ood time
to-morrow morning. Now, the only question is, as they will not know
me, and the child, God bless her, would think that any stranger
pursuing them had a design upon her grandfather's liberty--can I do
better than take this lad, whom they both know and will readily
remember, as an assurance to them of my friendly intentions?'

'Certainly not,' replied the Notary. 'Take Christopher by all means.'

'I beg your pardon, Sir,' said Kit, who had listened to this discourse
with a lengthening countenance, 'but if that's the reason, I'm afraid I
should do more harm than good--Miss Nell, Sir, she knows me, and would
trust in me, I am sure; but old master--I don't know why, gentlemen;
nobody does--would not bear me in his sight after he had been ill, and
Miss Nell herself told me that I must not go near him or let him see me
any more. I should spoil all that you were doing if I went, I'm
afraid. I'd give the world to go, but you had better not take me, Sir.'

'Another difficulty!' cried the impetuous gentleman. 'Was ever man so
beset as I? Is there nobody else that knew them, nobody else in whom
they had any confidence? Solitary as their lives were, is there no one
person who would serve my purpose?'

'IS there, Christopher?' said the Notary.

'Not one, Sir,' replied Kit.--'Yes, though--there's my mother.'

'Did they know her?' said the single gentleman.

'Know her, Sir! why, she was always coming backwards and forwards.
They were as kind to her as they were to me. Bless you, Sir, she
expected they'd come back to her house.'

'Then where the devil is the woman?' said the impatient gentleman,
catching up his hat. 'Why isn't she here? Why is that woman always
out of the way when she is most wanted?'

In a word, the single gentleman was bursting out of the office, bent
upon laying violent hands on Kit's mother, forcing her into a
post-chaise, and carrying her off, when this novel kind of abduction
was with some difficulty prevented by the joint efforts of Mr Abel and
the Notary, who restrained him by dint of their remonstrances, and
persuaded him to sound Kit upon the probability of her being able and
willing to undertake such a journey on so short a notice.

This occasioned some doubts on the part of Kit, and some violent
demonstrations on that of the single gentleman, and a great many
soothing speeches on that of the Notary and Mr Abel. The upshot of the
business was, that Kit, after weighing the matter