struck upon her disturbed fancy with a jarring sense
of unfitness. But in a very little while the calm began to have a more
reasonable effect; and by the time tea was over, she was ready to hear
what had been done, without such an exaggerated idea of its importance,
as she had been entertaining during her long hours of suspense.

Yet still she did not ask; and after a little while, Mrs. Costello said,

"Mr. Strafford has been all the afternoon in Cacouna. I have scarcely
had time yet to hear all he had to tell me."

Lucia glanced at her mother and then at their friend; she was glad the
subject had been commenced without her, and only expressed by her eyes
the anxiety she felt regarding it.

Mr. Strafford looked troubled. He felt, with a delicacy of perception
which was almost womanly, the many sided perplexities increasing the
already heavy trial of Mrs. Costello's life. He grieved for the child
whom he had known from her birth now plunged so young into a sea of
troubles, and as he saw how bravely and steadily she met them, his
desire to help and spare her grew painfully strong. If he could have
said to them both, "Go, leave the miserable wretch to his fate, and find
a home where you will never need to fear him again," he would have done
it with most genuine relief and satisfaction; but he could not do so--at
least, not yet; and duty was far from easy at that moment.

"Yes," he said as cheerfully as he could, in answer to Lucia's glance.
"I have been in Cacouna for some hours to-day and I shall be there again
to-morrow. I own, Lucia, I have not unlimited faith in circumstantial
evidence."

Lucia started, and her heart seemed to give a great leap--could he mean
that the prisoner was innocent? A week ago she would have said that the
burden of disgrace lay upon them too heavily to be much increased by
anything that could happen, and now she knew by the wild throb of hope
how its weight had been doubled and trebled since the shadow of murder
had been hanging over them. But the hope died out at once, for there was
nothing in her mind to feed it, and she had sunk back into her enforced
quiet before she answered,

"Will you tell me what the evidence is, if you have heard at all
exactly, and what you have seen to-day?"

There was nothing of girlish excitement or agitation in her words or
tone. Mr. Strafford wondered a little, but at once did as she asked.

"The evidence appears to be very simple and straightforward. Fr