.

"So far, so good," said I; "she now will have no motive for poisoning
you, so you can rest in peace."

The Captain stated further that he had deposited in bank a few hundred
dollars which he had brought with him, so that he felt comparatively
safe for the present.

That evening Miss Seaton reported that Mrs. Thayer had left the house
shortly after the Captain. Miss Seaton had followed her to the
post-office, where Mrs. Thayer had deposited a letter, and had received
another at the ladies' window. She had immediately torn it open, read
it hastily, and crumpled it in her hand, while slowly walking home. I
was very anxious to know to whom she had written, and also who had
written to her. I immediately wrote to Miller to watch Pattmore's mail,
and to learn whether there were any letters in it from Chicago. If so, I
wished him to obtain a view of the handwriting, and, if possible, to get
possession of the letters themselves long enough to take copies of them.

The next morning Captain Sumner came in again, but he had nothing to
report.

"Does Annie write much?" I asked.

"No, very little," he replied.

"Does she correspond with Lucy?"

"Sometimes, but not regularly."

"Did she not write a letter two days ago?" I inquired.

"No," answered the Captain; "but why do you ask?"

"Oh! for no particular reason; however I wish you would write to Lucy
and inquire whether she has received a letter from Annie lately; also
whether she has written to Annie."

"Certainly, I will do so now," said the Captain, and, he straightway sat
down to write to Lucy.

In a few days, the Captain received a letter from Lucy stating that no
letters had passed between her and Annie for over a month. This made it
certain that Lucy was not Annie's correspondent.

Miller sent in a report about the same time, saying that he had become
slightly acquainted with Pattmore, who was deeply mourning the death of
his wife. Even the mere mention of her name was sufficient to draw
tears to his eyes, and her loss had so severely affected him that his
friends were afraid he would never be the same man that he had been
during her life.

Miller had expressed an intention of opening an office in Greenville,
and Pattmore had given him some valuable advice and information relative
to the lumber market in the interior. Since getting my letter, Miller
had noticed that Pattmore had received four letters from Chicago. Miller
said that he had not been able to