tremendous speed down the road and was soon out of sight, leaving Mr.
Wilmot to find his way alone through the wood. This he found no difficulty
in doing, for he soon came in sight of a house, which he readily took for
Mr. Middleton’s.

It was a large, old-fashioned stone building, with one chimney fallen
down, as Mr. Edson had said, and its companion looked likely to follow
suit at the first high wind. The windows of the upper story were
two-thirds of them destitute of glass, but its place was supplied by
shingles, which kept the cold out if they did not let the light in.
Scattered about the yard, which was very large, were corn cribs, hay
racks, pig troughs, carts, wagons, old plows, horses, mules, cows, hens,
chickens, turkeys, geese, negroes, and dogs, the latter of which rushed
ferociously at Mr. Wilmot, who was about to beat a retreat from so
uninviting quarters, when one of the negroes called out, "Ho, marster,
don’t be feared, ’case I’ll hold Tiger." So Wilmot advanced with some
misgivings toward the negro and dog.

He asked the negro if his master were at home.

"No, sar, marster’s done gone away, but Miss Nancy, she’s at home. Jist
walk right in thar, whar you see the pile of saddles in the entry."

Accordingly, Mr. Wilmot "walked in where the pile of saddles were," and
knocked at a side door. It was opened by a very handsome young girl, who
politely asked the stranger to enter. He did so and found within a
mild-looking, middle-aged lady, whose dark eyes and hair showed her at
once to be the mother of the young lady who had opened the door for him.

Mrs. Middleton, for she it was, arose, and offering her hand to the