sigh
of relief escaped him as he remembered that the nose of the picture in
his brother's room was neither long nor large.

Still Harold might be mistaken, and though he had no good cause for
believing that the woman lying dead in the Tramp House was Gretchen,
there was a horrible feeling in his heart, while a lump came into his
throat and affected his speech, which was thick and indistinct, as he
rose from his chair at last and said to John:

'We have no time to lose. Hitch up the horses to the long sleigh as
quick as you can. We must go to the Tramp House after the woman, and
send to the village for a doctor, and telegraph to Springfield for the
coroner. I suppose there must be an inquest; and, Dolly, see that a room
is prepared for the body.'

'Oh, Frank, must it come here? Why not take it to the cottage? The child
is there,' Mrs. Tracy said, not because she cared so much for the
trouble, but because of her aversion to having the corpse of a stranger
in the house, with all that it involved.

'I tell you that woman must come here,' was Frank's decided reply, as he
began to make himself ready for the ride.

'Don't tell Arthur yet,' he said, as he left the house and took his seat
in the sleigh, which was soon ploughing its way through the snow banks
in the direction of the Tramp House.

It was Harold who acted as master of ceremonies, for John was nervous
and hung back from the half open door, while Frank was too much unstrung
to know just what he was doing or saying, as he squeezed through the
narrow space and then stood for a moment, snow-blind and dizzy, in the
cheerless room.

Harold was not afraid now. He had been there before alone, had seen and
touched the white face of the corpse, and now, with companionship in its
presence, he went fearlessly up to it, followed by Frank, who could
scarcely stand, and who laid his hand for support on Harold's shoulder,
and then turned curiously and eagerly toward the woman.

John had lingered outside, shovelling the snow from the door which he
succeeded in opening wide, so that the full, broad sunlight fell upon
the face, which was neither young, nor pretty, nor fair, while the hair
was black as night.

Frank noted all these points at a glance, and could have shouted aloud
for joy, so great was the revulsion of his feelings. It was not Gretchen
lying there before him, and he was not a murderer, as he had accused
himself of being, for she did not come by the train; sh