"Oh, you can't go into the tower, sir; at least" She hesitated a moment, evidently looking for an excuse, and then went on—"at least, in my father's absence. If you will come hither to-morrow, or—or" Tregenna noticed that at this point she sought the eyes of the woman with whom she had been talking, and who had withdrawn respectfully to a distance of some paces on his approach. "Or the day after. 'Tis a fair view, certainly, when there's no mist on the marshes; but hardly worth the trouble of climbing our staircase, which is encumbered by much lumber of my father's," she ended somewhat lamely, but recovering her composure.
Tregenna did not at once answer, but he glanced at the house with a scrutinizing eye. The western portion of the building, which was most modest in dimensions, had been the banqueting-hall of a mansion as far back as the time of King John. It had since that time gone through many vicissitudes, and was now divided into small chambers, with the ancient king-post of the banqueting-hall spreading its wide beams through the upper story. On the east side of the dwelling an addition had
