o his greatcoat.

'I'll drive you back, if you have nowhere else to go. So _you_ are his
niece? Well, there's more sense and shrewdness in the old man than I
gave him credit for.'

These remarks were, of course, quite enigmatical to Gladys; but she felt
cheered and comforted by the strong, kindly presence of the genial old
lawyer. As for him, he regarded her with a mixture of lively interest,
real compassion, and profound surprise. Perhaps the latter predominated.
He had, in the course of a long professional career, encountered many
strange experiences, become familiar with many curious and tragic life
stories, but, he told himself, he had never met a more interesting case
than this.

'It's a romance,' he said loud out in the cab; and Gladys looked at him
in mild surprise, but though she did not stand in awe of him at all, she
did not presume to ask what he meant.

'Now tell me, my dear, have you been happy in this--this place?' he
inquired significantly, as the cab rumbled over the rough causeway of
the Wynd into Colquhoun Street.

'Yes, I have been happy. I only know now, when I think it may not be my
shelter very long.'

Mr. Fordyce looked at her keenly.

'Poor girl, she knows nothing, absolutely nothing,' he said to himself.
'What a revelation it will be to her! Yes, it's a thrilling romance.'

The greeting between the well-known lawyer and his strange client was
not ceremonious. It consisted of a couple of nods and a brief
good-morning. Then Gladys was requested to leave them alone. Nothing
loath, she ran up-stairs to Walter, whose sorrow lay heavy on her heart.

'Your niece has surprised me, Mr. Graham,' said the lawyer. 'Yes, very
much indeed.'

'Why? What did you expect to see? Eh?'

'Not a refined and lovely young woman in a place like this, certainly,'
he said frankly, and looking round with an expression of extreme
disgust. 'Has it never occurred to you what poor preparation Miss Graham
has had for the position you intend her to fill?'

'That's none of your business,' retorted the old man sharply. '_She_
doesn't need any preparation, I tell you. Cottage or palace are the same
to her; she'll be a queen in either.'

This strange speech made the lawyer look at the old man intently. He
perceived that underneath his brusque, forbidding exterior there burned
the steady light of a great love for his brother's child, and here,
surely, was the greatest marvel of all.

'I did not bring you here to mak