100 TRUE RICHES; OR,

 

‘¢ And Iam to understand, Edward, that notwith-
standing my wish, as the child’s legal guardian, and,
therefore, the representative of her parents, to have
her in my own come, that you will interpose a
hasty-signed contract ¢”’

“Mr. Jasper,” said the young man, changing his
manner, “‘ we have had this child in our family for
over five years, and have grown strongly attached
to her. In fact, she seems to us as one of our own
children; and we, to her, are in the place of parents.
To remove her would, therefore, be doing a great
violence to our feelings, and I know it would make
her unhappy. Let her remain where she is, and
you may rest assured that she will be cared for as
tenderly as our own.”

‘“¢No, Edward, it is no use to talk of that,” re-
plied Jasper, positively. ‘I wish, now, to have her
in my own family, and trust that you will not stand
for a moment in the way.”

‘But, Mr. Jasper”’

‘Tt will be of no avail to argue the point, Ed-
ward,” said the merchant, interrupting him. “I
was fully in earnest when I wrote to you, and am
no less in earnest now. I am certainly entitled to
the possession of my ward, and will not bear, pa-
tiently, any attempt on your part to deprive me of
that right.”

There was an angry quivering of the lips, and a
stern knitting of the brows, on the part of Jasper,
as he closed this emphatic sentence. Claire felt ex-
cited, yet was so fully conscious of the necessity of
self-control, that he quieted down his feelings, and
endeavoured to think calmly.

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