widow lady with a
small family and a large purse. He may alter his mind, but that's his
present intention.'

Here Mr. Kornicker concluded his rather extraordinary soliloquy by
plunging his hands in his pockets, and dropping into a subdued whistle; in
the course of which his thoughts seemed to have taken altogether a
different channel; for it was not long before he said, as if in
continuance of some unuttered train of thought:

'Well, old fellow, I promised you to look after your girl, although you
didn't seem much struck with the offer. But I'll stick to my promise;
although, to tell the truth, I don't exactly know how to commence. But
nothing will be done by sitting on this bundle. So I'll to my work at
once.'

He rose up hastily, and was descending the stairs when he abruptly turned
back, went up to his luggage, and after eyeing it for a minute, said:

'It's a hazardous business to leave you here. You can't be distrained on,
nor levied on, because you're exempt by law. So you are safe from
landlords and creditors; the law makes you exempt from being stolen too;
but thieves consider themselves like members of parliament, out of the
reach of law. There's the rub. You might be stolen; and I very much regret
to say, that the gentleman who should lay violent hands on you would walk
off with all my goods, chattels, lands, tenements, and hereditaments; but
I've no where to take you, and as I expect to sleep in this entry, you
must take your chance. So, good bye, old acquaintance, in case you and I
should never meet again.'

Having in a very grave manner shaken one corner of the counterpane, as if
it were the hand of an old friend, he gave his head a sudden jerk, to
settle his hat in the right place, and descended the stairs.

The task which Kornicker had imposed upon himself was by no means easy;
but firm in his purpose of fulfilling his promise, he shut his eyes to all
difficulties, and commenced his pursuit.

The first place to which he went was the prison, for he hoped that the
keeper of it might know something about her, or that she might have left
her address there, in case her father wished to see her when he was
imprisoned. But he was disappointed. They could tell him nothing, except
that Rust neither asked for her, nor mentioned her, and had always refused
to see her. She had never succeeded in gaining admittance to him, except
on the night of his death, when the jailer, a fellow unfit for his office,
for he