She had left the Bouncers
singing a duet--words beginning with a large "O," and music to
correspond. She had observed that my lady made mistakes in her game
of whist for the first time in our experience of her. She had seen
the great traveller asleep in a corner. She had overheard Mr. Franklin
sharpening his wits on Mr. Godfrey, at the expense of Ladies' Charities
in general; and she had noticed that Mr. Godfrey hit him back again
rather more smartly than became a gentleman of his benevolent character.
She had detected Miss Rachel, apparently engaged in appeasing Mrs.
Threadgall by showing her some photographs, and really occupied in
stealing looks at Mr. Franklin, which no intelligent lady's maid could
misinterpret for a single instant. Finally, she had missed Mr. Candy,
the doctor, who had mysteriously disappeared from the drawing-room, and
had then mysteriously returned, and entered into conversation with
Mr. Godfrey. Upon the whole, things were prospering better than the
experience of the dinner gave us any right to expect. If we could
only hold on for another hour, old Father Time would bring up their
carriages, and relieve us of them altogether.

Everything wears off in this world; and even the comforting effect of
ROBINSON CRUSOE wore off, after Penelope left me. I got fidgety again,
and resolved on making a survey of the grounds before the rain came.
Instead of taking the footman, whose nose was human, and therefore
useless in any emergency, I took the bloodhound with me. HIS nose for a
stranger was to be depended on. We went all round the premises, and out
into the road--and returned as wise as we went, having discovered no
such thing as a lurking human creature anywhere.

The arrival of the carriages was the signal for the arrival of the rain.
It poured as if it meant to pour all night. With the exception of the
doctor, whose gig was waiting for him, the rest of the company went home
snugly, under cover, in close carriages. I told Mr. Candy that I was
afraid he would get wet through. He told me, in return, that he wondered
I had arrived at my time of life, without knowing that a doctor's skin
was waterproof. So he drove away in the rain, laughing over his own
little joke; and so we got rid of our dinner company.

The next thing to tell is the story of the night.

CHAPTER XI

When the last of the guests had driven away, I went back into the inner
hall and found Samuel at the side-table, presiding ov