"Of course," said the doctor, smiling; and there was a curious look in
his eye as Nic glanced at him sharply.

"Sure, then, I'll stay," said the lady. "But wait a minute: I shall be
obliged to answer the question when we get back over the say. Did I say
say or sea then, Dominic?"

Nic coloured a little.

"Oh, there's no doubt about it," cried the lady. "It was say, doctor.
Now then, tell me: has he been a good boy?"

The doctor wrinkled his brow and pursed up his lips.

"Ah! ye needn't tell me. I can see--about half-and-half."

"Well, yes--about that," said the doctor.

"To be sure," said the lady; "and I'm glad of it. What's wrong with
him?"

"Oh, I don't like to tell tales out of school," said the doctor
jovially. "Not quite so much of a student as I could have wished. His
classics are decidedly shaky, and his mathematics--"

"Look here, doctor: can he write a good plain English letter, properly
spelt, and so as you can read it without puzzling because he hasn't
dotted his i's and crossed his t's?"

"Oh! yes, yes, yes," said the doctor; "we can do that, eh, Braydon? But
there's rather a long list of black marks against his name," he
continued severely. "For instance, there has been a tendency toward
fighting."

"There, that'll do, doctor.--Come and give me a kiss, my dear.--Sure,
doctor," she continued, after Nic had obeyed, "he's coming out to a new
country, where that part of his education will be of the greatest value
to him."

"My dear madam!" cried the doctor, staring.

"Oh, I mean it, sir. It's a new country, full of savages, black and
white, and the white are the worst of them, and more shame for us we
sent them there, though I don't know what else we could have done.
Dominic, my lad, do you know we're going to make a convict of you?"

Nic gave a violent start, and darted a reproachful glance at the
visitor.

"There, leave us together a bit, doctor," she said quickly, "and I'll be
bound to say when lunch is ready we shall both of us be as hungry as
sailors with talking, for I've got to question him and answer all his."

"To be sure, to be sure," said the doctor. "Then, if you will excuse
me, Lady O'Hara, I will adjourn to the schoolroom."

"There, Dominic," cried the lady as soon as they were alone, "now we can
talk like old friends. But tell me what made you start and colour like
a great gyurl when I talked of making a convict of you?"

Nic was silent.

"Won't you tell