in general, and the female in
particular, with a fluency which quite astonished me, and I did my
little best to back her up. In the midst of our joint address a
gentleman appeared on the scene, whom I correctly divined to be Mr
Ladislaw himself.

Mr Ladislaw was a short, dapper man, in rather seedy clothes, with long
sandy hair brushed right back over the top of his head, and no hair at
all on his face. He might have been thirty, or he might have been
fifty. His eyes were very small and close together; his brow was stern,
and his mouth a good deal pulled down at the corners. Altogether, I
didn't take to him at first glance, still less when he broke into the
conversation and distinctly took the part of Mrs Hudson's adversary.

"What is all this, Miss Henniker?" he said in a quick, sharp voice,
which made me very uncomfortable.

"This is Mr Jakeman's servant," answered the female. "She was talking
a little rudely about Frederick Batchelor's luggage here."

"And so was I!" I shouted valiantly. "It's not _your_ luggage, and you
sha'n't have it, you old--beast!"

The last word came out half-involuntarily, and I was terribly frightened
as soon as it had escaped my lips.

I do not know how Mr Ladislaw or Miss Henniker took it, for I dare not
look up. I heard Mrs Hudson utter a mild protest, and next moment was
conscious of being taken firmly by the hand by Mr Ladislaw and led to
the door from which he had just emerged.

"Remain here, Batchelor," said he, sternly, "till I come back."

There was something in his voice and manner which took the spirit out of
me, and he might have spared himself the trouble of locking the door
behind him. I found myself in a small study, with shelves on the walls
and a writing-table in the window, which looked out on to a playground,
where, in the distance, I could catch sight of three boys swinging.

This first prospect of my future companions so interested me that I had
actually nearly forgotten all about poor Mrs Hudson, when Mr Ladislaw
entered the study and said--"The person is going now, Batchelor. If you
like you can say good-bye."

I flew out into the hall. Mrs Hudson was there crying, alone. What we
said, and how we hugged one another, and how desperately we tried to be
cheerful, I need not relate. I was utterly miserable. My only friend,
the only friend I had, was going from me, leaving me in this cheerless
place all alone. I would have given worlds to return w