s a very little girl until he came
to England some few months ago to settle down and to take care of her
children and her."

"How did it happen that she hadn't seen him in all that time? I take it
there must have been some good reason, Captain?"

"Yes, rather. You see it was like this: The Harmsteads--Mrs. Comstock
was a Harmstead by birth, and Uncle Phil was her father's only
brother--the Harmsteads had never been well to-do as a family: indeed
none of them but dear old Uncle Phil ever had a hundred pounds they
could call their own, so when Miss Harmstead's father died, which was
about eight months after his brother left New Zealand and went to
Australia, she married a young joiner and cabinet-maker, George
Comstock, to whom she had long been engaged, and a few weeks later,
fancying there would be a better chance for advancement in his trade in
England than out there, Mr. Comstock sold out what few belongings he had
in the world and brought his wife over here."

"Oh, I see. Then of course she had no opportunity of seeing her uncle
until he came here?"

"No, not a ghost of one. She corresponded with him for a time,
however--wrote him after the first child was born--and christened
'Philip' in honour of him. In those days it used to take six months to
get a letter to Australia, and another six to get word back, so the baby
was more than a year old when Uncle Phil wrote that if he didn't marry
in the meantime and have a son of his own--which was very unlikely--he
would make young Phil his heir and come out after him, too, one of these
fine days."

"One moment. Was the person you allude to as 'Young Phil' one of the
sons that was murdered?"

"Yes. He was the first victim, poor, chap!"

"Oh, I see!" said Cleek. "I see! So there is money in the background,
eh? Well go on. What next? Hear any more from Uncle Phil after that?"

"Oh, yes--for a long time. Miriam and Flora were born, and word of their
arrival in the world was sent out to him before the final letter for
years and years reached them. In that letter he wrote that he was doing
better and better every year, and getting so rich that he didn't have
time to do anything but just stop where he was and 'gather in the
shekels.' There'd be enough for all when he did come, however, and he
was altering his will so that in case anything should happen to young
Phil--'which God forbid,' he wrote--the girls would come next, and so on
to all the heirs of his niece. After t