fe says she could not bear to see this woman about
the children, and I have a good deal of the same feeling myself. At any
rate in her present state of health I wish to spare her all trouble and
anxiety as much as I can, and therefore it is better to buy this woman
off for the present, even though we may have to run the risk of trouble
with her afterwards. Anyhow, something must be done at once. The
children have both been squalling for the last hour, though I believe
that they have had some milk or something given to them. So I had better
send across for Humphreys, the sooner the matter is got over the
better."

The young sergeant presently appeared.

"Sit down, sergeant. I want to have a talk with you over this terribly
painful business. In one respect I quite understand that it is as
painful for you and Mrs. Humphreys as it is for us, but in other
respects you are much better off than I am. Not only do I not know
which is my child, but I do not know which is heir to my estate; which
is, as you will understand, a most serious matter."

"I can quite understand that, sir," the sergeant said quietly.

"The only plan that I can see," Captain Clinton went on, "is that for
the present I shall adopt both children, and shall bring them up as my
own. Probably in time one of them will grow up with some resemblance to
myself or Mrs. Clinton, and the other will show a likeness to you or
your wife. In that case I should propose to finish the education of your
boy, and then to provide for him by putting him into the army, or such
other profession as he may choose; for it would be very unfair after
bringing him up and educating him as my own to turn him adrift. Thus,
you see, in any case my adoption of him would be greatly to his benefit.
I can, of course, thoroughly understand that it will be very hard for
you and Mrs. Humphreys to give up your child. Very hard. And I am quite
ready to make any pecuniary arrangement with you and her that you may
think right. I may say that I do not think that it would be desirable
that Mrs. Humphreys should continue as their nurse. I want to consider
the boys as my own, and her presence would be constantly bringing up
unpleasant remembrances. In the second place I think that it would be
better for her that she should not act as their nurse. She would know
that one of them is her own, and the separation when it came would be
very much more painful than it would be at present. Of course I do not