prospects; but I can see that even he is a little
anxious."

"Oh, pray don't croak," was Mrs. Ogilvie's response and then she once
again likened Mr. Acland to the raven.

"You are a bird of ill-omen," she said, shaking her finger playfully
in his face.

He frowned as she addressed him; he could not see the witticism of her
remark.

"When people are perfectly happy and know nothing whatever with
regard to business, what is the good of coming and telling these
dismalities?" she continued. "I am nothing but a poor little feminine
creature, trying to do good, and to make myself happy in an innocent
way. Why will you come and croak? I know Philip quite well enough to
be certain that he would not have set foot on this expedition if he
had not been satisfied in advance that the mine was a good one."

"That is my own impression," said Mr. Acland, thoughtfully; "but don't
forget you are expected to complete the purchase of Silverbel by the
end of October."

"Oh! Philip will be back before then," answered Mrs. Ogilvie in a
light and cheerful tone. "Any day now we may get a cablegram. Well,
sweetheart, and what are you doing here?"

Sibyl had entered the room, and was leaning against the window frame.

"Any day we may expect what to happen, mother darling?" she asked.

"We may expect a cable from father to say he is coming back again."

"Oh! do you think so? Oh, I am so happy!"

Sibyl skipped lightly out of the room. She ran across the sunny,
radiant garden, and presently found herself in a sort of wilderness
which she had appropriated, and where she played at all sorts of
solitary games. In that wilderness she imagined herself at times a
lonely traveler, at other times a merchant carrying goodly pearls, at
other times a bandit engaged in feats of plunder. All possible scenes
in history or imagination that she understood did the child try to
enact in the wilderness. But she went there now with no intention of
posing in any imaginary part. She went there because her heart was
full.

"Oh, Lord Jesus, it is so beautiful of you," she said, and she looked
up as she spoke full at the blue sky. "I can scarcely believe that my
ownest father will very soon be back again; it is quite too
beautiful."

A few days after this, and toward the end of the first week in August,
Sibyl was one day playing as usual in the grounds when the sound of
carriage wheels attracted her attention. She ran down to see who was
arriving, and a sh