surly and silent man, had brought hither--perhaps by force--a young
woman as his wife who was so unhappy that she pined away and died. Who
was this woman? What had rendered her so unhappy and despairing?

Thirdly, the Captain's only friend had been a crazy man named Will
Thompson. Was he crazy before the Captain's death, or had he become
crazed at that time, some terrible tragedy unhinging his mind?

Fourthly, the granddaughter of Thompson, Ethel, and the son of Captain
Wegg had been in love with each other, and people expected they would
marry in time. But at his father's sudden death the boy fled and left
his sweetheart without a word. Why--unless something had occurred that
rendered their marriage impossible?

In the fifth place there was Old Hucks and his blind wife to be
considered. What did they know about their old master's secret history?
What tragic memories lurked beneath the man's perpetual smile and the
woman's composed and sightless face?

Surely there was enough here to excite the curiosity and warrant an
effort to untangle the mystery. And as instruments to the end there were
several people available who could be of use to her; McNutt, the agent,
who evidently knew more than he had cared to tell; Old Hucks and his
wife and Ethel Thompson, the school-teacher. There might be others, but
one or another of these four must know the truth, and it would be her
pleasant duty to obtain a full disclosure. So she was anxious to begin
her investigations at once.

When her uncle returned from his visit to the pigs Louise said to him: