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 She is frantic now that she realizes that she was so completely misled." Morton's face relaxed a trifle. "The whole thing has been a frightful shock to her. She put absolute confidence in Valdeck, and he was clever enough to convince her he was terribly in love with her. Of course, she was a fool to listen to him, or permit him to speak at all, but she was flattered, as, indeed, what girl would not be? She told me from time to time of his unfortunate passion for her, and deplored it. She hoped by assisting him in what she thought was a charitable enterprise, she would be helping him to a readier acceptance of his hopeless position—aiding him to fix his mind, as it were, on a laudable aim and end of life. What that aim was, we all know."

Morton bowed. "He enjoined her to absolute secrecy when he entrusted her with the treasure he could no longer safely keep himself, and allayed all her questionings by this story of a watch being kept upon his movements. If you could see how broken and 299