Mr. Corbin suddenly arose from his chair, and began to pace the floor, while, if she had been watching him closely, Mona might have seen that his face was deeply-flushed.

“Hum!  Mrs. Richmond Montague—­is—­Where is Mrs. Richmond Montague?” he questioned, somewhat incoherently.

“Here, in this city.”

“Then why do you not appeal to her?” demanded the lawyer, studying the girl’s face with some perplexity.

“Because—­there are reasons why I do not wish to meet her just at present,” Mona said, with some embarrassment, “and I do not know that she would be able to prove anything.  To be frank,” she continued, with increasing confusion, “the present Mrs. Montague entertained a strong dislike, even hatred, against my mother.  Doubtless her animosity extends to me also, and she would not be likely to prove anything that would personally benefit me.”

“You have not a very high opinion of Mrs. Richmond Montague, I perceive,” Mr. Corbin remarked, with a curious smile.

“I have nothing special against her personally, any further than that I know she hated my mother, and I do not wish to meet her at present.  Why,” with sudden thought, “could not you try to ascertain from her some facts regarding my mother’s marriage?”

“I might possibly,” said Mr. Corbin, gravely, “but that would not benefit you; you would be obliged to meet her in order to be identified as Mona Forester’s child.”

“I had not thought of that,” replied Mona, with a troubled look, “and,” she added, “she could not even identify me to your satisfaction, for she never saw me to know me as Mona Montague.”

“As Mona Montague!” repeated the quick-witted lawyer; “does she know you by any other name?  Are you not keeping something back which it would be well for me to know?”

“Yes; I will tell you all about it,” Mona said, flushing again, and resolving to disclose everything.  She proceeded to relate the singular circumstances which led to her becoming an inmate of Mrs. Montague’s home, together with the incident of finding her mother’s picture in one of her trunks.

“Ah!  I think this throws a little light upon the matter,” Mr. Corbin said, when she concluded.  “If you had told me these facts at first we should have saved time.  And you never saw this woman until you met her in her own house?” he asked, in conclusion, and regarding Mona searchingly.

“No, never; and had it not been for the hope of learning something about my mother’s history, I believe I should have gone away again immediately,” she replied.

“I should suppose she would have recognized you at once, by your resemblance to this picture,” remarked her companion.

“She did notice it, and questioned me quite closely; but I evaded her, and she finally thought that the resemblance was only a coincidence.”