ion. Could it be, I thought, with
suppressed fear, that the shadowy figure which had haunted my bed-chamber
and had visited me in dreams was the same wronged Alice? Had she arisen
from her grave beneath the granite of the church-yard to warn me? Or are
the dead jealous of their rights? Do they cling to their earthly love? I
queried. But when he spoke I shook off these thoughts that were rising
like mist to obscure my judgment, and answered, "_I_ am. I am listening;
proceed."

"Agnes, through your influence Richard has hoped to obtain possession of
Herbert and control over his fortune. He has thought to entrap you as he
did Alice, and through his power over you has calculated to carry out the
project of his prolific brain."

Till this moment I had listened silently to his strange recital, but I
could not brook this insinuation. The story, to my mind, did not appear
clear. How could Richard expect to obtain, through my agency, possession
of a son whom he had never acknowledged? Tis true I remembered him to
have said that he feared I would miss my pupil very much. He had asked
playfully what would Herbert do without me, but he had not suggested
taking the child away with us, and therefore Mr. Bristed's charge
appeared to my mind unfounded, and I told him so.

"Ah, my child!" he replied, "you know not the devising power of this man.
He has an agent here in this place, in the shape of old Crisp, the
hunchback. It has been his plan, under promise of marriage, to decoy you
from this house; he would probably have left his child to Crisp's good
agency, with orders to join you. Herbert loves you, and would have gone
willingly in your company, but alone with Richard he would not have moved
one step. Once out of my reach in some distant city, he would have had
the reins in his own hand. It was by an unexpected, but I hope fortunate
chance, that I overheard a conversation to this effect between him and
the deformed servant. I could not ascertain the day set for this
adventure, but I surmised that it was at no remote date, and I have kept
alert. You have avoided me, Miss Reef, and I have been obliged to watch
your movements distantly. Not from suspicion of you, for I know you to be
pure and honorable, but because you are under my protection, and
because"--he hesitated--I wondered what was coming next. I had a
presentiment that he was about to make an avowal which I ought to shun,
but before I could evade him he turned suddenly tow