The discovery of her real parentage had modified Marcus’s sensitiveness somewhat.  He was now no longer in the ridiculous position of a middle-aged, hopeless lover, but was an uncle, with a charming niece whom he could honorably love like a father.  His first impulse, after the departure of the mysterious woman, was to hurry around to Mrs. Crull’s house, unpack his bundle of proofs, and embrace the dear child with avuncular affection.

Upon him, glowing with this impulse, came the calm, deep Overtop, to whom Marcus told the strange story.  Overtop listened with lawyer-like composure, and, when Marcus had finished, asked for the bundle.  “The story is likely enough,” said he, “but a lawyer wants to know all the proofs.”

So saying, he removed from the parcel the string which bound it, and which, with the wrapping cloth, had become yellow with age, and brought to view a baby’s long frock, and a cap made of the finest materials, and heavily fringed with lace, and a pair of tarnished golden morocco shoes of fairy dimensions.  Upon an edge of the dress were daintily wrought, in needle work, the initials, H.W.  A separate package contained extracts from three daily papers, giving accounts of the “Mysterious Disappearance of a Child,” and an advertisement, signed Aurelius Wilkeson, offering five hundred dollars for the recovery of his daughter Helen, and describing the circumstances of the abduction so far as they were known, and the articles of dress which the infant wore at the time.

“So far, so good,” said Overtop; “but it now remains to identify the original owner of these baby clothes with Miss Minford.  We must find some old friends or acquaintances of the late inventor, who can testify that he adopted a child during the year 18—.”

Marcus, whose memory was tenacious of names, recollected that Mr. Minford, in his few confidential moments, had told him of several persons whom he had known in more prosperous days.

With these memoranda to guide him, Overtop went resolutely to work, and, in two days, found four old friends of Mr. and Mrs. Minford, who remembered the very year when they adopted an infant child.  It was the same year that the daughter of Aurelius Wilkeson had disappeared.  Overtop, being a Notary Public, took the affidavits of these persons as he went along.

Here Overtop would have stopped, and left Marcus to break the important news of his new-found relationship to the young lady.  But Marcus, who had a perfect horror of scenes, begged his friend to do this troublesome piece of diplomacy for him, but promised, when it was done, to appear at Mrs. Crull’s in his new character of uncle.