the usual gossip about local affairs. They heard her cry out, and saw her turn deadly pale, without the slightest apparent reason. Mrs Todd and Mrs Clements took her upstairs, and Mrs Clements remained with her. They were heard talking together until long after the usual bedtime, and early this morning Mrs Clements took Mrs Todd aside, and amazed her beyond all power of expression by saying that they must go. The only explanation Mrs Todd could extract from her guest was, that something had happened, which was not the fault of any one at the farmhouse, but which was serious enough to make Anne Catherick resolve to leave Limmeridge immediately. It was quite useless to press Mrs Clements to be more explicit. She only shook her head, and said that, for Anne's sake, she must beg and pray that no one would question her. All she could repeat, with every appearance of being seriously agitated herself, was that Anne must go, that she must go with her, and that the destination to which they might both betake themselves must be kept a secret from everybody. I spare you the recital of Mrs Todd's hospitable remonstrances and refusals. It ended in her driving them both to the nearest station, more than three hours since. She tried hard on the way to get them to speak more plainly, but without success; and she set them down outside the station-door, so hurt and offended by the unceremonious abruptness of their departure and their unfriendly reluctance to place the least confidence in her, that she drove away in anger, without so much as stopping to bid them good-bye. That is exactly what has taken place. Search your own memory, Mr Hartright, and tell me if anything happened in the burial-ground yesterday evening which can at all account for the extraordinary departure of those two women this morning.'

`I should like to account first, Miss Halcombe, for the sudden change in Anne Catherick which alarmed them at the farmhouse, hours after she and I had parted, and when time enough had elapsed to quiet any violent agitation that I might have been unfortunate enough to cause. Did you inquire particularly about the gossip which was going on in the room when she turned faint?'

`Yes. But Mrs Todd's household affairs seem to have divided her attention that evening with the talk in the farmhouse parlour. She could only tell me that it was ``just the news,'' -- meaning, I suppose, that they all talked as usual about each other.'

`The dairymaid's memory may be better than her mother's,' I said. `It may be as well for you to speak to the girl, Miss Halcombe, as soon as we get back.'

My suggestion was acted on the moment we returned to the house. Miss Halcombe led me round to the servants' offices, and we found the girl in the dairy, with her sleeves tucked up to her shoulders, cleaning a large milk-pan and singing blithely over her work.

`I have brought this gentleman to see your dairy, Hannah,' said Miss Halcombe. `It is one of the sights of the house, and it always does you credit.'

The girl blushed and curtseyed, and said shyly that she hoped she always did her best to keep things neat and clean.

`We have just come from your father's,' Miss Halcombe continued. `You were there yesterday evening, I hear, and you found visitors at the house?'

`Yes, miss.'

`One of them was taken faint and ill, I am told? I suppose nothing was said or done to frighten her? You were not talking of anything very terrible, were you?'

`Oh no, miss!' said the girl, laughing. `We were only talking of the news.'

`Your sisters told you the news at Todd's Corner, I suppose?'

Yes, miss.