul." Mr. Thornton took a legal looking document from his pocket and a letter. "Miss Doane," he said, "did you ever hear of Elias Doane?" "Elias Doane? No, I don't believe I ever did." "Well, he was a distant relation of yours; another branch of the family. He thought he was the last one of the Doane name, as he never married. A few weeks before his death, hearing about this home he sent me up here to learn the particulars regarding it, and I found you here. I reported that there was an inmate by the name of Doane still living, and we investigated and found that you belonged to the family that we thought was represented by only one man, the late Elias Doane." "He's dead, then. Was he a relation of mine, did you say?" "Yes, very distantly related." "Well, I'm glad I've had _some_ relations, even if I didn't know it." "Now, we will come to the business, Miss Doane. Our client, the late Elias Doane, was a very wealthy man, very wealthy indeed. His estate amounts to many millions, and he has left a very curious will." The lawyer opened a paper in his hand and commenced to read, but Mr. Gale interrupted. "Don't bother her with the will, Robert; she won't understand. Tell her about it and give her the letter." "Perhaps that is better, as the legal terms might be confusing. The gist of the matter is this, Miss Doane. Our client, the late Elias Doane, left the bulk of his money to the many charities in which he is interested, but he left you his home at Brookvale, near New York City, to be kept up fittingly out of the estate, and he gave you outright, to use as you may see fit, one million dollars."