To leave her with the old shoemaker was obviously out of the question, and yet what else was to be done? The captain felt here at once the helplessness of his mere manhood; saw that, whatever delicacy he might possess, it was quite unequal to such an occasion as this. "It wants a woman," muttered the captain to himself; and so started on a new train of thought. The result of that particular train of thought was that the captain, after passing a sleepless night, set off early the next morning for London, and presented himself within a few hours at the door of Miss Charlotte Carlaw's house. He sent up his card and was at once admitted and taken into the old woman's presence. She turned her head toward him as he entered the room, and smiled a welcome and held out her hand. The captain took the hand in his courtly fashion and hoped that she was well. "Oh, in better health than I ought to be, I've no doubt," replied the old woman. "And what brings you to town? Have you come like all the rest to upbraid me for my harshness--to cry out his virtues to me? have you come for that? Because, if you have, you will be wiser to save your breath and say nothing." "Let me begin by saying that I know nothing of the matter," replied the captain, "and that that is not my errand. I have certainly learned in an accidental manner that Comethup no longer lives here; but I have heard so much within the past few days that my poor old brain is in a whirl, and I can think of nothing coherently." "Well, while you collect your thoughts," replied Miss Carlaw, "I can tell you in a few words what has happened. You were fond of the boy just as I was; believed in him, I think, just as I did--which shows we were both fools in that sense at least. In a word, he has been steadily--or unsteadily--spending my money for years past in riotous living--ever since he was a boy, in fact; and now, to crown it all, has borrowed a large sum of money on the understanding that he is my heir and can pay it back when I am dead. When I'm dead--you hear that? That's the bitterest part of all; I'd have forgiven anything but that." "There's been some horrible blunder," said the captain, shaking his head sturdily. "I know Comethup, have seen him grow up since he was a little child, and I can't believe that it's possible. There's some mistake." "I wish I could think so," replied Miss Carlaw. "But there's no doubt about it; he has admitted it. However, we won't talk about it any more; I swore never to talk about it again. What do you want with me?" "Stay a moment," urged the captain. "Won't you tell me what has become of him or where he is?"