"By the way, Miss Mardale, do you happen to know who lives in that house?" and he pointed across the corner of the square to the house into which Callon had disappeared.
Pamela and Warrisden looked quickly at one another. Then Pamela turned with great interest to Mr. Mudge.
"Yes, we both know," she answered. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, I don't know," said Mudge; "I think that I should like to know."
The glance which his two companions had exchanged, and Pamela's rather eager question, had quickened his curiosity. But he got no answer for a few moments. Both Pamela and Warrisden were looking out towards the house. They were standing side by side. Mr. Mudge had an intuition that the same thought was passing through both their minds.
"That is where the truants lived last July," said Warrisden, in a low voice. He spoke to Pamela, not to Mr. Mudge at all, whose existence seemed for the moment to have been clean forgotten.
"Yes," Pamela replied softly. "The dark house, where the truants lived and where"--she looked at Warrisden and smiled with a great friendliness--"where the new road began. For it was there really. It's from the steps of the dark house, not from the three poplars that the new road runs out."
"Yes, that is true," said Warrisden.
And again both were silent.
Mr. Mudge broke in upon the silence. "I have no doubt that the truants lived there, and that the new road begins at the foot of the steps," he said plaintively; "but neither statement adds materially to my knowledge."