Mallien muttering something about an ungrateful child and a serpent's tooth, walked away with a drooping head. It dawned on him dimly when he shook the dust of Barship from his feet that perhaps after all, as he had not given affection, he could not expect affection. But his egotism was much too strong to permit him to understand fully that he was only reaping what he had sown. He took up his abode in London and managed to get along very comfortably on his five hundred a year. But he always persisted in regarding himself as a much injured man and stubbornly maintained that the will forged by Leigh was genuine. Needless to say, he never missed his daughter, as he was far too much wrapped up in himself to desire any company but his own. "Do you think we have acted rightly, Rupert?" asked Dorinda in a troubled tone, when her father departed after that last interview. "Yes, dear. He is your father certainly, but he has no right to take advantage of the relationship to behave so selfishly as he has done. It would be wrong to pander to his egotism by giving him money." "Yes, I suppose so," said Dorinda with a sigh. "People are very hard to understand, Rupert. Besides my father, who puzzled me with his selfishness, there is Mr. Leigh. Whatever made such a good and kind man forge that will?" Rupert shrugged his shoulders. "A sudden temptation perhaps," he said, after a pause; "but I don't pretend to explain; his act was entirely opposed to his character. If he was in a story people would say that he was inconsistent." Dorinda agreed. "Very inconsistent. Human beings are strange." "They are, dear. But you see, as we only see the outside of people we don't know how to account for every action. The majority of people are children and often act wrongly without thinking of the consequences. After all evil is only ignorance, for if wrongdoers knew what they would have to pay for behaving wickedly they would not sin. Now, darling, don't think anything more about the matter. Let us enjoy the peace which has come to us after the storm. There is no more to be said about the past and no more to be done. We are happy and try to make others happy. What more do you want?" "This," said Dorinda, and kissed him fondly. THE END End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lost Parchment, by Fergus Hume