"And," faltered Henderson, for he could scarcely speak the words, the violence of his emotion was so great, "was she--alone?" "Perfectly alone. She had engaged a strange boy to take her trunk to the station, and she had taken all her best things with her. And she left a letter for her father lying on the toilet-table of her room, in which she falsely endeavored to blame me for her conduct. She said she could not get on with me, so she had gone away. But I don't believe a word of it; I believe I was only a blind." Henderson gave a sort of sigh of relief; after all, May had gone alone. "How do you mean about a blind?" he asked, after a moment's silence. "Well, Mr. Henderson, I will trust you; I know you liked this foolish girl, and you know what I wished concerning yourself and her. Therefore, I expect this will go no farther. But my belief is, that though she certainly ran away with no one from here, that someone will join her, and this is why I trust you. Do you know of any lover--any admirer she had?" A dark-red dusky flush rose to Henderson's pale face. "No--" he said, "unless--" "Unless whom?" Henderson began moving restlessly up and down the room with irregular footsteps. "There is that fellow," he said, at length, "that is to be Mr. Temple of Woodlea's heir, they say--well, I've seen May with him more than once. I saw her with him just after the boy's death, and another time," and then he suddenly paused, remembering that it was in Fern Dene that he had twice seen May with John Temple. "I know she knew him; she was thrown with him, you see, when that unfortunate girl committed suicide, but I scarcely think there could be anything between them, though certainly on the very day of our return here after our marriage trip, we found him here." "You found him here?" "Yes, but Mr. Churchill seemed to think nothing of it, and I have never seen him here since; still, one never can tell." "She changed to me from the day he came," went on Henderson, in a broken voice; "before that she was always pleasant and friendly, if nothing more. If I thought this fellow had induced May to leave her home I would be even with him, that is all." "My dear Mr. Henderson, do not speak in that way. We have really nothing to go on regarding Mr. John Temple. As I have told you, I never saw him here except that once, when we came home, and I have no reason to believe she ever met him outside, and he certainly did not run away with her. She went alone for one thing, and for another Mr. John Temple is at present at the Hall; Mr. Churchill saw him when he went to tell the squire of May's disappearance on the morning when we found she was gone." "And what did he say?"