"And Miss Toat told me," repeated the Colonel, smiling. "The fact is--I hope you will not mind my saying this, as I am old enough to be your father, young lady--you remind me of someone who was very dear to me. Curiosity made me ask your name."
"And curiosity made me ask what yours was also," said Audrey, quickly. "Your face--your eyes, to be particular--remind me of someone."
Ilse looked at her rather oddly. "Of whom, may I ask?" he said eagerly.
The girl shook her head. "I can't say; but I almost feel as if I had known you before. I daresay it is fancy."
"Perhaps it is, and perhaps it isn't," said the Colonel, quietly.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, Miss Branwin; only we may have met by chance."
The excuse did not satisfy Audrey, but she could not very well go on asking questions. She liked the looks of Colonel Ilse. He had a handsome but rather sad face, and his blue eyes were strangely kind and pathetic. "You are searching for your little girl?" she said impulsively. "Miss Toat told me."
"Upon my word," said the Colonel, humorously, "Miss Toat seems to have told you a great deal. Yes, Miss Branwin, I am looking for my daughter who was stolen from me some twenty and more years ago. A hospital nurse took her away, and I have never been able to find her."
"Why did the nurse take her away?"