"We did not know how or when she went, but certainly did see her and Mr. North together."
"Where?"
"Down yonder, going into that low tavern."
Elsie gazed into her friend's face, startled and astonished.
"She would not go there. You must be mistaken, Mrs. Harrington. No person could be recognised from this distance—it's all nonsense."
"Ask her," said Mrs. Harrington, "for here she comes."
Elizabeth came up from a hollow in the woods and joined the party. She seemed completely worn out, and sat down on a fragment of rock, panting for breath. She was very pale, as if some great exertion had left the weariness of reaction upon her. She had evidently rested somewhere before joining them.
"Elizabeth, where have you been?" said Elsie, looking anxiously at her sister-in-law.
"Down in the woods."
Elizabeth pointed to the forest that sloped back from the precipice.