it  ? or did she really see the door first open a 
little, then suddenly and softly close again ? 

Was it  ? or did she really hear, at the same moment^ 
a sound behind her as of persons speaking in the conservatory? 

She paused ; and, looking back in that direction, listened in- 
tently. The sound  if she had really heard it  was no longer 
audible. She advanced toward the billiard-room, to set her 
first doubt at rest. She stretched out her hand to open the 
door, when the voices (recognizable now as the voices of two 
men) caught her ear once more. 

This time she was able to distinguish the words that were 
spoken. 

"Any further orders, sir?" inquired one of the men. 

" Nothing more," replied the other. 

 started, and faintly flushed, as the second voice an- 
swered the first. She stood irresolute close to the billiard- 
room, hesitating what to do next. 

After an interval the second voice made itself heard again, 
advancing nearer to the dining-room; "Are you there, aunt?" 
it asked, cautiously. There was a moment's pause. Then 
the voice spoke for the third time, sounding louder and near- 
er. "Are you there?"