come?" inquired the young vicar, curiously, "He must keep
himself pretty close by daylight; for I have passed and repassed Ivy
Cottage at least half a dozen times a day, and have never caught a
glimpse of any one;" to which Phillis replied reluctantly that he had
not been there long,--that he wanted rest and quiet, and was most
likely an invalid.

"And his name is Dancy, you say?"

Phillis bowed. She was far too much taken up in her work to volunteer
unnecessary words; and all this maternal fuss and fidget was odious to
her.

"Then I will go and call upon him this very afternoon," returned
Archie, with cheerful alacrity. He had no idea that his curiosity on
the subject was disagreeable to the girl: so he and Mrs. Challoner
discussed the matter fully, and at some length. "I don't like the
description of your mysterious stranger, Miss Challoner," he said,
laughing, as he stood up to take his leave. "When novelists want to
paint a villain, they generally bring in a long cloak and beard, and
sometimes a disguising pair of blue spectacles. Well, I will catch him
by daylight, and see what I can make of him."

"You may disguise a face, but you cannot disguise a voice," returned
Phillis, bluntly. "I do not want to see Mr. Dancy to know he is a
gentleman and a true man." And this speech, that piqued Archie, though
he did not know why, made him all the more bent on calling on Mrs.
Williams's lodger.

But Mr. Drummond's curiosity was destined to be baffled. Mrs. Williams
turned very red when she heard the vicar's inquiries.

"You never told me you had let your rooms," he said, reproachfully;
"and yet you know I always make a practice of calling on your
lodgers."

"'Deed and it is very kind and thoughtful of you, too," returned the
good woman, dropping an old-fashioned courtesy; "and me that prizes my
clergyman's visits and thinks no end of them! But Mr. Dancy he says to
me, 'Now, my good Mrs. Williams, I have come here for quiet,--for
absolute quiet; and I do not want to see or hear of any one. Tell no
tales about me, and leave me in peace; and then we shall get on
together.' And it was more than I ventured to give you the hint,
hearing him speak so positive; for he is a bit masterful, and no
mistake."

"Well, never mind; a clergyman never intrudes, and I will thank you to
take Mr. Dancy my card," returned Archie, impatiently; but his look of
assurance soon faded when Mrs. Williams returned with her lodger's
complimen