him; what I mean is, do you see
any sign of family likeness? Any resemblance about the eyes, or mouth,
or forehead?"

"Well, now, I don't know but what I might," replied Master Withypool,
gazing very hard; "if I was to look at 'un long enough, a' might find
some'at favoring of that tall fellow, I do believe. Indeed, I do believe
the more I look, the more I diskivers the image of him."

The good and kind miller's perception of the likeness strengthened
almost too fast, as if the wish were father to the thought, until I saw
clearly how selfish I was in keeping him in that state so long; for I
knew, from what Mrs. Busk had told me, that in spite of all his large
and grand old English sentiments about his clothes, his wife would make
him change them all ere ever she gave him a bit of dinner, and would
force him then to take a glass of something hot. So I gave him a
thousand thanks, though not a thousandth part of what he deserved, and
saw him well on his homeward way before I went back to consider things.

As soon as my landlady was at leisure to come in and talk with me,
and as soon as I had told her how things happened, and shown her our
discovery, we both of us did the very same thing, and said almost the
very same words. Our act was, with finger and nail and eye, to rime into
every jot of it; and our words were,

"I am sure there is something inside. If not, it would open sensibly."

In the most senseless and obstinate manner it refused not only to open,
but to disclose any thing at all about itself. Whether it ever had been
meant to open, and if so, where, and by what means; whether, without
any gift of opening, it might have a hidden thing inside; whether, when
opened by force or skill, it might show something we had no business
with, or (which would be far worse) nothing at all--good Mrs. Busk and
myself tested, tapped, and felt, and blew, and listened, and tried every
possible overture, and became at last quite put out with it.

"It is all of a piece with the villains that owned it," the postmistress
exclaimed at last. "There is no penetrating either it or them. Most
likely they have made away with this beautiful lady on the cover. Kill
one, kill fifty, I have heard say. I hope Master Withypool will let out
nothing, or evil it will be for you, miss. If I was you, I would carry a
pistol."

"Now please not to frighten me, Mrs. Busk. I am not very brave at the
best of times, and this has made me so nervous. If