“No, sir. She died before my father.”
“Then you are an orphan?”
“Yes, sir,” answered Bernard gravely.
“Pardon me—it is none of my business—but your father left you comfortably provided for, did he not?”
Bernard shook his head.
“On the contrary, he left almost nothing, I am told.”
“Who, then, took care of you, for you were too young to take care of yourself?”
“A business man down town, Cornelius McCracken. He is my guardian, though there seems to be no property for him to take care of for me.”
“I remember the name.”
“Did you ever hear my father speak of him? I have often wondered how he came to be my guardian.”