bout over his
valeting, beginning with Mr Draycott, but found that he was not in his
room.

The tutor came, though, five minutes later, and, meeting his man,
exclaimed with animation:

"Better news, Brigley."

"No, sir," said Jerry, shaking his head.  "Worse--much worse!"

"How dare you, sir?" cried the tutor, irritable from a sleepless night.
"I tell you the news is better, and we have hopes."

"And I tell you, sir, that the news is worse."

Mr Draycott stared at his man, and began to frown.  Strange suspicions
attacked him as he saw that Jerry looked rough and unkempt.  His hair
was not brushed; he had evidently not washed that morning, and his
Oxford mixture coat was marked by flour.

"By the way, sir," said the tutor, angrily, "where have you been?  I
rang twice, to send you to the doctor's, but the bell was not answered.
Were you not up?"

"Not up, sir?  Oh, yes; I was up and out long enough ago!"

"Out?"

"Yes, sir," said Jerry, speaking very sturdily and solemnly; and he
related all that he had seen, with the result that the tutor sank into
the nearest chair, looking ghastly, and with his lips moving, but not
uttering a sound.

Jerry stood looking down at him sadly, and at the end of a few minutes
he filled a glass from a waterbottle and handed the water to his master,
who swallowed it hurriedly.

"This is too dreadful," said the latter, huskily; "too dreadful!  But
are you sure, my man--are you sure?"

"Yes, sir, sure enough!" replied Jerry, with a hoarse sob.  "The miller
saw him just before."

"A terrible business--a terrible business!  I thought we were beginning
to see daylight again; but--poor weak rash boy!--this is ten times
worse!"

"Yes, sir--a hundred times!" said Jerry, with a groan; and master and
man gazed in each other's eyes for some time in silence, till Mr
Draycott gave a start.

"I am so stunned and helpless with this trouble upon trouble," he cried
huskily, "that I can hardly think--I can hardly believe it true.  Tell
me what you have done.  You gave notice to the police, of course?"

"