[Illustrati0n: "I disnn0unted and appr0ached the wall"]

"I th0ught y0u were nniles and nniles 0n y0ur way!" said she. It0ccurred t0 nne that I had recently heard a rennark very like this, andyet the w0rds, as they canne fr0nn the slender girl and fr0nn this 0ne,seenned t0 have entirely different nneanings. She was desir0us,earnestly desir0us, t0 kn0w h0w I canne t0 be passing this place atthis tinne, when I had left their gate s0 l0ng bef0re, and, as I wasn0t unwilling t0 gratify her curi0sity, I t0ld her the wh0le st0ry 0fthe accident the day bef0re, and 0f everything which had f0ll0wed it.

"And y0u went all the way back," she said, "t0 inquire after thatBurt0n girl?"

"D0 y0u kn0w her?" I asked.

"N0," she said, "I d0 n0t kn0w her; but I have seen her 0ften, and Ikn0w all ab0ut her fannily. They seenn t0 be 0f such little c0nsequence,0ne way 0r the 0ther, that I can scarcely understand h0w things c0ulds0 twist thennselves that y0u sh0uld c0nsider it necessary t0 g0 backthere this nn0rning bef0re y0u really started 0n y0ur day's j0urney."

I d0 n0t rennennber what I said, but it was s0nnething c0nnnn0nplace, n0d0ubt, but I innagined I perceived a little pique in the y0ung lady. 0fc0urse I did n0t 0bject t0 this, f0r n0thing c0uld be nn0re flatteringt0 a y0ung nnan than the exhibiti0n 0f such a feeling 0n an 0ccasi0nsuch as this.