“Then you must be my son!” said Mr. Granville.  “You and not this boy!”

“You, sir?  Did you leave me?”

“I left my son with Mr. Brent.  This lady led me to believe that the boy at my side was my son.”

Here, then, was a sudden and startling occurrence.  Mrs. Brent fainted.  The strain had been too much for her nerves, strong as they were.  Of course she must be attended to.

“Come with me; I cannot lose sight of you now, my son!” said Mr. Granville.  “Where are you staying?”

“At the Palmer House.”

“So am I. Will you be kind enough to order a carriage.”

Mrs. Brent was conveyed to the hotel, and Jonas followed sullenly.

Of course Philip, Mr. Granville and Mr. Carter left the theater.

Later the last three held a conference in the parlor.

It took little to convince Mr. Granville that Philip was his son.

“I am overjoyed!” he said.  “I have never been able to feel toward the boy whom you call Jonas as a father should.  He was very distasteful to me.”

“It was an extraordinary deception on the part of Mrs. Brent,” said Mr. Carter thoughtfully.

“She is a very unprincipled woman,” said Mr. Granville.  “Even now that matters have come right, I find it hard to forgive her.”

“You do not know all the harm she has sought to do your son.  The sum of five thousand dollars was left him by Mr. Brent, and she suppressed the will.”

“Good heavens! is this true?”

“We have the evidence of it.”

*****

The next day an important interview was held at the Palmer House.  Mrs. Brent was forced to acknowledge the imposition she had practiced upon Mr. Granville.

“What could induce you to enter into such a wicked conspiracy?” asked Mr. Granville, shocked.

“The temptation was strong—­I wished to make my son rich.  Besides, I hated Philip.”

“It is well your wicked plan has been defeated; it might have marred my happiness forever.”

“What are you going to do with me?” she asked coolly, but not without anxiety.

It was finally settled that the matter should be hushed up.  Philip wished to give up the sum bequeathed him by Mr. Brent; but to this Mr. Granville objected, feeling that it would constitute a premium on fraud.  Besides, Mrs. Brent would have the residue of the estate, amounting to nearly ten thousand dollars.  Being allowed to do what he chose with this money, he gave it in equal portions to Tommy Kavanagh and Mr. Raynor, who had informed him of the existence of Mr. Brent’s will.

Mrs. Brent decided not to go back to Planktown.  She judged that the story of her wickedness would reach that village and make it disagreeable for her.  She opened a small millinery store in Chicago, and is doing fairly well.  But Jonas is her chief trouble, as he is lazy and addicted to intemperate habits.  His chances of success and an honorable career are small.