Hehadinterpretedhisfriend’sabsenceexactlyashisfriendhadanticipated：hecouldonlyassumethatGeoffreyhadgonetokeepaprivateappointmentwithAnne。MissSilvester’sappearanceatWindygatesalone，andMissSilvester’sanxietytohearthenamesofthegentlemenwhowerestayinginthehouse，seemed，underthesecircumstances，topointtotheplainconclusionthatthetwohad，insomeway，unfortunatelymissedeachother。Butwhatcouldbethemotiveofherflight？WhethersheknewofsomeotherplaceinwhichshemightmeetGeoffrey？orwhethershehadgonebacktotheinn？orwhethershehadactedundersomesuddenimpulseofdespair？——werequestionswhichArnoldwasnecessarilyquiteincompetenttosolve。TherewasnochoicebuttowaituntilanopportunityofferedofreportingwhathadhappenedtoGeoffreyhimself。
　　Afterthelapseofhalfanhour，thesoundofsomeapproachingvehicle——thefirstsoundofthesortthathehadheard——attractedArnold’sattention。Hestartedup，andsawthepony-chaiseapproachinghimalongtheroadfromthestation。SirPatrick，thistime，wascompelledtodrivehimself——Duncanwasnotwithhim。OndiscoveringArnold，hestoppedthepony。
　　“So!so!“saidtheoldgentleman。“Youhaveheardallaboutit，I
　　see？Youunderstandthatthisistobeasecretfromeverybody，tillfurthernotice？Verygood，Hasanythinghappenedsinceyouhavebeenhere？“
　　“Nothing。Haveyoumadeanydiscoveries，SirPatrick？“
　　“None。Igottothestationbeforethetrain。NosignsofMissSilvesteranywhere。IhaveleftDuncanonthewatch——withordersnottostirtillthelasttrainhaspassedto-night。“
　　“Idon’tthinkshewillturnupatthestation，“saidArnold。“I
　　fancyshehasgonebacktoCraigFernie。“
　　“Quitepossible。IamnowonmywaytoCraigFernie，tomakeinquiriesabouther。Idon’tknowhowlongImaybedetained，orwhatitmayleadto。IfyouseeBlanchebeforeIdotellherI
　　haveinstructedthestation-mastertoletmeknowifMissSilvesterdoestaketherailwaywhatplaceshebooksfor。Thankstothatarrangement，wesha’n’thavetowaitfornewstillDuncancantelegraphthathehasseenhertoherjourney’send。Inthemeantime，youunderstandwhatyouarewantedtodohere？“
　　“Blanchehasexplainedeverythingtome。“
　　“Sticktoyourpost，andmakegooduseofyoureyes。Youwereaccustomedtothat，youknow，whenyouwereatsea。It’snogreathardshiptopassafewhoursinthisdelicioussummerair。Iseeyouhavecontractedthevilemodernhabitofsmoking——thatwillbeoccupationenoughtoamuseyou，nodoubt!Keeptheroadsinview；and，ifshedoescomeyourway，don’tattempttostopher——youcan’tdothat。Speaktoherquiteinnocently，mind!，bywayofgettingtimeenoughtonoticethefaceofthemanwhoisdrivingher，andthenameifthereisoneonhiscart。Dothat，andyouwilldoenough。Pah!howthatcigarpoisonstheair!Whatwillhavebecomeofyourstomachwhenyougettomyage？“
　　“Isha’n’tcomplain，SirPatrick，ifIcaneatasgoodadinnerasyoudo。“
　　“Thatremindsme!ImetsomebodyIknewatthestation。HesterDethridgehasleftherplace，andgonetoLondonbythetrain。WemayfeedatWindygates——wehavedonewithdiningnow。Ithasbeenafinalquarrelthistimebetweenthemistressandthecook。I
　　havegivenHestermyaddressinLondon，andtoldhertoletmeknowbeforeshedecidesonanotherplace。Awomanwho_can’t_
　　talk，andawomanwho_can_cook，issimplyawomanwhohasarrivedatabsoluteperfection。Suchatreasureshallnotgooutofthefamily，ifIcanhelpit。DidyounoticetheBé；chamelsauceatlunch？Pooh!ayoungmanwhosmokescigarsdoesn’tknowthedifferencebetweenBé；chamelsauceandmeltedbutter。
　　Goodafternoon!goodafternoon!“
　　Heslackenedthereins，andawayhewenttoCraigFernie。
　　Countingbyyears，theponywastwenty，andthepony’sdriverwasseventy。Countingbyvivacityandspirit，twoofthemostyouthfulcharactersinScotlandhadgottogetherthatafternooninthesamechaise。
　　Anhourmoreworeitselfslowlyout；andnothinghadpassedArnoldonthecross-roadsbutafewstrayfoot-passengers，aheavywagon，andagigwithanoldwomaninit。Heroseagainfromtheheather，wearyofinaction，andresolvedtowalkbackwardandforward，withinviewofhispost，forachange。Atthesecondturn，whenhisfacehappenedtobesettowardtheopenheath，henoticedanotherfoot-passenger——apparentlyaman——farawayintheemptydistance。Wasthepersoncomingtowardhim？
　　Headvancedalittle。Thestrangerwasdoubtlessadvancingtoo，sorapidlydidhisfigurenowrevealitself，beyondalldoubt，asthefigureofaman。AfewminutesmoreandArnoldfanciedherecognizedit。Yetalittlelonger，andhewasquitesure。Therewasnomistakingthelithestrengthandgraceof_that_man，andthesmootheasyswiftnesswithwhichhecoveredhisground。Itwastheheroofthecomingfoot-race。ItwasGeoffreyonhiswaybacktoWindygatesHouse。
　　Arnoldhurriedforwardtomeethim。Geoffreystoodstill，poisinghimselfonhisstick，andlettheothercomeup。
　　“Haveyouheardwhathashappenedatthehouse？“askedArnold。
　　Heinstinctivelycheckedthenextquestionasitrosetohislips。TherewasasettleddefianceintheexpressionofGeoffrey’sface，whichArnoldwasquiteatalosstounderstand。
　　Helookedlikeamanwhohadmadeuphismindtoconfrontanythingthatcouldhappen，andtocontradictanybodywhospoketohim。
　　“Somethingseemstohaveannoyedyou？“saidArnold。
　　“What’supatthehouse？“returnedGeoffrey，withhisloudestvoiceandhishardestlook。
　　“MissSilvesterhasbeenatthehouse。“
　　“Whosawher？“
　　“NobodybutBlanche。“
　　“Well？“
　　“Well，shewasmiserablyweakandill，soillthatshefainted，poorthing，inthelibrary。Blanchebroughtherto。“
　　“Andwhatthen？“
　　“Wewereallatlunchatthetime。Blancheleftthelibrary，tospeakprivatelytoheruncle。WhenshewentbackMissSilvesterwasgone，andnothinghasbeenseenofhersince。“
　　“Arowatthehouse？“
　　“Nobodyknowsofitatthehouse，exceptBlanche——“
　　“Andyou？Andhowmanybesides？“
　　“AndSirPatrick。Nobodyelse。“
　　“Nobodyelse？Anythingmore？“
　　Arnoldrememberedhispromisetokeeptheinvestigationthenonfootasecretfromeverybody。Geoffrey’smannermadehim——unconsciouslytohimself——readierthanhemightotherwisehavebeentoconsiderGeoffreyasincludedinthegeneralprohibition。
　　“Nothingmore，“heanswered。
　　Geoffreydugthepointofhisstickdeepintothesoft，sandyground。Helookedatthestick，thensuddenlypulleditoutofthegroundandlookedatArnold。“Good-afternoon!“hesaid，andwentonhiswayagainbyhimself。
　　Arnoldfollowed，andstoppedhim。Foramomentthetwomenlookedateachotherwithoutawordpassingoneitherside。Arnoldspokefirst。
　　“You’reoutofhumor，Geoffrey。Whathasupsetyouinthisway？
　　HaveyouandMissSilvestermissedeachother？“
　　Geoffreywassilent。
　　“HaveyouseenhersincesheleftWindygates？“
　　Noreply。
　　“DoyouknowwhereMissSilvesterisnow？“
　　Stillnoreply。Stillthesamemutely-insolentdefianceoflookandmanner。Arnold’sdarkcolorbegantodeepen。
　　“Whydon’tyouanswerme？“hesaid。
　　“BecauseIhavehadenoughofit。“
　　“Enoughofwhat？“
　　“EnoughofbeingworriedaboutMissSilvester。MissSilvester’smybusiness——notyours。“
　　“Gently，Geoffrey!Don’tforgetthatIhavebeenmixedupinthatbusiness——withoutseekingitmyself。“
　　“There’snofearofmyforgetting。Youhavecastitinmyteethoftenenough。“
　　“Castitinyourteeth？“
　　“Yes!AmInevertohearthelastofmyobligationtoyou？Thedeviltaketheobligation!I’msickofthesoundofit。“
　　TherewasaspiritinArnold——noteasilybroughttothesurface，throughtheoverlyingsimplicityandgood-humorofhisordinarycharacter——which，onceroused，wasaspiritnotreadilyquelled。