His hand was upon the lock of the door, and the old lady had made herself sure of his exit, and was comfortably settling herself for a fresh spell of gossip at his expense, when he suddenly returned to the sofa on which Flora was seated; and putting his mouth quite close to her ear, while his little inquisitive grey eyes sparkled with intense curiosity, said, in a mysterious whisper, “How is this, my dear—I hear that you are going to leave us?” Flora started with surprise. Not a word had transpired of the conversation she had lately held with her husband. Did the old Captain possess the gift of second-sight? “Captain Kitson,” she said, in rather an excited tone; while the colour flushed up into her face, “Who told you so?” “Then it is true?” and the old fox rubbed his hands and nodded his head, at the success of his stratagem. “Who told me?—why I can’t say, who told me. You know, where there are servants living in the house, and walls are thin—news travels fast.” “And when people have sharp ears to listen to what is passing in their neighbours’ houses,” muttered the old lady, in a provoking aside, “news travels faster still.” Flora was annoyed beyond measure at the impertinent curiosity of the inquisitive old man. She felt certain that her conversation with her husband had been overheard. She knew that Captain Kitson and his wife were notable gossips, and it was mortifying to know that their secret plans in a few hours would be made public. She replied coldly, “Captain Kitson, you have been misinformed; we may have talked over such a thing in private as a matter of speculation, but nothing at present has been determined.” “Now, my dear, that won’t do; leave an old sailor to find out a rat. I tell you that ’tis the common report of the day. Besides, is not the _Leaftenant_ gone this morning with that scapegrace, Tom W——, to hear some lying land-shark preach about Canada.” “Lecture! Kitson,” said the old lady, who was not a whit behind her spouse in wishing to extract the news, though she suffered him to be the active agent in the matter. “Lecture or preach, it’s all one; only the parson takes his text from the Bible to hold forth upon, and these agents, employed by the Canada Company, say what they can out of their own heads. The object in both is to make money. I thought the _Leaftenant_ had been too long in a colony to be caught by chaff.” “My husband can judge for himself, Captain Kitson. He does not need the advice, or the interference of a third person,” said Flora, colouring again. And this time she felt really angry; but there was no shaking the old man off.