the endeavour to recover him,' said Mr. Dutton,
too much moved for his usual precision of speech.

'Yes; he is _her_ child,' said Nuttie, with a trembling tearful smile.

'_Her_ child! Yes, and even if he were not, he is _your_ brother,'
said Mr. Dutton; then hastily gathering himself up, as if he had said
too much, he rose to take leave, adding as their hands clasped,
'Remember, as long as I live, you may count upon me.'

'Oh, I know, I know! There's nobody like you, but I don't know what I
say in this awful suspense. If I had only seen him lying white and
cold and peaceful, it would have been far better than to think of him
pining and miserable among wicked people, who would try to bring him up
like themselves. Mother's own little boy!'

'It will not be allowed, it will not be allowed,' cried Mr. Dutton.
'God's Providence is still over him.'

'And there are prayers, I know--at our church and Mr. Godfrey's-and all
ours, but oh! it takes a great deal of faith to lean on them. I wonder
if you would, Annaple, if it were Willy?'

'We will not ask Mrs. Egremont,' said Mr. Dutton, as Annaple made a
gesture of something like doubt.

'It is almost as bad,' said she, coming up and putting her arm round
Nuttie. 'But indeed, Mr. Dutton, she does trust, only it is very, very
sore, for her,--as it is for us all.'

'You are her great comfort,' said Mr. Dutton, as he shook hands with
her.

'He could hardly help thanking me,' said Annaple to her husband
afterwards. 'Mr. Egremont may well call him an adopted uncle. I
should say he was a good deal more, poor man.'

CHAPTER XXXV.

THE HULL OF THE URSULA.

Ten days had passed, and Mark and Annaple were thinking that they ought
to return to ordinary life, and leave the bereaved ones to endeavour to
construct their life afresh under the dreadful wearing uncertainty of
their darling's fate. Still they were detained by urgent entreaties
from father and daughter, who both dreaded their departure as
additional desolation, and as closing the door of hope. And certainly,
even this rest was good for Annaple; and her baby, for whom nurse had
discovered a better system, had really not cried more for a whole day
than 'befitted a rational child,' said the mother, as she walked back
to Springfield with her husband in the summer night, after dinner, on
the day that Broadbent's negotiations had failed.

'Nurse will break her heart at parting with her,' said Mark. 'I wis