line:--"I beg to inform you
that you are quite right." On reflection, he felt that the second letter
was not only discourteous as a reply to a lady, but also ungrateful
as addressed to Mrs. Payson personally. At the third attempt, he wrote
becomingly as well as briefly. "Sally has passed the night here, as my
guest. She was suffering from severe fatigue; it would have been an act
of downright inhumanity to send her away. I regret your decision, but
of course I submit to it. You once said, you believed implicitly in
the purity of my motives. Do me the justice, however you may blame my
conduct, to believe in me still."

Having despatched these lines, the mind of Amelius was at ease again,
He went into the library, and listened to hear if Sally was moving.
The perfect silence on the other side of the door informed him that the
weary girl was still fast asleep. He gave directions that she was on no
account to be disturbed, and sat down to breakfast by himself.

While he was still at table, Toff appeared, with profound mystery in
his manner, and discreet confidence in the tones of his voice. "Here's
another one, sir!" the Frenchman announced, in his master's ear.

"Another one?" Amelius repeated. "What do you mean?"

"She is not like the sweet little sleeping Miss." Toff explained. "This
time, sir, it's the beauty of the devil himself, as we say in France.
She refuses to confide in me; and she appears to be agitated--both bad
signs. Shall I get rid of her before the other Miss wakes?"

"Hasn't she got a name?" Amelius asked.

Toff answered, in his foreign accent, "One name only--Faybay."

"Do you mean Phoebe?"

"Have I not said it, sir?"

"Show her in directly."

Toff glanced at the door of Sally's room, shrugged his shoulders, and
obeyed his instructions.

Phoebe appeared, looking pale and anxious. Her customary assurance of
manner had completely deserted her: she stopped in the doorway, as if
she was afraid to enter the room.

"Come in, and sit down," said Amelius. "What's the matter?"

"I'm troubled in my mind, sir," Phoebe answered. "I know it's taking
a liberty to come to you. But I went yesterday to ask Miss Regina's
advice, and found she had gone abroad with her uncle. I have something
to say about Mrs. Farnaby, sir; and there's no time to be lost in saying
it. I know of nobody but you that I can speak to, now Miss Regina is
away. The footman told me where you lived."

She stopped, evidently in the g