There will be little wonder
that she has left all to me. There would be, perhaps, but for the manner
in which I have taken care he shall be mentioned in the will--I mean, of
course, in the will I have made for her."
He paused, and, touching a spring in the wall, a small door flew open,
revealing a shallow recess.
In this recess was a folded paper, tied with a red ribbon.
Mr. Manning opened it, and his eyes glanced rapidly down the page.
"This is the true will," he said to himself. "I wish I could summon
courage to burn it. It would be best out of the way. That, if found
out, would make me amenable to the law, and I must run no risk. In this
secret recess it will never be found. I will replace it, and the
document which I have had prepared will take its place, and no one will
be the wiser."
On the day after the funeral, the family solicitor and a few intimate
friends, who had been invited by Mr. Manning, assembled in the drawing
room of the mansion to hear the will read.
Mr. Manning himself notified Frank of the gathering and its object.
He found our hero lying on the bed in his chamber, sad and depressed.
"I don't like to intrude upon your grief, my dear boy," said his
stepfather, softly, "but it is necessary.
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