"Will you show me that pretty locket of yours?" he said. "I see the front of it—the letter L—but I want to see the back too—may I?"
Lily's quick fingers untied the ribbon, and she put the locket in his hand.
"The letter L belongs to you, Lily," he said, "but whose is this lock of hair, do you know? It is dark hair, you see—not like yours."
Lily shook her curly head.
"It's my locket; I've had it always."
"Yes, you have had it since you were three months old. It is your mother's hair."
Lily gazed, not at all understanding.
He tied the locket round her neck again, and then said, "Do you know who I am, Lily?"
"I ain't sure."
An odd quiver passed across Colonel Maxwell's face, but he recovered himself directly.