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216 WHISPERS FROM FAIRYLAND. [rv.

celled, and the well-written copy-book-like hand in
which this letter was written was as different from
John Goodchild’s zig-zag tumble up-and-down scrawl
as chalk from cheese. The spelling too, which had
never been John’s strong point, was, as far as Molly
could judge, quite right all through the letter, and
there was not a single smudge or blot on the whole
paper. This last point quite decided Molly’s opinion.
Throwing the letter down upon the ground she con-
temptuously kicked it with her foot, and exclaimed
at the same time, ‘ My John never sent no such letter
as that, not he.’ :

This little incident put Moliy, if possible, even
more on her guard than she had been before. It was
evident that the enemy was now dealing with her
rather by fraud and guile than by open violence, and
she determined to be. doubly careful. She thought
carefully over the words of the Wise Rabbit, and
remembered that she had just now very nearly dis-
obeyed his injunctions by looking behind her when the
bat flew up from that direction. But it was difficult
not to look behind as well as before and on each side,
when her object was to discover her husband, and
for the last half hour she had seen no one who could
tell her anything about him. However, at that
moment the path led her into a new scene, which
made her for the moment forget the letter and its
advice. An oak-tree larger than its neighbours stood
so close to the path that a portion of the latter was
occupied by its trunk, past which Molly saw she
would have to brush if she wished to go any farther.
As she came within a few feet of it, a voice suddenly