but she will not go until I am able to accompany her."
"It should not be long. We must hope they will get to the bottom of it soon, if not to-night. I am most anxious for both of you to be off."
"We design to go to Italy. She shrinks from the Riviera and longs for Florence, or some such peaceful place."
"It will be cold there."
"Cold won't hurt us."
"Shall you shut up Chadlands?"
"Impossible. It is the only home of half my elder people. But, if nothing is discovered and we are still left without an explanation, I shall seal the Grey Room—windows, door, and hearth—unless the authorities direct otherwise. I wish I could fill the place with solid stone or concrete, so that it would cease to be a room at all."
"That you can't do," answered the practical doctor. "Such a weight would bring down the ceiling beneath. But you can make it fast and block it up if the thing beats them."
"We are like the blind moving in regions unfamiliar to their touch," said Sir Walter. "I had hoped so much from the prayer of that just man. He, indeed, has gone to his reward. He is with the boy he loved better than anything on earth; but for us is left great sorrow and distress. Still, prayers continue to be answered, Mannering. I have prayed for patience, and I find myself patient. The iron has entered my soul. The horror of publicity—the morbid agony I experienced when I knew my name must be dragged
