The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story — page 100: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE EVIL GENIUS. 89 once more—just as it had troubled him when he first found him- self in Randal’s presence. ‘‘T hope you won’t think me vain,” he resumed; ‘‘ I seldom say so much about myself as I have said to you.” ‘‘T only wish you would say more,” Randalrejoined. ‘*‘ Can't you put off your return to London for a day or two?” The thing was not to bedone. Duties which it was impossible to trifle with called the captain back. ‘‘It’s quite likely,” he said, alluding pleasantly to the impression which he had pro- duced in speaking of the Highlanders, ‘‘ that I shall find more strangers to interest me in the great city.” ‘‘Are they always strangers?” Randal asked. ‘‘Have you never met by accident with persons whom you may once have known ?” ‘‘Never—yet. But it may happen on my return.” ‘In what way ?” ‘In this way. I have been in search of a poor girl who has lost both her parents; she has, I fear, been left helpless at the mercy of the world. Her father was an old friend of mine— once an Officer in the navy, like myself. My last letters suggest a hope of tracing her. There is reason to believe that she is, or has been, employed as a pupil-teacher at a school in the suburbs of London; and I am going back (among other things) to try if I can follow the clew myself. Good-bye, my friend—let us hope to meet again. When you are in London, you will always hear of me at the club.” Heartily reciprocating his good wishes, Randal attended Cap- tain Bennydeck to the door. On the way back to the drawing-room he found his mind dwelling rather to his surprise, on the captain’s contemplated search for the lost girl. Was the good man likely to find her? It seemed useless enough to inquire—and yet Randal asked himself the question. Her father had been described as an officer in the navy. Well, and what did that matter? Inclined to laugh at his own idle curiosity, he was suddenly struck by a new idea. What had his brother told him of Miss Westerfield! She was the daughter of an officer in the navy; she had been pupil-teacher at a school. Was it really possible that Sydney Westerfield could be the person whom Captain Bennydeck was attempting to trace! Randal threw up the window which overlooked the drive in front of the house. Too late! The carriage which had brought the captain to Mount Morven was no longer in sight. The one other course that he could take was to mention Captain Bennydeck’s name to Sydney, and be guided by the result. As he approached the bell, determining to send a message up- stairs, he heard the door opened behind him. Mrs. Presty had entered the drawing-room, with a purpose (as it seemed) in which Randal was concerned. CORMICLOO S (CO) im