Iraisedmyhead，andgatheredthebillsandletterstogether，andstoodupamanagain，wonderingatthevariablenessofmyowntemper，atthecuriouselasticityofthattoughestofallthevitalsubstanceswithinus，whichwecallHope。\"Sittingandsighingatthefootofthistree，\"Ithought，\"isnotthewaytofindAlicia，ortosecuremyownsafety。Letmecirculatemybloodandrousemyingenuity，bytakingtotheroadagain。”
BeforeIforcedmywaybacktotheopensideofthehedge，I
thoughtitdesirabletotearupthebillsandletters，forfearofbeingtracedbythemiftheywerefoundintheplantation。ThedeskIleftwhereitwas，therebeingnonameonit。Thenote-paperandpensIpocketed——forlornasmysituationwas，itdidnotauthorizemetowastestationery。Theblotting-paperwasthelastthinglefttodisposeof:twoneatly-foldedsheets，quiteclean，exceptinoneplace，wheretheimpressionofafewlinesofwritingappeared。Iwasabouttoputtheblotting-paperintomypocketafterthepens，whensomethinginthelookofthewritingimpressedonit，stoppedme。
Fourblurredlinesappearedofnotmorethantwoorthreewordseach，runningoutonebeyondanotherregularlyfromlefttoright。Hadthedoctorbeencomposingpoetryandblottingitinaviolenthurry？Atafirstglance，thatwasmorethanIcouldtell。Theorderofthewrittenletters，whatevertheymightbe，wasreversedonthefaceoftheimpressiontakenofthembytheblotting-paper。Iturnedtotheothersideoftheleaf。Theorderoftheletterswasnowright，butthelettersthemselvesweresometimestoofaintlyimpressed，sometimestoomuchblurredtogethertobelegible。Iheldtheleafuptothelight——andtherewasacompletechange:theblurredlettersgrewclearer，theinvisibleconnectinglinesappeared——Icouldreadthewordsfromfirsttolast。
Thewritingmusthavebeenhurried，andithadtoallappearancebeenhurriedlydriedtowardthecornerofaperfectlycleanleafoftheblotting-paper。Aftertwicereading，IfeltsurethatI