er by sitting down, because the action
would have been too like deliberately telling Mr. Van Torp to go away,
but he began to fold up the chair as if he were going to take it away,
and then he seemed to find that there was something wrong with one of
its joints, and altogether it gave him a good deal of trouble, and
made it quite impossible for the great man to get any nearer to
Margaret.

Little Ida had taken Mr. Van Torp's proffered hand, and had watched
his hard lips when he spoke. She answered quite clearly and rather
slowly, in the somewhat monotonous voice of those born deaf who have
learned to speak.

'I'm very well, thank you, Mr. Van Torp. I hope you are quite well.'

Margaret heard, and saw the child's face, and at once decided that, if
the little girl knew of her own relationship to Ida Bamberger, she was
certainly ignorant of the fact that her half-sister had been engaged
to Mr. Van Torp, when she had died so suddenly less than a week ago.
Little Ida's manner strengthened the impression in Margaret's mind
that the millionaire was having her educated by Miss More. Yet it
seemed impossible that the rich old Senator should not have left her
well provided.

'I see you've made friends with Madame Cordova,' said Mr. Van Torp.
'I'm very glad, for she's quite an old friend of mine too.'

Margaret made a slight movement, but said nothing. Miss More saw her
annoyance and intervened by speaking to the financier.

'We began to fear that we might not see you at all on the voyage,' she
said, in a tone of some concern. 'I hope you have not been suffering
again.'

Margaret wondered whether she meant to ask if he had been sea-sick;
what she said sounded like an inquiry about some more or less frequent
indisposition, though Mr. Van Torp looked as strong as a ploughman.

In answer to the question he glanced sharply at Miss More, and shook
his head.

'I've been too busy to come on deck,' he said, rather curtly, and he
turned to Margaret again.

'Will you take a little walk with me, Madame Cordova?' he asked.

Not having any valid excuse for refusing, Margaret smiled, for the
first time since she had seen him on deck.

'I'm so comfortable!' she answered. 'Don't make me get out of my rug!'

'If you'll take a little walk with me, I'll give you a pretty
present,' said Mr. Van Torp playfully.

Margaret thought it best to laugh and shake her head at this singular
offer. Little Ida had been watching them both.

'Yo