"Two days before my return to the village, Avicia, Kristel, and Silvain rowed, as usual, from the lighthouse to the shore. They were accompanied on this occasion by Avicia's father, who had engaged an experienced man to take his place on the lighthouse during his absence. It was a breach of duty, but he risked it. The sea was calm and the weather fine, and likely to remain so. The risk, therefore, was not great. "How they passed the day was not known. They did not mingle with the inhabitants of the village, who, without invitation, were not likely to obtrude upon them, their own concerns being quite sufficient to occupy their attention. What _was_ known was, that the father, daughter, and the twin-brothers passed out of the village, and that there appeared to be some kind of awkwardness and constraint upon them, the precise nature of which was not discernible; and that at sunset Avicia's father came back alone, and rowed himself to the lighthouse. From that moment nothing more had been seen of the young people. "What had become of them? Whither had they gone? It appeared to me that Avicia's father was the only person who could allay my anxiety, and to him I went on the following day. He received me civilly enough, but I learnt little from him. "'If you come to me,' he said, 'to pry into my daughter's concerns--which are mine--I say they are none of yours. You are little more than a stranger to me, and I have no business with you, and desire none. If you come to ascertain where you can find your friends, you will learn nothing from me. As to one, perhaps it is in my power to tell you, but I do not choose to gratify you. As to the other, perhaps you are as likely to light upon him as I am.' "During my visit I kept myself on the alert to discover some trace of Avicia, for it might be that the villagers were mistaken in their idea that she had disappeared at the same time as Silvain and Kristel. She might have returned in the middle of the night when all the village was asleep. I saw no signs of her, however, and when I left the lighthouse I was confident that she was not there.