"I suppose so," said the other.
"How do you know 'Theodore Chester' is your name?" demanded Hiram.
"Why, that is what they called me. No! Not altogether," he added. "I saw the books once and I know they had me down as 'Ted C.' They always called me Ted. I named myself Chester."
"Just as Sister names her brother—and herself for that matter," muttered Hiram. "Say, Orrin—I mean, Ted! Suppose your name should be the same as Sister's?"
"What do you mean, Strong?" cried the other.
"Suppose your real name is 'Cheltenham,' too?" propounded Hiram Strong shrewdly. "Stranger things have happened, don't you think?"
"Me? You mean that I may be Sister's brother?" demanded Ted. "What nonsense! Why, she told me her brother was a little boy—younger than she is."
"Lots she knows about it!" rejoined Hiram excitedly. "She doesn't know anything more about her brother than you know about yourself. Orrin—Ted—whatever your name is. This matter has got to be looked into! Right away, too!"
CHAPTER XXXII
LOOKING AHEAD