"The cunning, crawling villain!" ejaculated Mrs Hartshorne; "but I'll be even with him yet, I'll be even with him!" "I am quite at your disposal," promptly replied the lawyer, who was eager to be bounding after Markworth; and just at this moment, before anything had been decided upon, Doctor Jolly was announced. He apologised for interrupting the conversation; but said, that as he had heard that Mr Trump had just come down, he thought there would be some tidings of Susan, which must be his excuse for walking in so unceremoniously. Whereupon, both the dowager and the lawyer together fired out upon him with the astonishing news. "Bless my soul!" exclaimed he, horrified at what he heard. "Who would have thought it? But I always said he was a bad fellow! I told you so Mrs Hartshorne, I told you so!" "And much good there was in your telling! If you hadn't been always dangling here, taking that governess off from her duties, and had looked after Susan better yourself, this would never have happened." "Bless my soul! madam," exclaimed the doctor, staring helplessly at Mr Trump, aghast at the blame being thus thrown on him of all others; and dabbing his face in perplexity with his yellow bandana pocket handkerchief. "Bless my soul, madam! What have _I_ got to do with it?" Tom at this moment came hobbling up the front steps, and the doctor, eagerly seizing the opportunity to escape from the dowager's invective, went out of the room hastily to open the door for him, when he took the opportunity of telling Tom, as we have already heard, that there was "the devil to pay in there," pointing with his thumb over his shoulder to the room he had just quitted, in the most significant manner. The tale had, of course, to be told over again to Tom, when he was admitted to the council, now of four; and an animated debate ensued on what was to be done. It was finally resolved that the lawyer should telegraph to London, and send over one of his clerks that night to Havre, to watch the house where Susan was, and see that she was not removed in the interim; that Mr Trump was to remain at The Poplars until after Markworth's visit on the morrow; and, at his express wish, Tom was to go over as soon afterwards as possible, and fetch Susan back himself. After a good deal of fluctuation, from 29 degrees 31 down to so low a fall as 28 degrees 64, the barometrical pressure of the dowager's temper had returned to its abnormal state, during the excited conversation that had gone on all the time; but the next morning, however, when Markworth made his appearance, the dowager's barometer sank again to a very low depth indeed.