Miss Kingscott, the governess, said she had not seen her since the middle of the previous day, and she had supposed at first that she had gone out to walk with Mr Markworth. She had found out afterwards, however, that that gentleman had driven off early along with "poor Mr Thomas," she believed, towards the station, and so her pupil could not have gone to walk with him. Miss Kingscott afterwards informed Mrs Hartshorne that she missed out of her wardrobe a black silk dress, and a shawl and bonnet. She supposed Susan had taken those with her, as her own walking things had been left behind in her, Miss Kingscott's, room. The old lady said snappishly that "she did not know what right she, the governess, had to suppose anything of the sort;" but she kept the information in her mind nevertheless. The old servant, Martha, said she had not seen Miss Susan at all, as "she had too much work of her own in the kitchen for her to do, as was a disgrace for only one servant in sich a large 'ouse as she never see, and it were a burnin' shame it were a workin' one pore old woman worse nor any black nigger slave as ever was, that it were:" so no information was obtained from her. George, on being summoned in to speak to the "old un," as he called the dowager, said that he had been "at work all t'day a diggin on t'petatus," and he had seen "no leetel miss" about the garden, but he "thort he seed un when he wor a goin' to his dinner, jist arter twelve, awalkin' in the far lot across t'fields with that gentelmun froom Lunnon, but he warn't shoor." The old lady called him "an ass and a grinning baboon" for his pains, and told him "get out and go to your work, man!" But George was right, for he had seen them as he said, when on his way back to the house after his visit to the "Jolly Spades," although his vision was then somewhat hazy, and his intellects more obtuse than usual from the large potations of home-brewed he had taken at such an early hour of the day--thanks to Miss Kingscott's liberality to him. The dowager was perplexed, but her cool, calculating temperament was soon at work. She determined to send at once to her lawyers in London, and calling in the aid of the police to track the fugitive. Doctor Jolly, too, who came in at this moment to see after Tom--rather earlier than usual for his professional call, but he was anxious about his patient--warmly applauded the dowager's resolve. He, of course, was also startled at the news that Susan had not been heard of. "Bless my soul!" he said, when all the facts and enquiries that had been made were explained to him. "Bless my soul! It's very strange, very strange, indeed. She could not have stopped anywhere in the neighbourhood, or you would have heard of her before. She must have gone off to some distance. Did she have any money with her?" "Oh, no!" said Miss Kingscott, to whom he had addressed himself. "Fool!" spoke out sharply the dowager.