‘I believe I know!’ cried Bertha, whose wits were the quickest. ‘Phil is not Phil at all, but Mr. Torwood; and he has been pretending all the while to be Phil. Isn’t that it, mamma?’ ‘That is what I strongly suspect,’ said Mrs. Belassis, with more of her usual deliberation; ‘but girls, no word of this is to be breathed until I give you leave. A gross wrong has been committed, and a heartless fraud perpetrated. We, as Philip Debenham’s next-of-kin, cannot suffer things to go on unexposed and unpunished; but we shall defeat our own ends if we go to work rashly, or show our hand too soon. You must be silent as the grave until the time comes for the exposure.’ The girls looked excited. ‘But what will happen, mamma? Will Phil be sent to prison?’ ‘I should hope so. I should expect a heavy sentence for so deliberate and treacherous a crime. The penalty for forgery is a heavy one.’ A few days—nay, a few hours back, Matilda and Bertha would have been filled with compassion for the unhappy criminal. Now, however, their feelings had undergone a revolution, and their interest in him had dwindled to a mere shadow. The excitement of a crime and prosecution far outweighed any feeling of commiseration for the victim. ‘Oh, mamma, how dreadful! Will there be a trial? Shall we have to be witnesses? What will Phil look like? Oh, how wicked he must be!’ ‘And then there will be another Phil to come here!’ cried Matilda, with animation. ‘Another Phil ten times as nice as this one, I dare say. I wonder what he will be like, and what he will say to it all. Mamma, where is the real Phil? Why didn’t he come? Why did he let Mr. Torwood go on so?’ ‘I believe he has been very ill, and entirely in Mr. Torwood’s power. I do not yet know exactly where he is, or what is the matter with him; but I shall find out all in due time, no doubt. It is evident that he has not been a free agent during this crisis; and now he has been sent on a sea-voyage to get him still farther out of the way, whilst Mr. Torwood strengthens himself more and more in his position. I shall make every effort to find Philip, and bring him over here. When we once have the true heir in our keeping, the false one must abdicate. Maud’s likeness to her brother will prove of inestimable value.’ ‘And Maud is so fond of that dreadful Mr. Torwood,’ said Matilda. ‘Whatever _will_ she say!’ ‘It has been the most disgraceful affair from first to last,’ said Mrs. Belassis, with righteous indignation; ‘but it shall soon be brought to an ignominious conclusion.’