“Leave it to him,” was the low, undisturbed reply. “He has heard her voice, and is going to speak.”
It was true. Slowly and with effort her father’s glance sought her out and love again became animate in his features. “Come here, Orpha,” he said and uttered murmuring words of affection as she knelt at his side. “I am going to make you happy. You have been a good girl. Do you see the two long envelopes I am holding, one in each hand?”
“Yes, Father.”
“Look at them. No, do not take them, just look at them where they lie and tell me if in the corner of one you see a cross drawn in red?”
“Yes, Father.”
“In which hand do you see it?”
“In this one,—the one nearest me.”
“You are sure?”
“Very sure. Edgar, look too, and tell him that I am right.”
“I will take your word, my darling child. Now pull that envelope,—the one with the mark on it, from under my hand.”