ime; but I've a notion that old black woman daown 't the mansion-haouse
knows 'z much abaout him 'z anybody."

The Doctor paused a moment, after hearing this report from his private
detective, and then got into his chaise, and turned Caustic's head in the
direction of the Dudley mansion. He had been suspicious of Dick from the
first. He did not like his mixed blood, nor his looks, nor his ways. He
had formed a conjecture about his projects early. He had made a shrewd
guess as to the probable jealousy Dick would feel of the schoolmaster,
had found out something of his movements, and had cautioned Mr.
Bernard,--as we have seen. He felt an interest in the young man,--a
student of his own profession, an intelligent and ingenuously
unsuspecting young fellow, who had been thrown by accident into the
companionship or the neighborhood of two persons, one of whom he knew to
be dangerous, and the other he believed instinctively might be capable of
crime.

The Doctor rode down to the Dudley mansion solely for the sake of seeing
old Sophy. He was lucky enough to find her alone in her kitchen. He
began taking with her as a physician; he wanted to know how her
rheumatism had been. The shrewd old woman saw through all that with her
little beady black eyes. It was something quite different he had come
for, and old Sophy answered very briefly for her aches and ails.

"Old folks' bones a'n't like young folks'," she said. "It's the Lord's
doin's, 'n' 't a'n't much matter. I sha'n' be long roan' this kitchen.
It's the young Missis, Doctor,--it 's our Elsie,--it 's the baby, as we
use' t' call her,--don' you remember, Doctor? Seventeen year ago, 'n'
her poor mother cryin' for her,--'Where is she? where is she? Let me see
her! '--'n' how I run up-stairs,--I could run then,--'n' got the coral
necklace 'n' put it round her little neck, 'n' then showed her to her
mother,--'n' how her mother looked at her, 'n' looked, 'n' then put out
her poor thin fingers 'n' lifted the necklace,--'n' fell right back on
her piller, as white as though she was laid out to bury?"

The Doctor answered her by silence and a look of grave assent. He had
never chosen to let old Sophy dwell upon these matters, for obvious
reasons. The girl must not grow up haunted by perpetual fears and
prophecies, if it were possible to prevent it.

"Well, how has Elsie seemed of late?" he said, after this brief pause.

The old woman shook her head. Then she look