d
in earnest talk with a man who had only one arm.

"Why, I do believe that it is the very individual who upset poor Nealie
so badly that day when we went to the botanical gardens in Sydney!" she
exclaimed; and then she went forward, to be warmly greeted by Mr.
Wallis, who claimed to be an old friend, and who at once introduced her
to Mr. Reginald Baxter, the gentleman who had only one arm.

Sylvia, knowing so little of her father's professional disgrace, which,
indeed, should not have been disgrace at all, seeing that he had only
done his duty, was not so much interested in this meeting as Rupert, and
turned again to Mr. Wallis, anxious to get it made quite clear to that
gentleman that it was through no fault of theirs that Rocky had not been
handed over to the agent long before this.

"It was so terrible for us all to arrive here, as we did, with Rupert
ill, and to take possession of what we thought was our father's house,
only to find that it belonged to another man of the same name," she
said, pouring out her words in a breathless hurry. "It seems a pity to
me that doctors should be allowed to have the same name; only I suppose
it can't be helped. Anyhow, it was very bad for all of us, but it was
especially dreadful for poor Nealie, because, you see, she is grown up,
and so the conventions had to be considered. Then he--the usurping
doctor, that is--would go with her to take care of her when she went to
find Father; and that was awkward too, and a little unnecessary as
well, for Nealie is so well able to take care of herself. But they have
not come back, and we have not heard anything from them, and we are
afraid that the practice will go all to pieces if the doctor does not
soon come back to nurse it a little."

"The practice will not suffer very much, I hope," said Mr. Wallis
soothingly. "But I do not think you quite understand, Miss Sylvia, what
good things are happening, or are going to happen, to your father. Mr.
Baxter, who has come with me to-day, has had a long letter from your
friend Mr. Melrose, who, you may remember, left the ship at Cape Town.
It seems that when the rich relative of Mr. Baxter disinherited him,
because, owing to his arm having been amputated, he was maimed, she left
her money to Mr. Melrose, who really needed it much more. But Mr.
Melrose did not know that your father had had to suffer so badly in the
matter, and when he gathered some idea of it through meeting you on
board ship, he