had the handsome little gentleman, after promising so fairly, failed to
perform his errand? This last doubt wronged Mirabel. He had engaged to
return to the doctor's house; and he kept his word.

Doctor Allday was at home again, and was seeing patients. Introduced
in his turn, Mirabel had no reason to complain of his reception. At the
same time, after he had stated the object of his visit, something odd
began to show itself in the doctor's manner.

He looked at Mirabel with an appearance of uneasy curiosity; and he
contrived an excuse for altering the visitor's position in the room, so
that the light fell full on Mirabel's face.

"I fancy I must have seen you," the doctor said, "at some former time."

"I am ashamed to say I don't remember it," Mirabel answered.

"Ah, very likely I'm wrong! I'll call on Miss Emily, sir, you may depend
on it."

Left in his consulting-room, Doctor Allday failed to ring the bell which
summoned the next patient who was waiting for him. He took his diary
from the table drawer, and turned to the daily entries for the past
month of July.

Arriving at the fifteenth day of the month, he glanced at the first
lines of writing: "A visit from a mysterious lady, calling herself Miss
Jethro. Our conference led to some very unexpected results."

No: that was not what he was in search of. He looked a little lower
down: and read on regularly, from that point, as follows:

"Called on Miss Emily, in great anxiety about the discoveries which
she might make among her aunt's papers. Papers all destroyed, thank
God--except the Handbill, offering a reward for discovery of the
murderer, which she found in the scrap-book. Gave her back the Handbill.
Emily much surprised that the wretch should have escaped, with such
a careful description of him circulated everywhere. She read the
description aloud to me, in her nice clear voice: 'Supposed age between
twenty-five and thirty years. A well-made man of small stature. Fai
r complexion, delicate features, clear blue eyes. Hair light, and
cut rather short. Clean shaven, with the exception of narrow
half-whiskers'--and so on. Emily at a loss to understand how the
fugitive could disguise himself. Reminded her that he could effectually
disguise his head and face (with time to help him) by letting his hair
grow long, and cultivating his beard. Emily not convinced, even by this
self-evident view of the case. Changed the subject."

The doctor put away his diary, and