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Perrand was infatuated with a vaude
ville actress of the neighboring city;
letters had been placed before her,
and, rather than tax Mervyn with
their authorship, she had waited
quietly.
She could not tax a man whose de
votion to her had never actually
taken the form of a marriage pro
posal. As the weeks went by Mervyn's vis
its became fewer in number and fre
quency. Lily ignored Mervyn more
openly. She all but cut him on the
street. He ceased to come to the
house at last And then it was that
' Charles Tremont began to be a fre
quent guest.
"Miss Norton," he said one day,
"excuse me if I seem impertinent, but
it is being said that an estrangement
has arisen between you and Mr. Fer
rand." Lily bowed her head quietly.
"Then do you intend to marry
him?" asked the young lawyer.
"Never," said the girl impulsively.
"In that case, Miss Norton," pur
sued Tremont, "I am privileged to
speak to you in my professional ca
pacity. As you know, your grand
father was the soul of honor. He was
certain that you and Mr. Ferrand
meant to marry; otherwise he would
undoubtedly have willed everything
to you. Now what will you do when
your year is ended? For then Mr.
Ferrand will acquire the ownership
of this house, you know, and all the
income."
"Subject to acondition," suggest
. ed Lily.
"Yes. But that is probably merely a
formality. I fancy your grandfather
had heard some things about him,
and that the condition hinges upon
the use he makes of his share of the
property during these 12 months."
"I have thought over the matter,"
answered the girl, "and I intend to
go into the hospital and study to be
a nurse."
The thought of the girl losing ev
erything emboldened the young man .
to make an appeal to Ferrand, hope
less as he knew the result likely to
be. He sent him a letter asking him
to call at his office.
'Tes, it was lucky the old man left
everything to me," said Ferrand, aft
er Tremont had brought up the mat
ter of the will. "Lily won't have a
penny, exceptwhat she has managed
to save this year. It's hard, but that's
the way the world wags."
"Mr. Ferrand," said Tremont, "has
it ever occurred to you that you will
inherit this property owing to a mis
conception on the part of old Mr.
Norton, and that it might be only fair
to make a settlement on your cous
in?" Ferrand laughed uneasily.
"I'm no philanthropist," he an
swered. "No, sir. What I get I hold.
Why, there isn't a man in town.wduld
do such a crazy thing."
"Perhaps perhaps not," answered
Tremont. "However, since you take
that point of view, there is no more
to be said. I wish you good day, sir."
The months sped hy, and, before
the year was ended, the, day came
when Tremont asked Liljnjforton to
be his wife.
"I can't take care of you in the
style to which you have been accus
tomed," he said, "but I love you with
all my heart, and if you will be my
wife I will love you all my life. And
later we will be rich-"
There were such dreams as lovers
have, those visions that he recounted.
And Lily, who had become-as deeply
attached to the young lawyer as he
was to her, agreed to marry him on
the day when the year came to a
close.
There was another formality to be
gone through, and that was the open
ing of the sealed paper. Ferrand,
Lily, and the other legatees to small
sums assembled at the young law
yer's office and watched him break
the seal.
"The condition upon which the
aforesaid Mervyn Ferrand becomes
my heir," he read, "is that he m$r-i
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