hour, you, my dear Mr. Mayor, who have more frequent access to her,
I know, will not begrudge it to me."

He placed himself beside Yerba and Milly, and began an
entertaining, although, I fear, slightly exaggerated, account of
his reception by the Lady Superior, and her evident doubts of his
identity with the trustee mentioned in Pendleton's letter of
introduction. "I confess she frightened me," he continued, "when
she remarked that, according to my statement, I could have been
only eighteen years old when I became your guardian, and as much in
want of one as you were. I think that only her belief that Mr.
Woods and the Mayor would detect me as an impostor provoked her at
last to tell me your whereabouts."

"But why DID they ever make you a trustee, for goodness' sake?"
said Milly, naively. "Was there no one grown up at that time that
they could have called upon?"

"Those were the EARLY days of California," responded Paul, with
great gravity, although he was conscious that Yerba was regarding
him narrowly, "and I probably looked older and more intelligent
than I really was. For, candidly," with the consciousness of
Yerba's eyes still upon him, "I remember very little about it. I
dare say I was selected, as you kindly suggest, 'for goodness'
sake.'"

"After all," said the volatile Milly, who seemed inclined, as
chaperone, to direct the conversation, "there was something pretty
and romantic about it. You two poor young things taking care of
each other, for of course there were no women here in those days."