Page 10 (1/2)

_January_ 5, 1907

MY DEAREST AUNT JANET,

It is all over--the first stage of it; and that is as far as I canget at presentI shall have to wait for a few days--or it s now necessitated byer's bequestBut as soon as I can, dear,I shall come down to Croom and spend with you as many days aspossibleI shall then tell you all I am at liberty to tell, and Ishall thank you personally for your consent to come with me toVissarionOh, hoish my dear mother had lived to be with us!It would have made her happy, I know, to have coether the old dear, hard days would have shared in thesame way the new splendourI would try to show all ratitude to you bothYou must take the whole burden of it now,dear, for you and I are aloneNo, not alone, as we used to be, forI have noo old friends who are already dear to meOne is so toyou alreadySir Colin is simply splendid, and so, in his oay,is Mr TrentI am lucky, Aunt Janet, to have two such men to thinkof affairs for meAm I not?I shall send you a wire as soon asever I can see h s you ever wished for in your life, so that Iet the this great pleasure, will you,dear?Good-bye

Your lovingRUPERT

_E B Trent's Memoranda_

_January_ 6, 1907

The forerwent off quite satisfactorilyFroht, I had al stated or ier Melton's Will;but e had sat round the table--this appeared, by the way, to bea formality for which ere all prepared, for we sat down as if byinstinct--the very first words he said were:

"As I suppose I h this formality, I may as well say atonce that I accept every possible condition which was in the n, seal, anddeliver--or whatever is the ritual--whatever docu to me--"may think necessary or advisable, and of whichyou both approve"He stood up and walked about the roo quite still, silentHe came backto his seat, and after a few seconds of nervousness--a rare thingwith him, I fancy--said: "I hope you both understand--of course, Iknow you do; I only speak because this is an occasion forfor to accept, and at once!I do so,believe et possession of this vast fortune, but becauseof hiiven itThe man as fond of th to keep his own feelings in check--whofollowed me in spirit to far lands and desperate adventures, and who,though he ht be across the world from me, was ready to put out ahand to save or help me, was no common man; and his care of mymother's son meant no coether accept his trust, coht, and all the tiet out ofthe idea that ht thatcould debaras I wished to do--and intend to do--wouldbe that she would not approveNow that I am satisfied she wouldapprove, I acceptWhateverthe course that he has set for meSo help me, God!"SirColin stood up, and I ure I never sawHewas in full unifor's levee afterour businessHe drew his sword from the scabbard and laid it nakedon the table before Rupert, and said:

"You are going, sir, into a strange and danger country--I have beenreading about it since we stfierce er, andto whom you are, and must be, oneIf you should ever be in anytrouble and want a ive me the honour!"As he said this pointed to his swordRupert and I were also standing now--one cannot sit down in thepresence of such an act as that"You are, I am proud to say, alliedwith my family: and I only wish to God it was closer to myself"Rupert took him by the hand and bent his head before him as answered:

"The honour is reater can come to any manthan that which you have just done meThe best way I can sho Ivalue it will be to call on you if I aht placeBy Jove, sir, this is history repeatin

g itselfAunt Janet used totell ster how MacKelpie of Croom laid his swordbefore Prince CharlieI hope I may tell her of this; it would ine, sir, that I aood to ht well think I was"

Sir Colin bowed grandly:

"Rupert Sent Leger, reat discretion anddiscern she has in her soe of our bloodAnd I a was quite regalin manner; it seemed to take me back to the days of the Pretender

It was not, however, a ti the future, not the past; so I produced the short docuth of his steadfast declarationthat he would accept the terot ready a forain forer's wishes, and he had declared his wish toaccept, I got in a couple of my clerks as witnesses

Then, having again asked him in their presence if it was his wish todeclare acceptance of the conditions, the docuned andwitnessed, Sir Colin and I both appending our signatures to theAttestation