Marching up to the fire, she stood upon the rug and looked about her with evident satisfaction; then glancing at the three who were watching her, she nodded complacently, and said, ’’ess, ’ess, ‘ess,’ while she held her little cold hands to the fire.

‘Acts as if she belonged here, doesn’t she?’ Frank said to his wife, who did not reply, so intent was she upon watching the strange child, who deliberately took off her cloak and hood and tossing them upon the floor, drew a small low chair to the fire, and climbing into it, sat down as composedly as if she were mistress there instead of an intruder.

Once she swept the hair back from her forehead with the motion Frank knew so well, and then the lump came into his throat again, and he steadied himself against the mantel, while he looked curiously at the young girl, making herself so much at home and seeming so well pleased with her surroundings.

‘Take her to the nursery now.  I must see to that coroner,’ he said to his wife, adding:  ’Harold must go too, or there will be the Old Harry to pay.’

’’Ess, ‘ess,’ came decidedly from the child, who went willingly with Harold, and was soon ushered into the large upper room, which was used as both nursery and school-room, for Mrs. Tracy could not allow her two sons, Tom and Jack, to come in contact with the boys at school; so she kept a governess, a middle-aged spinster, who, glad of a home, and the rather liberal compensation, sat all day in the nursery and bore patiently with Tom’s freaks and Jack’s dullness:  to say nothing of the trouble it was to have the three-year-old Maude toddling about and interfering with everything.

‘Hallo!’ Tom cried, as his mother came in, followed by Harold and Jerry.  ‘Hallo, what’s up?’ And throwing aside the slate on which he had been trying to master the difficulties of a sum in long division, he went toward them, and said:  ’Has the coroner come, and can’t I go and see the inquest?  You said maybe I could if I behaved, and I do, don’t I, Miss Howard?’

Just then he caught sight of Jerry, and stopping short, exclaimed: 

‘By Jingo! ain’t she pretty!  I mean to kiss her.’

And he made a movement toward the little face, which looked up so shyly at him.  But his mother caught his arm and held him back, as she said, sharply: 

’Don’t touch her, there is no tolling what you may catch.  I wanted her to go to the kitchen, the proper place for her, but your father insisted that she should be brought here.  I hope, Miss Howard, you will see that she does not go near the children.’

‘Yes, Madam,’ Miss Howard replied, ’but I am sure there can be no danger.  She looks as clean and sweet as a rose.’

Miss Howard was fond of children, and she held out her hand to the little girl, who seemed to have a most wonderful faculty for discriminating between friends and enemies, and who went to her readily, and leaning against her arm, looked curiously at the group of children—­at Tom, and Jack, and Maude, the latter of whom wished to go to her, but was restrained by the nurse.  The moment the door closed on Mrs. Tracy, Tom walked up to the child, and said: