ad a school-friend here."

"Dot--yes! But Betty--no!"

"Betty is at an awkward age," said Mr. Bruce. "I confess _I_ know very
little of her. What is her _singing_ voice like? I think, dear, you'd
better give me a list of the clothing she has on, and I'll go down the
road and make a few inquiries."

The only dress they could discover "missing," to Mrs. Bruce's horror,
was the tattered Saturday frock. And Mary found the boots and stockings
under the dressing-table, so the conviction that she had gone barefoot
was forced upon them.

At twelve o'clock Cyril was startled to see his father enter the
schoolroom, and he observed that Mr. Sharman shook hands with him in a
very affable manner, which was, of course, very condescending of Mr.
Sharman. In fact, it led Cyril to hope for leniency from him in the
looming arithmetic lesson.

A low voiced conversation took place, and then Cyril was called down to
the desk and questioned closely about his truant sister.

But of course Cyril knew nothing.

Then another very strange thing happened.

While Mr. Bruce and Mr. Sharman and Cyril were standing in the middle of
the floor--Cyril feeling covered with glory from his father's and Mr.
Sharman's intimacy in the eyes of the whole school--another shadow
darkened the doorway. And the other shadow belonged to no smaller a
person than Captain Carew, of Dene Hall, Willoughby, N.S. Wales.

Miss Sharman went out to meet him before the little trio knew he was
there, and his hearty "Good morning, ma'am! I've come for news of that
young scapegrace, my grandson, John Brown," filled the room.

Whereat Mr. Bruce turned round, and he and the captain faced each other,
and Cyril, in great fear, looked up to see if Arthur Smedley, the dread
bully, had heard how the great captain of Dene Hall had absolutely, and
in the hearing of the whole school acknowledged John Brown to be his
grandson, and had not so much as glanced at Cyril, who stood there quite
close to him.

It was the first time for more than seventeen years that Captain Carew
and Mr. Bruce had been so close together, despite the fact that the
fences of their respective properties were within sight of each other.

To-day Captain Carew grew a deep dark-red from his neck to the top of
his forehead, and Mr. Bruce went quite white and held his head very
high.

And Mr. Sharman drew back nervously, for he, like most other people,
knew all about the relationship of these two men to each