“Do you know, Mr. Neuchatel,” she said, “that Endymion, my brother, was at school with Colonel Albert?”
“Ah, ah!” said Mr. Neuchatel.
“But when he was at school he had another name,” said Myra.
“Oh, oh!” said Mr. Neuchatel.
“He was then called the Count of Otranto.”
“That is a very pretty name,” said Mr. Neuchatel.
“But why did he change it?” asked Myra.
“The great world often change their names,” said Mr. Neuchatel. “It is only poor City men like myself who are always called Mr., and bear the same name as their fathers.”
“But when a person is called a count when he is a boy, he is seldom called only a colonel when he is a man,” said Myra. “There is a great mystery in all this.”
“I should not be surprised,” said Mr. Neuchatel, “if he were to change his name again before this time year.”