lieve that he is now thoroughly master of himself, and that even
the man who wrought that foul wrong need not fear him."

"You heard, sir, that the poor girl came home and died?"

"Yes. He told me when he heard the news from you."

"She never said who did it, sir, but from other things that came
out there is no doubt who it was."

"He told me, Lechmere, but I stopped him short. I did not wish to
know. I had my suspicions, but I did not want to have them
confirmed. The fellow I suspect is no friend of mine, and I don't
want to know anything about him. If I were certain of it, I could
not meet him without telling him my opinion of him."

"You are not likely to meet him here, Squire. A year ago he
happened to be over at Chippenham one market day. There were a
dozen of us there, and I can tell you we gave him such a reception
that he mounted his horse and rode straight on again. If he hadn't,
I believe that we should have horsewhipped him through the town.
Three months afterwards his estate was put up for sale, and he has
never been down in this part of the country since; not that he was
ever here much before. London suited him better. You see, his
mother was, as I have heard, the daughter of a banker, and an only
child; and even if he hadn't had the estate he would have been a
rich man. Anyhow, I am heartily glad that he has left the county."

"I, too, am glad that he has gone, Lechmere. I have not met him for
years, but if we had both been down here we must have run against
each other sometimes, and after some matters that had passed
between us years ago we could scarcely have met on friendly terms.
However, as there is nothing beyond mere suspicion against him, he
may in this case be innocent. You see, I was suspected unjustly
myself, and the same thing may be the case with him."

"That is so, Squire; though I don't think that there is any mistake
this time. In fact, I believe she told her mother, though she kept
it from her father for fear he would break the law. At any rate, it
is a good thing he has gone; for he was a hard landlord, and there
was not a good word for him among his tenants."

"That makes the probability of a mistake all the more likely,"
Frank said. "If I, who as a landlord, as far as I know, have given
no grounds for dislike to my tenants, was suspected unjustly; this
would be still more likely to be the case with one who was
generally unpopular.

"And now, how has the farm been going on sin