"Stop--shall we ?--yes, yes, I am going to die soon, I know; let me see them before I die." The Trevors did not know that he was aware of the precarious tenure of his life, but they listened to him in silence, and did not contradict him; and Mrs.Trevor wrote to both the boys (whose directions Eric knew), telling them what had happened, and begging them, simply for his sake, to come and stay with her for a time.

She hinted clearly that it might be the last opportunity they would ever have of seeing him.
Wildney and Montagu accepted the invitation; and they arrived together at Fairholm on one of the early autumn evenings.

They both greeted Eric with the utmost affection; and he seemed never tired of pressing their hands, and looking at them again.

Yet every now and then a memory of sadness would pass over his face, like a dark ripple on the clear surface of a lake.
"Tell me, Monty," he said one evening, "all about what happened after I left Roslyn." "Gladly, Eric; now that your name is cleared, there is--" "My name cleared!" said Eric, leaning forward eagerly.

"Did you say that ?" "Yes, Eric.