"I beg pardon, sir; it's only that I'm so glad to see his bonny face again." "I shall," continued the old lawyer-- "Excuse me for interposing, sir," said the young man excitedly, for he had flushed as he met Gertrude's eyes fixed wonderingly, and yet with a pleased expression upon his. "You are a lawyer, and the ways of the law are said to be slow. The case is this--" He spoke at the old lawyer, but he looked at Gertrude the while. "I'm George Harrington, and during my illness the man I trusted has, believing me dead, come over and robbed me of my birthright. The first thing to be done is to bring us face to face." "Yes," assented Mrs Hampton; "to bring them face to face." Gertrude drew a long breath, and it seemed as if a terrible load had been lifted from her breast. "Without confronting the man who, I say, has imposed upon you all, and whom I believe to be Dan Portway, I have no means of proving who I am-- save by the tattooed marks." "Which he possesses, too," said the lawyer gravely. "What! Oh, there must be an end to this. He claims to be George Harrington. I, George Harrington, say that he is a liar and impostor. Now, then, I am ready to confront him. Where is this man?" There was a dead silence in the room. CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. MR HAMPTON IS UNEASY. Mr Hampton was the first to break the silence. "Mr George Harrington is at present absent from home." "I beg your pardon," was the retort, in firm, convincing tones; "Mr George Harrington is here present, and eager to be confronted with this man." "As soon as he returns, sir, you and he will doubtless meet; and, as a matter of course, I presume you will lay claim to the estate?" "I am not thinking of the estate now, sir. I want to meet this man--I want to be brought face to face with him. I'll soon bring him to his knees, and make him confess. The villain!--the murderous wretch! I--I beg pardon, ladies. You do not know the truth. This man, Dan Portway, struck me down, and, believing me dead, has imposed upon you all." "There! I knew it all the time," cried Mrs Hampton emphatically. "My dear Rachel!" "Oh, don't talk to me, Phineas. I knew he couldn't be our George Harrington. A nasty, low-minded, drinking wretch, whose presence I would not have tolerated for a minute if it had not been for Gertrude here. I knew it all the time; something seemed to say to me, as soon as I set eyes upon him, `This man is a cheat.'" "My dear madam," cried their visitor, smiling, "now you have set eyes on me I hope there is no such whisper to your inner self." "Indeed there is not, sir." "My dear Rachel?" cried the lawyer firmly, "this is extremely indiscreet. We are face to face with a very great difficulty." "No difficulty at all. Wait till the wretched man comes back, and then send him about his business." "You are talking like an inconsistent child, Rachel," said the lawyer sternly. "Mr George Harrington--"