“Where did you hear that, Curtis?” asked Mr. Linden, with unwonted sharpness.

“I have sources of information which at present I do not care to impart. Rest assured that I am doing all I can to get her back.”

“You still want to marry her, Curtis?”

“I do, most certainly.”

“I shall not insist upon it. I should not have done so before.”

“Have you changed your mind, uncle?”

“Yes; I have made a mistake, and I have decided to correct it.”

“What has come over him?” Curtis asked himself. “Some influence hostile to me has been brought to bear. It must be that nurse. I will quietly dismiss her to-morrow, paying her a week’s wages, in lieu of warning. She’s evidently a meddler.”

Chapter XXXVIII.
The Closing Scene.

The next day Tim Bolton, dressed in a jaunty style, walked up the steps of the Linden mansion.