that no one had seen her.

At last he fell in with a farmer's wife whom he knew, who was jogging
along on horseback, with a little boy behind her. After the usual
greetings, he said,--

'You never come to Glanyravon now, Mrs Davies. I daresay you haven't
seen any of our folk for a year?'

'Well, not exactly. But I almost fancied I saw that pretty young 'ooman
that lives with you yesterday morning. She was too shabby, or I should
have been seure of the face. Only when she saw me she turned away and
went on.'

'Which way?'

'Oh, down the Carmarthen road, seure.'

'You'll excuse my hurrying on, Mrs Davies; I want to call at Lewis,
Dryslwyn.'

'To be seure. Good morning, Mr Prothero.'

The worthy farmer rode off at a gallop, till he was more than out of
sight of Mrs Davies. He stopped at a tidy cottage to speak to an old
woman who was washing at the door.

'Did you chance to see a strange young 'ooman go by here yesterday,
early?' he asked.

'What young 'ooman?' was the rejoinder.

'Rather shabbily dressed, with blue eyes, and a very pale face?'

'Had she a big black dog along, sir?' asked a boy who came from within
the house.

'I think she had.'

'Then granny gave her a cup of tea when she asked for some water, and I
gave the dog a piece of my bread and cheese,' said the boy.

'There's sixpence for you, my lad,' said Mr Prothero. 'Was there a
young man with the girl?'

'Nobody was along, sir.'

'Which way did she go?'

'By there, to Dryslwyn, sir.'

Mr Prothero rode on to the picturesque village bearing this name. The
old ruined castle looked down upon him from its curiously formed,
tumulus-looking elevation, as he stopped before a neat farm-house.

'Good morning, Mrs Lewis.'

'Walk in, Mr Prothero. We were talking of you by now. There was a young
'ooman by here yesterday, and John Lewis said he was seure she had your
dog with her. She went away so fast, that I hadn't time to ask about the
dog.'

'Which way did she go?'

'Down the Carmarthen road.'

'Good morning, Mrs Lewis, thank you. I must look after my dog.'

Mr Prothero found it easiest to ask for the girl with a large black dog,
and traced them to within a mile of Carmarthen.

He stopped at a small roadside inn to have a glass of _cwrw
da_.[Footnote: Good ale] Here he asked the landlady of Gladys.

'See her and the dog! Is seure. They come here in the evening, and she
asked for a slice of bread and a drink of water, and took out