a dead silence followed our hero's declaration to remain with mrs. ruthven until dr. mackey had proved his claim to jack in a court of law.

"this is a fine way to talk!" ejaculated the surgeon at last. "a fine way, truly!"

"i mean what i say!" declared jack. "mother, am i right or wrong?" and he turned pleadingly to mrs. ruthven.

"dr. mackey will certainly have to establish his claim to you before i give you up, jack," replied the lady of the plantation quickly. "you see, i have adopted him legally, and he has been as dear to me as though he were my own flesh and blood."

"well—er—of course, in one way, your decision does you credit, madam," answered the surgeon lamely. "you have done a great deal for the lad, and for that i must be as thankful as he is. when i have proved my claim i will pay you back all the money you have spent upon him."

"i shall not wish a cent, sir."

"yet i shall insist, madam."

"are you wealthy?" asked marion curiously.

"yes, miss ruthven—or i will be as soon as i have proven my identity. as yet i have been able to do but little. let me add, mackey is not my real name."

"what is your real name?" questioned mrs. ruthven.

"i will reveal that later, when i have taken the proper steps in law to obtain the vast property which is rightfully coming to me. you see, when i disappeared, so to speak, nearly eleven years ago, my property went into the hands of distant relatives, and they hate to give it up, and are just as anxious to prove me an impostor as you seem to be."

"i am not anxious to prove you an impostor, dr. mackey; my heart is wrapped up in jack, that is all. if he is your son, i will rejoice that he will be well off."

"i don't want to be rich; i would rather stay with you," put in our hero quickly, and he meant what he said.

"your affection for your foster mother does you credit, jack," said the doctor smoothly.

"she has been the best of mothers to me; so why shouldn't i love her?"

"true, my son, true. but it is strange that you have no warm feeling for me—such as i have for you."

"you are a stranger to me."

"i trust your feeling towards me changes, for i want my only son to love me."

at this jack was silent, and instead of looking at the man he looked at mrs. ruthven and at marion. then, unable to control his feelings, he rushed from the room, mounted the stairs, and burst into his own apartment, where he threw himself on the bed, wet as he was, to give himself up to his misery.

"i don't want that man for a father!" he cried, over and over again, half tearfully and with set teeth. "i don't want him! he isn't a bit like anybody i could love! oh, how i wish i had never set eyes on him!"

"it is a great shock to jack, and to all of us," was mrs. ruthven's comment, after the lad was gone.

"my reception here has been a great shock to me," said the doctor bluntly. "my own son runs away from me."

"he had some trouble with you a couple of weeks ago."

"pooh, that was nothing! i had almost forgotten it."

"jack does not forget such things easily. moreover, he is slow to make friends with anybody."

"he doesn't know the chances he is throwing away. were it not that he is my son, and my heart goes out toward him, i would never bother him."

"what chances has he?" asked marion.

"i shall be very rich; and, not only that, our family has a famous name in england, with a title attached. jack may some day be a nobleman."

"i reckon he'd rather be an american," answered marion.

"well, there is no accounting for tastes," said the surgeon dryly. "and you evidently have him well drilled in."

"what actual proofs have you that jack is your son?" asked mrs. ruthven, after a painful pause.

"i have a number of private papers; also the marriage certificate which proves that i married jack's mother. more than that, i expect soon to meet an old college chum who knows much of the past, and who can testify in my behalf."

"well, on my own account and on jack's, i feel that i must make you prove your claim, dr. mackey. it will be hard enough to give up the boy when i am assured that he is really your own."

"i will not discuss the situation further," cried the doctor, moving stiffly toward the door. "but unless you wish me to take immediate steps to take jack from you, you must make me one promise."

"and what is that, sir?"

"that you will not spirit the boy away from this plantation, so that he cannot be brought into court when wanted."

"i will promise that. i do not wish to do anything contrary to law."

"then that is all for the present, mrs. ruthven, and i will bid you good-day."

"when do you expect to come back again?"

"as soon as my duties will permit. the yankees are pressing us hard, and i cannot neglect my duties as a surgeon in our army."

in a moment more the doctor was gone. mrs. ruthven watched him out of sight, then sank in a chair, all but overcome. old ben saw her and came up, hat in hand, his honest face full of genuine grief.

"missus, dis am de worst wot i eber did heah," he said. "de idea, dat dat man wants to take our jack away! it am dreadful!"

"yes, ben; i do not know how i can endure it."

"he don't look like jack one bit; not one bit, missus!"

"i know it, ben. he says jack resembles his brother walter."

"maybe he dun nebber had a brudder walter."

"evidently you do not believe him?"

"no, i don't."

"where did you meet him?"

"he cum to de boathouse, and got me to row him ober to de wrack."

"you took him there. what did he want at the wreck?"

"i dunno dat, missus. he tole me to go away fer an hour or so. he went below in de wrack, out ob sight."

"perhaps he was after something belonging to the past. did he bring anything away with him?"

"i aint suah about dat, missus. when i rowed him ashore he had a tin box hidden away under his coat, but he might have had dat when i took him ober."

"how large a box?"

"about dis size," and ben held out his hands.

"he wouldn't be likely to take such a box to the wreck with him. he must have found it on the ship," went on mrs. ruthven, with interest.

"where could he find it, missus? de folks around yeah has tuk everyt'ing off dat wrack long ago."

"perhaps not. to tell the truth, ben, i do not like that man's manner at all."

"no more do i, missus. he's got a bad eye, he has," responded the colored man warmly.

"if you see him again, ben, i wish you would watch him closely."

"i will do it, missus. yo' can trust ole ben."

"you may be able to learn something important."

"if i do, i'll bring de news to yo' directly, missus."

"perhaps you had better follow him now," went on mrs. ruthven suddenly. "if he goes to the battlefield, you can come back."

"i will, missus," and in a moment more ben was off.

meanwhile marion had gone up to jack's room and knocked on the door. at first there was no answer, and the girl knocked again.

"who is it?" came in a half-choked voice.

"it is i, marion. can't i come in?"

"yes," answered jack, and marion entered the room and sat down beside our hero on the bed.

"oh, jack, i'm so sorry for you!" was all she could say.

"marion, do you honestly think that man is my father?" he questioned anxiously.

"i don't know what to say, jack. it's all so strange."

"if he was my father it seems to me i ought to feel differently toward him."

"perhaps it's the shock, jack."

"no, it isn't. i could never love that man as a son ought to love his father," went on our hero impetuously.

"hush! you mustn't talk so!"

"i can't help it. i hated that man when we met on the bridge—and—and i hate him still!"

"oh, jack!"

"it's true, marion. i don't see why he wanted to come here. i was happy enough, with you and mother."

"he hasn't taken you away yet, jack. mother will make him prove his claim first, never fear. she feels as badly almost as do you."

"to me the whole story sounds unreasonable, marion. if there is a big fortune in the background, that man may only be scheming to get it."

"but, if that is true, why doesn't he ignore you and keep the money for himself?"

"i don't know—excepting it may be that he wants me in order to make his claim stronger, or something like that. i don't know much about law."

"neither do i. but if it comes to the worst, mother will get a lawyer and make that man prove everything he says."

the two talked the matter over for a while, and gradually jack grew calmer. but look at it from every possible light, he could not make himself believe that dr. mackey was his father.

presently mrs. ruthven entered the chamber and also sat down to comfort our hero.

"he is certainly a strange man," said she, referring to the surgeon. "he went to the wreck and was aboard alone for some time, so old ben tells me."

"what did he do?"

"ben doesn't know."

"i shall visit the wreck again before long and make a search," said jack.

the three talked the matter over for several hours, but reached no further conclusions. jack expected the doctor back the next day, but he did not appear, nor did he show himself for some time to come. in the meantime things of great importance happened.