"Now, mother—"
"Oh, if you hate to hear about it, why don't you quit the dirty crowd and be a gentleman again. Or is it your new-found cousin you feel so bad for? By the way, Captain, is it a boy or girl, and is it old or young?"
"It is a lady, madam, some twenty years of age or thereabout."
"A lady? Well, I suppose that is what they call them there. Married or single?"
"Single."
"What a pity you are getting so old, Hesden! You might make a match and settle her claim in that way. Though I don't suppose she has any in law."
"On the contrary, madam," said Pardee, "her title is perfect. She can recover not only this plantation but every rood of the original tract."
"You don't say!" exclaimed the invalid. "It would make her one of the richest women in the State!"
"Undoubtedly."
"Oh, it cannot be, Captain Pardee!" exclaimed Miss Hetty. "It cannot be!"