"My namesake!" cried Griffith, all aghast. "Ay, he that brought thee that love-token; Thomas Leicester. Nay, for very shame, feign not ignorance of him; why, he hath thy very mole on his temple, and knew thy picture in a moment. He is thy half-brother, is he not?" "I am a ruined man," cried Griffith; and sank into a chair without power of motion. "God help me, what is all this?" cried Mercy. "Oh, Thomas, Thomas, I could forgive thee ought but deceit: for both our sakes speak out, and tell me the worst; no harm shall come near thee while I live." "How can I tell thee? I am an unfortunate man. The world will call me a villain; yet I am not a villain at heart. But who will believe me? I have broken the law. Thee I could trust, but not thy folk; they never loved me. Mercy, for pity's sake, when was that Thomas Leicester here?" "Four days ago." "Which way went he?" "I hear he told Paul he was going to Cumberland." "If he gets there before me, I shall rot in gaol." "Now Heaven forbid! Oh, Thomas, then mount and ride after him." "I will, and this very moment." He saddled Black Dick, and loaded his pistols for the journey; but, ere he went, a pale face looked out into the yard, and a finger beckoned. It was Mercy. She bade him follow her. She took him to her room, where their child was sleeping; and then she closed, and even locked the door. "No soul can hear us," said she; "now, look me in the face, and tell me God's truth. Who and what are you?" Griffith shuddered at this exordium; he made no reply. Mercy went to a box, and took out an old shirt of his; the one he wore when he first came to the "Packhorse." She brought it to him and showed him "G. G." embroidered on it with a woman's hair. (Ryder's.) "Here are your initials," said she, "now leave useless falsehoods; be a man, and tell me your real name." "My name is Griffith Gaunt." Mercy, sick at heart, turned her head away; but she had the resolution to urge him on. "Go on," said she, in an agonized whisper: "if you believe in God, and a judgment to come, deceive me no more. The truth! I say: the truth!" "So be it," said Griffith, desperately: "when I have told thee what a villain I am. I can die at thy feet, and then thou wilt forgive me." "Who is Kate?" was all she replied. "Kate is--MY WIFE."