Colonel Thorndyke's Secret

moked many churchwarden pipes in the little arbour in his garden that day. In the afternoon his brother was so weak and tired, that the subject of the conversation was not reverted to. At eight o'clock the Colonel went off to bed. The next morning, after breakfast, he was brighter again. "Well, John, what has come of your thinking?" he nsked. "I don't like it, George." " You mayn't like it, John, but you will do it. I am not going to have my girl run after by ruined spendthrifts who want her money to repair their fortunes; and I tell you frankly, if you refuse I shall go up to town to-morrow, and I shall make a new will, leaving all my property to your son, subject to a life annuity of ,£200 a year to the child, and ordering that, in the event of his dying before he comes of age, or of refusing to accept the provisions of the will, or handing any of the property or money over to my daughter, the whole estate, money, jewels, and all, shall go to the London hospitals, subject, as before, to the annuity. " Don't be an ass,' brother John. Do you think that I don't know what I am doing? I have seen enough of the evils of marrying for money out in India. Every ship that comes out brings so many girls sent out to some relation to be put on the marriage market, and marrying men old enough to be pretty nearly their grandfathers, with the natural consequence that there is the devil topay before they have been married a year or two. Come, you know you will do it;...