When the servant withdrew Iris sat down and tried to eat; but all in vain. The excitement and trouble of the evening were too much for her, and she could only swallow a glass of wine and water. Eliza was informed that she might go to bed, and Iris sat up far into the night waiting for the return of Milly. Ten, eleven and twelve o'clock struck; still the girl did not appear, and Iris became terrified. Such a thing had never happened before; and she felt sure that some accident had occurred. Several times she went to the door, but saw no one. At twelve she ventured as far as the gate, and then in the darkness she heard the tramp of feet, and saw several men advancing, bearing something between them. In front walked a man alone. "Father!" cried Iris, throwing open the gate. "Milly!" "Hush!" said the grave voice of Mr. Chaskin. "It is I, Miss Link. There has been an--an accident. Your sister is--dead!" CHAPTER V. PAUL MEXTON, JOURNALIST. Barnstead was provided with a new sensation, and that of the most extreme kind. The beauty of the village--for so Milly was accounted--had been murdered by some unknown person, and everyone was excited by the tragedy. Far and wide the rumour spread, gaining details more or less truthful as it slipped from tongue to tongue, until by noon of the next day it reached Marborough. From the streets it penetrated into the office of the "Tory Times," which, as its name denotes, is an old and long-established newspaper of the south of England; and so became known to Paul Mexton, who was the chief reporter of the journal. The news appealed to him more than it did to the majority of the public. In the first place, it roused his journalistic instincts, as eminently satisfactory "copy" for the columns of the paper; in the second, he was personally acquainted with the Lester family, and particularly with Iris. The late Mr. Link had been a solicitor in Marborough, and in that town Iris had been born, and had lived for seventeen years, when, her father dying, her mother had married Dr. Lester and had removed to Barnstead. The second Mrs. Lester did not live long after her foolish second marriage, and when she died Iris was left to look after Milly and the miserable domestic affairs of Poverty Villa. But all this has been set forth before, and the main point now is the acquaintance of Mexton with Iris Link. They had been boy and girl together, and Paul had been like a brother to Iris for many years. Twice or thrice a month he was accustomed to ride over to Barnstead, when permitted by his journalistic duties; and at one time Iris thought that their youthful friendship might develop into the warmer feeling of love. But, as has before been stated, she lost her heart to Herne, and later on Paul confessed to her that he was in love with a Polish lady who for some months previously had given violin recitals in the Marborough Town Hall. Therefore, up to the present Paul and Iris were simply good friends and nothing more.