"You are full of curiosity about this girl, are you not, Catherine?" asked her mother.

"It is true, mother. I conjecture much about her."

"I can never gratify your curiosity, nor set your conjectures right."

"You know about her then, mother?"

"Yes, I know about her."

"Is Josephine an impostor?"

Mrs. Bertram paused.

"She is an impostor," she said then, in a slow, emphatic voice.

"Mother," said her daughter, suddenly. "You look very ill."

"I have gone through a bad time, Kate. I have been worried. My dear child, be thankful you are not a middle-aged woman with many cares."