The woman now stood in a position that let the moon shine full upon her face, revealing every feature. She was far past the meridian of life; and there were lines of suffering and sorrow on her fine countenance. I saw that her lips moved, but it was some time before I distinguished the words.
"Have you seen my son to-night? They say he comes here."
The manner in which this was said caused a cold thrill to run over me. I perceived that the woman's mind wandered. I answered:
"No, ma'am; I haven't seen any thing of him."
My tone of voice seemed to inspire her with confidence, for she came up close to me, and bent her face toward mine.
"It's a dreadful place," she whispered, huskily. "And they say he comes here. Poor boy! He isn't what he used to be."
"It is a very bad place," said I. "Come"—and I moved a step or two in the direction from
