Early in the morning Mirabel set forth for Redwood Hall, in oneof the vehicles which Mrs. Delvin still kept at "The Clink" forthe convenience of visitors. He returned soon after noon; havingobtained information of the whereabout of Mrs. Rook and herhusband. When they had last been heard of, they were at Lasswade,near Edinburgh. Whether they had, or had not, obtained thesituation of which they were in search, neither Miss Redwood norany one else at the Hall could tell.

In half an hour more, another horse was harnessed, and Mirabelwas on his way to the railway station at Belford, to follow Mrs.Rook at Emily's urgent request. Before his departure, he had aninterview with his sister.

Mrs. Delvin was rich enough to believe implicitly in the power ofmoney. Her method of extricating her brother from the seriousdifficulties that beset him, was to make it worth the while ofMr. and Mrs. Rook to leave England. Their passage to Americawould be secretly paid; and they would take with them a letter ofcredit addressed to a banker in New York. If Mirabel failed todiscover them, after they had sailed, Emily could not blame hiswant of devotion to her interests. He understood this; but heremained desponding and irresolute, even with the money in hishands. The one person who could rouse his courage and animate hishope, was also the one person who must know nothing of what hadpassed between his sister and himself. He had no choice but toleave Emily, without being cheered by her bright looks,invigorated by her inspiriting words. Mirabel went away on hisdoubtful errand with a heavy heart.

"The Clink" was so far from the nearest post town, that the fewletters, usually addressed to the tower, were delivered byprivate arrangement with a messenger. The man's punctualitydepended on the convenience of his superiors employed at theoffice. Sometimes he arrived early, and sometimes he arrivedlate. On this particular morning he presented himself, at halfpast one o'clock, with a letter for Emily; and when Mrs.Ellmother smartly reproved him for the delay, he coollyattributed it to the hospitality of friends whom he had met onthe road.

The letter, directed to Emily at the cottage, had been forwardedfrom London by the person left in charge. It addressed her as"Honored Miss." She turned at once to the end--and discovered thesignature of Mrs. Rook!

"And Mr. Mirabel has gone, "Emily exclaimed, "just when hispresence is of the greatest importance to us!"

Shrewd Mrs. Ellmother suggested that it might be as well to readthe letter first--and then to form an opinion.

Emily read it.

"Lasswade, nearEdinburgh, Sept. 26th.

"HONORED MISS--I take up my pen to bespeak your kind sympathy formy husband and myself; two old people thrown on the world againby the death of our excellent master. We are under a month'snotice to leave Redwood Hall.

"Hearing of a situation at this place (also that our expenseswould be paid if we applied personally), we got leave of absence,and made our application. The lady and her son are either thestingiest people that ever lived--or they have taken a dislike tome and my husband, and they make money a means of getting rid ofus easily. Suffice it to say that we have refused to acceptstarvation wages, and that we are still out of place. It is justpossible that you may have heard of something to suit us. So Iwrite at once, knowing that good chances are often lost throughneedless delay.

"We stop at Belford on our way back, to see some friends of myhusband, and we hope to get to Redwood Hall in good time on the28th. Would you please address me to care of Miss Redwood, incase you know of any good situation for which we could apply.Perhaps we may be driven to try our luck in London. In this case,will you permit me to have the honor of presenting my respects,as I ventured to propose when I wrote to you a little time since.

"I beg to remain, Honored Miss,

"Your humbleservant,

"R.ROOK."

Emily handed the letter to Mrs. Ellmother. "Read it," she said,"and tell me what you think."

"I think you had better be careful."

"Careful of Mrs. Rook?"

"Yes--and careful of Mrs. Delvin too."

Emily was astonished. "Are you really speaking seriously?" shesaid. "Mrs. Delvin is a most interesting person; so patient underher sufferings; so kind, so clever; so interested in all thatinterests _me_. I shall take the letter to her at once, and askher advice."

"Have your own way, miss. I can't tell you why--but I don't likeher!"

Mrs. Delvin's devotion to the interests of her guest took evenEmily by surprise. After reading Mrs. Rook's letter, she rang thebell on her table in a frenzy of impatience. "My brother must beinstantly recalled," she said. "Telegraph to him in your ownname, telling him what has happened. He will find the messagewaiting for him, at the end of his journey."

The groom, summoned by the bell, was ordered to saddle the thirdand last horse left in the stables; to take the telegram toBelford, and to wait there until the answer arrived.

"How far is it to Redwood Hall?" Emily asked, when the man hadreceived his orders.

"Ten miles," Mrs. Delvin answered.

"How can I get there to-day?"

"My dear, you can't get there."

"Pardon me, Mrs. Delvin, I must get there."

"Pardon _me_. My brother represents you in this matter. Leave itto my brother."

The tone taken by Mirabel's sister was positive, to say the leastof it. Emily thought of what her faithful old servant had said,and began to doubt her own discretion in so readily showing theletter. The mistake--if a mistake it was--had however beencommitted; and, wrong or right, she was not disposed to occupythe subordinate position which Mrs. Delvin had assigned to her.

"If you will look at Mrs. Rook's letter again," Emily replied,"you will see that I ought to answer it. She supposes I am inLondon."

"Do you propose to tell Mrs. Rook that you are in this house?"Mrs. Delvin asked.

"Certainly."

"You had better consult my brother, before you take anyresponsibility on yourself."

Emily kept her temper. "Allow me to remind you," she said, "thatMr. Mirabel is not acquainted with Mrs. Rook--and that I am. If Ispeak to her personally, I can do much to assist the object ofour inquiries, before he returns. She is not an easy woman todeal with--"

"And therefore," Mrs. Delvin interposed, "the sort of person whorequires careful handling by a man like my brother--a man of theworld."

"The sort of person, as I venture to think," Emily persisted,"whom I ought to see with as little loss of time as possible."

Mrs. Delvin waited a while before she replied. In her conditionof health, anxiety was not easy to bear. Mrs. Rook's letter andEmily's obstinacy had seriously irritated her. But, like allpersons of ability, she was capable, when there was seriousoccasion for it, of exerting self-control. She really liked andadmired Emily; and, as the elder woman and the hostess, she setan example of forbearance and good humor.

"It is out of my power to send you to Redwood Hall at once," sheresumed. "The only one of my three horses now at your disposal isthe horse which took my brother to the Hall this morning. Adistance, there and back, of twenty miles. You are not in toogreat a hurry, I am sure, to allow the horse time to rest?"

Emily made her excuses with perfect grace and sincerity. "I hadno idea the distance was so great," she confessed. "I will wait,dear Mrs. Delvin, as long as you like."

They parted as good friends as ever--with a certain reserve,nevertheless, on either side. Emily's eager nature was depressedand irritated by the prospect of delay. Mrs. Delvin, on the otherhand (devoted to her brother's interests), thought hopefully ofobstacles which might present themselves with the lapse of time.The horse might prove to be incapable of further exertion forthat day. Or the threatening aspect of the weather might end in astorm.

But the hours passed--and the sky cleared--and the horse wasreported to be fit for work again. Fortune was against the ladyof the tower; she had no choice but to submit.

Mrs. Delvin had just sent word to Emily that the carriage wouldbe ready for her in ten minutes, when the coachman who had drivenMirabel to Belford returned. He brought news which agreeablysurprised both the ladies. Mirabel had reached the station fiveminutes too late; the coachman had left him waiting the arrivalof the next train to the North. He would now receive thetelegraphic message at Belford, and might return immediately bytaking the groom's horse. Mrs. Delvin left it to Emily to decidewhether she would proceed by herself to Redwood Hall, or wait forMirabel's return.

Under the changed circumstances, Emily would have actedungraciously if she had persisted in holding to her firstintention. She consented to wait.

The sea still remained calm. In the stillness of the moorlandsolitude on the western side of "The Clink," the rapid steps of ahorse were heard at some little distance on the highroad.

Emily ran out, followed by careful Mrs. Ellmother, expecting tomeet Mirabel.

She was disappointed: it was the groom who had returned. As hepulled up at the house, and dismounted, Emily noticed that theman looked excited.

"Is there anything wrong?" she asked.

"There has been an accident, miss."

"Not to Mr. Mirabel!''

"No, no, miss. An accident to a poor foolish woman, travelingfrom Lasswade."

Emily looked at Mrs. Ellmother. "It can't be Mrs. Rook!" shesaid.

"That's the name, miss! She got out before the train had quitestopped, and fell on the platform."

"Was she hurt?"

"Seriously hurt, as I heard. They carried her into a house hardby--and sent for the doctor."

"Was Mr. Mirabel one of the people who helped her?"

"He was on the other side of the platform, miss; waiting for thetrain from London. I got to the station and gave him thetelegram, just as the accident took place. We crossed over tohear more about it. Mr. Mirabel was telling me that he wouldreturn to 'The Clink' on my horse--when he heard the woman's namementioned. Upon that, he changed his mind and went to the house."

"Was he let in?"

"The doctor wouldn't hear of it. He was making his examination;and he said nobody was to be in the room but her husband and thewoman of the house."

"Is Mr. Mirabel waiting to see her?"

"Yes, miss. He said he would wait all day, if necessary; and hegave me this bit of a note to take to the mistress."

Emily turned to Mrs. Ellmother. "It's impossible to stay here,not knowing whether Mrs. Rook is going to live or die," she said."I shall go to Belford--and you will go with me."

The groom interfered. "I beg your pardon, miss. It was Mr.Mirabel's most particular wish that you were not, on any account,to go to Belford."

"Why not?"

"He didn't say."

Emily eyed the note in the man's hand with well-groundeddistrust. In all probability, Mirabel's object in writing was toinstruct his sister to prevent her guest from going to Belford.The carriage was waiting at the door. With her usual promptnessof resolution, Emily decided on taking it for granted that shewas free to use as she pleased a carriage which had been alreadyplaced at her disposal.

"Tell your mistress," she said to the groom, "that I am going toBelford instead of to Redwood Hall."

In a minute more, she and Mrs. Ellmother were on their way tojoin Mirabel at the station.