"Are you related to Mrs. Ransom?" she asked.
"No," answered Mark, "but I come from one who is."
"Alas, it is too late! The poor woman is dead."
"I know that, but did she leave a child?"
"Yes, a little boy. She sat great store by little Jack."
"And what has become of him?" asked Mark, eagerly.
"That is more than I can tell. A tall gentleman—I don't rightly know his name—appeared at the funeral, said he was a relation, and took off little Jack to St. Louis, I think."
"A tall gentleman—a relation!" repeated Mark, surprised. "What was his appearance?"
Mark was destined to be surprised, for Mrs. Finn's description tallied exactly with the appearance of Lyman Taylor. This was a surprising discovery. Mark was sharp enough to guess that Lyman's object was to remove from his path any rival claimant to his uncle's property, supposing him to possess any.
"I think I know who you mean," he said, after a pause.