ched on the highway a few feet to
the right of the tavern.

"The lane!" exclaimed Mr. Harper. "The lead towards the waterfall was a
feint. It was in this direction she fled, and it is from this point that
search must be made for her."

Ransom, greatly perturbed, for this possibility of secret flight opened
vistas of as much mystery, if not of as much suffering, as her death in
the river, glanced at the sodden ground under their feet, and thus along
the lane to where it lost itself from view among the trees.

"No possible following of steps here," he declared. "A hundred people
must have come this way since early morning."

"It's a short cut from the Ferry. They told me last night that it
lessened the distance by fully a quarter of a mile."

"The Ferry! Can she be there? Or in the woods, or on her way to some
unknown place far out of our reach? The thought is maddening, Mr. Harper,
and I feel as helpless as a child under it. Shall we get detectives from
the county-seat, or start on the hunt ourselves? We might hear something
further on to help us."

"We might; but I should rather stay on the immediate scene at present.
Ah, there comes a fellow in a cart who should be able to tell us
something! Stand by and I'll accost him. You needn't show your face."

Mr. Ransom turned aside. Mr. Harper waited till the slow-moving horse,
dragging a heavily jogging wagon, came alongside, and he had caught the
eye of the low-browed, broad-faced farmer boy who sat on a bag of
potatoes and held the reins.

"Good morning," said he. "Bad news this way. Any better at the Ferry, or
down east, as you call it?"

"Eh?" was the lumbering, half-suspicious answer from the startled boy.
"I've heard naught down yonder, but that a gal threw herself over the
waterfall up here last night. Is that a fact, sir? I'm mighty curus to
know. My mother knew them Hazens; used to wash for 'em years ago. She
told me to bring up these taters and larn all I could about it."

"We don't know much more than that ourselves," was the smooth and
cautious reply. "The lady certainly is missing, and she is supposed to
have drowned herself." Then, as he noted the fellow's eyes resting with
some curiosity on Mr. Ransom's well-clad, gentlemanly figure, added
gravely, and with a slight gesture towards the latter:

"The lady's husband."

The lad's jaw fell and he looked very sheepish.

"Excuse me, misters, I didn't know," he managed to mutter, with a slash
at his ho