ir, if he was not your brother," I replied,
still retreating.

"What is your business with him?" he added.

What my business was did not concern him, and I opened the door and
retired. Mr. Mortimer Loraine rose from his stuffed chair and followed
me, repeating the question he had put to me. I simply told him I wished
to find the brother of Austin Loraine; and in my heart I was very
grateful that he was not the person, for I should have been afraid to
leave Kate in the keeping of such a cast-iron man as he was. He appeared
to think he had a monopoly of the name of Loraine, and no one else ought
to possess it, or to have relations with it which he was not permitted
to know. Giving no further heed to him, I left his store.

My next attempt was with the broker, William, whose office was in Wall
Street. He was quite civil, and assured me he had but one brother, whose
name was Mortimer, and whom I had just seen on Broadway. He was just as
curious to know my business with any one of his name as the first had
been; but I was not willing to give him any satisfaction. The next
Loraine on my list was the other merchant, whose place of business was
in Chambers Street. "McKim & Loraine" was the firm. Impressed with the
belief that the junior member of this firm would prove to be the person
I sought, I was very careful to satisfy myself that Tom Thornton was not
lying in wait for me. In the morning I had put on the new suit of
clothes purchased on Saturday night. I hoped this change in my dress
would enable me to pass unnoticed if he were watching for me.

As I did not see him anywhere in the vicinity,--though I knew it was
possible for him to be concealed in some doorway, or observing me from
some chamber window,--I entered the store of McKim & Loraine. As I went
in, I saw on a corner sign the full names of the partners, the last of
which was "Freeman Loraine." I was directed to the counting-room by a
porter.

"Is Mr. Loraine in?" I asked of a clerk at the desk.

"He is not--gone to Baltimore," replied the man, hardly looking up from
his ledger.

"When will he return?" I inquired, greatly disappointed.

"Don't know; Mr. McKim is in his office; he can tell you."

I entered a small apartment in the corner, and asked for the senior
partner. An elderly gentleman, busy with heaps of letters, informed me
that he was the person.

"I wish to see Mr. Loraine very much," I continued.

"He has been in Baltimore for a week; we expe