"Yes; I've heard of them," said Carmela cordially. "A dear old couple I believe." Mrs. Pellypop drew herself up stiffly: "The parents of a bishop should never be called 'a dear old couple';" it savoured of the peasantry. "May I inquire the name of your relative?" she asked, coldly, taking up her knitting. "Sir Mark Trevor." "Indeed," said Mrs. Pellypop, impressed with the fact that the young lady was connected with a baronet. "It's a Cornish name, is it not?" "I believe so. He has estates in Cornwall; but also has a house on the Thames, where he stays for the summer." "Oh! a bachelor's place I presume?" said Mrs. Pellypop artfully. "Not exactly; he's a widower, and has one daughter nearly as old as I am, and they are going to meet me London, and then we intend to go to Marlow for the summer." "Then I shall probably see you there," said Mrs. Pellypop cordially. "It's not unlikely," replied Carmela rising. "Good-bye, for the present, Mrs. Pellypop, I'm going to lie down for an hour before dinner." "Good-bye, my dear," said the matron, resuming her knitting. "I hope I shall meet you on the Thames. I should like you to know the bishop." Carmela laughed as she went downstairs. "She's quite pleased with me now," she said gaily; "and all because I have a cousin who is a baronet. Heavens, how amusing these people are!" Mrs. Pellypop was pleased with Miss Cotoner; and what she had termed forward conduct before, she now called eccentricity. This young lady had aristocratic relatives, which relatives lived near the place to which Mrs. Pellypop was going. So the worthy matron, who had a slight spice of worldliness, resolved to cultivate the girl from Malta as a desirable acquaintance. "She needs a mother's care," thought good Mrs. Pellypop, "so I must try and look after her." What would Mrs. Pellypop's conduct have been had Carmela told her that her cousin was a butcher? Just the same of course; for how could a good woman attach any importance to such idle things as rank and wealth? Meanwhile Ronald was in the captain's cabin talking over the mysterious crime which had takes place on board the "Neptune;" and both of them were in considerable doubt how to proceed. "I want the affair cleared up," said Templeton, "if only for the credit of the ship; it won't encourage people to travel with us if they think there's a chance of being murdered on board." "The difficulty is how to start," replied Ronald thoughtfully; "you see there is absolutely no clue to follow."