“Oh, no,” said she, “I know the way.”  And with her hands still in her pockets, from one of which protruded a rolled-up novel, she walked down to the little stream which ran from the spring, crossed the plank and took the path which led by the side of the vineyard to Pine Top Hill.

This lady visitor had now been here two days waiting for the return of the mistress of the little estate; and the sojourn had evidently been of benefit to her.  Good air, the good meals with which Letty had provided her, and a sort of sympathy which had sprung up in a very sudden way between her and everything on the place, had given brightness to her eyes.  She even looked a little plumper than when she came, and certainly very pretty.  She climbed Pine Top Hill without making any mistake as to the best path, and went directly to a low piece of sun-warmed rock which cropped out from the ground not far from the bases of the cluster of pines which gave the name to the hill.  An extended and very pretty view could be had from this spot, and Mrs Null seemed to enjoy it, looking about her with quick turns of the head as if she wanted to satisfy herself that all of the scenery was there.  Apparently satisfied that it was, she stretched out her feet, withdrew her gaze from the surrounding country, and regarded the toes of her boots.  Now she smiled a little and began to speak.

“Freddy,” said she, “I must think over matters, and have a talk with you about them.  Nothing could be more proper than this, since we are on our wedding tour.  You keep beautifully in the background, which is very nice of you, for that’s what I married you for.  But we must have a talk now, for we haven’t said a word to each other, nor, perhaps, thought of each other during the whole three nights and two days that we have been here.  I expect these people think it very queer that I should keep on waiting for their mistress to come back, but I can’t help it; I must stay till she comes, or he comes, and they must continue to think it funny.  And as for Mr Croft, I suppose I should get a letter from him if he knew where to write, but you know, Freddy, we are travelling about on this wedding tour without letting anybody, especially Mr Croft, know exactly where we are.  He must think it an awfully wonderful piece of good luck that a young married couple should happen to be journeying in the very direction taken by a gentleman whom he wants to find, and that they are willing to look for the gentleman without charging anything but the extra expenses to which they may be put.  We wouldn’t charge him a cent, you know, Freddy Null, but for the fear that he would think we would not truly act as his agents if we were not paid, and so would employ somebody else.  We don’t want him to employ anybody else.  We want to find Junius Keswick before he does, and then, maybe, we won’t want Mr Croft to find him at all.  But I hope it will not turn out that way.  He said, it was neither crime nor