“Can you satisfy _all_ claims upon the bank?” Virgie asked, in surprise, for she knew that the interest of all those years would amount to a great deal. “I can do far more than that, and to-morrow I will make a beginning, if I have the strength. What I do must be done quickly, for my days are numbered.” CHAPTER II. VIRGIE RECEIVES A MYSTERIOUS PACKAGE. Virgie, remembering her promise to Mr. Knight, to let him know if she ever met her uncle in San Francisco again, determined to consult with him regarding Mark Alexander’s intentions. She knew that he would advise her rightly, and relieve her from all anxiety in the matter. She feared that her uncle might be arrested and tried for the crime that he had committed, in spite of the fact that he was willing and eager to make full restitution, and he was far too ill a man for any such excitement. But she did not have to fear this long, for he was suddenly attacked with very alarming symptoms and his physician told him plainly that he would never leave his chamber again. “It is far better so,” he said to Virgie, when he told her of the verdict, “for nothing can occur now to cause you any annoyance. I shall be glad to have ‘life’s fitful fever over,’ and can die content if you will assure me that you forgive me for all the unhappiness I have caused you.” “Yes, I do, Uncle Mark,” she answered. And she was sincere. She could freely forgive him for all _she_ had suffered through his wrong-doing, but she could not quite forgive him for the shame and sorrow her father had endured on his account. To be sure the truth would all come out now, restitution would be made, and the world would know that Mark Alexander alone had been guilty of the crime imputed to his brother as well; but her father was not there to experience the benefit of tardy justice, and, though grateful, she was only partially content. She sent for Mr. Knight and confided the whole matter to him. He told her to leave it all with him, and he would see that full justice was done. After a conference with the invalid a lawyer was sent for, a full confession of the crime was written out and signed in the presence of the required number of witnesses, after which he made his will, making Mr. Knight his executor, and bequeathing all that was necessary of his fortune to liquidate his indebtedness to the bank he had wronged, the remainder to go to his niece, Virginia Alexander, and her heirs forever. After this important business was finished, the lawyer and witnesses gone, Mr. Alexander requested Virgie to bring him a package of papers she would find in the lower part of his trunk. She complied, and then he asked her if she would assist him in looking them over, as he wished to destroy those that were of no value and leave some directions regarding the others.