The whole affair was encompassed with mystery, and Gilbert Fenton's heart sank as he contemplated the task that lay before him.
"I shall spend a day or two in this neighbourhood before I return to town," he said to Ellen Carley presently; "there are inquiries that I should like to make with my own lips. I shall be only going over old ground, I daresay, but it will be some satisfaction to me to do it for myself. Can you give me house-room here for a night or two, or shall I put up at Crosber?"
"I'm sure father would be very happy to accommodate you here, sir. We've plenty of room now; too much for my taste. The house seems like a wilderness now Mrs. Holbrook is gone."
"Thanks. I shall be very glad to sleep here. There is just the chance that you may have some news for me, or I for you."
"Ah, sir, it's only a very poor chance, I'm afraid," the girl answered hopelessly.
She went with Gilbert to the gate, and watched him as he walked away towards the river. His first impulse was to follow the path which Marian had taken that day, and to see for himself what manner of place it was from which she had so mysteriously vanished.