by one of the strings to
that old log, sah, that lies out in the ribber back of--' he
hesitated--'Massa Urquhart's house, sah.'

"I knew; and I had glanced that way just as her bright head was perhaps
sinking under the water. I threw up my arms in anguish and stumbled back
into the house.

"'Then every one knows--' I managed to say on the threshold.

"'Dat she cared for him? Yes, sah; I fear so. How could dey help it,
sah? Mor'n one person saw her run down de street and go into massa's old
house just before de carriage stopped thar, and as she didn't come out
again, I 'specs it was from dat big log at the foot of the garden she
jumped into de ribber. All de folks pities you very much, sah--'

"I choked him off with a look.

"'Who has been sent after Mr. and Mrs. Urquhart to inform them of what
has happened?'

"'No one yet, sah. But Massa Hatton--'

"'Mr. Hatton is an old man. We must have a young one for this business.
Go saddle me the quickest horse in your stables. I will ride after them,
and overtake them, too, before they can reach Poughkeepsie. He shall
know--'

"A glance from the negro's eye warned me to be careful. I smothered my
impatience and let only my earnestness appear.

"'Mrs. Urquhart ought to know that her cousin is dead,' I declared.

"'I'll tell Massa Hatton,' said the black.

"But my caution was now too much aroused for me to make Mr. Hatton the
medium of my request--he was Mrs. Urquhart's old guardian and future
agent; and subduing the extreme fury of my feelings, I obtained his
permission to act as his messenger. Had he known of the letter which had
been thrown into my window, he might not have given his consent so
freely; but I had told no man of that, and he and others saw me ride
away without a seeming suspicion of the murderous thoughts that
struggled with my grief, and almost overwhelmed it.

"For to me her death--if she were dead--was the result of a compact
entered into with the despicable Urquhart, who, if he could not have her
for himself, was willing she should go where no other man could have
her. Though the idea seemed quixotic, though it be an anomaly in human
experience, for a woman thus to sacrifice herself, I could not ascribe
any other motive to her deed; for the memory of that interview she had
held with her cousin's future husband in the garden was still fresh in
my mind. Do you remember the words as told me by the negro who overheard
them? First, the question from