"It may turn up," he said at length. "Not that it was of any importance. It looked like a circular."
"Mr. Herman told me it was in feminine handwriting," said Oliver.
"Oho! that accounts for your anxiety!" said Mr. Kenyon, with affected jocularity, "Come, I'll look again."
But the letter was not found.
Oliver did not fail to notice something singular in his step-father's manner.
"Has he suppressed my letter?" he asked himself, as he slowly retired from the room. "What does it all mean?"
"He suspects me," muttered Mr. Kenyon, "He is in my way, and I must get rid of him."
CHAPTER IX.
OLIVER'S MOTHER.
I T is time to introduce Oliver's mother, who was suffering such cruel imprisonment within the walls of a mad-house.