y, and when I told Mrs. Temple how Tom had
popped the question on the landing at midnight, after the appearance of
the famous hall ghost, the merriment knew no bounds.

It was after midnight when I retired to rest, but I could not sleep. I
could not help thinking about this great problem of my life. How could I
find Kaffar? How could I tell whether he were alive or dead? After
tossing about a long time, I hit upon a plan of action, and then my mind
had some little rest.

The next morning I bade good-bye to my friends, and started for the
station. When I arrived all was quiet. Not a single passenger was there,
while the two porters were lolling lazily around, enjoying the warmth of
the bright May sun.

I asked to see the station-master; he was not at the station. Then I
made inquiries for the booking-clerk, who presently made his
appearance. I found that there was a train leaving about midnight, which
travelled northward, one that had been running some years.

"Were you at the booking-office on the day after New Year's Day?" I
asked.

"Yes, sir," replied the clerk.

"Do you remember a man coming for a ticket that night who struck you as
peculiar?"

"What kind of a man, sir?"

"A foreigner. Small, dark, and wiry, speaking with an accent something
like this," I said, trying to imitate Kaffar.

"No, sir, I don't remember such a person. There were only three
passengers that night--I remember it very well, because my brother was
here with me--and they were all Yorkshire."

"This midnight train is a stopping train?"

"Yes, sir. It stops at every station from Leeds."

"How far is the nearest station in the Leeds direction?"

"Seven miles, sir. The population is rather thin here, sir. It gets
thicker the closer you get to Leeds."

"And how far the other way?"

"Only a matter of three miles northward, sir. There's a little village
there, sir, has sprung up because of Lord ----'s mansion, sir, and the
company has put up a station."

"And how far is the next station beyond that?"

"A long way, sir. It's a junction where some go to catch the night
express to Leeds. It must be eight miles further on. The train is now
due, sir, that goes there."

"And it stops at the next station?"

"Oh yes, sir."

I booked immediately for it, and in a few minutes arrived there. It was,
if possible, more quiet than the one from which I had just come; a more
dreary place one could not well see.

I soon found the man who had