tmost astonishment.

"Mrs. Catherick's. You seem to know Mrs. Catherick, Miss Halcombe?"

"Not personally, but I have heard of her. Does she live here? Has she
had any news of her daughter?"

"No, Miss Halcombe, she came here to ask for news."

"When?"

"Only yesterday. She said some one had reported that a stranger
answering to the description of her daughter had been seen in our
neighbourhood. No such report has reached us here, and no such report
was known in the village, when I sent to make inquiries there on Mrs.
Catherick's account. She certainly brought this poor little dog with
her when she came, and I saw it trot out after her when she went away.
I suppose the creature strayed into the plantations, and got shot.
Where did you find it, Miss Halcombe?"

"In the old shed that looks out on the lake."

"Ah, yes, that is the plantation side, and the poor thing dragged
itself, I suppose, to the nearest shelter, as dogs will, to die. If you
can moisten its lips with the milk, Miss Halcombe, I will wash the
clotted hair from the wound. I am very much afraid it is too late to
do any good. However, we can but try."

Mrs. Catherick! The name still rang in my ears, as if the housekeeper
had only that moment surprised me by uttering it. While we were
attending to the dog, the words of Walter Hartright's caution to me
returned to my memory: "If ever Anne Catherick crosses your path, make
better use of the opportunity, Miss Halcombe, than I made of it." The
finding of the wounded spaniel had led me already to the discovery of
Mrs. Catherick's visit to Blackwater Park, and that event might lead in
its turn, to something more. I determined to make the most of the
chance which was now offered to me, and to gain as much information as
I could.

"Did you say that Mrs. Catherick lived anywhere in this neighbourhood?"
I asked.

"Oh dear, no," said the housekeeper. "She lives at Welmingham, quite
at the other end of the county--five-and-twenty miles off, at least."

"I suppose you have known Mrs. Catherick for some years?"

"On the contrary, Miss Halcombe, I never saw her before she came here
yesterday. I had heard of her, of course, because I had heard of Sir
Percival's kindness in putting her daughter under medical care. Mrs.
Catherick is rather a strange person in her manners, but extremely
respectable-looking. She seemed sorely put out when she found that
there was no foundation--none, at least, that any