familiar as he was with every crevice of his dearly-loved resort, having closed the door on the inside, shady without difficulty lowered a large lantern, that hung from the centre of the roof, and lit two of the candles ranged within it. by degrees the stranger's eyes, at first dazzled by daylight, were able to discern something of what was around. the walls, the roof, and the floor, were all of dark polished oak—the roof richly carved; books and vellum rolls in antique cases, all of the same dark wood, left little of the walls uncovered. amid objects so sombre, the feeble rays of the lantern, which shady had now drawn up, were of little use.

'i never saw a better effect of darkness,' said the stranger; 'but is there no possibility of letting daylight in here? i would rather read some of these books by the sun than by yonder lantern.'

shady pointed out to him that the windows, high and small, were boarded up.

'this,' said his companion, pointing to a library ladder, 'this would reach one; if i loosened a board i could easily replace it; may i do so?'

shady demurred. it would take time; he had already been too long from his duties—sir valary might require him; not adding his conviction, that mrs. gillies would rate him soundly for not being in time to carry in the dinner—a service he always performed.

'leave me,' said the stranger; 'trust me with this key, or lock me in; there is much here that i should like to examine; come to me when you will, when you can; an hour, or hours hence, will do for me.'

again there was a conflict in shady's mind; the inhospitality of locking him up among paper and vellum, at a time when his own appetite was reminding him that nature required support of another kind, was repugnant to his feelings; yet, to have him so secured was a convenience of which he saw the value. after a short pause, he said he would return as quickly as he could, and, locking the door on the outside, went somewhat nervously to present himself to the housekeeper. happily for him, the lengthened stay of dr. cruden had saved him from wrath on account of his protracted absence.

'i am glad you are come,' said mrs. gillies; 'it is a long talk the doctor is having to-day, and there's robinson been all the time holding his horse, and nobody to clean a knife, for the little there is to cut.'

shady quietly began gathering up the knives, intending to release robinson from his post, when dr. cruden and miss de la mark, in deep conversation, crossed the courtyard and met him at its entrance. in a moment of weakness he slipped the knives into his pocket, as he could, and with a low bow stood deferentially until they had passed. they had scarcely done so when the doctor turned suddenly round, saying, 'why, here is higgs; you could not have a better person than higgs.'

'how could i forget him?' said marjory.

'higgs, i want some private talk with you,' said the doctor.

'higgs,' said the doctor, 'i want some private talk with you; we can neither be overlooked nor overheard here,' he continued, looking round.

'entirely secluded, sir, from all observation,' said higgs, with another low bow.

'here, then,' said the doctor, pointing to an ancient cross, surmounting some broad stone steps, 'let us sit here;' and placing miss de la mark on the higher step, and seating himself by her side, he pointed to the lower one, telling shady to sit down. shady preferred standing, for two reasons; one was, that it seemed little less than treason in him to sit in such a presence; the other, he had apprehensions as to the kind of cushion his pocket would afford, with its present contents.

'you must come close,' said the doctor; 'we don't want what we say to be caught by the birds of the air.'

'the library, dr. cruden,' said marjory; 'shall we go to the library?'

how unfortunate! during the many years that shady higgs had been librarian, he had never received an order connected with his post that he did not hail with delight. now he fell back, and looked almost reproachfully at marjory, she having been the means of bringing them into the dilemma in which he now stood. but the doctor did not observe his looks. 'by all means, the library,' he said; 'we are sure to be safe there;' and assisting marjory down, he led her with a quick step towards it, shady following irresolutely. opening the door, he expected to hear the stranger's voice immediately, in salutation; but all was silent, and the glimmer of the lantern nowhere revealed a human form. no boards appeared to have been removed; and as shady nervously cast his eyes into the remoter parts, where the shadows were the thickest, he was equally perplexed and relieved to find nothing but vacancy. 'he must be in the room,' he thought, 'but where?'

'now, higgs,' said the doctor, 'you keep your favourite haunt lighted: i wish i could hope it was dusted; we are at any rate safe now. i want you to answer me some questions. you have a grandmother?'

'softly,' said shady, looking round.

'well, i'm not going to say any harm of her,' said the doctor; 'so you need not be afraid of her coming. where is she?'

shady looked with an expression of innocent surprise. 'my grandmother elizabeth?' he asked.

'yes; commonly called bet eggs,' said the doctor.

'is she not dead?' his large eyes dilating with a questioning look, which dr. cruden could not quite understand.

'ay; is she, or is she not? that is the point.'

'i have been given to believe she died,' said shady, quite forgetting the stranger, in the interest this question had excited in him.

'do you believe it?' asked the doctor.

'why should i not?'

'no evasions,' said the doctor, rather sharply; 'answer me plainly. is she living?'

'sir,' said shady, glancing at marjory, 'at another time i might speak of this—'

'this time—now,' said the doctor; 'the truth is, higgs, she is not dead, and you know it, and you know why her existence is concealed, and you know—'

'sir,' said shady drawing himself to his full height, 'pardon me if i am wanting in duty, that i contradict you. i know nothing of what you have said.'

'has bloodworth never spoken to you concerning her?'

'it is seldom we converse, and never with my will, excepting on the household business.'

'how many years is it since you saw her?'

'twenty—when she crossed the sea, to wait on some noble lady following her husband.'

'how long since you received the report of her death?'

'i think it may be about a twelvemonth.'

'well, you have at least reason to doubt the truth of that report?' he was silent.

'higgs,' said the doctor, 'you have now an opportunity of proving the truth of your fidelity and affection to sir valary. it is of the utmost importance to ascertain, whether your grandmother is alive or dead. what light can you throw upon the matter?'

'well, if i offend my young lady's ears in what i say, the blame be far from me,' he answered, with a sigh. 'when my grandmother elizabeth had finished the work of nursing my young lady, an ill feeling was raised against her by some means in the breast of my gracious lady, her honourable mother. i well remember, though i was then but a youth, her tears and complaints—yes, and bitter vows of vengeance too, against the one that had done her this wrong. i grieved for her, for, though she was harsh and choleric in temper, she had well supplied the place of parents to me, and i was grateful. a place was provided for her, and the disgrace in which she left was unknown to any, save the few concerned in it. i well remember her words the last time i saw her.'

'what were they?' said the doctor quickly.

'she told me (my young lady will pardon me), she had more power to injure than her enemies had power to injure her; and nothing but her love for my young lady would have kept her quiet. "if they desert you," she said, "i will come back before they expect, and do right to the wronged."'

'anything else?'

'much of the same sort.'

'and how did you get the account of her death?'

'it was reported in the neighbourhood, some time before a letter came from dusseldorf, written by the person in whose house she died, and containing certificates of her death from the doctor and a lutheran minister.'

'did you credit these reports?'

'i did.'

'but have you had anything since to shake your confidence in them?'

'last summer,' said shady, 'my young lady will remember the visit of a german pedlar?'

marjory assented. 'looking among his wares for a suitable offering for my young lady for the next new year's day, i found a small purse of beads, bearing on one side the initials e. h., and on the other side the crest of de la mark; the snap and the trimmings were new; but by the beadwork i recognised it was no other than a purse given in days of favour by my lady de la mark to my grandmother. i questioned the pedlar as to how he became possessed of it. he told me he had bought it, with some other trifles, of an aged woman who was in difficulty and wanted to raise money. i then asked him to describe the person, and how long it was since he had seen her. his description differed from what she was at our parting—'bent and feeble' for strong and upright, 'snow-white hair' for raven black; but years and sorrow may have done this. he had seen her some ten months back. since then, i confess a vague suspicion has crossed my mind as to the truth of her death.'

'and how was it you did not name this?'

'it never arose to more than suspicion; her things, no doubt, passed into other hands after her death, if she died. i love quietness, and would not make marvels.'

'do you think bloodworth had any hand in the offence taken by lady de la mark?'

'bloodworth is a sacrilegious man,' said shady; 'his evil deeds known are enough. i would not lay suspicions at his door.'

'well, higgs, i tell you it is of the greatest consequence that your grandmother, if living, should be produced; and i believe you are the most likely person to find her. will you go over to the place where she is said to have died, and ascertain for us the facts, finding out, if possible, the persons who signed the certificate, and, indeed, all facts necessary for substantiating either her death or her life? and in the meantime keep your mission a perfect secret from every one. i will prepare everything. you will be sent with a message to me when i am ready for you, and the cause of your detention must be known to no one.'

shady was aghast, and far too much surprised to answer.

'this is settled, then. so far, so good,' said the doctor, rising. 'now, mr. shady, let us out of this black hole.'

marjory looked doubtingly, as shady stooped down to unfasten the door; she felt that dr. cruden was mistaken, and that many things conspired to make him unfit for the important mission imposed on him. a book falling at her feet startled her into a slight cry.

'what! are your books alive, higgs?' said the doctor, picking it up, 'flying about the place like bats.'

shady instantly recollected the stranger. while he was debating as to the course he should pursue, a voice from the top of the room, which marjory recognised, said, 'pardon the intrusion of a friend;' and the stranger descended the ladder. a more curious group can hardly be imagined than that on which the light of the lantern now fell; the slight, small form of marjory, her face pale with fatigue, anxiety, and now with something like terror; the parchment-like visage of dr. cruden, his periwig and hat both rather displaced by stooping for the book; shady, the very picture of astonishment and mortification; and the stranger, the only one of the whole who appeared noways discomfited by his presence among them.

'mr. higgs, don't distress yourself; you have done good service to the house of de la mark this day, though inadvertently,' said the stranger. 'i don't fear receiving a full pardon from you, madam, and from you, sir,' bowing to them respectively, 'when i have disclosed a few facts. shall we return to the council table?'

the doctor, putting one hand through the breast of his waistcoat, and the other under his coat tails, his favourite attitude in delivering a lecture, surveyed him from head to foot. regardless of the scrutiny, he placed himself at the table, and began thus; 'elizabeth higgs is dead—i saw her burial.'

they looked incredulous, but none spoke.

'i was in dusseldorf at the time, and knew the lutheran minister who attended her. she died in peace with all men, and fervently desiring a blessing on the infant she had left,' bowing to marjory, 'and praying heartily for her grandson. i happened to be confined to the house from an accident at the time, and saw much of her, for we lodged under the same roof. a little kind sympathy with her sufferings from a fellow countryman opened her heart, and she unburdened it to me of every secret that had distressed her—a revelation i have never confided to human ear, and will not, until it shall be for the benefit of those whom it concerns. but rest satisfied; she is dead, and your mission useless.'

the doctor's surprise at all that he had just heard had prevented him from interrupting the stranger with any questions; but now that he saw he had told all that he meant to tell, he said, 'you will excuse me, sir; it is possible that all you have advanced may be perfectly correct; and i am far from wishing to offend you or any gentleman in so near a point as doubting veracity; but you will please to remember that the subject having been so amply discussed in your hearing, and you being a perfect stranger to us, it is natural that we should look for something—some confirming evidence—before trusting implicitly to you; and also, it would be pleasant to know who our informant is, and, i may add, how he came to drop upon us so opportunely.'

the stranger, looking calmly and steadily at him, replied, 'for my presence here, i refer you to miss de la mark. i am a world-wide wanderer, without a settled home as yet. i can give you no proof that i have advanced the truth now. i do not blame you for being sceptical; but, according to human maxims, you may believe me, since i have no interest in deceiving you.'

if he would only trust the doctor with some of bet eggs' revelations. the stranger shook his head. 'in due time, when i am wanted, you may depend upon me: it is not whim, but necessity, that keeps me silent.'

'answer me one thing,' said the doctor. 'did the widow higgs confine herself to her own history, or—or—'

'come, mr. higgs,' said the stranger, 'advance—i shall beg for a night's lodging in yonder gallery.'

'he is impenetrable,' thought the doctor.

'i think the portrait of the nurse is hanging there, isn't it, carrying an infant?'

his three hearers exchanged glances quickly.

he smiled. 'there,' he said, 'is evidence for you.'

'strange,' said dr. cruden; and shady advanced to the door. all attempts on the part of the doctor to induce the stranger to return to his house and become his guest were unavailing.

'no,' he replied; 'i will be sir valary's guest, though he shall not know it. my plaid is an excellent soldier's bed, and i shall sleep soundly among the shadows of the house of de la mark.'

'i really believe he is a true man,' said the doctor to marjory, as they walked towards the tower, shady following to obtain the keys.

'there is a frankness in his manner,' replied marjory, 'that quite fascinated me when i first met him.'