over the contents. It instantly occurred to him that, if he
permitted this letter to reach its intended destination, the negro would
naturally suspect something wrong, from the fact that he had received
that morning a precisely similar letter; and thus Frank's plan might be
frustrated. On the other hand, it was necessary for Mrs. Sydney to
believe that the letter was safely delivered, in order that she might
still suppose her husband to be ignorant of her amour with the black. In
view of these considerations, Frank put the letter in his pocket, and
then turning to the trembling Susan, said to her, sternly--

'Woman, your agency in this damnable intrigue is known to me, and if you
would save yourself from ruin, you will do as I command you. Remain
concealed in the house for half an hour, and then go to your mistress
and tell her that you have delivered the letter to the black; and say to
her that he sends word in reply, that _should the signal be given
to-night, he will come to her chamber_. And do you, when you hear him
knock thrice upon the gate, admit him, and conduct him to your
mistress's chamber. Do this, and you are forgiven for the part you have
taken in the business; but if you refuse, by the living God you shall
die by my hand!'

'Oh, sir,' sobbed the girl, frightened at the threat, 'I will do all you
wish me to.'

'Then you have nothing to fear--but remember, I am not to be trifled
with.'

Half an hour afterwards, Susan went up to the chamber of her mistress,
and said--

'Well, ma'am, I gave the letter to Nero.'

'And did he send any message?' asked the lady.

'Yes, ma'am,' replied the girl, in obedience to the instructions of
Frank--'he said that if the signal is given to-night, he will come to
your chamber.'

'Very well, Susan--you are a good girl, and here is a dollar for you,'
said the lady, and then added--'you will be sure to admit him when he
knocks?'

'Oh, yes, ma'am,' replied the maid; and thanking her mistress, she
withdrew.

Left alone, the guilty, adulterous woman fell into a voluptuous reverie,
in which she pictured to herself the delights which she anticipated from
her approaching interview with her sable lover. The possibility of her
husband's remaining at home that evening, thereby preventing that
interview, did not once obtrude itself upon her mind--so regularly had
he absented himself from home every night during the preceding two or
three weeks; and as he had never returned be