A peculiar expression swept over Mr. Corbin's face at this statement, and
Mona caught sight of it.

"What could it mean?" she asked herself, with a flash of anger that was
quite foreign to her amiable disposition. "Did the man imagine her to be
an impostor, or did he suspect that there might have been no legal bond
between her parents?"

This latter thought made her tingle to her fingertips, and aroused all
her proud spirit.

"I can at least prove that I am Walter Dinsmore's niece," she added,
lifting her head with a haughty air, while her thoughts turned to Mr.
Graves, her uncle's lawyer. He at least knew and could testify to the
fact. "He took me," she continued, "three days after mother's death, and
I lived with him from that time until he died."

"Ah! and your mother was Mr. Dinsmore's sister?" questioned Mr. Corbin.

"Yes. I always supposed, until within a few days, that she was his own
sister," Mona said, thinking it best to be perfectly open in her dealings
with the lawyer; "that her name was Mona Dinsmore; but only this week I
learned that it was Mona Forester, so, of course, she must have been a
half-sister."

"Well, if you can prove what you have stated it may lead to further
developments," said Mr. Corbin, kindly. "Let me examine your proofs, and
then I shall know what to do next."

A sudden fear smote Mona--a great shock made her heart almost cease its