“He folded his arms, still retaining his hold upon the weapon, as he answered, ’Explanations will follow in due time; but surely, on the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of such a life as yours, congratulations are first in order.  Allow me to congratulate you, Hugh Mainwaring, upon the success which has attended and crowned the past twenty-five years of your life! upon the rich harvest you have reaped during all these years; the amassed wealth, the gratified ambitions, the almost illimitable power, the adulation and homage, — all so precious to your sordid soul, and for which you have bartered honor, happiness, character, all, in short, that life is worth.  Standing, as you do to-night, at the fiftieth milestone on life’s journey, I congratulate you upon your recollections of the past, and upon your anticipations for the future, as you descend to an unhonored and unloved old age!’

“Every word was heaped with scorn, and, as I looked into the burning eyes fixed upon mine and watched the sardonic smile hovering about his lips, I wondered whether he were some Mephistopheles — some fiend incarnate — sent to torture me, or whether he were really flesh and blood.

“The mocking smile now left his face, but his eyes held me speechless as he continued,-

“’No wonder that memories of bygone years haunted your thoughts to-night!  Memories, perhaps, of a father whose dying will you disregarded; of a brother whom you twice defrauded, — once of the honor and sanctity of his home, then, as if that were not enough, of his birthright, — his heritage from generations of our race -’

“‘Stop!’ I cried, stung to anger by his accusations and startled by the strange words, ‘our race,’ which seemed to fall so familiarly from his lips.  ’Stop! are you mad?” Do you know what you are saying?  Once more I demand that you state who or what you are, and your business here!’

“‘That is quickly stated, Hugh Mainwaring,’ he answered, in tones which made my heart beat with a strange dread; ’I am Harold Scott Mainwaring!  I am here to claim no brotherhood or kinship with you, but to claim and to have my own, the birthright restored to me by the last will and testament of a dying father, of which you have defrauded me for twenty-five years!”

“‘You are a liar and an impostor!’ I cried, enraged at the sound of my brother’s name, and for the instant believing the man to be some emissary of Hobson’s who had used it to work upon my feelings.

“Drawing himself up to his full height, his eyes blazing, he answered in low tones, ’Dare you apply those epithets to me, usurper that you are?  You are a liar and a thief, and if you had your deserts you would be in a felon’s cell to-night, or transported to the wilds of Australia!  I an impostor?  See and judge for yourself!’ and with a sudden, swift movement the black curling hair and mustache were dashed to the floor, and he stood before me the exact counterpart of myself.  Stunned by the transformation, I gazed at him speechless; it was like looking in a mirror, feature for feature identically the same!  For a few seconds my brain seemed to reel from the shock, but his tones recalled me to myself.