"I'm afraid not!" answered Robin, sadly. "We muse trust to her
remembrance of us, Priscilla, and her thoughts of the old home
where she was loved and cared for." His voice shook. "It will be a
dreary place without her! We shall miss her every minute, every
hour of the day! I cannot fancy what the garden will look like
without her little white figure flitting over the grass, and her
sweet fair face smiling among the roses! Hang it all, Priscilla,
if it were not for the last wishes of my Uncle Hugo I'd throw the
whole thing up and go abroad!"

"Don't do that, Mister Robin!"--and Priscilla laid her rough work-
worn hand on his arm--"Don't do it! It's turning your back on duty
to give up the work entrusted to you by a dead man. You know it
is! An' the child may come back any day! I shouldn't wonder if she
got frightened at being alone and ran home again to-morrow! Think
of it, Mister Robin! Suppose she came an' you weren't here? Why,
you'd never forgive yourself! I can't think she's gone far or that
she'll stay away long. Her heart's in Briar Farm all the while--
I'd swear to that! Why, only yesterday when a fine lady came to
see if she couldn't buy something out o' the house, you should
just a' seen her toss her pretty little head when she told me how
she'd said it wasn't to be sold."

"Lady? What lady?" and Robin looked, as he felt, bewildered by
Priscilla's vague statement. "Did someone come here to see the
house?"

"Not exactly--I don't know what it was all about," replied
Priscilla. "But quite a grand lady called an' gave me her card. I