Page:Ballinger Price--Fortune of the Indies.djvu/92



There was no signature, but none was needed. The aunts, who were old, wept a little, and Jane merely remained on her knees where she had dropped to investigate the box, till Mark and Alan had each to seize an arm and beg her to "come out of it."

The reinstatement of the ship above the mantel was rather a state occasion. It was done after supper, with some ceremony. The "rare old print" was banished, and Mark and Alan, assisted by Jane and a step-ladder, installed the Fortune of the Indies in its old place. Then they lighted the candles in the sconces at either side and all sat in a row on the davenport, staring till you would have thought them daft. Jane's letter to Mr. Bolliver was written that night in the office. It was more sincere than coherent, and filled sheet after sheet with ecstatic scribbling which