"A note for Mrs. Middleton," announced a servant.
She took the missive and hastily opened it. It read thus:
"MY DEAR MADAM--At last, after unwearied exertions, I have succeeded. The man, Rudolph Rugg, has been found by one of my messengers, and is at this moment in my office, ready to obey your summons. Shall I send him to you?
"P. S.--I assured you at the outset that if he were living I would find him. I am sure you will appreciate my exertions in your behalf."
"That means a larger bill," thought the lady. "However, I am willing to pay handsomely. The man is found, and he can, doubtless, produce the boy."
"Wait!" she said, in an imperious tone, to the servant, who was about to withdraw. "There is an answer."
"I am very glad you have found Rudolph Rugg. I wish to speak to him at once. Send him here directly."
"Short and not sweet!" commented the lawyer, when it was placed in his hands. "She says nothing about the compensation."
"Is it about me?" asked the tramp, watching the lawyer's face eagerly.
"Yes; it is from Mrs. Middleton. She wants you to come to the hotel at once. But, my friend, if you will excuse the suggestion, I would advise you, since you are about to call upon a lady, to put on a better suit of clothes."
"How am I to do it," he demanded roughly, "when these are all the clothes I have?"
"A pretty looking figure to call upon a lady at a fashionable hotel!" he thought.
"You must go as you are," he said. "Wait a minute."
He took a blank card and wrote upon it the name:
"When you reach the hotel," he said, "inquire for Mrs. Middleton, and send that card up to her."
The tramp started for the hotel, his mind busily occupied.
"What does she want with me? She wasn't Mrs. Middleton when I knew her; she was Miss Vincent, the governess. I suppose she's a great lady now. So she got Mr. Harvey to marry her. That ain't surprisin'. She looked like a schemer even then, and I was a fool not to see what she was at. Likely she was up to the other thing. Well, I shall soon know."
"You want to see Mrs. Middleton?" demanded the hotel clerk, surveying Mr. Rugg's exterior with a glance which betokened suspicion.
"I don't think she'll see one of your sort."
"That's where you're mistaken, young feller," said Rudolph, loftily. "She wants to see me uncommon."