on the ground; it's as if the ground came up to _you_ and
said--Bump!" She had got as far as that, when the progress of her
narrative was suspended by the discovery of a strange gentleman
in the room.

The smile that brightened the captain's face, when Kitty opened
the door, answered for him as a man who loved children. "Your
little girl, Mrs. Norman?" he said.

"Yes."

(A common question and a common reply. Nothing worth noticing, in
either the one or the other, at the time--and yet they proved to
be important enough to turn Catherine's life into a new course.)

In the meanwhile, Kitty had been whispering to her mother. She
wanted to know the strange gentleman's name. The Captain heard
her. "My name is Bennydeck," he said; "will you come to me?"

Kitty had heard the name mentioned in connection with a yacht.
Like all children, she knew a friend the moment she looked at
him. "I've seen your pretty boat, sir," she said, crossing the
room to Captain Bennydeck. "Is it very nice when you go sailing?"

"If you were not going back to London, my dear, I should ask your
mamma to let me take you sailing with me. Perhaps we shall have
another opportunity."

The Captain's answer delighted Kitty. "Oh, yes, tomorrow or next
day!" she suggested. "Do you know where to find me in London?