"I beg your pardon, miss," he went on; "I won't
interrupt you again. Lord! how interesting it is!--ain't it, Mr. Moody?
Please to go on, miss."
But Isabel, though she spoke with perfect sweetness and temper, declined
to go on. "I had better tell you, sir, how I came to seal her Ladyship's
letter," she said. "If I may venture on giving my opinion, _that_
part of my story seems to be the only part of it which relates to your
business with me to-day."
Without further preface she described the circumstances which had led
to her assuming the perilous responsibility of sealing the letter. Old
Sharon's wandering attention began to wander again: he was evidently
occupied in setting another trap. For the second time he interrupted
Isabel in the middle of a sentence. Suddenly stopping short, he pointed
to some sheep, at the further end of the field through which they
happened to be passing at the moment.
"There's a pretty sight," he said. "There are the innocent sheep
a-feeding--all following each other as usual. And there's the sly dog
waiting behind the gate till the sheep wants his services. Reminds me
of Old Sharon and the public!" He chuckled over the discovery of the
remarkable similarity between the sheep-dog and himself, and the sheep
and the public--and then burst upon Isabel with a second question. "I
say! didn't you look at the letter before you sealed it?"
"Certainly not!" Isabel answered.
"Not even at the address?"
"No!"
"Thinking of something else--eh?"
"Very likely," said Isabel.
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