on, hoping that the maiden would be found at the
Hall, and that with her return the chance of gaining the twenty nobles
was irretrievably lost. Sir George was the last to return, and the
jaded condition of his horse told far more plainly than ever words
could have done how far he had ridden.

He had hoped, amid fear and trembling, that his lost darling had been
found. He even half expected her to meet him upon his return; but all
his anticipations were rudely dispelled. Not a trace of her had been
found, and crushed by the ill news, he retired to the solitude of his
dressing room, with his riding accoutrements unremoved, and gazed for
a time meditatively into the empty fireplace, in an agony of fear as
to the fate which had befallen her. So far, there was no clue to guide
him; he could not even imagine or suspect any adequate reason for her
absence; he could only ruminate sorrowfully on the fact that she was
gone, and lament his inability to find her.

He was pondering in this fashion when a gentle knock at the door
aroused him from his reverie.

"Enter," he gruffly and impatiently responded.

The door opened and Lettice entered. Her face was suffused with tears.

"Well, Lettice," he inquired in a somewhat gentler voice, "what is it,
eh?"

"Is there any news of my mistress?" she tremblingly asked.

"None," he replied, "would God there were."

The maid curtsied and withdrew, but ere she had closed the door, the
baron called her back.

"Lettice!" he cried.

She was in the room again in an instant.

"Is Sir Thomas Stanley here?" he asked.

"He is with Mistress Margaret, keeping watch in Sir Henry's room," she
replied.

"Bid him attend me here, then," he commanded. Lettice closed the door
again, and with a feeling of keen disappointment went off to discharge
her mission.

Sir Thomas received the summons ungraciously, but feeling constrained
to obey it, he bade the maid keep his betrothed company, and telling
her not to let her eyes depart from De la Zouch he hastened to see Sir
George.

When the good folk of Haddon awoke next morning, they were summoned
to the Hall by the sound of the bell. The news of Dorothy's mysterious
disappearance had quickly spread, and feeling sure that some
announcement concerning her was about to be made, they quickly flocked
into the courtyard curious to learn the latest tidings.

They were not disappointed. Sir George repeated his offer of the
previous day, increasing it up