“He is not an organ grinder. That was a falsehood of Belva’s,” said Sadie. “I have taken pains to inquire, and I find that his real name is Carl Bernicci, and that he keeps a little fruit-and-confectionery stand near a wharf. His father was an organ grinder, and a real Italian, but he married an American wife--the mother of Carl, who, it seems, has been rather wild, and once got in some scrape in which Belva got him in her power, hence her plot by which she avenged herself on your pretty face. But the strangest part of my story is yet to come, my dear. Prepare to be surprised.” “If it is anything concerning George Lorraine, or Carl Bernicci, as I believe you said his name was, I should not be surprised at anything,” Fair replied disdainfully. “Ah, you don’t know,” said Sadie, smiling roguishly, and thinking that her news might divert Fair’s mind from brooding over her lost mother, she continued: “Well, then, they say that old Bernicci, the organ grinder--Carl’s father, you know--was actually a prince in his own land--a poor prince, you know, without a penny in his purse, or a foot of land to his name. His prodigal father had squandered everything, you see, and the boy prince, disgusted, fled to America, where he could earn his living without disgracing his titled ancestry. Now, what have you to say to that?” Fair shook her head wearily, and answered: “Nothing, except that I hate and scorn him, and should feel the same hatred and scorn for him if he were a king.” And to her own heart she said bitterly, and wrote the same thing in her journal that night: “Prince or king, it would matter nothing. I should hate him still, for I know too well that it was not for his own sake, nor even for his boasted gold, that I accepted him, but only that, through him, I might meet again my hero, Bayard Lorraine. It was a sin for me to marry with such thoughts in my heart, and Heaven has punished me for my sin; but I was young and ignorant. They dazzled me by their promises, and I thought I could tolerate Carl Bernicci for the sake of what he could bestow on me.” Sadie looked at her gravely while these thoughts passed in her mind, and answered: “And in proportion as you hate him, that wretch loves you, and I fear, Fair, that he is going to give you a great deal of trouble. I have found out that he has been lurking in this neighborhood ever since you came here, and I think he means to get you away by force if coaxing will not prevail.” “I would rather die than live with him,” the beautiful orphan cried, shuddering violently. “Then you must be very careful never to go out unless accompanied by me,” said Sadie, and Fair found it perfectly easy to do this, as she had been taken back to her old place at the factory, and the two always went and came together, Fair always shrouding her lovely face in a thick veil, lest she should catch a glimpse of Carl Bernicci’s dark face watching her covertly as she went and came.