"You don't say so?" The captain laughed out loud. "How awfully sick Ferris will be. He hates crossing Piccadilly if there's a bit of mud about."
"Poor Mr. Ferris!" And the two went on, picking their way on the rough path, till they came in sight of a little old cottage sunken alone in a hollow amongst the woods.
"Oh, you must come and see Mrs. Wise," said Miss Custance. "She's such a dear old thing, I'm sure you'd fall in love with her. And she'd never forgive me if she heard afterwards that we'd passed so close without coming in. Only for five minutes, you know."
"Certainly, Miss Custance. Is that the old lady there at the door?"
"Yes. She's always been so good to us children, and I know she'll talk of our coming to see her for months. You don't mind, do you?"
"I shall be charmed, I'm sure," and he looked back once more to see if there were any appearance of Ferris and his party.
"Sit down, Miss Ethel, sit down, please, miss," said the old woman when they went in. "And please to sit down here, sir, will you be so kind?"
She dusted the chairs, and Miss Custance enquired after the rheumatism and the bronchitis, and promised to send something from the Grange. The old woman had good country manners, and spoke well, and now and then politely tried to include Captain Knight in the conversation. But all the time she was quietly looking at him.
"Yes, sir, I be a bit lonely at times," she said when her visitors rose. "I do miss Nathan sorely; you can
