--or Mrs. O'Brien, as I suppose we must call
her--has certainly led an exemplary life since she left you, devoting
herself to her children, and especially to her eldest son.'

Mat made no answer. His brief excitement had faded, and he now resumed
his old dejection of manner. He leant his head on his hand again and
looked into the fire; but by and by he roused himself from his
abstraction.

'Cyril has grown up a fine, handsome fellow, I hear. I suppose he has
Olive's good looks?'

'He is very like her, certainly. He is a good-looking man, and
exceedingly clever. Any father might feel proud of such a son.'

'And he is to marry the young lady I saw here the other day. I forget
her name, but she is the daughter of the chief boss down here.'

Michael gave a faint shudder.

'Her name is Miss Ross.'

'Oh yes, I remember now. Tom says the marriage will be broken off; but
we will talk of that presently. I want to hear something about the other
little chap--Kester.'

'He has not got his brother's good health, I am sorry to say.' And here
Michael gave a short sketch of Kester's boyish accident, and the results
that followed. 'He can walk very fairly now,' he continued, 'and will
soon lay aside his crutch; but I fear he will never make a strong man.'

'Dear, dear!' returned Mat in a sorrowful tone. 'And to think of the
active little monkey he used to be! Why, I can see him now, mounted
aloft on my shoulder and holding me round the neck till I was fairly
choked, and the other lad clasping me round the knee, and hallooing out
that he wanted to ride dada, too, though Olive never seemed to care to
see me play with them--we made so much noise, she said. Dear, dear! and
to think of the poor chap on crutches! And there is Mollie, too; she was
only a baby when I saw her last--such a fat, rosy little thing!'

'Mollie is a fine-grown girl, and as nice a child as you would wish to
see. We are all very fond of her.'

'Well, she has kept her word, and done her duty to them. And now look
here, sir. You just bring me somewhere where I can see the youngsters,
and hear them talk, and I will promise you to keep dark, and not let out
to them that I am their father. I will just have a look at them, and
then I will never trouble them again.'

'What on earth do you mean, O'Brien?'

'I mean that Olive is right, and that they are better without me,'
returned Mat dejectedly. 'Do you suppose they would have any love in
their hearts for a fat