Zillah then proceeded to give an account of her journey until the arrival at Marseilles. She told him of the confusion which had prevailed, and how the mail steamers had been taken off the route, how Gualtier had found a yacht and purchased it for her, and how Mathilde had deserted her. Then she recounted her voyage up to the time when she had seen the steamer, and had fallen prostrate at the foot of the mast. "What was the date of your arrival at Marseilles?" asked the chief, after long thought. Zillah informed him. "Who is Gualtier?" "He is a teacher of music and drawing." "Where does he live?" "In London." "Do you know any thing about his antecedents?" "No." "Have you known him long?" "Yes; for five years." "Has he generally enjoyed your confidence?" "I never thought much about him, one way or the other. My father found him in London, and brought him to instruct me. Afterward--" Zillah hesitated. She was thinking of Chetwynde. "Well--afterward--?" "Afterward," said Zillah, "that is, after my father's death, he still continued his instructions." "Did he teach your sister also?" "Yes." "Your sister seems to have had great confidence in him, judging from her letter?" "Yes." "Did she ever make use of his services before?" "No." "Might she not have done so?" "I don't see how. No occasion ever arose." "Why, then, did she think him so trustworthy, do you suppose?" "Why, I suppose because he had been known to us so long, and had been apparently a humble, devoted, and industrious man. We were quite solitary always. We had no friends, and so I suppose she thought of him. It would have been quite as likely, if I were in her situation, that I would have done the same--that is, if I had her cleverness." "Your sister is clever, then?" "Very clever indeed. She has always watched over me like a--like a mother," said Zillah, while tears stood in her eyes. "Ah!" said the chief; and for a time he lost himself in thought. "How many years is it," he resumed, "since your father died?" "About five years." "How long was this Gualtier with you before his death?" "About six months." "Did your father ever show any particular confidence in him?" "No. He merely thought him a good teacher, and conscientious in his work. He never took any particular notice of him." "What was your father?" "A landed gentleman." "Where did he live?" "Sometimes in Berks, sometimes in London," said Zillah, in general terms. But the chief did not know any thing about English geography, and did not pursue this question any further. It would have resulted in nothing if he had done so, for Zillah was determined, at all hazards, to guard her secret. "Did you ever notice Gualtier's manner?" continued the chief, after another pause. "No; I never paid any attention to him, nor ever took any particular notice of any thing about him. He always seemed a quiet and inoffensive kind of a man." "What do you think of him now?"