pity, for the look with which she led the way was not the look of
any common determination, and the power which seemed to force her
feeble body on upon its fearful errand was of that strained and
unnatural order which might at any moment desert her, and lay her a
weak and helpless burden at our feet.

"It must be dark by this time down there," objected the man she had
appealed to, as he stepped doubtfully forward.

But she did not seem to heed. Her eyes were fixed upon the ruined
walls before her, rising drear and blank against the pale-green
evening sky.

"He could have had no errand here," I heard her murmur. "How then be
drowned here?--how? how?"

Alas! that was the mystery, dear heart, with which every mind was
busy!

The door of the mill had fallen down and rotted away years before,
so we had no difficulty in entering. But upon crossing the threshold
and making for the steps that led below, we found that the growing
twilight was any thing but favorable to a speedy or even safe
advance. For the flooring was badly broken in places, and the stairs
down which we had to go were not only uneven, but strangely rickety
and tottering.

But the sprite that led us paused for nothing, and long before I had
passed the first step she had reached the bottom one, and was
groping her way towards the single gleam of light that infused