often sighed, and said: "If only Ralph had lived,
that I might have both my children with me now!"

One morning, toward the middle of September, Lawyer John H. Sharpman
rang the bell at the door of the Burnham mansion, sent his card up to
Mrs. Burnham, and seated himself gracefully in an easy-chair by the
parlor window to wait for her appearance.

She came soon and greeted him with gracious dignity. He was very
courteous to her; he apologized for coming, in this way, without
previous announcement, but said that the nature of his errand seemed
to render it necessary.

"I am sure no apology is required," she replied; "I shall be pleased
to listen to you."

"Then I will proceed directly to the matter in hand. You remember, of
course, the Cherry Brook disaster and what occurred there?"

"I shall never forget it," she said.

"I have a strange thing to tell you about that, an almost incredible
thing. An old man has visited me at my office, within the last few
days, who claims to have saved your child from that wreck, to have
taken him to his own home and cared for him, and to know that he is
living to-day."

The woman rose from her chair, with a sudden pallor on her face, too
greatly startled, for the moment, to reply.

"I beg you to be calm, madam," the lawyer said; "I will try to speak
of the matter as gently as possible."

"Ralph!" she exclaimed, "my Ralph! did you say that he is living?"

"So this old man says. I am simply telling you his story. He seems to
be very much in earnest, though I am bound to say that his appearance
is somewhat against him."

"Who is he? Bring him here! I will question him myself. Bring the
child to me also; why did you not bring the child?"

"My dear lady, I beg that you will be calm; if you will allow me I
will explain it all, so far as lies in my power."

"But if my boy is living I must see him; I cannot wait! It is cruel to
keep him from me!"

Sharpman began to fear that he had injured his cause by presenting the
case too strongly. At this rate the lady would soon believe, fully,
that her son had been saved and could be restored to her. With such a
belief in her mind the success of his scheme would be impossible. It
would never do to let her go on in this way; he began to remonstrate.

"But, madam, I am telling to you only what this man has told to me. I
have no means of proving his veracity, and his appearance, as I have
said, is against him. I have agreed to assist him o