"Well, and if there was?"
"I have very urgent reasons for wishing to find her."
"Well, perhaps you will, who knows? Needles have been found in haymows, but I wasn't the person to pick them up, and it strikes me that you won't be more fortunate."
"But I must see this lady!"
"If you can find her, certainly; but she is not here, and never is likely to be again—the wretch—the viper!"
"When did she leave here, madam?"
"When—when? What is that to you? Am I come to the pass that I cannot turn a viper into the street without being questioned by every old tramp that prowls about? I tell you the creature you call Brown—"
"Caroline Brown," said the old lady, gently.
"Well, the creature you call Caroline Brown, then, has gone from my house forever. I neither know nor care what has become of her."
The old woman arose, and walked close to Olympia.