wooden
palace. He had time to take in its characteristics, before James, the
inside-man, opened the door and scanned him for a moment with a sort of
baffled intelligence. To the experience of the inside-man his appearance
gave no proof that he was or was not an agent, a peddler in disguise, or
a genteel mendicant of the sort he was used to detecting and deterring.

"I don't know, sir, I'll go and see." He let rather than invited Pinney
in, and in his absence, the representative of the _Events_ made note of
the interior, both of the hall which he had been allowed to enter, and
of the library, where he found himself upon his own responsibility. The
inside-man discovered him there with his back to the fire, when he
returned with his card still in his hand.

"Miss Northwick thinks it's her father you wish to see. He's not at
home."

"Yes, I knew that. I did wish to see Mr. Northwick, and I asked to see
Miss Northwick because I knew he wasn't at home."

"Oh!" The man disappeared, and after another interval Adeline came in.
She showed the trepidation she felt at finding herself in the presence
of an interviewer.

"Will you sit down?" she said, timidly, and she glanced at the card
which she had brought back this time. It bore the name of Lorenzo A.
Pinney, and in the left hand corner the words _Representing the Boston
Events_. Mr. Pinney made haste to reassure her by a very respectful and
business-like straightforwardness of manner; he did not forbid it a
certain shade of authority.

"I am sorry to disturb you, Miss Northwick. I hoped to have some
conversation with you in regard to this--this rumor--accident. Can you
tell me just when Mr. Northwick left home?"

"He went up to the Mills, yesterday morning, quite early," said Adeline.
She was in the rise of hope which she and Suzette both felt from the
mere fact that Matt Hilary was on the way to hunt the horrible rumor to
its source; it seemed to her that he must extinguish it there. She
wanted to tell this friendly-looking reporter so; but she would not do
this without Suzette's authority. Suzette had been scolding her for not
telling her what was in the paper as soon as she read it in the morning;
and they were both so far respited for the moment from their fear, as to
have had some words back and forth about the propriety of seeing this
reporter at all. Adeline was on her most prudent behavior.

"Did you expect him back soon when he left?" Pinney asked respectfully