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The captain concluded that Eustacia, feeling wakeful, had gone for a book, and would have dismissed the matter as uni as she passed

"She is thinking of that husband of hers," he said to hioose! she had no business to marry him I wonder if that letter is really his?"

He arose, threw his boat-cloak round him, opened the door, and said, "Eustacia!" There was no answer "Eustacia!" he repeated louder, "there is a letter on the mantelpiece for you"

But no response was inary one fronaw at the corners of the house, and the stroke of a few drops of rain upon the s

He went on to the landing, and stood waiting nearly five ht, and prepared to follow her; but first he looked into her bedroom There, on the outside of the quilt, was the i that the bed had not been opened; and, as nificant, she had not taken her candlestick downstairs He was now thoroughly alar on his clothes he descended to the front door, which he himself had bolted and locked It was now unfastened There was no longer any doubt that Eustacia had left the house at this one? To follow her was al stood in an ordinary road, two persons setting out, one in each direction,her; but it was a hopeless task to seek for anybody on a heath in the dark, the practicable directions for flight across it fro from the pole Perplexed what to do, he looked into the parlour, and was vexed to find that the letter still lay there untouched

At half-past eleven, finding that the house was silent, Eustacia had lighted her candle, put on so in her hand, and, extinguishing the light again, descended the staircase When she got into the outer air she found that it had begun to rain, and as she stood pausing at the door it increased, threatening to co co for bad weather Even the receipt of Clylooht was funereal; all nature seemed clothed in crape The spiky points of the fir trees behind the house rose into the sky like the turrets and pinnacles of an abbey Nothing below the horizon was visible save a light which was still burning in the cottage of Susan Nunsuch