door before
she had half finished speaking, and, only murmuring, "I'm sorry," fled
precipitately. She was really rather sorry for him; he looked so
abjectly miserable. Nevertheless, she took the precaution of locking
the door and putting the key under the mat. She went downstairs more
slowly than she had come up, for the boy's visit had made her feel
rather queer.

The way he shrank back into the window when she came in had reminded
her so much of the manner in which the black figure had acted in the
night, and she felt there was something uncanny about the whole thing.
However, she made up her mind to say nothing to her aunt just then in
case of spoiling her afternoon's pleasure, but she was quite determined
to make some rather pointed remarks to the solicitor that evening when
no one else was listening, and see how he took them.

Unfortunately, however, she had no opportunity of doing so, for when
they went down to dinner, none of the solicitor's family were visible,
and Mademoiselle Belvoir remarked that they had all gone out to the
theatre, and would not be back till late. The remarks, Barbara
supposed, must be postponed till the morrow; but, alas! she never had a
chance of making them, for early on the morrow the whole house learned
that the solicitor, with his son and daughter, had gone, with
apparently no intention of returning.

Mademoiselle Belvoir and her brother had waited up till long after the
time they should have returned, and then the brother had hurried to the
_prefecture_ to report the matter. He had been growing very suspicious
of late, as the solicitor had not paid anything for three weeks:
"Waiting for his cheque-book, which had been mislaid," he had said.
But the suspicions had been acted on too late, and his mother was
cheated out of ever so much money. Every one was highly indignant, and
Miss Britton and her niece really felt very grieved that they should
have been _British_ subjects who had behaved so badly.

Aunt Anne said she almost felt as if she ought to pay for them and save
the honour of their country, but Barbara thought that would be too
quixotic. At first Mademoiselle Belvoir thought there might be
something inside the man's trunks that would repay them a little for
the money lost; but, on being opened, there proved to be nothing but a
few old clothes, and Mademoiselle and her brothers remembered that the
boy had often gone out carrying parcels, which they used to laugh at.