young lady leave her room on
any consideration."

"All right, sir."

"I take it for granted, Mrs. Bradshaw, you are not easily taken in?"

"I should say not, sir," said the woman, emphatically.

"The young lady will try to impose upon you while I am away."

"Then she'd better save her trouble," said Mrs. Bradshaw, tossing her
head.

"She's very artful," said Orton. "Most crazy people are."

"You don't mean to say she's crazy?" said Mrs. Bradshaw in surprise.
"She don't look like it."

"You are quite right. She doesn't look like it, but she wrong here,"
continued Campbell, tapping his forehead. "Why, she fancies herself
immensely rich, Mrs. Bradshaw, when, as a matter of fact, she's a
penniless cousin of mine, who would have gone to the poorhouse but for
my father's charity."

"You don't say so!" exclaimed Mrs. Bradshaw, interested.

"Sometimes she thinks she's worth millions of dollars. I wish she were,
for in that case my father would be relieved of the burden of supporting
her."

"To be sure, sir!"

"Some time since she managed to elude our vigilance and escaped from our
home in Albany. Knowing how feeble-minded she was, we felt very anxious
about her, but for some time were unable to get a trace of her. Finally,
we learned that she had been seen in California, and I came out at great
personal inconvenience to bring her back."

"Very kind of you, sir, I am sure: but how could she travel so far
without money?"

"That is easily explained. She opened my father's desk and took out some
hundreds of dollars," answered Orton Campbell, with unblushing
falsehood. "Of course, we don't consider her responsible, as she is of
unsound mind. Otherwise, we should look upon her as very ungrateful."

"She seems to be very good-looking," observed Mrs. Bradshaw.

"So she is, and if her mind were healthy I can imagine that she would be
admired. As it is, her beauty counts for nothing."

"To be sure!"

"I hope to calm her down, and induce her without a violent disturbance
to embark on the next steamer for New York with me. She won't listen to
me now, but I shall call to-morrow forenoon and see how she appears.
Meanwhile, she will probably try to bribe you to release her. She may
promise you thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars, for it's all the
same to her, poor thing! But of course you're too sensible a woman to be
taken in by the promises of a crazy girl?"

"I should say so!" returned Mrs. Bradshaw, who was th