anny entered.

"Katie, I've come to tell you that Mr Queek--" She stopped short on
observing Nora, who rose hastily, thanked Katie earnestly for the kind
interest she had expressed in her little friend, and took her leave.

"This is a very interesting little incident, Fan," said Katie with
delight when they were alone; "quite a romancelet of real life. Let me
see; here is a poor boy--the boy who deceived us, you remember--whom bad
companions are trying to decoy into the wicked meshes of their dreadful
net, and a sweet young girl, a sort of guardian angel as it were, comes
to me and asks my aid to save the boy, and have him sent to sea. Isn't
it delightful? Quite the ground-work of a tale--and might be so nicely
illustrated," added Katie, glancing at her drawings. "But forgive me,
Fan; I interrupted you. What were you going to tell me?"

"Only that Mr Queeker cannot come to tea tonight, as he has business to
attend to connected with his secret mission," replied Fanny.

"How interesting it would be," said Katie, musing, "if we could only
manage to mix up this mission of Mr Queeker's in the plot of our
romance; wouldn't it? Come, I will put away my drawing for to-day, and
finish the copy of papa's quarterly cash-account for those dreadful
Board of Trade people; then we shall go to the pier and have a walk, and
on our way we will call on that poor old bedridden woman whom papa has
ferreted out, and give her some tea and sugar. Isn't it strange that
papa should have discovered one so soon? I suppose you are aware of his
_penchant_ for old women, Fan?"

"No, I was not aware of it," said Fan, smiling.

Whatever Fan said, she accompanied with a smile. Indeed a smile was the
necessary result of the opening of her little mouth for whatever
purpose--not an affected smile, but a merry one--which always had the
effect, her face being plump, of half shutting her eyes.

"Yes," continued Katie, with animation, "papa is _so_ fond of old women,
particularly if they are _very_ old, and _very_ little, and thin; they
_must_ be thin, though. I don't think he cares much for them if they
are fat. He says that fat people are so jolly that they don't need to
be cared for, but he dotes upon the little thin ones."

Fanny smiled, and observed that that was curious. "So it is," observed
Katie; "now _my_ taste lies in the direction of old men. I like to
visit poor old men much better than poor old women, and the older and
more he