She took the thief out of the candle, and went
like a good sentinel to look at her charge.

He was not there.

She rubbed her eyes, and held the candle over
the place were be ought to be; where, in fact,
lie must be; for he was far too weak to move.

She tore the bedclothes down: she beat and
patted the clothes with her left hand, and the
candle began to shake violently in her right.

The bed was empty.

Mrs. Dodd was half asleep, when a hurried
tap came to her door: she started up in a moment,
and great dread fell on her; was David
sinking?

"Ma'am! Ma'am! Is he here?"

"He! Who?" cried Mrs. Dodd, bewildered.

"Why him! he can't be far off."

In a moment Mrs. Dodd had opened the door;
and her tongue and the nurse's seemed to clash
together, so fast came the agitated words from
each in turn; and, crying " Call my son! Alarm
the house!" Mrs. Dodd darted into the sick room.
She was out again in a moment, and up in the attics
rousing the maids, while the nurse thundered at
Edward's door, and Julia's, and rang every bell
she could get at. The inmates were soon
alarmed, and flinging on their clothes: meantime,
Mrs. Dodd and the nurse scoured the house and
searched every nook in it down to the very cellar;
they found no David.

But they found something.

The street door ajar.

It was a dark drizzly night.

Edward took one road, Mrs. Dodd and Elizabeth
another.

They were no sooner gone, than Julia drew the
nurse into a room apart, and asked her eagerly
if her Father had said nothing.

"Said nothing, Miss? Why he was a talking
all the night incessant."

"Did he say anything particular? think now."

"No, Miss: he went on as they all do just
before a change. I never minds 'em; I hear so
much of it."

"Oh nurse! nurse! have pity on me! try
and recollect."

"Well, Miss, to oblige you then; it was mostly
fights this time—and wrecks— and villains— and
bankers— and sharks."

"Bankers??!" asked Julia eagerly.

"Yes, Miss, and villains, they come once or
twice, but most of the time it was sharks, and
ships, and money, and— hotch-potch I call it the
way they talk: bless your heart they know no
belter: everything they ever saw, or read, or heard
tell of, it all comes out higgledy-piggledy just
before they goes off: we that make it a business
never takes no notice of what they says, Miss:
and never repeats it out of one sick house into
another: that you may rely on."

Julia scarcely heard this: her hands were
tight to her brow as if to aid her to think with
all her force.

The result was, she told Sarah to put on her
bonnet: and rushed up-stairs.

She was not gone three minutes; but in that
short interval the nurse's tongue and Sarah's
clashed together swiftly and incessantly.

Julia heard them. She came down with a
long cloak on, whipped the hood over her head,
beckoned Sarah quickly, and darted out. Sarah
followed instinctively, but, ere they had gone
many yards from the house, said, "Oh, Miss,
nurse thinks you had much better not go."

"Nurse thinks! Nurse thinks! What does
she know of me and my griefs?"

"Why, Miss, she is a very experienced
woman, and she says— Oh dear! oh dear!
And such a dark cold night for you to be
out!"

"Nurse? Nurse? What did she say?"

"Oh, I haven't the heart to tell you: if you
would but come back home with me! She says
as much as that poor master's troubles will be
over long before we can get to him." And with
this Sarah burst out sobbing.

"Come quicker," cried Julia, despairingly.
But after a while she said, "Tell me; only don't
stop me."

"Miss, she says she nursed Mr. Campbell, the
young curate that died last Harvest-time but one,
you know; and he lay just like master, and she
expecting a change every hour: and oh, Miss,
she met him coming down stairs in his nightgownd:
and he said, ' Nurse, I am all right now,'
says he, and died momently in her arms at the
stair-foot. And she nursed an old farmer that
lay as weak as master, and, just when they looked
for him to go, lo and behold him dressed and out
digging potatoes, and fell down dead before they
could get hands on him mostly: and nurse have
a friend, that have seen more than she have,
which she is older than nurse, and says a body's
life is all one as a rushlight, flares up strong
momently, just before it goes out altogether.
Dear heart, where ever are we going to in the
middle of the night?"

"Don't you see? to the quay."

"Oh, don't go there, Miss, whatever! I can't
abide the sight of the water; when a body's in
trouble." Here a drunken man confronted them,
and asked them if they wanted a beau: and, on
their slipping past him in silence, followed them,
and offered repeatedly to treat them. Julia
moaned, and hurried faster. " Oh, Miss," said
Sarah, "what could you expect, coming out at
this time of night? I'm sure the breath is all
out of me; you do tear along so."

"Tear? we are crawling. Ah, Sarah, you are
not his daughter. There, follow me! I cannot
go so slow." And she set off to run.

Presently she passed a group of women standing
talking at a corner of the street; and windows
were open with nightcapped heads framed
in them.

She stopped a moment to catch the words;
they were talking about a ghost which was said
to have just passed down the street; and