Her co-conspirator, the physician, hearing of the arrest of Mrs. St. Alban, and her confession implicating himself, escaped the punishment due to his sin by a hasty flight to a foreign land, with his ill-gotten gains, the fruits of his crime. Harvey Wilson and Talbot Strangemore never betrayed the fact of Ralph St. Alban’s existence in Egypt to those who believed him dead, but they lost no time in writing tidings to him under his assumed name of John Armstrong of all that had happened in Baltimore. Several months elapsed before John Armstrong’s answer was received. Then it contained a bit of news that astonished them. Oswald Ferris had not died after all. He had survived his terrible wounds and was well and strong again. He had bitterly repented his sins, and the tidings that he had not killed Sibyl St. Alban after all had made a new man of him. John Armstrong added that neither he nor Ferris would ever again return to America. He was sorry for the terrible punishment his erring wife had brought upon herself, but he could do no good to her by returning, so he chose to remain dead forever to those whom he had once known. Oswald Ferris wrote himself to Talbot Strangemore to express his joy that Nina was saved from her terrible fate, to implore forgiveness again and again, for his fault, and to assure them of his penitence and shame. Remembering all that had passed, and how Sibyl St. Alban had driven the strong man mad, Talbot and his fair and happy young wife tried to think of him as gently and mercifully as they could. He never returned to his native land. He and Ralph St. Alban formed a strange bond of friendship and companionship that endured until their death which occurred long years after under the foreign skies that they had chosen for home. And now, having disposed of all our characters, reader, you think it is time to write the Finis to this story. Nay, having followed our heroine through the vicissitudes of her sorrow and deadly peril, we would fain bask for a little while in the beautiful reflected sunshine of her wonderful happiness. CHAPTER LIII. NINA’S HAPPINESS. Talbot Strangemore felt that he could never be grateful enough to Doctor Fielding, who had twice rescued Nina from the sin of self-sought death, and so nobly cared for her in her sickness and sorrow afterward. He knew that the physician was struggling hard to maintain his family while he established his practice in the city, and he longed to help him, but Doctor Fielding steadily refused all offers. “It was only my duty in the first place,” he said, “and in the second it was a pleasure, because I had done a kindness for the gentle pupil whom my wife loved so dearly. No, the offer of a reward in such a case is almost an insult. I can accept nothing but your friendship, and that of Mrs. Strangemore, which I hope to enjoy all my life.”