Bright _is_ very refined,
both in manner and speech, compared with those around her. I was on the
point one day of asking if she had a brother, when she seemed to draw up
and cut the matter short; so I have had to fall back on my original plan
of trying to bring the two face to face, which would at once settle the
question, for of course they'd know each other."

"Dear child, why make such a mystery about it?" said Mrs Dotropy; "why
not tell the captain of your suspicion, and ask him to go and see the
woman?"

"Because it would be so cruel to raise his expectations, mother, and
then perhaps find that I was wrong. It would disappoint him so
terribly. But this reference to a `search' in his letter makes me feel
almost sure he is searching for this lost sister."

"Foolish child! It is a wild fancy of your romantic brain. Who ever
heard," said the mother, "of a lawyer being employed to search for a
sister? Depend upon it, this captain is in search of some deed,--a lost
will, or a--an old parchment or a document of some sort, perhaps
referring to a mismanaged property, or estate, or fortune, for things of
that kind are often seen in the newspapers; though how the newspapers
come to find out about them all is more than I can understand. I've
often wondered at it. Ah! your dear father used to say in his facetious
way that he was "lost in the _Times_," when he wanted to be let alone.
I don't mean advertised for as lost, of course, though he might have
been, for I have seen him lose his head frequently; indeed I have been
almost forced to the conclusion more than once that the _Times_ had a
good deal to do with your father's mental confusion; it told such awful
lies sometimes, and then a month or two afterwards would flatly
contradict them all by telling the truth--at least it was probably the
truth since it was the opposite of the lies; but it's of no use talking,
I always find that. What were you saying, child?"

"Well, mother, I was going to say," answered Ruth, with a sigh, "that I
must just have patience and be content to wait."

"Now you talk like the dear, good, sensible little thing that you are,"
said Mrs Dotropy, rising; "run, put on your hat and I'll walk with you
by the sea, or go visit the fisher-folk if you like--or the Miss
Seawards."

In this amiable frame of mind the mother and daughter set off to the
shore.

Ruth's patience was indeed tried more severely than she had anticipated,
for, whateve