taken, Miss Burnham will not say No to the
change that I have in view for her."

"What is it?" asked Mrs. Crayford, eagerly.

"Pardon me if I ask you a question, on my part, before I reply," said
the doctor. "Are you fortunate enough to possess any interest at the
Admiralty?"

"Certainly. My father is in the Secretary's office; and two of the Lords
of the Admiralty are friends of his."

"Excellent! Now I can speak out plainly with little fear of
disappointing you. After what I have said, you will agree with me, that
the only change in Miss Burnham's life which will be of any use to her
is a change that will alter the present tone of her mind on the subject
of Mr. Aldersley. Place her in a position to discover--not by reference
to her own distempered fancies and visions, but by reference to actual
evidence and actual fact--whether Mr. Aldersley is, or is not, a living
man; and there will be an end of the hysterical delusions which now
threaten to fatally undermine her health. Even taking matters at their
worst--even assuming that Mr. Aldersley has died in the Arctic seas--it
will be less injurious to her to discover this positively, than to leave
her mind to feed on its own morbid superstitions and speculations, for
weeks and weeks together, while the next news from the Expedition is on
its way to England. In one word, I want you to be in a position, before
the week is out, to put Miss Burnham's present conviction to a practical
test. Suppose you could say to her, 'We differ, my dear, about Mr.
Francis Aldersley. You declare, without the shadow of a reason for it,
that he is certainly dead, and, worse still, that he has died by the
act of one of his brother officers. I assert, on the authority of the
newspaper, that nothing of the sort has happened, and that the chances
are all in favor of his being still a living man. What do you say to
crossing the Atlantic, and deciding which of us is right--you or I?'
Do you think Miss Burnham will say No to that, Mrs. Crayford? If I know
anything of human nature, she will seize the opportunity as a means of
converting you to a belief in the Second Sight."

"Good Heavens, doctor! do you mean to tell me that we are to go to sea
and meet the Arctic Expedition on its way home?"

"Admirably guessed, Mrs. Crayford! That is exactly what I mean."

"But how is it to be done?"

"I will tell you immediately. I mentioned--didn't I?--that I had heard
something on my road to this house."