"With the object, first," said Dino, lifting his face from his crossed arms, "of seeing him and asking him whether he was resolved to despoil himself of his name and fortune. I would not have raised a hand to do either, but, if he himself did it, I thought that I might pick up what he threw away. Not for myself, but for the Church to which I belong. The Church should have it all." "Would you give it away?" cried Hugo. "I am to be a monk. A monk has no property," was Dino's answer. "I wanted to be sure that he did not repent of his decision before I moved a finger." "You seem to have no scruple about despoiling Miss Murray of her goods," said Hugo, drily. A fresh gleam shot from the young man's eyes. "Miss Murray is a woman," he said, briefly. "She does not need an estate. She will marry." "Marry Brian Luttrell, perhaps." "If she marries him as Mr. Stretton, she must take the consequences." "Well," said Hugo, "I must confess, Mr. Vasari, that I do not understand you. In one breath you say you would not injure Brian by a hair's-breadth; in another you propose to leave him and his wife in poverty if he marries Miss Murray." "No, pardon me, you mistake," replied Dino, gently. "I will never injure him whom you call, Brian, but if he keeps the name of Stretton I shall claim the rights which he has given up. And, when the estate is mine, I will give him and his wife what they want; I will give them half, if they desire it, but I will have what is my own, first of all, and in spite of all." "You say, in fact, that you will not injure Brian, but that you do not care how much you injure Miss Murray." "That is not it," cried Dino, his dark eye lighting up and his form positively trembling with excitement. "I say that, if Brian himself had come to me and asked me to spare him, or the woman he loved, for his sake I would have yielded and gone back to San Stefano to-morrow; I would have destroyed the evidence; I would have given up all, most willingly; but when he treats me harshly, coldly--when he will not, now that he knows who I am, make one little journey to see me and tell me what he wishes; when he even tries to deceive me, and to deceive this lady of whom you speak--why, then, I stand upon my rights; and I will not yield one jot of my claim to the Luttrell estate and the Luttrell name." "You will not?" "I will fight to the death for it." Hugo smiled slightly. "There will be very little fighting necessary, if you have your evidence ready. You have it with you, I presume?" "I have copies; the original depositions are with my lawyer." "Ah. And he is----" "A Mr. Grattan; there is his address," said Dino, placing a card before his visitor. "I suppose that all further business will be transacted through him?" "I suppose so. Then you have made your decision?"