"I heard that she drowned herself last night."
"Who told you that?"
"Gabriel Grimsby. He called in to rest for a while this afternoon.
You met him, did you not?"
"Indeed I did, the rascal. But he is not anxious to meet me. I let him have ten dollars some time ago, and he has given me a wide berth ever since. What did Gabe tell you about Miss Randall?"
"Not very much. He merely said that she was a beautiful girl, much sought after, and moved a great deal in society. It seems that her parents wanted to force her to marry a man for whom she did not care, a Lord Somebody or other, and in despair she took her own life. Poor girl! it is very sad. You must have heard of it, John, and whether they have found her body."
John was listening intently to every word, at the same time watching the "Eb and Flo" bearing steadily up river.
"They have not found her body," he absently replied. "There is great excitement at Benton's wharf, and the river is now being dragged for her body."
"Dear me!" Mrs. Hampton sighed. "Her parents must be heart-broken."
"Heart-broken! H'm, they haven't any hearts to break. If they had, they wouldn't try to force their only daughter to marry a thing like Donaster."
"It is often done, though, John."