absence?"

"Yes, I have found the missing half of the envelope which contained
General Darrington's will; but ask me no questions at present. For her
sake, I must work quietly. Send me a note at twelve o'clock, that I may
know her exact condition, and the opinion of the doctor. Has nothing
been heard from Dyce?"

"As far as I know, not a syllable."

They shook hands, and once more Mr. Dunbar sprang into his saddle.
Overhead the constellations glowed like crown jewels on black velvet,
but along the eastern horizon, where the morning-star burned, the sky
had blanched; and the air was keen with the additional iciness that
always precedes the dawn. Earth was powdered with rime, waiting to
kindle into diamonds when the sun smote its flower crystals, and the
soft banners of white fog trailed around the gray arches and mossy
piers of the old bridge. At a quick gallop Mr. Dunbar crossed the
river, passed through the heart of the city, and slackened his pace
only when he found himself opposite the cemetery, on the road leading
to "Elm Bluff." As the iron gate closed behind him, he walked his
horse, up the long avenue, and when he fastened him to the metal ring
in the ancient poplar, which stood sentinel before the deserted House,
the deep orange glow that paves the way for coming suns, had dyed all
the sky, blotting out the stars; and the new day smiled upon a sleeping
world. The peacock perched upon the balustrade of the terrace greeted
him vociferously, and after some moments his repeated knock was
answered by the cautious opening of the front door, and Bedney's gray
head peered out.

"Lord--Mars Lennox! Is it you? What next? 'Pears to me, there's nothing
left to happen; but howsomever, if ther's more to come, tell us what's
to pay now?"

"Bedney, I want you to help me in a little matter, where your services
may be very valuable; and as it concerns your old master's family, I am
sure you will gladly enter into my plan--"

"Bless your soul, Mars Lennox, you are too good a lieyer to be shore of
anything, but the undertaker and the tax collector. I am so old and
broke down in sperrits, that you will s'cuse me from undertaking of any
jobs, where I should be obleeged to pull one foot out'en the grave
before I could start. I ain't ekal to hard work now, and like the rest
of wore-out stock, I am only worth my grabs in old fields."

Sniffing danger, Bedney warily resolved to decline all overtures, by
taking refuge in his decr