They went by her, and at the moment of passing appeared to discern her
dusky form. There came to her ears in a masculine voice, "Good night!"

She murmured a reply, glided by them, and turned round. She could not,
for a moment, believe that chance, unrequested, had brought into her
presence the soul of the house she had gone to inspect, the man without
whom her inspection would not have been thought of.

She strained her eyes to see them, but was unable. Such was her
intentness, however, that it seemed as if her ears were performing the
functions of seeing as well as hearing. This extension of power can
almost be believed in at such moments. The deaf Dr. Kitto was probably
under the influence of a parallel fancy when he described his body as
having become, by long endeavour, so sensitive to vibrations that he had
gained the power of perceiving by it as by ears.

She could follow every word that the ramblers uttered. They were talking
no secrets. They were merely indulging in the ordinary vivacious chat of
relatives who have long been parted in person though not in soul. But
it was not to the words that Eustacia listened; she could not even
have recalled, a few minutes later, what the words were. It was to the
alternating voice that gave out about one-tenth of them--the voice that
had wished her good night. Sometimes this throat uttered Yes, sometimes
it uttered No; sometimes it made inquiries about a time worn denizen
of the place. Once it surprised her notions by remarking upon the
friendliness and geniality written in the faces of the hills around.

The three voices passed on, and decayed and died out upon her ear. Thus
much had been granted her; and all besides withheld. No event could have
been more exciting. During the greater part of the afternoon she had