'No—no,' said her father, a little sharply, 'and look here, Pussy, run away now and see how Colin is getting on.'
'And come back and tell you?' inquired Dolly; 'very well, papa.'
'Don't come back till I send for you,' he said. 'Mind that now, Dolly, stay in the schoolroom.'
He shut the door carefully after her, and then, turning to his wife and daughter, he said, 'You haven't either of you seen the papers to-day, I suppose?'
'No,' said Mrs. Langton; 'you know I never read daily papers. Gerald,' she cried suddenly, with a light coming into her eyes, 'is another judge dead?' Visions of her husband on the Bench, a town-house in a more central part of London, an increase of social consideration for herself and daughters, began to float into her brain.
'It's not that—if there was, I'm not likely to be offered a judgeship just yet; it's not good news, Belle, I'm afraid it's very bad,' he said warningly, 'very bad indeed.'
'Oh, papa,' cried Mabel, 'please don't break it to us—tell it at once, whatever it is!'
'You must let me choose my own course, my dear; I am coming to the point at once. The "Globe" has a telegram from Lloyd's agent reporting the total loss of the "Mangalore."'
'Vincent's ship!' said Mabel. 'Is—is he saved?'