er-looking cork. This decided me. I placed
the bottle under lock and key in Milly's wardrobe, and I gave her no
more medicine that night.

There was no fear of my sleeping at my post after this. My thoughts
for the rest of that night were full of horror and bewilderment. My
course seemed clear enough, in one respect. The proper person to
confide in would be Mr. Hale. He would be able to discover whether
the medicine had been tampered with, and it would be his business to
protect his patient.

CHAPTER XII.

DEFEATED.

I went down to the garden for the flowers as usual next morning, as
I did not wish to make any palpable change in my arrangements; but
before leaving the room I impressed upon Susan Dodd the necessity of
remaining with her mistress during every moment of my absence,
though I knew I had little need to counsel carefulness. Nothing was
more unlikely than that Susan would neglect her duty for a moment.

Peter came again, as he had come to me on the previous morning.
Again he lingered about me, as if he had something more to say, and
could not take courage to say it. This time the strangeness of his
manner aroused my curiosity, and I asked him if he had anything
particular to say to me.

'You must be quick, Peter, whatever it is,' I said; 'for I am in a
great hurry to get back to Miss Darrell.'

'There is something I want to say, miss,' he answered, twisting his
ragged straw hat round and round in his bony hands, in a nervous
way,--'something I should like to say, but I'm naught but a poor
fondy, and don't know how to begin. Only you've been very good to
Peter, you see, miss, sending wine and such things when I was ill,
and I ain't afeard o' you, as I am o' some folks.'

'The wine was not mine, Peter. Be quick, please; tell me what you
want to say.'

'I can't come to it very easy, miss. It's something awful-like to
tell on.'

'Something awful?'

The boy had looked round him with a cautious glance, and was now
standing close to me, with his light blue eyes fixed upon my face in
a very earnest way.

'Speak out, Peter,' I said; 'you needn't be afraid of me.'

'It happened when I was ill, you see, miss, and I've sometimes
thought as it might be no more than a dream. I had a many dreams
while I were lying on that little bed in grandmother's room, wicked
dreams, and this might be one of them; and yet it's real-like, and
there isn't the muddle in it that there is in the other dreams.'

'What