"
"I fancied it then, from seeing you had covered such handsome black
locks with that ugly old wig. It was my mistake; you will please to
pardon it."
Mr. Wharton groaned aloud; but the ladies, ignorant of the extent of
their visitor's knowledge, remained in trembling yet rigid silence. The
captain himself moved his hand involuntarily to his head, and discovered
that the trepidation of his sisters had left some of his natural hair
exposed. The dragoon watched the movement with a continued smile, when,
seeming to recollect himself, turning to the father, he proceeded,--
"Then, sir, I am to understand there has not been a Mr. Harper here,
within the week?"
"Mr. Harper," echoed the other, feeling a load removed from his heart,
"yes, I had forgotten; but he is gone; and if there be anything wrong in
his character, we are in entire ignorance of it; to me he was a total
stranger."
"You have but little to apprehend from his character," answered the
dragoon dryly. "But he is gone--how--when--and whither?"
"He departed as he arrived," said Mr. Wharton, gathering renewed
confidence from the manner of the trooper; "on horseback, last evening,
and he took the northern road."
The officer listened to him with intense interest, his countenance
gradually lighting into a smile of pleasure, and the instant Mr.
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