e anything peculiar
in the life or habits of Miss Jorgensen, to account for her great
anxiety to get well immediately?"

"She fears to lose her classes, I presume; and there may be other
engagements which are unknown to us." I still had a great reluctance to
saying what I suspected might be troubling Miss Jorgensen.

"Neither of which accounts for all that I observe in her case," returned
the doctor. "What are her connections?--has she any family ties--any
lover, even?"

"I believe she told Mrs. Mason she was engaged to a young man who calls
here twice a week."

"Ah! Do you know where this young man is to be found? It might be best
to communicate with him, in the morning. Possibly he may be able to
dispel this anxious fear of hers, from whatever cause it arises."

I promised the Doctor to speak to Mrs. Mason about it, and he soon after
took leave, having first satisfied himself that the unlucky pistol was
incapable of doing further mischief, and safely hidden from Miss
Jorgensen.

Naturally, the next morning, the table-talk turned upon the incident of
the evening previous.

"She need not tell me that it was an accident," Mr. Quivey was saying,
very decidedly. "She is just the sort of woman for desperate remedies;
and she is tired of living, with that vampire friend of hers draining
her life-blood!"

I confess I felt startled by the correspondence of Quivey's opinion with
my own; for I had heretofore believed that myself and Mrs. Mason were
the only persons who suspected that Hurst was dependent upon Miss
Jorgensen for the means of living. In my surprise I said: "You know that
he does this?"

"I know that Craycroft paid him yesterday for a long translation done by
Miss Jorgensen, and I do not believe he had an order for it, other than
verbal. Craycroft seeing them so much together, paid the money, and took
a receipt."

"Perhaps he paid the money to Mr. Hurst by her instructions, for her own
use," suggested Miss Flower. "But then he did not see her last evening,
did he? I hope he does not rob Miss Jorgensen. Such a delicate little
woman has enough to do to look out for herself, I should think."

"One thing is certain," interposed Mrs. Mason, "Miss Jorgensen does what
she does, and permits what she permits, intelligently; and our
speculations concerning her affairs will not produce a remedy for what
we fancy we see wrong in them." Which hint had the effect of silencing
the discussion for that time.

Before