CAPITOLA THE MADCAP

PART II OF

THE HIDDEN HAND

BY

MRS. EMMA D. E. N. SOUTHWORTH

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

 I. The Orphan's Trial II. Old Hurricane Storms III. Cap's Visit to the Hidden House IV. The Hidden Hollow V. The Hidden House VI. The Inmate of the Hidden House VII. Cap's Return VIII. Another Mystery at the Hidden House IX. Cap Frees the Captive X. Cap in Captivity XI. An Unexpected Visitor at Marsh's Cottage XII. Cap "Rests on her Laurels" and "Spoils for a Fight" XIII. Black Donald XIV. Glory XV. Cap Captivates a Craven XVI. Cap's Rage XVII. Capitola Caps the Climax XVIII. Black Donald's Last Attempt XIX. The Awful Peril of Capitola XX. The Next Morning XXI. A Fatal Hatred XXII. The Court-Martial XXIII. The Verdict XXIV. The End of the War XXV. The Fortunate Bath XXVI. The Mysterious Maniac XXVII. The Maniac's Story XXVIII. End of the Lady's Story XXIX. Prospects Brighten XXX. Capitola a Capitalist XXXI. "There shall be light at the eventide. "--Holy Bible

CAPITOLA THE MADCAP SEQUEL TO THE HIDDEN HAND

CHAPTER I. 

THE ORPHAN'S TRIAL

 "We met ere yet the world had come To wither up the springs of youth, Amid the holy joys of home, And in the first warm blush of youth. We parted as they never part, Whose tears are doomed to be forgot; Oh, by what agony of heart. Forget me not!--forget me not!"

 --Anonymous. 

At nine o'clock the next morning Traverse went to the library to keephis tryst with Colonel Le Noir. 

Seated in the doctor's leathern chair, with his head thrown back, hisnose erect and his white and jeweled hand caressing his mustached chin, the colonel awaited the young man's communication. 

With a slight bow Traverse took a chair and drew it up to the table, seated himself and, after a little hesitation, commenced, and in amodest and self-respectful manner announced that he was charged withthe last verbal instructions from the doctor to the executor of hiswill. 

Colonel Le Noir left off caressing his chin for an instant, and, with awave of his dainty hand, silently intimated that the young man shouldproceed. 

Traverse then began and delivered the dying directions of the latedoctor, to the effect that his daughter Clara Day should not be removedfrom the paternal mansion, but that she should be suffered to remainthere, retaining as a matronly companion her old friend Mrs. MarahRocke. 

"Umm! umm! very ingenious, upon my word!" commented the colonel, stillcaressing his chin. 

"I have now delivered my whole message, sir, and have only to add thatI hope, for Miss Day's sake, there will be no difficulty thrown in theway of the execution of her father's last wishes, which are also, sir, very decidedly her own" said Traverse. 

"Umm! doubtless they are--and also yours and your worthy mother's. "

"Sir, Miss Day's will in this matter is certainly mine. Apart from theconsideration of her pleasure, my wishes need not be consulted. As soonas I have seen Miss Day made comfortable I leave for the far West, "said Traverse, with much dignity. 

"Umm! and leave mama here to guard the golden prize until your return, eh?" sneered the colonel. 

"Sir, I do not--wish to understand you, " said Traverse with a flushedbrow. 

"Possibly not, my excellent young friend, " said the colonel, ironically; then, rising from his chair and elevating his voice, hecried, "but I, sir, understand you and your mother and your prettyscheme perfectly! Very ingenious invention, these 'last verbalinstructions. ' Very pretty plan to entrap an heiress; but it shall notavail you, adventurers that you are! This afternoon Sauter, theconfidential attorney of my late brother-in-law, will be here with thewill, which shall be read in the presence of the assembled household. If these last verbal directions are also to be found duplicated in thewill, very good, they shall be obeyed; if they not, shall bediscredited. "

During this speech Traverse stood with kindling eyes and blazingcheeks, scarcely able to master his indignation; yet, to his credit beit spoken, he did "rule his own spirit" and replied with dignity andcalmness:

"Colonel Le Noir, my testimony in regard to the last wishes of DoctorDay can, if necessary, be supported by other evidence--though I do notbelieve that any man who did not himself act in habitual disregard oftruth would wantonly question the veracity of another. "

"Sir! this to me!" exclaimed Le Noir, growing white with rage andmaking a step toward the young man. 

"Yes, Colonel Le Noir, that to you! And this in addition; You havepresumed to charge my mother, in connection with myself, with being anadventuress; with forming dishonorable 'schemes, ' and in so chargingher, Colonel Le Noir, you utter a falsehood!"

"Sirrah!" cried Le Noir, striding toward Traverse and raising his handover his head, with a fearful oath, "retract your words or--"

Traverse calmly drew himself up, folded his arms and replied coolly:

"I am no brawler, Colonel Le Noir; the pistol and the bowie-knife areas strange to my hands as abusive epithets and profane language are tomy lips; nevertheless, instead of retracting my words, I repeat andreiterate them. If you charge my mother with conspiracy you utter afalsehood. As her son I am in duty bound to say as much. "

"Villain!" gasped Le Noir, shaking his fist and choking with rage;"villain! you shall repent this in every vein of your body!"

Then, seizing his hat, he strode from the room. 

"Boaster!" said Traverse to himself, as he also left the library byanother door. 

Clara was waiting for him in the little parlor below. 

"Well, well, dear Traverse, " she said, as he entered. "You have had theexplanation with my guardian, and--he makes no objection to carryingout the last directions of my father and our own wishes--he is willingto leave me here?"

"My dear girl, Colonel Le Noir defers all decision until the reading ofthe will, which is to take place this afternoon, " said Traverse, unwilling to add to her distress by recounting the disgraceful scenethat had just taken place in the library. 

"Oh! these delays! these delays! Heaven give me patience! Yet I do notknow why I should be so uneasy. It is only a form; of course he willregard my father's wishes. "

"I do not see well how he can avoid doing so, especially as DoctorWilliams is another witness to them, and I shall request the doctor'sattendance here this afternoon. Dear Clara, keep up your spirits! A fewhours now and all will be well, " said Traverse, as he drew on hisgloves and took his hat to go on his morning round of calls. 

An early dinner was ordered, for the purpose of giving ample time inthe afternoon for the reading of the will. 

Owing to the kind forbearance of each member of this little family, their meeting with their guest at the table was not so awkward as itmight have been rendered. Mrs. Rocke had concealed the insults that hadbeen offered her; Traverse had said nothing of the affronts put uponhim. So that each, having only their own private injuries to resent, felt free in forbearing. Nothing but this sort of prudence on the partof individuals rendered their meeting around one board possible. 

While they were still at the table the attorney, Mr. Sauter, withDoctors Williams and Dawson, arrived, and was shown into the library. 

And very soon after the dessert was put upon the table the family leftit and, accompanied by Colonel Le Noir, adjourned to the library. Afterthe usual salutations they arranged themselves along each side of anextension table, at the head of which the attorney placed himself. 

In the midst of a profound silence the will was opened and read. It wasdated three years before. 

The bulk of his estate, after the paying a few legacies, was left tohis esteemed brother-in-law, Gabriel Le Noir, in trust for his onlydaughter, Clara Day, until the latter should attain the age oftwenty-one, at which period she was to come into possession of theproperty. Then followed the distribution of the legacies. Among therest the sum of a thousand dollars was left to his young friendTraverse Rocke, and another thousand to his esteemed neighbor MarahRocke. Gabriel Le Noir was appointed sole executor of the will, trusteeof the property and guardian of the heiress. 

At the conclusion of the reading Mr. Sauter folded the document andlaid it upon the table. 

Colonel Le Noir arose and said:

"The will of the late Doctor Day has been read in your presence. Ipresume you all heard it, and that there can be no mistake as to itspurport. All that remains now is to act upon it. I shall claim theusual privilege of twelve months before administering upon the estateor paying the legacies. In the mean time, I shall assume the charge ofmy ward's person, and convey her to my own residence, known as theHidden House. Mrs. Rocke, " he said, turning toward the latter, "yourpresence and that of your young charge is no longer required here. Beso good as to prepare Miss Day's traveling trunks, as we set out fromthis place to-morrow morning. "

Mrs. Rocke started, looked wistfully in the face of the speaker and, seeing that he was in determined earnest, turned her appealing glancestoward Traverse and Doctor Williams. 

As for Clara, her face, previously blanched with grief, was now flushedwith indignation. In her sudden distress and perplexity she knew not atonce what to do--whether to utter a protest or continue silent; whetherto leave the room or remain. Her embarrassment was perceived byTraverse, who, stooping, whispered to her:

"Be calm, love; all shall be well. Doctor Williams is about to speak. "

And at that moment, indeed, Doctor Williams arose and said:

"I have, Colonel Le Noir to endorse a dying message from Doctor Dayentrusted to my young friend here to be delivered to you, to the effectthat it was his last desire and request that his daughter, Miss ClaraDay, should be permitted to reside during the term of her minority inthis her patrimonial home, under the care of her present matronlyfriend, Mrs. Marah Rocke, Doctor Rocke and myself are here to beartestimony to these, the last wishes of the departed, which wishes, Ibelieve, also express the desires of his heiress. "

"Oh, yes, yes!" said Clara, earnestly. "I do very much desire to remainin my own home, among my old familiar friends. My dear father onlyconsulted my comfort and happiness when he left these instructions. "

"There can be, therefore, no reason why Miss Day should be disturbed inher present home, " said Traverse. 

Colonel Le Noir smiled grimly, saying:

"I am sorry, Doctor Williams, to differ with you or to distress MissDay. But if, as she says, her lamented father consulted her pleasure inthose last instructions, he certainly consulted nothing else--not theproprieties of conventionalism, the opinion of the world, nor thefuture welfare of his daughter. Therefore, as a man of Doctor Day'shigh position and character in his sane moments never could have madesuch a singular arrangement, I am forced to the conclusion that hecould not, at the time of giving those instructions, have been in hisright mind. Consequently, I cannot venture to act upon any 'verbalinstructions, ' however well attested, but shall be guided in everyrespect by the will, executed while yet the testator was in sound bodyand mind. "

"Doctor Rocke and myself are both physicians competent to certify that, at the time of leaving these directions, our respected friend wasperfectly sound in mind at least, " said Doctor Williams. 

"That, sir, I repeat, I contest. And, acting upon the authority of thewill, I shall proceed to take charge of my ward as well as of herestate. And as I think this house, under all the circumstances, a veryimproper place for her to remain, I shall convey her without delay tomy own home. Mrs. Rocke, I believe I requested you to see to thepacking of Miss Day's trunks. "

"Oh, heaven! shall this wrong be permitted?" ejaculated Marah. 

"Mrs. Rocke, I will not go unless absolutely forced to do so by adecree of the court. I shall get Doctor Williams to make an appeal forme to the Orphans' Court, " said Clara, by way of encouraging her friend. 

"My dear Miss Day, that, I hope, will not be required. Colonel Le Noiracts under a misapprehension of the circumstances. We must enter intomore explanations with him, In the mean time, my dear young lady, it isbetter that you should obey him for the present, at least so far asretiring from the room, " said Doctor Williams. 

Clara immediately rose and, requesting Mrs. Rocke to accompany her, withdrew from the library. 

Doctor Williams then said;

"I advised the retirement of the young lady, having a communication tomake the hearing of which in a mixed company might have cost her aninnocent blush. But first I would ask you, Colonel Le Noir, what arethose circumstances to which you allude which render Miss Day'sresidence here, in her patrimonial mansion, with her old and faithfulfriends, so improper?" inquired Doctor Williams, courteously. 

"The growing intimacy, sir, between herself and a very objectionableparty--this young man Rocke!" replied Colonel Le Noir. 

"Ah! and is that all?"

"It is enough, sir, " said Colonel Le Noir, loftily. 

"Then suppose I should inform you, sir, that this young man, DoctorRocke, was brought up and educated at Doctor Day's cost and under hisown immediate eye?"

"Then, sir, you would only inform me that an eccentric gentleman offortune had done--what eccentric gentlemen of fortune will sometimesdo--educated a pauper. "

At this opprobrious epithet Traverse, with a flushed face, started tohis feet. 

"Sit down, my boy, sit down; leave me to deal with this man, " saidDoctor Williams, forcing Traverse back into his seat. Then, turning toColonel Le Noir, he said:

"But suppose, sir, that such was the estimation in which Doctor Dayheld the moral and intellectual worth of his young protege that heactually gave him his daughter?"

"I cannot suppose an impossibility, Doctor Williams, " replied ColonelLe Noir, haughtily. 

"Then, sir, I have the pleasure of startling you a little by a prodigythat you denominate an impossibility! Clara Day and Traverse Rocke werebetrothed with full knowledge and cordial approbation of the younglady's father. "

"Impossible! preposterous! I shall countenance no such ridiculousabsurdity!" said Colonel Le Noir, growing red in the face. 

"Miss Day, Doctor Rocke, Mrs. Rocke, and myself are witnesses to thatfact. "

"The young lady, and the young man are parties immediatelyconcerned--they cannot be received as witnesses in their own case; Mrs. Rocke is too much in their interest for her evidence to be taken; you, sir, I consider the dupe of these cunning conspirators--mother andson, " replied Colonel Le Noir, firmly. 

"Tut!" said Doctor Williams, almost out of patience. "I do not dependupon the words of Miss Day and her friends, although I hold theirveracity to be above question; I had Doctor Day's dying words to thesame effect. And he mentioned the existing betrothal as the very reasonwhy Clara should remain here in the care of her future mother-in-law. "

"Then, sir, that the doctor should have spoken and acted thus, is onlyanother and a stronger reason for believing him to have been derangedin his last moments! You need give yourself no farther trouble! I shallact upon the authority of this instrument which I hold in my hand, "replied Colonel Le Noir, haughtily. 

"Then, as the depository of the dying man's last wishes and as the nextfriend of his injured daughter, I shall make an appeal to the Orphans'Court, " said Doctor Williams, coldly. 

"You can do as you please about that; but in the mean time, acting uponthe authority of the will, I shall to-morrow morning set out with myward for my own home. "

"There may be time to arrest that journey, " said Doctor Williams, arising and taking his hat to go. 

In the passage he met Mrs. Rocke. 

"Dear Doctor Williams, " said Mrs. Rocke, earnestly, "pray come up topoor Clara's room and speak to her, if you can possibly say anything tocomfort her; she is weeping herself into a fit of illness at the barethought of being, so soon after her dreadful bereavement, torn awayfrom her home and friends. "

"Tut! tut! no use in weeping! all will yet be right. "

"You have persuaded that man to permit her to remain here, then?" saidMarah, gladly. 

"Persuaded him! no, nor even undertaken to do so! I never saw himbefore to-day, yet I would venture to say, from what I have now seen ofhim, that he never was persuaded by any agent except his own passionsand interests, to any act whatever. No, I have endeavored to show himthat we have law as well as justice on our side, and even now I amafraid I shall have to take the case before the Orphans' Court before Ican convince him. He purposes removing Clara to-morrow morning. I willendeavor to see the Judge of the Orphans' Court to-night, take out ahabeas corpus, ordering Le Noir to bring his ward into court, and serveit on him as he passes through Staunton on his way home. "

"But is there no way of preventing him from taking Clara away from thehouse to-morrow morning. "

"No good way. No, madam, it is best that all things should be donedecently and in order. I advise you, as I shall also advise my youngfriends, Traverse and Clara, not to injure their own cause by unwiseimpatience or opposition. We should go before the Orphans' Court withthe very best aspect. "

"Come, then, and talk to Clara. She has the most painful antipathy tothe man who claims the custody of her person, as well as the mostdistressing reluctance to leaving her dear home and friends; and allthis, in addition to her recent heavy affliction, almost overwhelms thepoor child, " said Mrs. Rocke, weeping. 

"I will go at once and do what I can to soothe her, " said DoctorWilliams, following Mrs. Rocke, who led him up to Clara's room. 

They found her prostrate upon her bed, crushed with grief. 

"Come, come, my dear girl, this is too bad! It is not like the usualnoble fortitude of our Clara, " said the old man, kindly taking her hand. 

"Oh, Doctor, forgive--forgive me! but my courage must have been verysmall, for I fear it is all gone. But then, indeed, everything comes onme at once. My dear, dear father's death; then the approachingdeparture and expected long absence of Traverse! All that was grievousenough to bear; and now to be torn away from the home of my childhood, and from the friend that has always been a mother to me, and by a man, from whom every true, good instinct of my nature teaches me to shrink. I, who have always had full liberty in the house of my dear father, tobe forced away against my will by this man, as if I were his slave!"exclaimed Clara, bursting into fresh tears of indignation and grief. 

"Clara, my dear, dear girl, this impatience and rebellion is so unlikeyour gentle nature that I can scarcely recognize you for the mild anddignified daughter of my old friend. Clara, if the saints in heavencould grieve at anything, I should think your dear father would begrieved to see you thus!" said the old man in gentle rebuke thatimmediately took effect upon the meek and conscientious maiden. 

"Oh! I feel--I feel that I am doing very wrong, but I cannot help it. Iscarcely know myself in this agony of mingled grief, indignation andterror--yes, terror--for every instinct of my nature teaches me todistrust and fear that man, in whom my father must have been greatlydeceived before he could have entrusted him with the guardianship ofhis only child. "

"I think that quite likely, " said the old man; "yet, my dear, even inrespect to your dear father's memory, you must try to bear this trialpatiently. "

"Oh, yes, I know I must. Dear father, if you can look down and see menow, forgive your poor Clara, her anger and her impatience. She willtry to be worthy of the rearing you have given her and to bear eventhis great trial with the spirit worthy of your daughter!" said Clarawithin her own heart; then, speaking up, she said: "You shall have nomore reason to reprove me, Doctor Williams. "

"That is my brave girl! That is my dear Clara Day! And now, when yourguardian directs you to prepare yourself for your journey, obey him--gowith him without making any objection. I purpose to arrest your journeyat Staunton with a habeas corpus that he dare not resist, and whichshall compel him to bring you into the Orphans' Court. There our sideshall be heard, and the decision will rest with the judge. "

"And all will be well! Oh, say that, sir! to give me the courage to actwith becoming docility, " pleaded Clara. 

"I have not a doubt in this world that it will all be right, for, however Colonel Le Noir may choose to disregard the last wishes of yourfather, as attested by myself and young Rocke, I have not the leastidea that the judge will pass them over. On the contrary, I feelpersuaded that he will confirm them by sending you back here to yourbeloved home. "

"Oh, may heaven grant it!" said Clara. "You do, indeed, give me newlife. "

"Yes, yes, be cheerful, my dear; trust in Providence and expect nothingshort of the best! And now I dare not tarry longer with you, for I mustsee the Judge at his house this night. Good-by, my dear; keep up a goodheart!" said the old man, cheerfully, pressing her hand and taking hisleave. 

Mrs. Rocke accompanied him to the hall door. 

"My dear madam, keep up your spirits also for the sake of your youngcharge! Make her go to bed early! To-morrow, when she thinks she isabout to be torn from you forever, remind her in her ear that I shallmeet the carriage at Staunton with a power that shall turn the horses'heads. "

And so saying, the worthy old gentleman departed. 

As Marah Rocke looked after him, she also saw with alarm that ColonelLe Noir had mounted his horse and galloped off in the direction ofStaunton, as if impelled by the most urgent haste. 

She returned to the bedside of Clara, and left her no more that night. As the colonel did not return to supper, they, the family party, hadtheir tea in Clara's room. 

Late at night Mrs. Rocke heard Colonel Le Noir come into the house andenter his chamber. 

Poor Clara slept no more that night; anxiety, despite of all herefforts, kept her wide awake. Yet, though anxious and wakeful, yet byprayer and endeavor she had brought her mind into a patient andsubmissive mood, so that when a servant knocked at her door in themorning with a message from Colonel Le Noir that she should be ready toset forth immediately after breakfast, she replied that she should obeyhim, and without delay she arose and commenced her toilet. 

All the family met for the last time around the board. The party wasconstrained. The meal was a gloomy one. On rising from the tableColonel Le Noir informed his ward that his traveling carriage waswaiting, and that her baggage was already on, and requested her to puton her bonnet and mantle, and take leave of her servants. 

Clara turned to obey--Traverse went to her side and whispered:

"Take courage, dear love. My horse is saddled. I shall ride inattendance upon the carriage whether that man likes it or not; nor losesight of you for one moment until we meet Williams with his habeascorpus. "

"Nor even then, dear Traverse, nor even then! You will attend me to thecourt and be ready to take me back to this dear, dear home!" murmuredClara in reply. 

"Yes, yes, dear girl! There, be cheerful, " whispered the young man, ashe pressed her hand and released it. 

Colonel Le Noir had been a silent but frowning spectator of this littlescene, and now that Clara was leaving the room, attended by Mrs. Rocke, he called the latter back, saying:

"You will be so kind as to stop here a moment, Mrs. Rocke and you also, young man. "

The mother and son paused to hear what he should have to say. 

"I believe it is the custom here in discharging domestics to give amonth's warning, or in lieu of that, to pay a month's wages in advance. There, woman, is the money. You will oblige me by leaving the houseto-day, together with your son and all your other trumpery, as thepremises are put in charge of an agent, who will be here thisafternoon, clothed with authority to eject all loiterers and intruders. "

While the colonel spoke Marah Rocke gazed at him in a panic from whichshe seemed unable to rouse herself, until Traverse gravely took herhand, saying:

"My dear mother, let me conduct you from the presence of this man, whodoes not know how to behave himself toward women. Leave me to talk withhim, and do you, dear mother, go to Miss Day, who I know is waiting foryou. "

Marah Rocke mechanically complied and allowed Traverse to lead her fromthe room. 

When he returned he went up to Colonel Le Noir, and, standing beforehim and looking him full and sternly in the face, said, as sternly:

"Colonel Le Noir, my mother will remain here and abide the decision ofthe Orphans' Court; until that has been pronounced, she does not stirat your or any man's bidding!"

"Villain, out of my way!" sneered Le Noir, endeavoring to pass him. 

Traverse prevented him, saying:

"Sir, in consideration of your age, which should be venerable, yourposition which should prove you honorable, and of this sacred house ofmourning in which you stand, I have endeavored to meet all the insultsyou have offered me with forbearance. But, sir, I am here to defend mymother's rights and to protect her from insult! And I tell you plainlythat you have affronted her for the very last time! One more word orlook of insult leveled at Marah Rocke and neither your age, positionnor this sacred roof shall protect you from personal chastisement atthe hands of her son!"

Le Noir, who had listened in angry scorn, with many an ejaculation ofcontempt, now at the conclusion which so galled his pride, broke outfuriously, with:

"Sir, you are a bully! If you were a gentleman I would call you out!"

"And I should not come if you did, sir! Dueling is unchristian, barbarous and abominable in the sight of God and all good men. For therest you may call me anything you please; but do not again insult mymother, for if you do I shall hold it a Christian duty to teach youbetter manners, " said Traverse, coolly taking his hat and walking fromthe room. He mounted his horse and stood ready to attend Clara toStaunton. 

Colonel Le Noir ground his teeth in impotent rage, muttering;

"Take care, young man! I shall live to be revenged upon you yet forthese affronts!" and his dastard heart burned with the fiercermalignity that he had not dared to meet the eagle eye, or encounter thestrong arm of the upright and stalwart young man. Gnashing his teethwith ill-suppressed fury, he strode into the hall just as Mrs. Rockeand Clara, in her traveling dress, descended the stairs. 

Clara threw her arms around Mrs. Rocke's neck, and, weeping, said:

"Good-by, dear, best friend--good-by! Heaven grant it may not be forlong! Oh, pray for me, that I may be sent back to you!"

"May the Lord have you in His holy keeping, my child I shall pray untilI hear from you!" said Marah, kissing and releasing her. 

Colonel Le Noir then took her by the hand, led her out, and put herinto the carriage. 

Just before entering Clara had turned to take a last look at her oldhome--all, friends and servants, noticed the sorrowful, anxious, almostdespairing look of her pale face, which seemed to ask:

"Ah, shall I ever, ever return to you, dear old home, and dear, familiar friends?"

In another instant she had disappeared within the carriage, whichimmediately rolled off. 

As the carriage was heavily laden, and the road was in a very badcondition, it was a full hour before they reached the town of Staunton. As the carriage drew up for a few moments before the door of theprincipal hotel, and Colonel Le Noir was in the act of stepping out, asheriff's officer, accompanied by Dr. Williams, approached, and servedupon the colonel a writ of habeas corpus, commanding him to bring hisward, Clara Day, into court. 

Colonel Le Noir laughed scornfully, saying:

"And do any of you imagine this will serve your purposes? Ha, ha! Themost that it can do will be to delay my journey for a few hours untilthe decision of the judge, which will only serve to confirm myauthority beyond all future possibility of questioning. "

"We will see to that, " said Doctor Williams. 

"Drive to the Court House!" ordered Colonel Le Noir. 

And the carriage, attended by Traverse Rocke, Doctor Williams and theSheriff's officer, each on horseback, drove thither. 

And now, reader, I will not trouble you with a detailed account of thistrial. Clara, clothed in deep mourning, and looking pale and terrified, was led into the court room on the arm of her guardian. She wasfollowed closely by her friends, Traverse Rocke and Doctor Williams, each of whom whispered encouraging words to the orphan. 

As the court had no pressing business on its hands, the case wasimmediately taken up, the will was read and attested by the attorneywho had drawn it up and the witnesses who had signed it. Then theevidence of Doctor Williams and Doctor Rocke was taken concerning thelast verbal instruction of the deceased. The case occupied about threehours, at the end of which the judge gave a decision in favor ofColonel Le Noir. 

This judgment carried consternation to the heart of Clara and of allher friends. 

Clara herself sank fainting in the arms of her old friend, thevenerable Doctor Williams. 

Traverse, in bitterness of spirit, approached and bent over her. 

Colonel Le Noir spoke to the judge. 

"I deeply thank your honor for the prompt hearing and equally promptdecision of this case, and I will beg your honor to order the Sheriffand his officers to see your judgment carried into effect, as I foreseeviolent opposition, and wish to prevent trouble. "

"Certainly. Mr. Sheriff, you will see that Colonel Le Noir is put inpossession of his ward, and protected in that right until he shall haveplaced her in security, " said the judge. 

Clara, on hearing these words, lifted her head from the old man'sbosom, nerved her gentle heart, and in a clear, sweet, steady voicesaid:

"It is needless precaution, your honor; my friends are no law-breakers, and since the court has given me into the custody of my guardian, I donot dispute its judgment. I yield myself up to Colonel Le Noir. "

"You do well, young lady, " said the judge. 

"I am pleased, Miss Day, to see that you understand and perform yourduty; believe me, I shall do all that I can to make you happy, " saidColonel Le Noir. 

Clara replied by a gentle nod, and then, with a slight blush mantlingher pure cheeks she advanced a step and placed herself immediately infront of the judge, saying:

"But there is a word that I would speak to your honor. "

"Say on, young lady, " said the judge. 

And as she stood there in her deep mourning dress, with her fair hairunbound and floating softly around her pale, sweet face, every eye inthat court was spellbound by her almost unearthly beauty. Beforeproceeding with what she was about to say, she turned upon Traverse alook that brought him immediately to her side. 

"Your honor, " she began, in a low, sweet, clear tone, "I owe it toDoctor Rocke here present, who has been sadly misrepresented to you, tosay (what, under less serious circumstances, my girl's heart wouldshrink from avowing so publicly) that I am his betrothed wife--sacredlybetrothed to him by almost the last act of my dear father's life. Ihold this engagement to be so holy that no earthly tribunal can breakor disturb it. And while I bend to your honor's decision, and yieldmyself to the custody of my legal guardian for the period of myminority, I here declare to all who may be interested, that I hold myhand and heart irrevocably pledged to Doctor Rocke, and that, as hisbetrothed wife, I shall consider myself bound to correspond with himregularly, and to receive him as often as he shall seek my society, until my majority, when I and all that I possess will become his own. And these words I force myself to speak, your honor, both in justice tomy dear lost father and his friend, Traverse Rocke, and also to myself, that hereafter no one may venture to accuse me of clandestineproceedings, or distort my actions into improprieties, or in any mannercall in question the conduct of my father's daughter. " And, withanother gentle bow, Clara retired to the side of her old friend. 

"You are likely to have a troublesome charge in your ward, " said thesheriff apart to the colonel, who shrugged his shoulders by way ofreply. 

The heart of Traverse was torn by many conflicting passions, emotionsand impulses; there was indignation at the decision of the court; grieffor the loss of Clara, and dread for her future!

One instant he felt a temptation to denounce the guardian as a villainand to charge the judge with being a corrupt politician, whosedecisions were swayed by party interests!

The next moment he felt an impulse to catch Clara up in his arms, fighthis way through the crowd and carry her off! But all these wildemotions, passions and impulses he succeeded in controlling. 

Too well he knew that to rage, do violence, or commit extravagance ashe might, the law would take its course all the same. 

While his heart was torn in this manner, Colonel Le Noir was urging thedeparture of his ward. And Clara came to her lover's side and said, gravely and sweetly:

"The law, you see, has decided against us, dear Traverse! Let us bendgracefully to a decree that we cannot annul! It cannot, at least, alterour sacred relations; nor can anything on earth shake our steadfastfaith in each other; let us take comfort in that, and in the thoughtthat the years will surely roll round at length and bring the time thatshall reunite us. "

"Oh, my angel-girl! My angel-girl! Your patient heroism puts me to theblush, for my heart is crushed in my bosom and my firmness quite gone!"said Traverse, in a broken voice. 

"You will gain firmness, dear Traverse. 'Patient!' I patient! Youshould have heard me last night! I was so impatient that DoctorWilliams had to lecture me. But it would be strange if one did notlearn something by suffering. I have been trying all night and day toschool my heart to submission, and I hope I have succeeded, Traverse. Bless me and bid me good-by. "

"The Lord forever bless and keep you, my own dear angel, Clara!" burstfrom the lips of Traverse. "The Lord abundantly bless you!"

"And you, " said Clara. 

"Good-by!--good-by!"

"Good-by!"

And thus they parted. 

Clara was hurried away and put into the carriage by her guardian. 

Ah, no one but the Lord knew how much it had-cost that poor girl tomaintain her fortitude during that trying scene. She had controlledherself for the sake of her friends. But now, when she found herself inthe carriage, her long strained nerves gave way--she sank exhausted andprostrated into the corner of her seat, in the utter collapse of woe!

But leaving the travelers to pursue their journey, we must go back toTraverse. 

Almost broken-hearted, Traverse returned to Willow Heights to conveythe sad tidings of his disappointment to his mother's ear. 

Marah Rocke was so overwhelmed with grief at the news that she was forseveral hours incapable of action. 

The arrival of the house agent was the first event that recalled her toher senses. 

She aroused herself to action, and, assisted by Traverse, set to workto pack up her own and his wardrobe and other personal effects. 

And the next morning Marah Rocke was re-established in her cottage. 

And the next week, having equally divided their little capital, themother and son parted--Traverse, by her express desire, keeping to hisoriginal plan, set out for the far West. 

CHAPTER II. 

OLD HURRICANE STORMS. 

 "At this sir knight flamed up with ire! His great chest heaved! his eyes flashed fire. The crimson that suffused his face To deepest purple now gave place. "

Who can describe the frenzy of Old Hurricane upon discovering the fraudthat had been practised upon him by Black Donald?

It was told him the next morning in his tent, at his breakfast table, in the presence of his assembled family, by the Rev Mr. Goodwin. 

Upon first hearing it, he was incapable of anything but blank staring, until it seemed as though his eyes must start from their sockets!

Then his passion, "not loud but deep, " found utterance only in emphaticthumps of his walking stick upon the ground!

Then, as the huge emotion worked upward, it broke out in grunts, groansand inarticulate exclamations!

Finally it burst forth as follows:

"Ugh! ugh! ugh! Fool! dolt! blockhead! Brute that I've been! I wishsomebody would punch my wooden head! I didn't think the demon himselfcould have deceived me so! Ugh! Nobody but the demon could have doneit! and he is the demon! The very demon himself! He does notdisguise--he transforms himself! Ugh! ugh! ugh! that I should have beensuch a donkey!"

"Sir, compose yourself! We are all liable to suffer deception, " saidMr. Goodwin. 

"Sir, " broke forth Old Hurricane, in fury, "that wretch has eaten at mytable! Has drunk wine with me!! Has slept in my bed!!! Ugh! ugh!!ugh!!!"

"Believing him to be what he seemed, sir, you extended to him therights of hospitality; you have nothing to blame yourself with!"

"Demmy, sir, I did more than that! I've coddled him up with negusses!I've pampered him up with possets and put him to sleep in my own bed!Yes, sir--and more! Look there at Mrs. Condiment, sir! The way in whichshe worshiped that villain was a sight to behold!" said Old Hurricane, jumping up and stamping around the tent in fury. 

"Oh, Mr. Goodwin, sir, how could I help it when I thought he was such aprecious saint?" whimpered the old lady. 

"Yes, sir! when 'his reverence' would be tired with delivering along-winded mid-day discourse, Mrs. Condiment, sir, would take him intoher own tent--make him lie down on her own sacred cot, and set my nieceto bathing his head with cologne and her maid to fanning him, while sheherself prepared an iced sherry cobbler for his reverence! Aren't youashamed of yourself, Mrs. Condiment, mum!" said Old Hurricane, suddenlystopping before the poor old woman, in angry scorn. 

"Indeed, I'm sure if I'd known it was Black Donald, I'd no more havesuffered him inside of my tent than I would Satan!"

"Demmy, mum, you had Satan there as well! Who but Satan could havetempted you all to disregard me, your lawful lord and master, as youevery one of you did for that wretch's sake! Hang it, parson, I wasn'tthe master of my own house, nor head of my own family! Precious FatherGray was! Black Donald was! Oh, you shall hear!" cried Old Hurricane, in a frenzy. 

"Pray, sir, be patient and do not blame the women for being no wiserthan you were yourself, " said Mr. Goodwin. 

"Tah! tah! tah! One act of folly is a contingency to which any man mayfor once in his life be liable; but folly is the women's normalcondition! You shall hear! You shall hear! Hang it, sir, everybody hadto give way to Father Gray! Everything was for Father Gray! PreciousFather Gray! Excellent Father Gray! Saintly Father Gray! It was FatherGray here and Father Gray there, and Father Gray everywhere and always!He ate with us all day and slept with us all night! The coolest cot inthe dryest nook of the tent at night--the shadiest seat at the table byday--were always for his reverence! The nicest tit-bits of the choicestdishes--the middle slices of the fish, the breast of the young ducks, and the wings of the chickens, the mealiest potatoes, the juiciesttomatoes, the tenderest roasting ear, the most delicate custard, andfreshest fruit always for his reverence! I had to put up with the necksof poultry, and the tails of fishes, watery potatoes, specked applesand scorched custards--and if I dared to touch anything better beforehis precious reverence had eaten and was filled, Mrs. Condimentthere--would look as sour as if she had bitten an unripe lemon--and Capwould tread on my gouty toe! Mrs. Condiment, mum, I don't know how youcan look me in the face!" said Old Hurricane, savagely. A veryunnecessary reproach, since poor Mrs. Condiment had not ventured tolook any one in the face since the discovery of the fraud of which she, as well as others, had been an innocent victim. 

"Come, come, my dear major, there is no harm done to you or yourfamily; therefore, take patience!" said Mr. Goodwin. 

"Demmy, sir, I beg you pardon, parson, I won't take patience! You don'tknow! Hang it, man, at last they got me to give up one-half of my ownblessed bed to his precious reverence--the best half which the fellowalways took right out of the middle, leaving me to sleep on both sidesof him, if I could! Think of it--me, Ira Warfield--sleeping between thesheets--night after night--with Black Donald! Ugh! ugh! ugh! Oh, forsome lethean draught that I might drink and forget! Sir, I won't bepatient! Patience would be a sin! Mrs. Condiment, mum, I desire thatyou will send in your account and supply yourself with a new situation!You and I cannot agree any longer. You'll be putting me to bed withBeelzebub next!" exclaimed Old Hurricane, besides himself withindignation. 

Mrs. Condiment sighed and wiped her eyes under her spectacles. 

The worthy minister, now seriously alarmed, came to him and said:

"My dear, dear major, do not be unjust--consider. She is an oldfaithful domestic, who has been in your service forty years--whom youcould not live without! I say it under advisement--whom you could notlive without!"

"Hang it, sir, nor live with! Think of her helping to free theprisoners! Actually taking Black Donald--precious Father Gray!--intotheir cell and leaving them together to hatch their--beg youpardon--horrid plots!"

"But, sir, instead of punishing the innocent victim of his deception, let us be merciful and thank the Lord, that since those men weredelivered from prison, they were freed without bloodshed; for rememberthat neither the warden nor any of his men, nor any one else has beenpersonally injured. "

"Hang it, sir, I wish they had cut all our throats to teach us morediscretion!" broke forth Old Hurricane. 

"I am afraid that the lesson so taught would have come too late to beuseful!" smiled the pastor. 

"Well, it hasn't come too late now! Mrs. Condiment, mum, mind what Itell you! As soon as we return to Hurricane Hall, send in your accountsand seek a new home! I am not going to suffer myself to be set atnaught any longer!" exclaimed Old Hurricane, bringing down his canewith an emphatic thump. 

The sorely troubled minister was again about to interfere, when, as theworm if trodden upon, will turn, Mrs. Condiment herself spoke up, saying:

"Lor, Major Warfield, sir, there were others deceived besides me, andas for myself, I never can think of the risk I've run without growingcold all over!"

"Serves you right, mum, for your officiousness, and obsequiousness andtoadying to--precious Mr. Gray!--serves you doubly right for famishingme at my own table!"

"Uncle!" said Capitola, "'Honor bright! Fair play is a jewel! If youand I, who have seen Black Donald before, failed to recognize thatstalwart athlete in a seemingly old and sickly man, how could youexpect Mrs. Condiment to do so, who never saw him but once in her life, and then was so much frightened that she instantly fainted?"

"Pah! pah! pah! Cap, hush! You, all of you, disgust me, except BlackDonald! I begin to respect him! Confound if I don't take in all theoffers I have made for his apprehension, and at the very nextconvention of our party I'll nominate him to represent us in theNational Congress; for, of all the fools that ever I have met in mylife, the people of this county are the greatest! And fools should atleast be represented by one clever man--and Black Donald is the veryfellow! He is decidedly the ablest man in this congressional district. "

"Except yourself, dear uncle!" said Capitola. 

"Except nobody, Miss Impudence!--least of all me! The experience of thelast week has convinced me that I ought to have a cap and bells awardedme by public acclamation!" said Old Hurricane, stamping about in fury. 

The good minister finding that he could make no sort of impression uponthe irate old man, soon took his leave, telling Mrs. Condiment that ifhe could be of any service to her in her trouble she must be sure tolet him know. 

At this Capitola and Mrs. Condiment exchanged looks, and the old lady, thanking him for his kindness, said that if it should become necessary, she should gratefully avail herself of it. 

That day the camp meeting broke up. 

Major Warfield struck tents and with his family and baggage returned toHurricane Hall. 

On their arrival, each member of the party went about his or her ownparticular business. 

Capitola hurried to her own room to take off her bonnet and shawl. Pitapat, before attending her young mistress, lingered below toastonish the housemaids with accounts of "Brack Donel, dress up like anole parson, an' 'ceiving everybody, even ole Marse!"

Mrs. Condiment went to her store room to inspect the condition of hernewly put up preserves and pickles, lest any of them should have"worked" during her absence. 

And Old Hurricane, attended by Wool, walked down to his kennels and hisstables to look after the well-being of his favorite hounds and horses. It was while going through this interesting investigation that MajorWarfield was informed--principally by overhearing the gossip of thegrooms with Wool--of the appearance of a new inmate of the HiddenHouse--a young girl, who, according to their description, must havebeen the very pearl of beauty. 

Old Hurricane pricked up his ears! Anything relating to the "HiddenHouse" possessed immense interest for him. 

"Who is she, John?" he inquired of the groom. 

"Deed I dunno, sir, only they say she's a bootiful young creature, fairas any lily, and dressed in deep mourning. "

"Humph! humph! humph! another victim! Ten thousand chances to one, another victim! who told you this, John?"

"Why, Marse, you see Tom Griffith, the Rev. Mr. Goodwill's man, he'svery thick long of Davy Hughs, Colonel Le Noir's coachman. And Davy hetold Tom how one day last month his marse ordered the carriage, andwent two or three days' journey up the country beyant Staunton, therehe stayed a week and then came home, fetching along with him in thecarriage this lovely young lady, who was dressed in the deepestmourning, and wept all the way. They 'spects how she's an orphan, andhas lost all her friends, by the way she takes on. "

"Another victim! My life on it--another victim! Poor child! She hadbetter be dead than in the power of that atrocious villain andconsummate hypocrite!" said Old Hurricane, passing on to theexamination of his favorite horses, one of which, the swiftest in thestud, he found galled on the shoulders. Whereupon he flew into atowering passion, abusing his unfortunate groom by every opprobriousepithet blind fury could suggest, ordering him, as he valued wholebones, to vacate the stable instantly, and never dare to set foot onhis premises again as he valued his life, an order which the man meeklyaccepted and immediately disobeyed, muttered to himself:

"Humph! If we took ole marse at his word, there'd never be man or 'omanleft on the 'state, " knowing full well that his tempestuous old masterwould probably forget all about it, as soon as he got comfortablyseated at the supper table of Hurricane Hall, toward which the old mannow trotted off. 

Not a word did Major Warfield say at supper in regard to the new inmateof the Hidden House, for he had particular reasons for keeping Cap inignorance of a neighbor, lest she should insist upon exchanging visitsand being "sociable. "

But it was destined that Capitola should not remain a day in ignoranceof the interesting fact. 

That night, when she retired to her chamber, Pitapat lingered behind, but presently appeared at her young mistress's room door with a largewaiter on her head, laden with meat, pastry, jelly and fruit, which shebrought in and placed upon the work stand. 

"Why, what on the face of earth do you mean by bringing all that loadof victuals into my room to-night? Do you think I am an ostrich or acormorant, or that I am going to entertain a party of friends?" askedCapitola, in astonishment, turning from the wash stand, where she stoodbathing her face. 

"'Deed I dunno, Miss, whedder you'se an ostrizant or not, but I knows Idon't 'tend for to be 'bused any more 'bout wittels, arter findin' outhow cross empty people can be! Dar dey is! You can eat um or leab umalone, Miss Caterpillar!" said little Pitapat, firmly. 

Capitola laughed, "Patty" she said, "you are worthy to be called mywaiting maid!"

"And Lors knows, Miss Caterpillar, if it was de wittels you wasa-frettin' arter, you ought to a-told me before! Lors knows dere'swittels enough!"

"Yes, I'm much obliged to you, Patty, but now I am not hungry, and I donot like the smell of food in my bedroom, so take the waiter out andset it on the passage table until morning. "

Patty obeyed, and came back smiling and saying:

"Miss Caterpillar, has you hern de news?"

"What news, Pat?"

"How us has got a new neighbor--a bootiful young gal--as bootiful as apicter in a gilt-edged Christmas book--wid a snowy skin, and sky-blueeyes and glistenin' goldy hair, like the princess you was a readin' meabout, all in deep mournin' and a weepin' and a weepin' all alone downthere in that wicked, lonesome, onlawful ole haunted place, the HiddenHouse, along of old Colonel Le Noir and old Dorkey Knight, and theghost as draws people's curtains of a night, just for all de worl' likedat same princess in de ogre's castle!"

"What on earth is all this rigmarole about? Are you dreaming orromancing?"

"I'm a-telling on you de bressed trufe! Dere's a young lady a-livin' atde Hidden House!"

"Eh? Is that really true, Patty?"

"True as preaching, miss. "

"Then, I am very glad of it! I shall certainly ride over and call onthe stranger, " said Capitola, gaily. 

"Oh, Miss Cap! Oh, miss, don't you do no sich thing! Ole Marse kill me!I heerd him t'reaten all de men and maids how if dey telled youanything 'bout de new neighbor, how he'd skin dem alive!"

"Won't he skin you?" asked Cap. 

"No, miss, not 'less you 'form ag'in me, 'case he 'didn't tell me notto tell you, 'case you see he didn't think how I knowed! But, leastways, I know from what I heard, ole marse wouldn't have you toknow nothin' about it, no, not for de whole worl'. "

"He does not want me to call at the Hidden House! That's it! Now whydoesn't he wish me to call there? I shall have to go in order to findout, and so I will, " thought Cap. 

CHAPTER III. 

CAP'S VISIT TO THE HIDDEN HOUSE

 And such a night "she" took the road in As ne'er poor sinner was abroad in. The wind blew as 'twad blawn its last The rattling showers rose on the blast; The speedy gleams the darkness swallowed Loud, deep and long the thunder bellowed; That night a child might understand The de'il had business on his hand. 

 --BURNS. 

A week passed before Capitola carried her resolution of calling uponthe inmate of the Hidden House into effect. It was in fact a hot, dry, oppressive season, the last few days of August, when all people, eventhe restless Capitola, preferred the coolness and repose of indoors. But that she should stay at home more than a week was a moral andphysical impossibility. So on Thursday afternoon, when Major Warfieldset out on horseback to visit his mill, Capitola ordered her horsesaddled and brought up that she might take an afternoon's ride. 

"Now please, my dear child, don't go far, " said Mrs. Condiment, "forbesides that your uncle does not approve of your riding alone, you musthurry back to avoid the storm. "

"Storm, Mrs. Condiment, why bless your dear old heart, there has notbeen a storm these four weeks!" said Capitola, almost indignant thatsuch an absurd objection to a long ride should be raised. 

"The more reason, my child, that we should have a very severe one whenit does come, and I think it will be upon us before sunset; so I adviseyou to hurry home. "

"Why, Mrs. Condiment, there's not a cloud in the sky. "

"So much the worse, my dear! The blackest cloud that ever gathered isnot so ominous of mischief as this dull, coppery sky and stillatmosphere! And if forty years' observation of weather signs goes foranything, I tell you that we are going to have the awfulest storm thatever gathered in the heavens! Why, look out of that window--the verybirds and beasts know it, and instinctively seek shelter--look at thatflock of crows flying home! See how the dumb beasts come troopingtoward their sheds! Capitola, you had better give up going altogether, my dear!"

"There! I thought all this talk tended to keeping me within doors, butI can't stay, Mrs. Condiment! Good Mrs. Condiment, I can't!"

"But, my dear, if you should be caught out in the storm!"

"Why, I don't know but I should like it! What harm could it do? I'm notsoluble in water--rain won't melt me away! I think upon the whole Irather prefer being caught in the storm, " said Cap, perversely. 

"Well, well, there is no need of that! You may ride as far as theriver's bank and back again in time to escape, if you choose!" saidMrs. Condiment, who saw that her troublesome charge was bent upon thefrolic. 

And Cap, seeing her horse approach, led by one of the grooms, ranup-stairs, donned her riding habit, hat and gloves, ran down again, sprang into her saddle and was off, galloping away toward the riverbefore Mrs. Condiment could add another word of warning. 

She had been gone about an hour, when the sky suddenly darkened, thewind rose and the thunder rolled in prelude to the storm. 

Major Warfield came skurrying home from the mill, grasping his bridlewith one hand and holding his hat on with the other. 

Meeting poor old Ezy in the shrubbery, he stormed out upon him with:

"What are you lounging there for, you old idiot! You old sky-gazinglunatic! Don't you see that we are going to have an awful blow! Begonewith you and see that the cattle are all under shelter! Off, I say, or, " he rode toward Bill Ezy, but the old man, exclaiming:

"Yes, sir--yes, sir! In coorse, sir!" ducked his head and ran off ingood time. 

Major Warfield quickened his horse's steps and rode to the house, dismounted and threw the reins to the stable boy, exclaiming:

"My beast is dripping with perspiration--rub him down well you knave, or I'll impale you!"

Striding into the hall, he threw down his riding whip, pulled off hisgloves and called:

"Wool! Wool, you scoundrel, close every door and window in the house!Call all the servants together in the dining-room; we're going to haveone of the worst tempests that ever raised!"

Wool flew to do his bidding. 

"Mrs. Condiment, mum, " said the old man, striding into thesitting-room, "Mrs. Condiment, mum, tell Miss Black to come down fromher room until the storm is over; the upper chambers of this old houseare not safe in a tempest. Well, mum, why don't you go, or sendPitapat?"

"Major Warfield, sir, I'm very sorry, but Miss Black has not come inyet, " said Mrs. Condiment, who for the last half hour had sufferedextreme anxiety upon account of Capitola. 

"Not come in yet! Demmy, mum! Do you tell me she has gone out?" criedOld Hurricane, in a voice of thunder, gathering his brows into a darkfrown, and striking his cane angrily upon the floor. 

"Yes, sir, I am sorry to say she rode out about an hour ago and has notreturned, " said Mrs. Condiment, summoning all her firmness to meet OldHurricane's "roused wrath. "

"Ma'am! You venture to stand there before my face and tell mecomposedly that you permitted Miss Black to go off alone in the face ofsuch a storm as this?" roared Old Hurricane. 

"Sir, I could not help it!" said the old lady. 

"Demmy, mum! You should have helped it! A woman of your age to standthere and tell me that she could not prevent a young creature likeCapitola from going out alone in the storm!"

"Major Warfield, could you have done it?"

"Me? Demmy, I should think so; but that is not the question! You--"

He was interrupted by a blinding flash of lightning, followedimmediately by an awful peal of thunder and a sudden fall of rain. 

Old Hurricane sprang up as though he had been shot off his chair andtrotted up and down the floor exclaiming:

"And she--she out in all this storm! Mrs. Condiment, mum, you deserveto be ducked! Yes, mum, you do! Wool! Wool! you diabolical villain!"

"Yes, marse, yes, sir, here I is!" exclaimed that officer, intrepidation, as he appeared in the doorway. "De windows and doors, sir, is all fastened close and de maids are all in the dining-room as youordered, and--"

"Hang the maids and the doors and windows, too! Who the demon caresabout them? How dared you, you knave, permit your young mistress toride, unattended, in the face of such a storm, too! Why didn't you gowith her, sir?"

"'Deed, marse--"

"Don't ''deed marse' me you atrocious villain! Saddle a horse quickly, inquire which road your mistress took and follow and attend her homesafely--after which I intend to break every bone in your skin, sirrah!So--"

Again he was interrupted by a dazzling flash of lightning, accompaniedby a deafening roll of thunder, and followed by a flood of rain. 

Wool stood appalled at the prospect of turning out in such a storm uponsuch a fruitless errand. 

"Oh, you may stare and roll up your eyes, but I mean it, you varlet! Sobe off with you! Go! I don't care if you should be drowned in the rain, or blown off the horse, or struck by lightning. I hope you may be; youknave, and I shall be rid of one villain! Off, you varlet, or--" OldHurricane lifted a bronze statuette to hurl at Wool's delinquent head, but that functionary dodged and ran out in time to escape a blow thatmight have put a period to his mortal career. 

But let no one suppose that honest Wool took the road that night! Hesimply ran down-stairs and hid himself comfortably in the lowestregions of the house, there to tarry until the storms, social andatmospheric, should be over. 

Meanwhile the night deepened, the storm raged without and Old Hurricaneraged within!

The lightning flashed, blaze upon blaze, with blinding glare! Thethunder broke, crash upon crash, with deafening roar! The windgathering all its force cannonaded the old walls as though it wouldbatter down the house! The rain fell in floods! In the midst of all theDemon's Run, swollen to a torrent, was heard like the voice of a"roaring lion, seeking whom he might devour!"

Old Hurricane strode up and down the floor, groaning, swearing, threatening, and at every fresh blast of the storm without, breakingforth into fury!

Mrs. Condiment sat crouched in a corner, praying fervently every timethe lightning blazed into the room, longing to go and join the men andmaids in the next apartment, yet fearful to stir from her seat lest sheshould attract Old Hurricane's attention, and draw down upon herselfthe more terrible thunder and lightning of his wrath. But to escape OldHurricane's violence was not in the power of mortal man or woman. Soonher very stillness exasperated him and he broke forth upon her with:

"Mrs. Condiment, mum, I don't know how you can bear to sit there soquietly and listen to this storm, knowing that the poor child isexposed to it?"

"Major Warfield, would it do any good for me to jump up and trot up anddown the floor and go on as you do, even supposing I had the strength?"inquired the meek old lady, thoroughly provoked at his injustice!

"I'd like to see you show a little more feeling! You are a perfectbarbarian! Oh, Cap! my darling, where are you now? Heavens! what ablast was that! Enough to shake the house about our ears! I wish itwould! blamed if I don't!"

"Oh, Major! Major! don't say such awful things, nor make such awfulwishes!" said the appalled old lady--"you don't know what you mightbring down upon us!"

"No, nor care! If the old house should tumble in, it would bury underits ruins a precious lot of good-for-nothing people, unfit to live!Heavens! what a flash of lightning! Oh, Cap, Cap, my darling, where areyou in this storm? Mrs. Condiment, mum! if any harm comes to Capitolathis night, I'll have you indicted for manslaughter!"

"Major Warfield, if it is all on Miss Black's account that you areraving and raging so, I think it is quite vain of you! for any youngwoman caught out in a storm would know enough to get into shelter;especially would Miss Black, who is a young lady of great courage andpresence of mind, as we know. She has surely gone into some house, toremain until the storm is over, " said Mrs. Condiment, soothingly. 

This speech, so well intended, exasperated Old Hurricane more than allthe rest; stopping and striking his cane upon the floor, he roaredforth:

"Hang it, mum! hold your foolish old tongue! You know nothing about it!Capitola is exposed to more serious dangers than the elements! Perilsof all sorts surround her! She should never, rain or shine, go outalone! Oh, the little villain! the little wretch! the little demon! ifever I get her safe in this house again, won't I lock her up and keepher on bread and water until she learns to behave herself!"

Here again a blinding flash of lightning, a deafening peal of thunder, a terrific blast of wind and flood of rain suddenly arrested his speech. 

"Oh, my Cap! my dear Cap! I needn't threaten you! I shall never havethe chance to be cruel to you again--never! You'll perish in thisterrible storm and then--and then my tough old heart will break! Itwill--it will, Cap! But demmy, before it does, I'll break the necks ofevery man and woman, in this house, old and young! Hear it, heaven andearth, for I'll do it!"

All things must have an end. So, as the hours passed on, the stormhaving spent all its fury, gradually grumbled itself into silence. 

Old Hurricane also raged himself into a state of exhaustion so completethat when the midnight hour struck he could only drop into a chair andmurmur:

"Twelve o'clock and no news of her yet!"

And then unwillingly he went to bed, attended by Mrs. Condiment andPitapat instead of Wool, who was supposed to be out in search ofCapitola, but who was, in fact, fast asleep on the floor of a drycellar. 

Meanwhile, where did this midnight hour find Capitola?

CHAPTER IV. 

THE HIDDEN HOLLOW. 

 On every side the aspect was the same, All ruined, desolate, forlorn and savage, No hand or foot within the precinct came To rectify or ravage! Here Echo never mocked the human tongue; Some weighty crime that Heaven could not pardon. A secret curse on that old Building hung And its deserted garden!

 --Hood's Haunted House. 

Cap was a bit of a Don Quixote! The stirring incidents of the last fewmonths had spoiled her; the monotony of the last few weeks had boredher; and now she had just rode out in quest of adventures. 

The Old Hidden House, with its mysterious traditions, its gloomysurroundings and its haunted reputation, had always possessed apowerful attraction for one of Cap's adventurous spirit. To seek andgaze upon the somber house, of which, and of whose inmates, suchterrible stories had been told or hinted, had always been a secretdesire and purpose of Capitola. 

And now the presence there of a beautiful girl near her own age was theone last item that tipped the balance, making the temptation to ridethither outweigh every other consideration of duty, prudence andsafety. And having once started on the adventure, Cap felt theattraction drawing her toward the frightful hollow of the Hidden Housegrowing stronger with every step taken thitherward. 

She reached the banks of the "Demon's Run" and took the left-hand roaddown the stream until she reached the left point of the Horse-ShoeMountain, and then going up around the point, she kept close under theback of the range until she had got immediately in the rear of theround bend of the "Horse Shoe, " behind Hurricane Hall. 

"Well, " said Cap, as she drew rein here, and looked up at the loftyascent of gray rocks that concealed Hurricane Hall, "to have had tocome such a circuit around the outside of the 'Horse Shoe, ' to findmyself just at the back of our old house, and no farther from home thanthis! There's as many doubles and twists in these mountains as thereare in a lawyer's discourse! There, Gyp, you needn't turn back againand pull at the bridle, to tell me that there is a storm coming up andthat you want to go home! I have no more respect for your opinion thanI have for Mrs. Condiment's. Besides, you carry a damsel-errant inquest of adventures, Gyp, and so you must on, Gyp--you must on!" saidCapitola, forcibly pulling her horse's head around, and then taking asurvey of the downward path. 

It was a scene fascinating from its very excess of gloom and terror!

It was a valley so deep and dark as to merit the name of the hollow, orhole, but for its great extent and its thick growth of forest, throughwhich spectral-looking rocks gleamed, and moaning waters could be heardbut not seen. 

"Now, somewhere in that thick forest, in the bottom of that vale, stands the house--well called the Hidden House, since not a chimney ofit can be seen even from this commanding height! But I suppose thispath that leads down into the valley may conduct me to the building!Come along, Gyp! You needn't turn up your head and pull at the bit!You've got to go! I am bound this night to see the outside of theHidden House, and the window of the haunted chamber at the very least!"said Cap, throwing her eyes up defiantly toward the darkening sky, andputting whip to her unwilling horse. 

As the path wound down into the valley the woods were found deeper, thicker and darker. It occupied all Cap's faculties to push her waythrough the overhanging and interlacing branches of the trees. 

"Good gracious, " she said, as she used her left arm rather vigorouslyto push aside the obstructions to her path, "one would think this werethe enchanted forest containing the castle of the sleeping beauty, andI was the knight destined to deliver her! I'm sure it wouldn't havebeen more difficult. "

Still deeper fell the path, thicker grew the forest and darker the way. 

"Gyp, I'm under the impression that we shall have to turn back yet!"said Cap, dolefully stopping in the midst of a thicket so dense that itcompletely blockaded her farther progress in the same direction. Justas she came to this very disagreeable conclusion she spied an openingon her left, from which a bridle-path struck out. With an exclamationof joy she immediately turned her horse's head and struck into it. Thispath was very rocky, but in some degree clearer than the other, and shewent on quickly, singing to herself, until gradually her voice began tobe lost in the sound of many rushing waters. 

"It must be the Devil's Punch Bowl! I am approaching!" she said toherself, as she went on. 

She was right. The roaring of the waters grew deafening and the pathbecame so rugged with jagged and irregularly piled rocks, that Capcould scarcely keep her horse upon his feet in climbing over them. Andsuddenly, when she least looked for it, the great naturalcuriosity--the Devil's Punch Bowl--burst upon her view!

It was an awful abyss, scooped out as it were from the very bowels ofthe earth, with its steep sides rent open in dreadful chasms, and fardown in its fearful depths a boiling whirlpool of black waters. 

Urging her reluctant steed through a thicket of stunted thorns and overa chaos of shattered rocks, Capitola approached as near as she safelycould to the brink of this awful pit. So absorbed was she in gazingupon this terrible phenomenon of natural scenery that she had notnoticed, in the thicket on her right, a low hut that, with itsbrown-green moldering colors, fell so naturally in with the hue of thesurrounding scenery as easily to escape observation. She did not evenobserve that the sky was entirely overcast, and the thunder wasmuttering in the distance. She was aroused from her profound reverie bya voice near her asking:

"Who are you, that dares to come without a guide to the Devil's PunchBowl?"

Capitola looked around and came nearer screaming than she ever had beenin her life, upon seeing the apparition that stood before her. Was itman, woman, beast or demon? She could not tell! It was a very tall, spare form, with a black cloth petticoat tied around the waist, a bluecoat buttoned over the breast, and a black felt hat tied down with ared handkerchief, shading the darkest old face she had ever seen in herlife. 

"Who are you, I say, who comes to the Devil's Punch Bowl without leaveor license?" repeated the frightful creature, shifting her cane fromone hand to the other. 

"I? I am Capitola Black, from Hurricane Hall; but who, in the name ofall the fates and furies, are you?" inquired Capitola, who, in gettingover the shock, had recovered her courage. 

"I am Harriet the Seeress of Hidden Hollow!" replied the apparition, ina melodramatic manner that would not have discredited the queen oftragedy herself. "You have heard of me?"

"Yes, but I always heard you called Old Hat, the Witch, " said Cap. 

"The world is profane--give me your hand!" said the beldame, reachingout her own to take that of Capitola. 

"Stop! Is your hand clean? It looks very black!"

"Cleaner than yours will be when it is stained with blood, youngmaiden!"

"Tut! If you insist on telling my fortune, tell me a pleasant one, andI will pay you double, " laughed Capitola. 

"The fates are not to be mocked. Your destiny will be that which thestars decree. To prove to you that I know this, I tell you that you arenot what you have been!"

"You've hit it this time, old lady, for I was a baby once and now I ama young girl!" said Cap, laughing. 

"You will not continue to be that which you are now!" pursued the hag, still attentively reading the lines of her subject's hand. 

"Right again; for if I live long enough I shall be an old woman. "

"You bear a name that you will not bear long!"

"I think that quite a safe prophecy, as I haven't the most distant ideaof being an old maid!"

"This little hand of yours--this dainty woman's hand--will be--red withblood!"

"Now, do you know, I don't doubt that either? I believe it altogetherprobable that I shall have to cook my husband's dinner and kill thechickens for his soup!"

"Girl, beware! You deride the holy stars--and already they are adverseto you!" said the hag, with a threatening glare. 

"Ha, ha, ha! I love the beautiful stars but did not fear them I fearonly Him who made the stars!"

"Poor butterfly, listen and beware! You are destined to imbrue thatlittle hand in the life current of one who loves you the most of all onearth! You are destined to rise by the destruction of one who wouldshed his heart's best blood for you!" said the beldame, in an awfulvoice. 

Capitola's eyes flashed! She advanced her horse a step or two nearerthe witch and raised her riding whip, saying:

"I protest! If you were only a man I should lay this ash over yourwicked shoulders until my arms ached! How dare you? Faith, I don'twonder that in the honest old times such pests as you were cooled inthe ducking pond! Good gracious, that must have made a hissing andspluttering in the water, though!"

"Blasphemer, pay me and begone!"

"Pay you? I tell you I would if you were only a man; but it would besinful to pay a wretched old witch in the only way you deserve to bepaid!" said Cap, flourishing her riding whip before a creature tallenough and strong enough to have doubled up her slight form togetherand hurled it into the abyss. 

"Gold! gold!" said the hag curtly, holding out black and talon-likefingers, which she worked convulsively. 

"Gold! gold, indeed! for such a wicked fortune! Not a penny!" said Cap. 

"Ho! you're stingy; you do not like to part with the yellow demon thathas bought the souls of all your house!"

"Don't I? You shall see! There! If you want gold, go fish it from thedepth of the whirlpool, " said Cap, taking her purse and casting it overthe precipice. 

This exasperated the crone to frenzy. 

"Away! Begone!" she cried, shaking her long arm at the girl. "Away!Begone! The fate pursues you! The badge of blood is stamped upon yourpalm!"

"Fee--faw--fum" said Cap. 

"Scorner! Beware! The curse of the crimson hand is upon you!"

--"'I smell the blood of an Englishman'"--continued Cap. 

"Derider of the fates, you are foredoomed to crime!"

--"'Be he alive or be he dead, I'll have his brains to butter mybread!'" concluded Cap. 

"Be silent!" shrieked the beldame. 

"I won't!" said Cap. "Because you see, if we are in for the horrible, Ican beat you hollow at that!"

 "'Avaunt! and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee! Thy bones are marrowless! Thy blood is cold! Thou hast no speculation in those eyes Which thou dost glare with?'"

"Begone! You're doomed! doomed! doomed!" shrieked the witch, retreatinginto her hut. 

Cap laughed and stroked the neck of her horse, saying:

"Gyp, my son, that was old Nick's wife, who was with us just thisinstant, and now, indeed, Gyp, if we are to see the Hidden House thisafternoon, we must get on!"

And so saying she followed the path that wound half-way around thePunch Bowl and then along the side of a little mountain torrent calledthe Spout, which, rising in an opposite mountain, leaped from rock torock, with many a sinuous turn, as it wound through the thicket thatimmediately surrounded the Hidden House until it finally jetted througha subterranean channel into the Devil's Punch Bowl. 

Capitola was now, unconsciously, upon the very spot, where, seventeenyears before, the old nurse had been forcibly stopped and compelled toattend the unknown lady. 

As Capitola pursued the path that wound lower and lower into the darkvalley the gloom of the thicket deepened. Her thoughts ran on all thehorrible traditions connected with the Hidden House and Hollow--themurder and robbery of the poor peddler--the mysterious assassination ofEugene Le Noir; the sudden disappearance of his youthful widow; thestrange sights and sounds reported to be heard and seen about themansion; the spectral light at the upper gable window; the white formseen flitting through the chamber; the pale lady that in the dead ofnight drew the curtains of a guest that once had slept there; and aboveall Capitola thought of the beautiful, strange girl, who was now aninmate of that sinful and accursed house! And while these thoughtsabsorbed her mind, suddenly, in a turning of the path, she came fullupon the gloomy building. 

CHAPTER V. 

THE HIDDEN HOUSE. 

 The very stains and fractures on the wall Assuming features solemn and terrific, Hinted some tragedy of that old hall Locked up in hieroglyphic! Prophetic hints that filled the soul with dread; But to one gloomy window pointing mostly, The while some secret inspiration said, That chamber is the ghostly!

 --Hood. 

The Hidden House was a large, irregular edifice of dark red sandstonewith its walls covered closely with the clinging ivy, that had beenclipped away only from a few of the doors and windows, and its roofover-shadowed by the top branches of gigantic oaks and elms thatclustered around and nearly concealed the building. 

It might have been a long-forsaken house, for any sign of humanhabitation that was to be seen about it. All was silent, solitary andgloomy. 

As Capitola drew up her horse to gaze upon its somber walls shewondered which was the window at which the spectral light and ghostlyface had been seen. She soon believed that she had found it. 

At the highest point of the building, immediately under the sharp angleof the roof, in the gable and nearest to view, was a solitary window. The ivy that clung tightly to the stone, covering every portion of thewall at this end, was clipped away from that high placed, dark andlonely window by which Capitola's eyes were strangely fascinated. 

While thus she gazed in wonder, interest and curiosity, though withoutthe least degree of superstitious dread, a vision flashed upon hersight that sent the blood from her ruddy cheek to her brave heart, andshook the foundations of her unbelief!

For while she gazed, suddenly that dark window was illumed by astrange, unearthly light that streamed forth into the gloomy eveningair, and touched with blue flame the quivering leaves of every tree inits brilliant line! In the midst of this lighted window appeared awhite female face wild with woe! And then the face suddenly vanishedand the light was swallowed up in darkness!

Capitola remained transfixed!

"Great heavens!" she thought, "can these things really be! Have theghostly traditions of this world truth in them at last? When I heardthis story of the haunted window I thought some one had surely imaginedor invented it! Now I have seen for myself; but if I were to tell whatI have seen not one in a hundred would believe me!"

While these startling thoughts disturbed her usual well-balanced mind, a vivid flash of lightning, accompanied by a tremendous peal of thunderand a heavy fall of rain, roused her into renewed activity. 

"Gyp, my boy, the storm is upon us sure enough! We shall catch it allaround, get well drowned, beaten and buffeted here and well abused whenwe get home! Meantime, Gyp, which is the worst, the full fury of thetempest or the mysterious terrors of the Haunted House!"

Another blinding flash of lightning, a stunning crash of thunder, aflood of rain and tornado of wind decided her. 

"We'll take the Haunted House, Gyp, my friend! That spectral lady ofthe lighted window looked rather in sorrow than in anger, and who knowsbut the ghosts may be hospitable? So gee up, Dobbin!" said Capitola, and, urging her horse with one hand and holding on her cap with theother, she went on against wind and rain until she reached the front ofthe old house. 

Not a creature was to be seen; every door and window was closely shut. Dismounting, Capitola led her horse under the shelter of a thicklyleaved oak tree, secured him, and then holding up her saturated skirtwith one hand and holding on her cap with the other, she went up somemoldering stone steps to an old stone portico and, seizing the heavyiron knocker of a great black oak double door, she knocked loudlyenough to awaken all the mountain echoes. 

She waited a few minutes for an answer, but receiving none, she knockedagain, more loudly than before. Still there was no reply. And growingimpatient, she seized the knocker with both hands and exerting all herstrength, made the welkin ring again!

This brought a response. The door was unlocked and angrily jerked openby a short, squarely formed, beetle-browed, stern-looking woman, clothed in a black stuff gown and having a stiff muslin cap upon herhead. 

"Who are you? What do you want here?" harshly demanded this woman, whomCapitola instinctively recognized as Dorky Knight, the morosehousekeeper of the Hidden House. 

"Who am I? What do I want? Old Nick fly away with you! It's plainenough to be seen who I am and what I want. I am a young woman caughtout in the storm and I want shelter!" said Cap, indignantly. And herwords were endorsed by a terrific burst of the tempest in lightning, thunder, wind and rain!

"Come in then and when you ask favors learn to keep a civil tongue inyour head!" said the woman sternly, taking the guest by the hand andpulling her in and shutting and locking the door. 

"Favors! Plague on you for a bearess! I asked no favor! Everystorm-beaten traveler has a right to shelter under the first roof thatoffers, and none but a curmudgeon would think of calling it a favor!And as for keeping a civil tongue in my head, I'll do it when you setme the example!" said Cap. 

"Who are you?" again demanded the woman. 

"Oh, I see you are no Arabian in your notions of hospitality! Thosepagans entertain a guest without asking him a single question; andthough he were their bitterest foe, they consider him while he restsbeneath their tent sacred from intrusion. "

"That's because they were pagans!" said Dorky. "But as I am aChristian, I'd thank you to let me know who it is that I have receivedunder this roof. "

"My name, " said our heroine, impatiently, "is Capitola Black! I livewith my uncle, Major Warfield, at Hurricane Hall! And now, I shouldthank your ladyship to send some one to put away my horse, while youyourself accommodate me with dry clothes. "

While our saucy little heroine spoke the whole aspect of thedark-browed woman changed. 

"Capitola-Capitola, " she muttered, gazing earnestly upon the face ofthe unwelcome guest. 

"Yes, Capitola! That is my name! You never heard anything against it, did you?"

For all answer the woman seized her hand, and while the lightningflashed and the thunder rolled, and the wind and rain beat down, shedrew her the whole length of the hall before a back window thatoverlooked the neglected garden, and, regardless of the electric fluidthat incessantly blazed upon them, she held her there and scrutinizedher features. 

"Well, I like this! Upon my word, I do!" said Cap, composedly. 

Without replying, the strange woman seized her right hand, forciblyopened it, gazed upon the palm and then, flinging it back with ashudder, exclaimed:

"Capitola, what brought you under this roof? Away! Begone! Mount yourhorse and fly while there is yet time!"

"What! expose myself again to the storm? I won't, and that's flat!"said Cap. 

"Girl! girl! there are worse dangers in the world than any to be fearedfrom thunder, lightning, rain or wind!"

"Very well, then, when I meet them it will be time enough to deal withthem! Meanwhile the stormy night and my soaked clothing are verypalpable evils, and as I see no good end to be gained by my longerenduring them, I will just beg you to stop soothsaying--(as I have hadenough of that from another old witch)--and be as good as to permit meto change my clothes!"

"It is madness! You shall not stay here!" cried the woman, in a harshvoice. 

"And I tell you I will! You are not the head of the family, and I donot intend to be turned out by you!"

While she spoke a servant crossed the hall and the woman, whiskingCapitola around until her back was turned and her face concealed, wentto speak to the newcomer. 

"When will your master be here?" Capitola heard her inquire. 

"Not to-night; he saw the storm rising and did not wish to exposehimself. He sent me on to say that he would not be here until morning. I was caught, as you see! I am dripping wet, " replied the man. 

"Go, change your clothes at once then, Davy, "

"Who is that stranger?" asked the man, pointing to Capitola. 

"Some young woman of the neighborhood, who has been caught out in thetempest. But you had better go and change your clothes than to standhere gossiping, " said the woman, harshly. 

"I say, " said the man, "the young woman is a God-send to Miss Clara;nobody has been to see her yet; nobody ever visits this house unlessthey are driven to it. I don't wonder the colonel and our young masterpass as much as ten months in the year away from home, spending all thesummer at the watering places, and all the winter in New York orWashington!"

"Hold your tongue! What right have you to complain? You always attendthem in their travels!"

"True, but you see for this last season they have both been stayinghere, old master to watch the heiress, young master to court her, andas I have no interest in that game, I find the time hangs heavy on myhands, " complained the man. 

"It will hang heavier if you take a long fit of illness by standing inwet clothes, " muttered the woman. 

"Why, so 'twill, missus! So here goes, " assented the man, hurryingacross the hall and passing out through the door opposite that by whichhe entered. 

Dorcas returned to her guest. 

Eying her closely for a while, she at length inquired:

"Capitola, how long have you lived at Hurricane Hall?"

"So long, " replied Cap, "that you must have heard of me! I, at least, have often heard of Mother Dorkey Knight. "

"And heard no good of her!"

"Well, no--to be candid with you, I never did, " said Cap. 

"And much harm of her?" continued the woman, keeping her stern blackeyes fixed upon those of her guest. 

"Well, yes--since you ask me, I have heard pretty considerable harm!"answered Cap, nothing daunted. 

"Where did you live before you came to Hurricane Hall?" asked Dorcas. 

"Where I learned to fear God, to speak the truth and to shame thedevil!" replied Cap. 

--"And to force yourself into people's houses against their will!"

"There you are again! I tell you that when I learn from the head ofthis household that I am unwelcome, then I will retreat, and not untilthen! And now I demand to be presented to the master. "

"To Colonel Le Noir?"

"Yes. "

"I cannot curse you with the 'curse of a granted prayer! Colonel LeNoir is away. "

"Why do you talk so strangely?" inquired Capitola. 

"It is my whim. Perhaps my head is light. "

"I should think it was, excessively so! Well--as the master of thehouse is away, be good enough to present me to the mistress?"

"What mistress? There is no mistress here!" replied Dorcas, lookingaround in strange trepidation. 

"I mean the young lady, Colonel Le Noir's ward. In lieu of any otherlady, she, I suppose, may be considered the mistress of the house!"

"Humph! Well, young girl, as you are fully resolved to stand yourground. I suppose there is nothing to do but to put up with you!" saidDorcas. 

"And put up my horse, " added Cap. 

"He shall be taken care of! But mind, you must depart early in themorning!" said Dorcas, sternly. 

"Once more, and for the last, Mother Cerberus, I assure you I do notacknowledge your authority to dismiss me!" retorted Capitola. "So showme to the presence of your mistress!"

"Perverse, like all the rest! Follow me!" said the house keeper, leading the way from the hall toward a back parlor. 

CHAPTER VI. 

THE INMATE OF THE HIDDEN HOUSE

 There is a light around her brow, A holiness in those dark eyes, That show, though wandering earthward now, Her spirit's home is in the skies. 

 --MOORE. 

Pushing open the door, Dorcas Knight exclaimed:

"Here is a young lady, Miss Black, from Hurricane Hall, come to seeyou, Miss Day. "

And having made this announcement, the woman retired and shut the doorbehind her. 

And Capitola found herself in a large, dark, gloomy, wainscoted room, whose tall, narrow windows afforded but little light, and whose immensefireplace and blackened furniture seemed to belong to a past century. 

The only occupant of this somber apartment was a young girl, seated inpensive thought beside the central table. She was clothed in deepmourning, which only served to throw into fairer relief the beauty ofher pearly skin, golden hair and violet eyes. 

The vision of her mourning robes and melancholy beauty so deeplyimpressed Capitola that, almost for the first time in her life, shehesitated from a feeling of diffidence, and said gently:

"Indeed, I fear that this is an unwarranted intrusion on my part, MissDay. "

"You are very welcome, " replied the sweetest voice Capitola had everheard, as the young girl arose and advanced to meet her. "But you havebeen exposed to the storm Please come into my room and change yourclothes, " continued the young hostess, as she took Cap's hand and ledher into an adjoining room. 

The storm was still raging, but these apartments being in the centralportion of the strong old house, were but little exposed to the sightor sound of its fury. 

There was a lamp burning upon the mantelpiece, by the light of whichthe young girl furnished her visitor with dry clothing and assisted herto change, saying as she did so:

"I think we are about the same size, and that my clothes will fit you;but I will not offer you mourning habiliments--you shall have thislilac silk. "

"I am very sorry to see you in mourning, " said Capitola, earnestly. 

"It is for my father, " replied Clara, very softly. 

As they spoke the eyes of the two young girls met. They were both goodphysiognomists and intuitive judges, of character. Consequently in thefull meeting of their eyes they read, understood and appreciated eachother. 

The pure, grave, and gentle expression of Clara's countenance touchedthe heart of Capitola. 

The bright, frank, honest face of Cap recommended her to Clara. 

The very opposite traits of their equally truthful characters attractedthem to each other. 

Clara conducted her guest back into the wainscoted parlor, where acheerful fire had been kindled to correct the dampness of the air. Andhere they sat down unmindful of the storm that came much subduedthrough the thickness of the walls. And, as young creatures, howevertried and sorrowful, will do, they entered into a friendly chat. Andbefore an hour had passed Capitola thought herself well repaid for hersufferings from the storm and the rebuff, in having formed theacquaintance of Clara Day. 

She resolved, let Old Hurricane rage as he might, henceforth she wouldbe a frequent visitor to the Hidden House. 

And Clara, for her part, felt that in Capitola she had found a frank, spirited, faithful neighbor who might become an estimable friend. 

While they were thus growing into each other's favor, the door openedand admitted a gentleman of tall and thin figure and white andemaciated face, shaded by a luxuriant growth of glossy black hair andbeard. He could not have been more than twenty-six, but, prematurelybroken by vice, he seemed forty years of age. He advanced bowing towardthe young women. 

As Capitola's eyes fell upon this newcomer it required all her presenceof mind and powers of self-control to prevent her from staring orotherwise betraying herself--for in this stranger she recognized thevery man who had stopped her upon her night ride. She did, however, succeed in banishing from her face every expression of consciousness. And when Miss Day courteously presented him to her guest, sayingmerely, "My cousin, Mr. Craven Le Noir, Miss Black, " Capitola arose andcurtsied as composedly as if she had never set eyes upon his facebefore. 

He on his part evidently remembered her, and sent one stealthy, beenand scrutinizing glance into her face; but, finding that imperturbable, he bowed with stately politeness and seemed satisfied that she had notidentified him as her assailant. 

Craven Le Noir drew his chair to the fire, seated himself and enteredinto an easy conversation with Clara and her guest. Whenever headdressed Clara there was a deference and tenderness in his tone andglance that seemed very displeasing to the fair girl, who received allthese delicate attentions with coldness and reserve. These things didnot escape the notice of Capitola, who mentally concluded that CravenLe Noir was a lover of Clara Day, but a most unacceptable lover. 

When supper was announced it was evidently hailed by Clara as a greatrelief. And after the meal was over she arose and excused herself toher cousin by saying that her guest, Miss Black, had been exposed tothe storm and was doubtless very much fatigued and that she would showher to her chamber. 

Then, taking a night lamp, she invited Capitola to come and conductedher to an old-fashioned upper chamber, where a cheerful fire wasburning on the hearth. Here the young girls sat down before the fireand improved their acquaintance by an hour's conversation. After whichClara arose, and saying, "I sleep immediately below your room, MissBlack; if you should want anything rap on the floor and I shall hearyou and get up, " she wished her guest a good night's rest and retiredfrom the room. 

Cap was disinclined to sleep; a strange superstitious feeling which shecould neither understand nor throw off had fallen upon her spirits. 

She took the night lamp in her hand and got up to examine her chamber. It was a large, dark, oak-paneled room, with a dark carpet on the floorand dark-green curtains on the windows and the bedstead. Over themantelpiece hung the portrait of a most beautiful black-haired andblack-eyed girl of about fourteen years of age, but upon whoseinfantile brow fell the shadow of some fearful woe. There was somethingawful in the despair "on that face so young" that bound the gazer in anirresistible and most painful spell. And Capitola remained standingbefore it transfixed, until the striking of the hall clock aroused herfrom her enchantment. Wondering who the young creature could have been, what had been her history and, above all, what had been the nature ofthat fearful woe that darkened like a curse her angel brow, Capitolaturned almost sorrowfully away and began to prepare for bed. 

She undressed, put on the delicate nightclothes Clara had provided forher use, said her evening prayers, looked under the bed--a precautiontaken ever since the night upon which she had discovered theburglars--and, finding all right, she blew out her candle and lay down. She could not sleep--many persons of nervous or mercurial temperamentscannot do so the first night in a strange bed. Cap was very mercurial, and the bed and room in which she lay were very strange; for the firsttime since she had had a home to call her own she was unexpectedlystaying all night away from her friends, and without their having anyknowledge of her whereabouts. She was conjecturing, half in fear andhalf in fun, how Old Hurricane was taking her escapade and what hewould say to her in the morning. She was wondering to find herself insuch an unforeseen position as that of a night guest in the mysteriousHidden House--wondering whether this was the guest chamber in which theghost appeared to the officer and these were the very curtains that thepale lady drew at night. While her thoughts were thus running over thewhole range of circumstances around her singular position, sleepovertook Capitola and speculation was lost in brighter visions. 

How long she had slept and dreamed she did not know, when somethinggently awakened her. She opened her eyes calmly--to meet a vision thatbrave as she was, nearly froze the blood in her warm veins. 

Her chamber was illumined with an intense blue flame that lighted upevery portion of the apartment with a radiance bright as day, and inthe midst of this effulgence moved a figure clothed in white--abeautiful, pale, spectral woman, whose large, motionless black eyes, deeply set in her death-like face, and whose long unbound black hair, fallen upon her white raiment, were the only marks of color about hermarble form. 

Paralyzed with wonder, Capitola watched this figure as it glided aboutthe chamber. The apparition approached the dressing-table, seemed totake something thence, and then gliding toward the bed, to Capitola'sinexpressible horror drew back the curtains and bent down and gazedupon her! Capitola had no power to scream, to move or to avert her gazefrom those awful eyes that met her own, until at length, as thespectral head bent lower, she felt the pressure of a pair of icy lipsupon her brow and closed her eyes!

When she opened them again the vision had departed and the room wasdark and quiet. 

There was no more sleep for Capitola. She heard the clock strike four, and was pleased to find that it was so near day. Still the time seemedvery long to her, who lay there wondering, conjecturing and speculatingon the strange adventure of the night. 

When the sun arose she left her restless bed, bathed her excited headand proceeded to dress herself. When she had finished her toilet, withthe exception of putting on her trinkets, she suddenly missed a ringthat she prized more than she did all her possessions put together--itwas a plain gold band, bearing the inscription Capitola-Eugene, andwhich she had been enjoined by her old nurse never to part from butwith life. She had, in her days of destitution suffered the extremes ofcold and hunger; had been upon the very brink of death from starvationor freezing, but without ever dreaming of sacrificing her ring. And nowfor the first time it was missing. While she was still lookinganxiously for the lost jewel the door opened and Dorcas Knight enteredthe room, bearing on her arm Capitola's riding dress, which had beenwell dried and ironed. 

"Miss Capitola, here is your habit; you had better put it on at once, as I have ordered breakfast an hour sooner than usual, so that you mayhave an early start. "

"Upon my word, you are very anxious to get rid of me, but not more sothan I am to depart, " said Capitola, still pursuing her search. 

"Your friends, who do not know where you are, must be very uneasy aboutyou. But what are you looking for?"

"A ring, a plain gold circle, with my name and that of anotherinscribed on it, and which I would not lose for the world. I hung it ona pin in this pin-cushion last night before I went to bed. I wouldswear I did, and now it is missing, " answered Cap, still pursuing hersearch. 

"If you lost it in this room it will certainly be found, " said DorcasKnight putting down the habit and helping in the search. 

"I am not so sure of that. There was some one in my room last night. "

"Some one in your room!" exclaimed Dorcas in dismay. 

"Yes; a dark-haired woman, all dressed in white!"

Dorcas Knight gave two or three angry grunts and then harshlyexclaimed: "Nonsense! woman, indeed! there is no such woman about thehouse! There are no females here except Miss Day, myself and you--noteven a waiting-maid or cook. "

"Well, " said Cap, "if it was not a woman it was a ghost; for I was wideawake, and I saw it with my own eyes!"

"Fudge! you've heard that foolish story of the haunted room, and youhave dreamed the whole thing!"

"I tell you I didn't! I saw it! Don't I know?"

"I say you dreamed it! There is no such living woman here; and as for aghost, that is all folly. And I must beg, Miss Black, that you will notdistress Miss Day by telling her this strange dream of yours. She hasnever heard the ridiculous story of the haunted room, and, as she liveshere in solitude, I would not like her to hear of it. "

"Oh, I will say nothing to disquiet Miss Day; but it was no dream. Itwas real, if there is any reality in this world. "

There was no more said. They continued to look for the ring, but invain. Dorcas Knight, however, assured her guest that it should be foundand returned, and that breakfast waited. Whereupon Capitola went downto the parlor, where she found Clara awaiting her presence to give hera kindly greeting. 

"Mr. Le Noir never gets up until very late, and so we do not wait forhim, " said Dorcas Knight, as she took her seat at the head of the tableand signed to the young girls to gather around it. 

After breakfast Capitola, promising to come again soon, and invitingClara to return her visit, took leave of her entertainers and set outfor home. 

"Thank heaven! I have got her off in time and safety!" muttered DorcasKnight, in triumph. 

CHAPTER VII. 

CAP'S RETURN. 

 Must I give way and room for your rash choler? Shall I be frighted when a madman stares? Go show your slaves how choleric you are! And make your bondsmen tremble! I'll not blench!

 --SHAKESPEARE. 

It happened that about sunrise that morning Wool awoke In the cellar, and remembered that on the night previous his master had commanded himto sally forth in the storm end seek his young mistress, and hadforbidden him, on pain of broken bones, to return without bringing hersafe. Therefore, what did the honest soul do but steal out to thestables, saddle and mount a horse and ride back to the house just asMrs. Condiment had come out into the poultry yard to get eggs forbreakfast. 

"Missus Compliment, ma'am, I'se been out all night in search of MissCaterpillar, without finding of her. Is she come back, ma'am?"

"Lor', no, indeed, Wool! I'm very anxious, and the major is taking ondreadful! But I hope she is safe in some house. But, poor Wool, youmust have had a dreadful time out all night in the storm looking forher!"

"Awful! Missus Compliment, ma'am, awful!" said Wool. 

"Indeed, I know you had, poor creature, come in and get some warmbreakfast, " said the kind old lady. 

"I dare'nt, Missus Compliment. Old marse forbid me to show my face tohim until I fotch Miss Caterpillar home safe, " said Wool, turning hishorse's head as if to go. In doing so he saw Capitola galloping towardthe house, and with an exclamation of joy pointed her out to the oldlady and rode on to meet her. 

"Oh, Miss Caterpillar, I'se so glad I've found you! I'se done been outlooking for you all night long!" exclaimed Wool, as he met her. 

Capitola pulled up her horse and surveyed the speaker with a comicalexpression, saying:

"Been out all night looking for me! Well, I must say you seem in a finestate of preservation for a man who has been exposed to the storm allnight. You have not a wet thread on you. "

"Lor', miss, it rained till one o'clock, and then the wind riz andblowed till six and blowed me dry, " said Wool, as he sprang off hishorse and helped his young mistress to alight. 

Then, instead of taking the beasts to the stable, he tied them to thetree and hurried into the house and upstairs to his master's room, toapprise him of the return of the lost sheep, Capitola. 

Old Hurricane was lying awake, tossing, groaning and grumbling withanxiety. 

On seeing Wool enter he deliberately raised up and seized a heavy ironcandlestick and held it ready to hurl at the head of that worthy, whomhe thus addressed:

"Ah, you have come, you atrocious villain! You know the conditions. Ifyou have dared to show your face without bringing your young mistress--"

"Please, marse, I wur out looking for her all night. "

"Have you brought her?" thundered Old Hurricane, rising up. 

"Please, marse, yes, sir; I done found her and brought her home safe. "

"Send her up to me, " said Old Hurricane, sinking back with a sigh ofinfinite relief. 

Wool flew to do his bidding. 

In five minutes Capitola entered her uncle's chamber. 

Now, Old Hurricane had spent a night of almost intolerable anxiety uponhis favorite's account, bewailing her danger and praying for her safetybut no sooner did he see her enter his chamber safe and sound andsmiling than indignation quite mastered him, and jumping out of his bedin his nightgown, he made a dash straight at Capitola. 

Now, had Capitola run there is little doubt but that, in the blindnessof his fury, he would have caught and beat her then and there. But Capsaw him coming, drew up her tiny form, folded her arms and looked himdirectly in the face. 

This stopped him; but, like a mettlesome old horse suddenly pulled upin full career, he stamped and reared and plunged with fury, and foamedand spluttered and stuttered before he could get words out. 

"What do you mean, you vixen, by standing there and popping your greateyes out at me? Are you going to bite, you tigress? What do you mean byfacing me at all?" he roared, shaking his fist within an inch ofCapitola's little pug nose. 

"I am here because you sent for me, sir, " was Cap's unanswerablerejoinder. 

"Here because I sent for you! humph! humph! humph! and come dancing andsmiling into my room as if you had not kept me awake all the live-longnight--yes, driven me within an inch of brain fever! Not that I caredfor you, you limb of Old Nick! not that I cared for you, except to wishwith all my heart and soul that something or other had happened to you, you vagrant! Where did you spend the night, you lunatic?"

"At the old Hidden House, where I went to make a call on my newneighbor, Miss Day, and where I was caught in the storm. "

"I wish to heaven you had been caught in a man-trap and had all yourlimbs broken, you--you--you--Oh!" ejaculated Old Hurricane, turningshort and trotting up and down the room. Presently he stopped beforeCapitola and rapping his cane upon the floor, demanded:

"Who did you see at that accursed place, you--you--infatuated maniac?"

"Miss Day, Mr. Le Noir, Mrs. Knight and a man servant, name unknown, "coolly replied Cap. 

"And the head demon, where was he?"

"Uncle, if by the 'head demon' you mean Old Nick, I think it quitelikely, from present appearances, that he passed the night at HurricaneHall. "

"I mean--Colonel Le Noir!" exclaimed Old Hurricane, as if the namechoked him. 

"Oh! I understood that he had that day left home. "

"Umph! Oh! Ah! That accounts for it; that accounts for it, " mutteredOld Hurricane to himself; then, seeing that Cap was wistfully regardinghis face and attending to his muttered phrases, he broke out upon herwith:

"Get out of this--this--this--" He meant to say "get out of thishouse, " but a sure instinct warned him that if he should speak thusCapitola, unlike the other members of his household, would take him athis word. 

"Get out of this room, you vagabond!" he vociferated. 

And Cap, with a curtsey and a kiss of her hand, danced away. 

Old Hurricane stamped up and down the floor, gesticulating like ademoniac and vociferating:

"She'll get herself burked, kidnapped, murdered or what not! I'm sureshe will! I know it! I feel it! It's no use to order her not to go; shewill be sure to disobey, and go ten times as often for the very reasonthat she was forbidden. What the demon shall I do? Wool! Wool! youbrimstone villain, come here!" he roared, going to the bell-rope andpulling it until he broke it down. 

Wool ran in with his hair bristling, his teeth chattering and his eyesstarting. 

"Come here to me, you varlet! Now, listen: You are to keep a sharplook-out after your young mistress. Whenever she rides abroad you areto mount a horse and ride after her, and keep your eyes open, for ifyou once lose sight of her, you knave, do you know what I shall do toyou, eh?"

"N--no, marse, " stammered Wool, pale with apprehension. 

"I should cut your eyelids off to improve your vision! Look to it, sir, for I shall keep my word! And now come and help me to dress, " concludedOld Hurricane. 

Wool, with chattering teeth, shaking knees and trembling fingers, assisted his master in his morning toilet, meditating the while whetherit were not better to avoid impending dangers by running away. 

And, in fact, between his master and his mistress, Wool had a hot timeof it. The weather, after the storm had cleared the atmosphere, wasdelightful, and Cap rode out that very day. Poor Wool kept his eyeballsmetaphorically "skinned, " for fear they should be treated literallyso--held his eyes wide open, lest Old Hurricane should keep his wordand make it impossible for him ever to shut them. 

When Cap stole out, mounted her horse and rode away, in five minutesfrom the moment of starting she heard a horse's hoofs behind her, andpresently saw Wool gallop to her side. 

At first Cap bore this good-humoredly enough, only saying:

"Go home, Wool, I don't want you; I had much rather ride alone. "

To which the groom replied:

"It is old marse's orders, miss, as I should wait on you. "

Capitola's spirit rebelled against this; and, suddenly turning upon herattendant, she indignantly exclaimed:

"Wool, I don't want you, sir; I insist upon being left alone, and Iorder you to go home, sir!"

Upon this Wool burst into tears and roared. 

Much surprised, Capitola inquired of him what the matter was. 

For some time Wool could only reply by sobbing, but when he was able toarticulate he blubbered forth:

"It's nuf to make anybody go put his head under a meat-ax, so it is!"

"What is the matter, Wool?" again inquired Capitola. 

"How'd you like to have your eyelids cut off?" howled Wool, indignantly. 

"What?" inquired Capitola. 

"Yes; I axes how'd you like to have your eyelids cut off? Case that'swhat ole marse t'reatens to do long o' me, if I don't follow arter youand keep you in sight. And now you forbids of me to do it, and--and--and I'll go and put my neck right underneaf a meat-ax!"

Now, Capitola was really kind-hearted, and, well knowing the despotictemper of her guardian, she pitied Wool, and after a little hesitationshe said:

"Wool, so your old master says if you don't keep your eyes on me he'llcut your eyelids off?"

"Ye--ye--yes, miss, " sobbed Wool. 

"Did he say if you didn't listen to me he'd cut your ears off?"

"N--n--no, miss. "

"Did he swear if you didn't talk to me he'd cut out your tongue out?"

"N--n--no, miss. "

"Well, now, stop howling and listen to me! Since, at the peril of youreyelids, you are obliged to keep me in sight, I give you leave to ridejust within view of me, but no nearer, and you are never to let me seeor hear you, if you can help it for I like to be alone. "

"I'll do anything in this world for peace, Miss Caterpillar, " said poorWool. 

And upon this basis the affair was finally settled. And no doubtCapitola owed much of her personal safety to the fact that Wool kepthis eyes open. 

While these scenes were going on at Hurricane Hall, momentous eventswere taking place elsewhere, which require another chapter for theirdevelopment. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

ANOTHER MYSTERY AT THE HIDDEN HOUSE. 

 "Hark! what a shriek was that of fear intense, Of horror and amazement! What fearful struggle to the door and thence With mazy doubles to the grated casement!"

An hour after the departure of Capitola, Colonel Le Noir returned tothe Hidden House and learned from his man David that upon the precedingevening a young girl of whose name he was ignorant had sought shelterfrom the storm and passed the night at the mansion. 

Now, Colonel Le Noir was extremely jealous of receiving strangers underhis roof, never, during his short stay at the Hidden House, going outinto company, lest he should be obliged in return to entertainvisitors. And when he learned that a strange girl had spent the nightbeneath his roof, he frowningly directed that Dorcas should be sent tohim. 

When his morose manager made her appearance he harshly demanded thename of the young woman she had dared to receive beneath his roof. 

Now, whether there is any truth in the theory of magnetism or not, itis certain that Dorcas Knight--stern, harsh, resolute woman that shewas toward all others--became as submissive as a child in the presenceof Colonel Le Noir. 

At his command she gave him all the information he required, not evenwithholding the fact of Capitola's strange story of having seen theapparition of the pale-faced lady in her chamber, together with thesubsequent discovery of the loss of her ring. 

Colonel Le Noir sternly reprimanded his domestic manager for herneglect of his orders and dismissed her from his presence. 

The remainder of the day was passed by him in moody thought. Thatevening he summoned his son to a private conference in the parlor--anevent that happily delivered poor Clara Day from their presence at herfireside. 

That night Clara, dreading lest at the end of their interview theymight return to her society, retired early to her chamber where she satreading until a late hour, when she went to bed and found transientforgetfulness of trouble in sleep. 

She did not know how long she had slept when she was suddenly andterribly awakened by a woman's shriek sounding from the roomimmediately overhead, in which, upon the night previous, Capitola hadslept. 

Starting up in bed, Clara listened. 

The shriek was repeated--prolonged and piercing--and was accompanied bya muffled sound of struggling that shook the ceiling overhead. 

Instinctively springing from her bed, Clara threw on her dressing-gownand flew to the door; but just as she turned the latch to open it sheheard a bolt slipped on the outside and found herself a prisoner in herown chamber. 

Appalled, she stood and listened. 

Presently there came a sound of footsteps on the stairs and a heavymuffled noise as of some dead weight being dragged down the staircaseand along the passage. Then she heard the hall door cautiously openedand shut. And, finally, she distinguished the sound of wheels rollingaway from the house. 

Unable longer to restrain herself, she rapped and beat upon her owndoor, crying aloud for deliverance. 

Presently the bolt was withdrawn, the door jerked open and DorcasKnight, with a face of horror, stood before her. 

"What is the matter! Who was that screaming? In the name of mercy, whathas happened?" cried Clara, shrinking in abhorrence from the ghastlywoman. 

"Hush! it is nothing! There were two tomcats screaming and fighting inthe attic, and they fought all the way downstairs, rolling over andover each other. I've just turned them out, " faltered the woman, shivering as with an ague fit. 

"What--what was that--that went away in the carriage?" asked Clarashuddering. 

"The colonel, gone to meet the early stage at Tip-Top, to take him toWashington. He would have taken leave of you last night, but when hecame to your parlor you had left it. "

"But--but--there is blood upon your hand, Dorcas Knight!" cried Clara, shaking with horror. 

"I--I know; the cats scratched me as I put them out, " stammered thestern woman, trembling almost as much as Clara herself. 

These answers failed to satisfy the young girl, who shrank in terrorand loathing from that woman's presence, and sought the privacy of herown chamber, murmuring:

"What has happened? What has been done? Oh, heaven! oh, heaven! havemercy on us! some dreadful deed has been done in this house to-night!"

There was no more sleep for Clara. She heard the clock strike everyhour from one to six in the morning, when she arose and dressed herselfand went from her room, expecting to see upon the floor and walls andupon the faces of the household signs of some dreadful tragedy enactedupon the previous night. 

But all things were as usual--the same dark, gloomy and neglectedmagnificence about the rooms and passages, the same reserved, sullenand silent aspect about the persons. 

Dorcas Knight presided as usual at the head of the breakfast table, andCraven Le Noir at the foot. Clara sat in her accustomed seat at theside, midway between them. 

Clara shuddered in taking her cup of coffee from the hand of Dorcas, and declined the wing of fowl that Craven Le Noir would have put uponher plate. 

Not a word was said upon the subject of the mystery of the precedingnight until Craven Le Noir, without venturing to meet the eyes of theyoung girl, said:

"You look very pale, Clara. "

"Miss Day was frightened by the cats last night, " said Dorcas. 

Clara answered never a word. The ridiculous story essayed to be palmedoff upon her credulity in explanation of the night's mystery had notgained an instant's belief. 

She knew that the cry that had startled her from sleep had burst instrong agony from human lips!

That the helpless weight she had heard dragged down the stairs andalong the whole length of the passage was some dead or insensible humanform!

That the blood she had seen upon the hand of Dorcas Knight was--oh, heaven! her mind shrank back appalled with horror at the thought whichshe dare not entertain! She could only shudder, pray and trust in God. 

CHAPTER IX. 

CAP FREES THE CAPTIVE. 

 Hold, daughter! I do spy a kind of hope, Which craves as desperate an execution As that is desperate, which we would prevent And if thou darest, I'll give thee remedy! Hold, then! go home, be merry, give consent To marry Paris! Wednesday is to-morrow!

 --Shakespeare. 

As the autumn weather was now very pleasant, Capitola continued herrides, and, without standing on ceremony, repeated her visit to theHidden House. She was, as usual, followed by Wool, who kept at arespectful distance, and who during his mistress' visit, remainedoutside in attendance upon the horses. 

Capitola luckily was in no danger of encountering Colonel Le Noir, who, since the night of the mysterious tragedy, had not returned home, buthad gone to and settled in his winter quarters in Washington city. 

But she again met Craven Le Noir, who, contrary to his usual custom ofaccompanying his father upon his annual migrations to the metropolis, had, upon this occasion, remained home in close attendance upon hiscousin, the wealthy orphan. 

Capitola found Clara the same sweet, gentle and patient girl, with thisdifference only, that her youthful brow was now overshadowed by a heavytrouble which could not wholly be explained by her state of orphanageor her sorrow for the dead--it was too full of anxiety, gloom andterror to have reference to the past alone. 

Capitola saw all this and, trusting in her own powers, would havesought the confidence of the poor girl, with the view of soothing hersorrows and helping her out of her difficulties; but Miss Day, candidupon all other topics, was strangely reserved upon this subject, andCapitola, with all her eccentricity, was too delicate to seek tointrude upon the young mourner's sanctuary of grief. 

But a crisis was fast approaching which rendered further concealmentdifficult and dangerous, and which threw Clara for protection upon thecourage, presence of mind and address of Capitola. 

Since Clara Day had parted with her betrothed and had taken up herresidence beneath her guardian's roof, she had regularly written bothto Traverse at St. Louis and to his mother at Staunton. But she hadreceived no reply from either mother or son. And months had passed, filling the mind of Clara with anxiety upon their account. 

She did not for one moment doubt their constancy. Alas! it required butlittle perspicacity on her part to perceive that the letters on eitherside must have been intercepted by the Le Noirs--father and son. 

Her greatest anxiety was lest Mrs. Rocke and Traverse, failing to hearfrom her, should imagine that she had forgotten them. She longed toassure them that she had not; but how should she do this? It wasperfectly useless to write and send the letter to the post-office byany servant at the Hidden House, for such a letter was sure to find itsway--not into the mail bags, but into the pocket of Colonel Le Noir. 

Finally, Clara resolved to entrust honest Cap with so much of her storyas would engage her interest and co-operation, and then confide to hercare a letter to be placed in the post-office. Clara had scarcely cometo this resolution ere, as we said, an imminent crisis obliged her toseek the further aid of Capitola. 

Craven Le Noir had never abated his unacceptable attentions to theorphan heiress. Day by day, on the contrary, to Clara's unspeakabledistress, these attentions grew more pointed and alarming. 

At first she had received them coldly and repulsed them gently; but asthey grew more ardent and devoted she became colder and more reserved, until at length, by maintaining a freezing hauteur at variance with herusually sweet temper, she sought to repel the declaration that was everready to fall from his lips. 

But, notwithstanding her evident abhorrence of his suit, Craven Le Noirpersisted in his purpose. 

And so one morning he entered the parlor and, finding Clara alone, heclosed the door, seated himself beside her, took her hand and made aformal declaration of love and proposal of marriage, urging his suitwith all the eloquence of which he was master. 

Now, Clara Day, a Christian maiden, a recently bereaved orphan and anaffianced bride, had too profound a regard for her duties toward God, her father's will and her betrothed husband's rights to treat thisattempted invasion of her faith in any other than the most deliberate, serious and dignified manner. 

"I am very sorry, Mr. Le Noir, that it has at length come to this. Ithought I had conducted myself in such a manner as totally todiscourage any such purpose as this which you have just honored me bydisclosing. Now, however, that the subject may be set at rest forever, I feel bound to announce to you that my hand is already plighted, " saidClara, gravely. 

"But, my fairest and dearest love, your little hand cannot be plightedwithout the consent of your guardian, who would never countenance theimpudent pretensions which I understand to be made by the low-bornyoung man to whom I presume you allude. That engagement was a veryfoolish affair, my dear girl, and only to be palliated on the ground ofyour extreme childishness at the time of its being made. You mustforget the whole matter, my sweetest love, and prepare yourself tolisten to a suit more worthy of your social position, " said Craven LeNoir, attempting to steal his arm around her waist. 

Clara coldly repelled him, saying:

"I am at a loss to understand, Mr. Le Noir, what act of levity on mypart has given you the assurance to offer me this affront!"

"Do you call it an affront, fair cousin, that I lay my hand and heartand fortune at your feet?"

"I have called your act, sir, by its gentlest name. Under thecircumstances I might well have called it an outrage!"

"And what may be those circumstances that convert an actof--adoration--into an outrage, my sweet cousin?"

"Sir, you know them well. I have not concealed from you or my guardianthat I am the affianced bride of Doctor Rocke, nor that our troth wasplighted with the full consent of my dear father, " said Clara, gravely. 

"Tut, tut, tut, my charming cousin, that was mere child's play--aschool-girl's romantic whim. Do not dream that your guardian will everpermit you to throw yourself away upon that low-bred fellow. "

"Mr. Le Noir, if you permit yourself to address me in this manner, Ishall feel compelled to retire. I cannot remain here to have my honoredfather's will and memory, and the rights of my betrothed, insulted inmy person!" said Clara, rising to leave the room. 

"No--stay! forgive me, Clara! pardon me, gentlest girl, if, in my greatlove for you, I grow impatient of any other claim upon your heart, especially from such an unworthy quarter. Clara, you are a mere child, full of generous but romantic sentiments and dangerous impulses. Yourequire extra vigilance and firm exercise of authority on the part ofyour guardian to save you from certain self-destruction. And some day, sweet girl, you will thank us for preserving you from the horrors ofsuch a mesalliance, " said Craven Le Noir, gently detaining her. 

"I tell you, Mr. Le Noir, that your manner of speaking of my betrothalis equally insulting to myself, Doctor Rocke and my dear father, whonever would have plighted our hands had he considered our prospectivemarriage a mesalliance. "

"Nor do I suppose he ever did plight your hands--while in his rightsenses!"

"Oh, sir, this has been discussed before. I beg of you to let thesubject drop forever, remembering that I hold myself sacredly betrothedto Traverse Rocke, and ready when, at my legal majority, he shall claimme--to redeem my plighted faith by becoming his wife. "

"Clara, this is madness! It must not be endured, nor shall not! I havehitherto sought to win your hand by showing you the great extent of mylove; but be careful how you scorn that love or continue to taunt mewith the mention of an unworthy rival. For, though I use gentle means, should I find them fail of their purpose, I shall know how to availmyself of harsher ones. "

Clara disdained reply, except by permitting her clear eye to pass overhim from head to foot with an expression of consuming scorn thatscathed him to the quick. 

"I tell you to be careful, Clara Day! I come to you armed with theauthority of your legal guardian, my father, Colonel Le Noir, who willforestall your foolish purpose of throwing yourself and your fortuneaway upon a beggar, even though to do so he strain his authority andcoerce you into taking a more suitable companion, " said Craven Le Noir, rising impatiently and pacing the floor. But no sooner had he spokenthese words than he saw how greatly he had injured his cause andrepented them. Going to Clara and intercepting her as she was about toleave the room, he gently took her hand and, dropping his eyes to thefloor with a look of humility and penitence, he said:

"Clara, my sweet cousin, I know not how sufficiently to express mysorrow at having been hurried into harshness toward you--toward youwhom I love more than my own soul, and whom it is the fondest wish ofmy heart to call wife. I can only excuse myself for this or any futureextravagance of manner by my excessive love for you and the jealousythat maddens my brain at the bare mention of my rival. That is it, sweet girl. Can you forgive one whom love and jealousy have hurriedinto frenzy?"

"Mr. Le Noir, the Bible enjoins me to forgive injuries. I shallendeavor, when I can, to forgive you, though for the present my heartis still burning under the sense of wrongs done toward myself and thosewhom I love and esteem, and the only way in which you can make meforget what has just passed will be--never to repeat the offence. " Andwith these words Clara bent her head and passed from the room. 

Could she have seen the malignant scowl and gesture with which CravenLe Noir followed her departure, she would scarcely have trusted hisexpressions of penitence. 

Lifting his arm above his head he fiercely shook his fist after her andexclaimed:

"Go on, insolent girl, and imagine that you have humbled me; but thetune shall be changed by this day month, for before that time whateverpower the law gives the husband over his wife and her property shall bemine over you and your possessions. Then we will see who shall beinsolent; then we shall see whose proud blue eye shall day after daydare to look up and rebuke me. Oh: to get you in my power, my girl! Notthat I love you, moon-faced creature, but I want your possessions, which is quite as strong an incentive. "

Then he fell into thought. He had an ugly way of scowling and bitinghis nails when deeply brooding over any subject, and now he walkedslowly up and down the floor with his head upon his breast, his browsdrawn over his nose and his four fingers between his teeth, gnawingaway like a wild beast, while he muttered:

"She is not like the other one; she has more sense and strength; shewill give us more trouble. We must continue to try fair means a littlelonger. It will be difficult, for I am not accustomed to control mypassions, even for a purpose--yet, penitence and love are the onlycards to be played to this insolent girl for the present. Afterwards!--" Here his soliloquy muttered itself into silence, hishead sank deeper upon his breast, his brows gathered lower over hisnose and he walked and gnawed his nails like a hungry wolf. 

The immediate result of this cogitation was that he went into thelibrary and wrote off a letter to his father, telling him all that hadtranspired between himself and Clara, and asking his further counsel. 

He dispatched this letter and waited an answer. 

During the week that ensued before he could hope to hear from ColonelLe Noir, he treated Clara with marked deference and respect. 

And Clara, on her part, did not tax his forbearance by appearing in hispresence oftener than she could possibly avoid. 

At the end of the week the expected letter came. It was short and tothe purpose. It ran thus:

 Washington, Dec. 14, 18--

 MY DEAR CRAVEN--You are losing time. Do not hope to win the girl by the means you propose. She is too acute to be deceived, and too firm to be persuaded. We must not hesitate to use the only possible means by which we can coerce her into compliance. I shall follow this letter by the first stage-coach, and before the beginning of the next month Clara Day shall be your wife. 

 Your Affectionate Father, GABRIEL LE NOIR, C. LE NOIR, ESQ. , Hidden House. 

When Craven Le Noir read this letter his thin, white face and deep-seteyes lighted up with triumph. But Craven Le Noir huzzaed before he wasout of the woods. He had not calculated upon Capitola. 

The next day Colonel Le Noir came to the Hidden House. He arrived latein the afternoon. 

After refreshing himself with a bath, a change of clothing and a lightluncheon, he went to the library, where he passed the remainder of theevening in a confidential conference with his son. Their supper wasordered to be served up to them there; and for that evening Clara hadthe comfort of taking her tea alone. 

The result of this conference was that the next morning, afterbreakfast, Colonel Le Noir sent for Miss Day to come to him in thelibrary. 

When Clara, nerving her gentle heart to resist a sinful tyranny, entered the library, Colonel Le Noir arose and courteously handed herto a chair, and then, seating himself beside her, said:

"My dear Clara, the responsibilities of a guardian are always veryonerous, and his duties not always very agreeable, especially when hisward is the sole heiress of a large property and the object of pursuitby fortune hunters and maneuverers, male and female. When such is thecase, the duties and responsibilities of the guardian are augmented ahundredfold. "

"Sir, this cannot be so in my case, since you are perfectly aware thatmy destiny is, humanly speaking, already decided, " replied Clara, withgentle firmness. 

"As--how, I pray you, my fair ward?"

"You cannot possibly be at a loss to understand, sir. You have beenalready advised that I am betrothed to Doctor Rocke, who will claim meas his wife upon the day that I shall complete my twenty-first year. "

"Miss Clara Day! no more of that, I beseech you! It is folly, perversity, frenzy! But, thanks to the wisdom of legislators, the lawvery properly invests the guardian with great latitude of discretionarypower of the person and property of his ward--to be used, of course, for that ward's best interest. And thus, my dear Clara, it is my duty, while holding this power over you, to exercise it for preventing thepossibility of your ever--either now or at any future time, throwingyourself away upon a mere adventurer. To do this, I must provide youwith a suitable husband. My son, Mr. Craven Le Noir, has long loved andwooed her. He is a young man of good reputation and fair prospects. Ientirely approve his suit, and as your guardian I command you toreceive him for your destined husband. "

"Colonel Le Noir, this is no time 'for bated breath and whisperedhumbleness. ' I am but a simple girl of seventeen, but I understand yourpurpose and that of your son just as well as though I were an old manof the world. You are the fortune hunters and maneuverers! It is thefortune of the wealthy heiress and friendless orphan that you are inpursuit of! But that fortune, like my hand and heart, is alreadypromised to one I love; and, to speak very plainly to you, I would dieere I would disappoint him or wed your son, " said Clara, withinvincible firmness. 

"Die, girl! There are worse things than death in the world!" saidColonel Le Noir, with a threatening glare. 

"I know it! and one of the worst things in the world would be a unionwith a man I could neither esteem nor even endure!" exclaimed Clara. 

Colonel Le Noir saw that there was no use in further disguise. Throwingoff, then, the last restraints of good breeding, he said:

"And there are still more terrible evils for a woman than to be thewife of one she 'can neither esteem nor endure!'"

Clara shook her head in proud scorn. 

"There are evils to escape which such a woman would go down upon herbended knees to be made the wife of such a man. "

Clara's gentle eyes flashed with indignation. 

"Infamous!" she cried. "You slander all womanhood in my person!"

"The evils to which I allude are--comprised in--a life of dishonor!"hissed Le Noir through his set teeth. 

"This to my father's daughter!" exclaimed Clara, growing white as deathat the insult. "Aye, my girl! It is time we understood each other. Youare in my power, and I intend to coerce you to my will!"

These words, accompanied as they were by a look that left no doubt uponher mind that he would carry out his purpose to any extremity, soappalled the maiden's soul that she stood like one suddenly struck withcatalepsy. 

The unscrupulous wretch then approached her and said:

"I am now going to the county seat to take out a marriage license foryou and my son. I shall have the carriage at the door by six o'clockthis evening, when I desire that you shall be ready to accompany us tochurch, where a clerical friend will be in attendance to perform themarriage ceremony. Clara Day, if you would save your honor, look tothis!"

All this time Clara had neither moved nor spoken nor breathed. She hadstood cold, white and still as if turned to stone. 

"Let no vain hope of escape delude your mind. The doors will be keptlocked; the servants are all warned not to suffer you to leave thehouse. Look to it, Clara, for the rising of another sun shall see mypurpose accomplished!"

And with these words the atrocious wretch left the room. His departuretook off the dreadful spell that had paralyzed Clara's life; her bloodbegan to circulate again; breath came to her lungs and speech to herlips. 

"Oh, Lord, " she cried, "oh, Lord, who delivered the children from thefiery furnace, deliver the poor handmaiden now from her terrible foes!"

While she thus prayed she saw upon the writing table before her a smallpenknife. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes brightened as she seized it. 

"This! this!" she said, "this small instrument is sufficient to saveme! Should the worst ensue, I know where to find the carotid artery, and even such a slight puncture as my timorous hand could make wouldset my spirit free! Oh, my father! oh, my father! you little thoughtwhen you taught your Clara the mysteries of anatomy to what a fearfuluse she would put your lessons! And would it be right? Oh, would it beright? One may desire death, but can anything justify suicide? Oh, Father in heaven, guide me! guide me!" cried Clara, falling upon herknees and sobbing forth this prayer of agony. 

Soon approaching footsteps drew her attention. And she had only time torise and put back her damp, disheveled hair from her tear-stained facebefore the door opened and Dorcas Knight appeared and said:

"Here is this young woman come again. "

"I declare, Miss Day, " said Cap, laughing, "you have the mostaccomplished, polite and agreeable servants here that I ever met with!Think with what a courteous welcome this woman received me--' Here youare again!' she said. 'You'll come once too often for your own good, and that I tell you. ' I answered that every time I came it appeared tobe once too often for her liking. She rejoined, 'The colonel has comehome, and he don't like company, so I advise you to make your call ashort one. ' I assured her that I should measure the length of my visitby the breadth of my will--But good angels, Clara! what is the matter?You look worse than death!" exclaimed Capitola, noticing for the firsttime the pale, wild, despairing face of her companion. 

Clara clasped her hands as if in prayer and raised her eyes with anappealing gaze into Capitola's face. 

"Tell me, dear Clara, what is the matter? How can I help you? Whatshall I do for you?" said our heroine. 

Before trusting herself to reply, Clara gazed wistfully into Capitola'seyes, as though she would have read her soul. 

Cap did not blanch nor for an instant avert her own honest, gray orbs;she let Clara gaze straight down through those clear windows of thesoul into the very soul itself, where she found only truth, honesty andcourage. 

The scrutiny seemed to be satisfactory for Clara soon took the hand ofher visitor and said:

"Capitola, I will tell you. It is a horrid, horrid story, but you shallknow all. Come with me to my chamber. "

Cap pressed the hand that was so confidingly placed in hers andaccompanied Clara to her room, where, after the latter had taken theprecaution to lock the door, the two girls sat down for a confidentialtalk. 

Clara, like the author of Robin Hood's Barn, "began at the beginning"of her story, and told everything--her betrothal to Traverse Rocke; thesudden death of her father; the decision of the Orphans' Court; thedeparture of Traverse for the far West; her arrival at the HiddenHouse; the interruption of all her epistolary correspondence with herbetrothed and his mother; the awful and mysterious occurrences of thatdreadful night when she suspected some heinous crime had beencommitted; and finally of the long, unwelcome suit of Craven Le Noirand the present attempt to force him upon her as a husband. 

Cap listened very calmly to this story, showing very little sympathy, for there was not a bit of sentimentality about our Cap. 

"And now, " whispered Clara, while the pallor of horror overspread herface, "by threatening me with a fate worse than death, they would driveme to marry Craven Le Noir!"

"Yes, I know I would!" said Cap, as if speaking to herself, but by hertone and manner clothing these simple words in the very keenest sarcasm. 

"What would you do, Capitola?" asked Clara, raising her tearful eyes tothe last speaker. 

"Marry Mr. Craven Le Noir and thank him, too!" said Cap. Then, suddenlychanging her tone, she exclaimed:

"I wish--oh! how I wish it was only me in your place--that it was onlyme they were trying to marry against my will!"

"What would you do?" asked Clara, earnestly. 

"What would I do? Oh! wouldn't I make them know the difference betweentheir Sovereign Lady and Sam the Lackey? If I had been in your placeand that dastard Le Noir had said to me what he said to you, I dobelieve I should have stricken him down with the lightning of my eyes!But what shall you do, my poor Clara?"

"Alas! alas! see here! this is my last resort!" replied the unhappygirl, showing the little pen-knife. 

"Put it away from you! put it away from you!" exclaimed Capitolaearnestly; "suicide is never, never, never justifiable! God is the Lordof life and death! He is the only judge whether a mortal's sorrows areto be relieved by death, and when He does not Himself release you, Hemeans that you shall live and endure! That proves that suicide is neverright, let the Roman pagans have said and done what they pleased. So nomore of that! There are enough other ways of escape for you!"

"Ah! what are they? You would give me life by teaching me how toescape!" said Clara, fervently. 

"The first and most obvious means that suggests itself to my mind, "said Cap, "is to--run away!"

"Ah! that is impossible. The servants are warned; the doors are alllocked; I am watched!"

"Then the next plan is equally obvious. Consent to go with them to thechurch, and when you get there, denounce them and claim the protectionof the clergyman!"

"Ah! dear girl, that is still more impracticable. The officiatingclergyman is their friend, and even if I could consent to act adeceitful part, and should go to church as if to marry Craven and upongetting there denounce him, instead of receiving the protection of theclergyman I should be restored to the hands of my legal guardian and bebrought back here to meet a fate worse than death, " said Clara, in atone of despair. 

Capitola did not at once reply, but fell into deep thought, whichlasted many minutes. Then, speaking more gravely than she had spokenbefore, she said:

"There is but one plan of escape left, your only remaining chance, andthat full of danger!"

"Oh, why should I fear danger? What evil can befall me so great as thatwhich now threatens me?" said Clara. 

"This plan requires on your part great courage, self-control andpresence of mind. "

"Teach me! teach me, dear Capitola. I will be an apt pupil!"

"I have thought it all out, and will tell you my plan. It is now eleveno'clock in the forenoon, and the carriage is to come for you at sixthis evening, I believe?"

"Yes! yes!"

"Then you have seven hours in which to save yourself! And this is myplan: First, Clara, you must change clothes with me, giving me yoursuit of mourning and putting on my riding habit, hat and veil! Then, leaving me here in your place, you are to pull the veil down closelyover your face and walk right out of the house! No one will speak toyou, for they never do to me. When you have reached the park, springupon my horse and put whip to him for the village of Tip Top. Myservant, Wool, will ride after you, but not speak to you or approachnear enough to discover your identity--for he has been ordered by hismaster to keep me in sight, and he has been forbidden by his mistressto intrude upon her privacy. You will reach Tip Top by three o'clock, when the Staunton stage passes through. You may then reveal yourself toWool, give my horse into his charge, get into the coach and start forStaunton. Upon reaching that place, put yourself under the protectionof your friends, the two old physicians, and get them to prosecute yourguardian for cruelty and flagrant abuse of authority. Be cool, firm andalert, and all will be well!"

Clara, who had listened to this little Napoleon in petticoats withbreathless interest, now clasped her hands in a wild ecstasy of joy andexclaimed:

"I will try it! Oh, Capitola I will try it! Heaven bless you for thecounsel!"

"Be quick, then; change your dress! provide yourself with a purse ofmoney, and I will give you particular directions how to make a shortcut for Tip Top. Ha, ha, ha!, when they come for the bride she will bealready rolling on the turnpike between Tip Top and Staunton!"

"But you! Oh, you, my generous deliverer?"

"I shall dress myself in your clothes and stay here in your place tokeep you from being missed, so as to give you full time to make yourescape. "

"But--you will place yourself in the enraged lion's jaws! You willremain in the power of two men who know neither justice nor mercy! Who, in their love or their hate, fear neither God nor man! Oh, Capitola!how can I take an advantage of your generosity, and leave you here insuch extreme peril? Capitola, I cannot do it!"

"Well, then, I believe, you must be anxious to marry Craven Le Noir!"

"Oh, Capitola!"

"Well, if you are not, hurry and get ready; there is no time to belost!"

"But you! but you, my generous friend!"

"Never mind me. I shall be safe enough! I am not afraid of the LeNoirs. Bless their wigs; I should like to see them make me blanch. Onthe contrary, I desire above all things to be pitted against these two!How I shall enjoy their disappointment and rage! Oh, it will be a rarefrolic!"

While Capitola was speaking she was also busily engaged doing. She wentsoftly to the door and turned the key in the lock, to prevent any onefrom looking through the keyhole, murmuring as she did it:

"I wasn't brought up among the detective policemen for nothing!"

Then she began to take off her riding-habit. Quickly she dressed Clara, superintending all the details of her disguise as carefully as thoughshe were the costumer of a new debutante. When Clara was dressed shewas so nearly of the same size and shape of Capitola that from behindno one would have suspected her identity. 

"There, Clara! tuck your light hair out of the way; pull your cap overyour eyes; gather your veil down close; draw up your figure; throw backyour head; walk with a little springy sway and swagger, as if youdidn't care a damson for anybody, and--there! I declare no one couldtell you from me!" exclaimed Capitola in delight, as she completed thedisguise and the instructions of Clara. 

Then Capitola dressed herself in Clara's deep mourning robes. And thenthe two girls sat down to compose themselves for a few minutes, whileCapitola gave new and particular directions for Clara's course andconduct, so as to insure as far as human foresight could do it, thesafe termination of her perilous adventure. By the time they had endedtheir talk the hall clock struck twelve. 

"There! it is full time you should be off! Be calm, be cool, be firm, and God bless you, Clara! Dear girl! if I were only a young man I woulddeliver you by the strength of my own arms, without subjecting you toinconvenience or danger!" said Cap, gallantly, as she led Clara to thechamber door and carefully gathered her thick veil in close folds overher face, so as entirely to conceal it. 

"Oh, may the Lord in heaven bless and preserve and reward you, mybrave, my noble, my heroic Capitola!" said Clara, fervently, with thetears rushing to her eyes. 

"Bosh!" said Cap. "If you go doing the sentimental you won't look likeme a bit, and that will spoil all. There! keep your veil close, forit's windy, you know; throw back your head and fling yourself alongwith a swagger, as if you didn't care, ahem! for anybody, and--thereyou are!" said Cap, pushing Clara out and shutting the door behind her. 

Clara paused an instant to offer up one short, fervent prayer for hersuccess and Capitola's safety, and then following her instructions, went on. 

Nearly all girls are clever imitators, and Clara readily adoptedCapitola's light, springy, swaying walk, and met old Dorcas Knight inthe hall, without exciting the slightest suspicion of her identity. 

"Humph!" said the woman; "so you are going! I advise you not to comeback again!"

Clara threw up her head with a swagger, and went on. 

"Very well, you may scorn my words, but if you know your own goodyou'll follow my advice!" said Dorcas Knight, harshly. 

Clara flung up her head and passed out. 

Before the door Wool was waiting with the horses. Keeping her faceclosely muffled, Clara went to Capitola's pony. Wool came and helpedher into the saddle, saying:

"Yer does right, Miss Cap, to keep your face kivered; it's awful windy, ain't it, though? I kin scarcely keep the har from blowing offen myhead. "

With an impatient jerk after the manner of Capitola, Clara signifiedthat she did not wish to converse. Wool dropped obediently behind, mounted his horse and followed at a respectful distance until Claraturned her horse's head and took the bridle-path toward Tip Top. Thismove filled poor Wool with dismay. Riding toward her, he exclaimed:

"'Deed, Miss Cap, yer mus' scuse me for speakin' now! Whar de muschiefis yer a-goin' to?"

For all answer Clara, feigning the temper of Capitola, suddenly wheeledher horse, elevated her riding whip and galloped upon Wool in athreatening manner. 

Wool dodged and backed his horse with all possible expedition, exclaiming in consternation:

"Dar! dar! Miss Cap, I won't go for to ax you any morequestions--no--not if yer rides straight to Old Nick or Black Donald!"

Whereupon, receiving this apology in good part, Clara again turned herhorse's head and rode on her way. 

Wool followed, bemoaning the destiny that kept him between the twofierce fires of his old master's despotism and his young mistress'scaprice, and muttering:

"I know old marse and dis young gal am goin' to be the death of me! Iknows it jes' as well as nuffin at all! I 'clare to man, if it ain'tnuff to make anybody go heave themselves right into a grist mill and beground up at once. " Wool spoke no more until they got to Tip Top, whenClara still closely veiled, rode up to the stage office just as thecoach, half filled with passengers, was about to start. Springing fromher horse, she went up to Wool and said:

"Here, man, take this horse back to Hurricane Hall! Tell Major Warfieldthat Miss Black remains at the Hidden House in imminent danger! Ask himto ride there and bring her home! Tell Miss Black when you see her thatI reached Tip Top safe and in time to take the coach. Tell her I willnever cease to be grateful! And now, here is a half eagle for yourtrouble! Good-by, and God bless you!" And she put the piece in his handand took her place in the coach, which immediately started. 

As for Wool! From the time that Clara had thrown aside her veil andbegan to speak to him he had stood staring and staring--hisconsternation growing and growing--until it had seemed to have turnedhim into stone--from which state of petrefaction he did not recoveruntil he saw the stage coach roll rapidly away, carryingoff--whom?--Capitola, Clara or the evil one?--Wool could not have toldwhich! He presently astounded the people about the stage office byleaving his horses and taking to his heels after the stage coach, vociferating:

"Murder! murder! help! help! stop thief! stop thief! stop the coach!stop the coach!"

"What is the matter, man?" said a constable, trying to head him. 

But Wool incontinently ran over that officer, throwing him down andkeeping on his headlong course, hat off, coat-tail streaming and legsand arms flying like the sails of a windmill, as he tried to overtakethe coach, crying:

"Help! murder! head the horses! Stop the coach! Old marse told me notto lose sight of her! Oh, for hebben's sake, good people, stop thecoach!"

When he got to a gate, instead of taking time to open it, he rolledhimself somersault-like right over it! When he met man or woman, instead of turning from his straight course, he knocked them over andpassed on, garments flying and legs and arms circulating with thevelocity of a wheel. 

The people whom he had successively met and overthrown in his course, picking themselves up and getting into the village, reported that therewas a furious madman broke loose, who attacked every one he met. 

And soon every man and boy in the village who could mount a horsestarted in pursuit. Only race horses would have beaten the speed withwhich Wool ran, urged on by fear. It was nine miles on the turnpikeroad from Tip Top that the horsemen overtook and surrounded Wool, who, seeing himself hopelessly environed, fell down upon the ground androlled and kicked, swearing that he would not be taken alive to havehis eyelids cut off!

It was not until after a desperate resistance that he was finallytaken, bound, put in a wagon and carried back to the village, where hewas recognized as Major Warfield's man and a messenger was despatchedfor his master. 

And not until he had been repeatedly assured that no harm should befallhim did Wool gain composure enough to say, amid tears of cruel griefand fear:

"Oh, marsers! my young missus, Miss Black, done been captured andbewitched and turned into somebody else, right afore my own two lookingeyes and gone off in dat coach! 'deed she is! and ole marse killme!'deed he will, gemmen! He went and ordered me not to take my eyesoffen her, and no more I didn't! But what good that do, when she turnedto somebody else, and went off right afore my two looking eyes? But olemarse won't listen to reason. He kill me, I know he will!" whimperedWool, refusing to be comforted. 

CHAPTER X. 

CAP IN CAPTIVITY. 

 I lingered here and rescue planned For Clara and for me. 

 --SCOTT. 

Meanwhile how fared it with Capitola in the Hidden House?

"I am in for it now!" said Cap, as she closed the door behind Clara; "Iam in for it now! This is a jolly imprudent adventure! What will Wooldo when he discovers that he has 'lost sight' of me? What will unclesay when he finds out what I've done? Whe-ew! Uncle will explode! Iwonder if the walls at Hurricane Hall will be strong enough to standit! Wool will go mad! I doubt if he will ever do a bit more good inthis world!"

"But above all, I wonder what the Le Noirs, father and son, will saywhen they find that the heiress is flown and a 'beggar, ' as uncleflatters me by calling me, will be here in her place! Whe-ew-ew-ew!There will be a tornado! Cap, child, they'll murder you! That's justwhat they'll do! They'll kill and eat you, Cap, without any salt! orthey may lock you up in the haunted room to live with the ghost, Cap, and that would be worse!"

"Hush! here comes Dorcas Knight! Now I must make believe I'm Clara, anddo the sentimental up brown!" concluded Capitola, as she seated herselfnear the door where she could be heard, and began to sob softly. 

Dorcas rapped. 

Cap sobbed in response. 

"Are you coming to luncheon, Miss Day?" inquired the woman. 

"Ee-hee! Ee-hee! Ee-hee! I do not want to eat, " sobbed Cap, in a lowand smothered voice. Any one would have thought she was drowned intears. 

"Very well; just as you like, " said the woman harshly, as she went away. 

"Well, I declare, " laughed Cap, "I did that quite as well as an actresscould! But now what am I to do? How long can I keep this up? Heigh-ho'let the world slide!' I'll not reveal myself until I'm driven to it, for when I do-! Cap, child, you'll get chawed right up!"

A little later in the day Dorcas Knight came again and rapped at thedoor. 

"Ee-hee! Ee-hee! Ee-hee!" sobbed Cap. 

"Miss Day, your cousin, Craven Le Noir, wishes to speak with you alone. "

"Ee-hee! Ee-hee! Ee-hee! I cannot see him!" sobbed Cap, in a low andsuffocating voice. 

The woman went away, and Cap suffered no other interruption until sixo'clock, when Dorcas Knight once more rapped saying:

"Miss Day, your uncle is at the front door with the carriage, and hewishes to know if you are ready to obey him. "

"Ee-hee! Ee-hee! Ee--hee!-te-te-tell him yes!" sobbed Cap, as if herheart would break. 

The woman went off with this answer, and Capitola hastily enveloped herform in Clara's large, black shawl, put on Clara's black bonnet andtied her thick mourning veil closely over her face. 

"A pretty bridal dress, this; but, however, I suppose these men are nomore particular about my costume than they are about their ownconduct, " said Cap. 

She had just drawn on her gloves when she heard the footsteps of twomen approaching. They rapped at the door. 

"Come in, " she sobbed, in a low, broken voice, that might have belongedto any girl in deep distress, and she put a white cambric handkerchiefup to her eyes and drew her thick veil closely over her face. 

The two Le Noirs immediately entered the room. Craven approached herand whispered, softly:

"You will forgive me this, my share in these proceedings after awhile, sweet Clara! The Sabine women did not love the Roman youths the lessthat they were forcibly made wives by them. "

"Ee-hee! Ee-hee! Ee-hee!" sobbed Cap, entirely concealing her whitecambric handkerchief under her impenetrable veil. 

"Come, come! we lose time!" said the elder Le Noir "Draw her arm withinyours, Craven, and lead her out. "

The young man did as he was directed and led Cap from the room. It wasnow quite dark--the long, dreary passage was only dimly lighted by ahanging lamp, so that with the care she took there was scarcely apossibility of Capitola's being discovered. They went on, Craven LeNoir whispering hypocritical apologies and Cap replying only by lowsobs. 

When they reached the outer door they found a close carriage drawn upbefore the house. 

To this Craven Le Noir led Capitola, placed her within and took theseat by her side. Colonel Le Noir followed and placed himself in thefront seat opposite them. And the carriage was driven rapidly off. 

An hour's ride brought the party to an obscure church in the depths ofthe forest, which Capitola recognized by the cross on its top to be aRoman Catholic chapel. 

Here the carriage drew up and the two Le Noirs got out and assistedCapitola to alight. 

They then led her into the church, which was dimly illumined by a pairof wax candles burning before the altar. A priest in his sacerdotalrobes was in attendance. A few country people were scattered thinlyabout among the pews, at their private devotions. 

Guarded by Craven Le Noir on the right and Colonel Le Noir on the left, Capitola was marched up the aisle and placed before the altar. 

Colonel Le Noir then went and spoke apart to the officiating priest, saying, in a tone of dissatisfaction:

"I told you, sir, that as our bride was an orphan, recently bereaved, and still in deep mourning, we wished the marriage ceremony to bestrictly private, and you gave me to understand, sir, that at this hourthe chapel was most likely to be vacant. Yet, here I find a half ascore of people! How is this?"

"Sir, " replied the priest, "it is true that at this hour of the eveningthe chapel is most likely to be vacant, but it is not therefore certainto be so! nor did I promise as much! Our chapel is, as you know, openat all hours of the day and night, that all who please may come andpray. These people that you see are hard-working farm laborers, whohave no time to come in the day, and who are now here to offer up theirevening prayers, and also, some of them, to examine their consciencespreparatory to confession! They can certainly be no interruption tothis ceremony. "

"Egad, I don't know that!" muttered Colonel Le Noir between his teeth. 

As for Cap, the sight of other persons present in the chapel filled herheart with joy and exultation, inasmuch as it insured her final safety. And so she just abandoned herself to the spirit of frolic thatpossessed her, and anticipated with the keenest relish the denouementof her strange adventure. 

"Well, what are we waiting for? Proceed, sir, proceed!" said Colonel LeNoir as he took Cap by the shoulders and placed her on the left side ofhis son, while he himself stood behind ready to "give the bride away. "

The ceremony immediately commenced. 

The prologue beginning, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered togetherhere, " etc. , etc. , etc. , was read. 

The solemn exhortation to the contracting parties, commencing "Irequire and charge ye both, as ye shall answer in the dreadful day ofjudgment when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, that ifeither of you know any just cause or impediment why ye may not lawfullybe joined together, " etc. , etc. , etc. , followed. 

Capitola listened to all this with the deepest attention, saying toherself: "Well, I declare, this getting married is really awfullyinteresting! If it were not for Herbert Greyson, I'd just let it goright straight on to the end and see what would happen next!"

While Cap was making these mental comments the priest was asking thebridegroom:

"Wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife, " etc. , etc. , etc. , "so long as ye both shall live?"

To which Craven Le Noir, in a sonorous voice responded: "I will. "

"Indeed you will? We'll see that presently!" said Cap to herself. 

The priest then turning toward the bride, inquired:

"Wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband, etc. , etc. , etc. , solong as ye both shall live?"

To which the bride, throwing aside her veil, answered firmly:

"No! not if he were the last man and I the last woman on the face ofthe earth and the human race was about to become extinct and the angelof Gabriel came down from above to ask it of me as a personal favor. "

The effect of this outburst, this revelation, this explosion, may beimagined but can never be adequately described. 

The priest dropped his book and stood with lifted hands and open mouthand staring eyes as though he had raised a ghost!

The two Le Noirs simultaneously sprang forward, astonishment, disappointment and rage contending in their blanched faces. 

"Who are you, girl?" exclaimed Colonel Le Noir. 

"Capitola Black, your honor's glory!" she replied, making a deepcurtsey. 

"What the foul fiend is the meaning of all this?" in the same breathinquired the father and son. 

Cap put her thumb on the side of her nose, and, whirling her fourfingers, replied:

"It means, your worships' excellencies, that--you--can't come it! it'sno go!' this chicken won't fight It means that the fat's in the fire, and the cat's out of the bag! It means confusion! distraction!perdition! and a tearing off of our wigs! It means the game's up, theplay's over, villainy is about to be hanged and virtue about to bemarried, and the curtain is going to drop and the principalperformer--that's I-is going to be called out amid the applause of theaudience!" Then, suddenly changing her mocking tone to one of greatseverity, she said:

"It means that you have been outwitted by a girl! It means that yourpurposed victim has fled, and is by this time in safety! It means thatyou two, precious father and son, would be a pair of knaves if you hadsense enough; but, failing in that, you are only a pair of fools!"

By this time the attention of the few persons in the church wasaroused. They all arose to their feet to look and listen, and some ofthem left their places and approached the altar. And to these latterCapitola now suddenly turned and said aloud:

"Good people, I am Capitola Black, the niece and ward of Major IraWarfield, of Hurricane Hall, whom you all know, and now I claim yourprotection while I shall tell you the meaning of my presence here!"

"Don't listen to her. She is a maniac!" cried Colonel Le Noir. 

"Stop her mouth!" cried Craven, springing upon Capitola and holding hertightly in the grasp of his right arm, while he covered her lips andnostrils with his large left hand. 

Capitola struggled so fiercely to free herself that Craven had enoughto do to hold her, and so was not aware of a ringing footstep coming upthe aisle, until a stunning blow dealt from a strong arm covered hisface with blood and stretched him out at Capitola's feet. 

Cap flushed, breathless and confused, looked up and was caught to thebosom of Herbert Greyson, who, pale with concentrated rage, held herclosely and inquired:

"Capitola! What violence is this which has been done you? Explain! whois the aggresor?"

"Wai, wai, wait until I get my breath! There! that was good! Thatvillain has all but strangled me to death? Oh, Herbert, I'm sodelighted you've come! How is it that you always drop right down at theright time and on the right spot?" said Cap, while gasping for breath. 

"I will tell you another time! Now I want an explanation. "

"Yes, Herbert, I also wish to explain--not only to you but to thesegaping, good people! Let me have a hearing!" said Cap. 

"She is mad! absolutely mad!" cried Colonel Le Noir, who was assistinghis son to rise. 

"Silence, sir!" thundered Herbert Greyson, advancing toward him withuplifted and threatening hand. 

"Gentlemen! gentlemen! pray remember that you are within the walls of achurch!" said the distressed priest. 

"Craven, this is no place for us; let us go and pursue our fugitiveward, " whispered Colonel Le Noir to his son. 

"We might as well; for it is clear that all is over here!" repliedCraven. And the two baffled villains turned to leave the place. ButHerbert Greyson, speaking up, said:

"Good people, prevent the escape of those men until we hear what thisyoung lady has to say! that we may judge whether to let them go or totake them before a magistrate. "

The people flew to the doors and windows and secured them, and thensurrounded the two Le Noirs, who found themselves prisoners. 

"Now, Capitola, tell us how it is that you are here!" said HerbertGreyson. 

"Well, that elder man" said Cap, "is the guardian of a young heiresswho was betrothed to a worthy young man, one Doctor Traverse Rocke. "

"My friend!" interrupted Herbert. 

"Yes, Mr. Greyson, your friend! Their engagement was approved by theyoung lady's father, who gave them his dying blessing. Nevertheless, inthe face of all this, this 'guardian' here, appointed by the Orphans'Court to take charge of the heiress and her fortune, undertakes, forhis own ends, to compel the young lady to break her engagement andmarry his own son! To drive her to this measure, he does not hesitateto use every species of cruelty. This night he was to have forced herto this altar! But in the interval, to-day, I chanced to visit her atthe house where she was confined. Being informed by her of herdistressing situation, and having no time to help her in any betterway, I just changed clothes with her. She escaped unsuspected in mydress. And those two heroes there, mistaking me for her, forced me intoa carriage and dragged me hither to be married against my will. Andinstead of catching an heiress, they caught a Tartar, that's all! Andnow, Herbert, let the two poor wretches go hide their mortification, and do you take me home, for I am immensely tired of doing thesentimental, making speeches and piling up the agonies!"

While Cap was delivering this long oration, the two Le Noirs had madeseveral essays to interrupt and contradict her, but were effectuallyprevented by the people, whose sympathies were all with the speaker. Now, at Herbert Greyson's command, they released the culprits, who, threatening loudly took their departure. 

Herbert then led Capitola out and placed her upon her own pony, Gyp, which, to her unbounded astonishment, she found there in charge ofWool, who was also mounted upon his own hack. 

Herbert Greyson threw himself into the saddle of a third horse, and thethree took the road to Hurricane Hall. 

"And now, " said Capitola, as Herbert rode up to her side, "for mercysake tell me, before I go crazy with conjecture, how it happened thatyou dropped down from the sky at the very moment and on the very spotwhere you were needed? and where did you light upon Wool and thehorses?"

"It is very simple when you come to understand it, " said Herbert, smiling. "In the first place, you know, I graduated at the lastcommencement. "

"Yes. "

"Well, I have just received a lieutenant's commission in a regimentthat is ordered to join General Scott in Mexico. "

"Oh, Herbert, that is news, and I don't know whether to be in despairor in ecstasy!" said Cap, ready to laugh or cry, as a feather's weightmight tip the scales in which she balanced Herbert's new honors withhis approaching perils. 

"If there's any doubt about it, I decidedly recommend the latteremotion, " said Herbert, laughing. 

"When do you go?" inquired Cap. 

"Our regiment embarks from Baltimore on the first of next month. Meanwhile I got leave of absence to come and spend a week with myfriends at home!"

"Oh, Herbert, I--I am in a quandary! But you haven't told me yet howyou happened to meet Wool and to come here just in the nick of time!"

"I am just going to do so. Well, you see Capitola, I came down in thestage to Tip Top, which I reached about three o'clock. And there Ifound Wool in the hands of the Philistines, suspected of being mad, from the manner in which he raved about losing sight of you. Well, ofcourse, like a true knight, I delivered my lady's squire, comforted andreassured him and made him mount his own horse and take charge ofyours. After which I mounted the best beast that I had hired to conveyme to Hurricane Hall, and we all set off thither. I confess that I wasexcessively anxious upon your account, for I could make nothingwhatever of Wool's wild story of your supposed metamorphosis! I thoughtit best to make a circuit and take the Hidden House in our course, tomake some inquiries there as to what had really happened. I had got alittle bewildered between the dark night and the strange road, and, seeing the light in the church, I had just ridden up to inquire my way, when to my astonishment I saw you within, before the altar, strugglingin the grasp of that ruffian. And you know the rest! And now let usride on quickly, for I have a strong presentiment that Major Warfieldis suffering the tortures of a lost soul through anxiety upon youraccount, " concluded Herbert Greyson. 

"Please, Marse Herbert and Miss Cap, don't you tell ole marse nuffin'tall 'bout my loosin' sight of you!" pleaded Wool. 

"We shall tell you old master all about it, Wool, for I would not havehim miss the pleasure of hearing this adventure upon any account; but Ipromise to bear you harmless through it, " said Herbert, as theygalloped rapidly toward home. 

They reached Hurricane Hall by eight o'clock, and in good time forsupper. They found Old Hurricane storming all over the house, andordering everybody off the premises in his fury of anxiety uponCapitola's account. But when the party arrived, surprise at seeing themin the company of Herbert Greyson quite revolutionized his mood, and, forgetting to rage, he gave them all a hearty welcome. 

And when after supper was over and they were all gathered around thecomfortable fireside, and Herbert related the adventures and feats ofCapitola at the Hidden House, and in the forest chapel, the old mangrasped the hand of his favorite and with his stormy old eyes full ofrain said:

"You deserve to have been a man, Cap! Indeed you do, my girl!"

That was his highest style of praise. 

Then Herbert told his own little story of getting his commission andbeing ordered to Mexico. 

"God bless you, lad, and save you in the battle and bring you home withvictory!" was old Hurricane's comment. 

Then seeing that the young people were quite worn out with fatigue, andfeeling not averse to his own comfortable couch, Old Hurricane broke upthe circle and they all retired to rest. 

CHAPTER XI. 

AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR AT MARAH'S COTTAGE. 

 "Friend wilt thou give me shelter here? The stranger meekly saith My life is hunted! evil men Are following on my path. "

Marah Rocke sat by her lonely fireside. 

The cottage was not changed in any respect since the day upon which wefirst of all found her there. There was the same bright, little woodfire; the same clean hearth and the identical faded carpet on thefloor. There was the dresser with its glistening crockery ware on theright, and the shelves with Traverse's old school books on the left ofthe fireplace. 

The widow herself had changed in nothing except that her clean blackdress was threadbare and rusty, and her patient face whiter and thinnerthan before. 

And now there was no eager restlessness: no frequent listening andlooking toward the door. Alas! she could not now expect to hear herboy's light and springing step and cheerful voice as he hurried home ateventide from his daily work. Traverse was far away at St. Louisundergoing the cares and trials of a friendless young physician tryingto get into practice. Six months had passed since he took leave of her, and there was as yet no hope of his returning even, to pay a visit. 

So Marah sat very still and sad, bending over her needlework withoutever turning her head in the direction of the door. True, he wrote toher every week. No Wednesday ever passed without bringing her a letterwritten in a strong, buoyant and encouraging strain. Still she missedTraverse very sadly. It was dreary to rise up in the empty house everymorning; dreary to sit down to her solitary meals, and drearier stillto go to bed in her lonely room without having received her boy's kissand heard his cheerful good-night. And it was her custom every night toread over Traverse's last letter before retiring to bed. 

It was getting on toward ten o'clock when she folded up her work andput it away and drew her boy's latest epistle from her bosom to read. It ran as follows:

 St. Louis, Dec. 1st, 184--. 

My dearest Mother--I am very glad to hear that you continue in goodhealth, and that you do not work too hard, or miss me too sadly. It isthe greatest comfort of my life to hear good news of you, sweet mother. I count the days from one letter to another, and read every last letterover daily until I get a new one. You insist upon my telling you how Iam getting on, and whether I am out of money. I am doing quite well, ma'am, and have some funds left! I have quite a considerable practice. It is true that my professional services are in request only among thevery poor, who pay me with their thanks and good wishes. But I am veryglad to be able to pay off a small part of the great debt of gratitudeI owe to the benevolent of this world by doing all that I can in myturn for the needy. And even if I had never myself been the object of agood man's benevolence, I should still have desired to serve theindigent; "for whoso giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord, " and I"like the security. " Therefore, sweet mother of mine, be at ease; for Iam getting on swimmingly--with one exception. Still I do not hear fromour Clara! Six months have now passed, during which, despite of herseeming silence, I have written to her every week; but not one letteror message have I received from her in return! And now you tell me alsothat you have not received a single letter from her either! I know notwhat to think. Anxiety upon her account is my one sole trouble! Notthat I wrong the dear girl by one instant's doubt of her constancy--no!my soul upon her truth! if I could do that, I should be most unworthyof her love! No, mother, you and I know that Clara is true! But ah, wedo not know to what sufferings she may be subjected by Le Noir, who Ifirmly believe has intercepted all our letters. Mother, I am about toask a great, perhaps an unreasonable, favor of you! It is to go downinto the neighborhood of the Hidden House and make inquiries and try tofind out Clara's real condition. If it be possible, put yourself intocommunication with her, and tell her that I judge her heart by my own, and have the firmest faith in her constancy, even though I have writtento her every week for six months without ever having received ananswer. I feel that I am putting you to expense and trouble, but mygreat anxiety about Clara, which I am sure you share, must be myexcuse. I kiss your dear and honored hands, and remain ever your lovingson and faithful servant. 

 TRAVERSE ROCKE. 

"I must try to go. It will be an awful expense, because I know no onedown there, and I shall have to board at the tavern at Tip Top while Iam making inquiries--for I dare not approach the dwelling of Gabriel LeNoir!" said Marah Rocke, as she folded up her letter and replaced it inher bosom. 

Just at that moment she heard the sound of wheels approach and avehicle of some sort draw up to the gate and some one speaking without. 

She went to the door, and, listening, heard a girlish voice say:

"A dollar? Yes, certainly here it is. There, you may go now. "

She recognized the voice, and with a cry of joy jerked the door openjust as the carriage rolled away. And the next instant Clara Day was inher arms. 

"Oh, my darling! my darling! my darling! is this really you? Really, really you, and no dream?" cried Marah Rocke, all in a flutter ofexcitement, as she strained Clara to her bosom. 

"Yes, it is I, sweet friend, come to stay with you a long time, perhaps, " said Clara, softly, returning her caresses. 

"Oh, my lamb! my lamb! what a joyful surprise! I do think I shall gocrazy! Where did you come from, my pet? Who came with you? When did youstart? Did Le Noir consent to your coming? And how did it all happen?But, dear child, how worn and weary you look! You must be very tired!Have you had supper? Oh, my darling, come and lie down on this softlounge while I put away your things and get you some refreshment, " saidMarah Rocke, in a delirium of joy, as she took off Clara's hat and sackand laid her down to rest on the lounge, which she wheeled up near thefire. 

"Oh, my sweet, we have been so anxious about you! Traverse and myself!Traverse is still at St. Louis, love, getting on slowly. He has writtento you every week, and so, indeed have I, but we neither of us have hadso much as one letter in reply. And yet neither of us ever doubted yourtrue heart, my child. We knew that the letters must have been lost, miscarried or intercepted, " said Marah, as she busied herself puttingon the tea-kettle. 

"They must, indeed, since my experience in regard to letters exactlycorresponds with yours! I have written every week to both of you, yetnever received one line in reply from either, " said Clara. 

"We knew it! We said so! Oh, those Le Noirs! Those Le Noirs! But, mydarling, you are perfectly exhausted, and though I have asked you ahalf an hundred questions you shall not reply to one of them, nor talka bit more until you have rested and had refreshment. Here, my love;here is Traverse's last letter. It will amuse you to lie and read itwhile I am getting tea, " said Marah, taking the paper from her bosomand handing it to Clara, and then placing the stand with the light nearthe head of her couch that she might see to read it without rising. 

And while Clara, well pleased perused and smiled over her lover'sletter, Marah Rocke laid the cloth and spread a delicate repast of tea, milk toast and poached eggs, of which she tenderly pressed her visitorto partake. 

And when Clara was somewhat refreshed by food and rest, she said:

"Now, dear mamma, you will wish to hear how it happens that I am withyou to-night. "

"Not unless you feel quite rested, dear girl. "

"I am rested sufficiently for the purpose; besides, I am anxious totell you. And oh, dear mamma! I could just now sit in your lap and laymy head upon your kind, soft bosom so willingly!"

"Come, then, Clara! Come, then, my darling. " said Marah, tenderly, holding out her arms. 

"No, no, mamma; you are too little; it would be a sin!" said Clara, smiling; "but I will sit by you and put my hand in yours and rest myhead against your shoulder while I tell you all about it. "

"Come, then, my darling!" said Marah Rocke. 

Clara took the offered seat, and when she was fixed to her liking shecommenced and related to her friend a full history of all that hadoccurred to her at the Hidden House from the moment that she had firstcrossed its threshold to the hour in which, through the courage andaddress of Capitola, she was delivered from imminent peril. 

"And now, " said Clara, in conclusion, "I have come hither in order toget Doctor Williams to make one more appeal for me to the Orphans'Court. And when it is proved what a traitor my guardian has been to histrust I have no doubt that the judge will appoint some one else in hisplace, or at least see that my father's last wish in regard to myresidence is carried into effect. "

"Heaven grant it, my child! Heaven grant it! Oh, those Le Noirs! thoseLe Noirs! Were there ever in the world before such ruthless villainsand accomplished hypocrites?" said Marah Rocke, clasping her hands inthe strength of her emotions. 

A long time yet they talked together, and then they retired to bed, andstill talked until they fell asleep in each other's arms. 

The next morning the widow arose early, gazed a little while withdelight upon the sleeping daughter of her heart, pressed a kiss uponher cheek so softly as not to disturb her rest, and then, leaving herstill in the deep, sweet sleep of wearied youth, she went down-stairsto get a nice breakfast. 

Luckily a farmer's cart was just passing the road before the cottage onits way to market. 

Marah took out her little purse from her pocket, hailed the driver andexpended half her little store in purchasing two young chickens, someeggs and some dried peaches, saying to herself:

"Dear Clara always had a good appetite, and healthy young human naturemust live substantially in spite of all its little heart-aches. "

While Marah was preparing the chicken for the gridiron the door at thefoot of the stairs opened and Clara came in, looking, after her night'srest, as fresh as a rosebud. 

"What! up with the sun, my darling?" said Marah, going to meet her. 

"Yes, mamma! Oh! it is so good to be here with you in this nice, quietplace, with no one to make me shudder! But you must let me help you, mamma! See! I will set the table and make the toast!"

"Oh, Miss Clara--"

"Yes, I will! I have been ill used and made miserable, and now you mustpet me, mamma, and let me have my own way and help you to cook ourlittle meals and to make the house tidy and afterward to work thosebuttonholes in the shirts you were spoiling your gentle eyes over lastnight. Oh! if they will only let me stay here with you and be at peace, we shall be very happy together, you and I!" said Clara, as she drewout the little table and laid the cloth. 

"My dear child, may the Lord make you as happy as your sweet affectionwould make me!" said Marah. 

"We can work for our living together, " continued Clara, as she gailyflitted about from the dresser to the table, placing the cups andsaucers and plates. "You can sew the seams and do the plain hemming, and I can work the buttonholes and stitch the bosoms, collars andwristbands! And 'if the worst comes to the worst, ' we can hang out ourlittle shingle before the cottage gate, inscribed with:"

 MRS. ROCKE AND DAUGHTER. 

 Shirt Makers. 

 Orders executed with neatness and dispatch. 

"We'd drive a thriving business, mamma, I assure you, " said Clara, asshe sat down on a low stool at the hearth and began to toast the bread. 

"I trust in heaven that it will never come to that with you, my dear!"

"Why? Why, mamma? Why should I not taste of toil and care as well asothers a thousand times better than myself? Why should not I work aswell as you and Traverse, mamma? I stand upon the broad platform ofhuman rights, and I say I have just as good a right to work as others!"said Clara, with a pretty assumption of obstinacy, as she placed theplate of toast upon the board. 

"Doubtless, dear Clara, you may play at work just as much as youplease; but heaven forbid you should ever have to work at work!"replied Mrs. Rocke as she placed the coffee pot and the dish of broiledchicken on the table. 

"Why, mamma, I do not think that is a good prayer at all! That is awicked, proud prayer, Mrs. Marah Rocke! Why shouldn't your daughterreally toil as well as other people's daughters, I'd like to beinformed?" said Clara, mockingly, as they both took their seats at thetable. 

"I think, dear Clara, that you must have contracted some of youreccentric little friend Capitola's ways, from putting on her habit! Inever before saw you in such gay spirits!" said Mrs. Rocke, as shepoured out the coffee. 

"Oh, mamma; it is but the glad rebound of the freed bird! I am so gladto have escaped from that dark prison of the Hidden House and to behere with you. But tell me, mamma, is my old home occupied?"

"No, my dear; no tenant has been found for it. The property is in thehands of an agent to let, but the house remains quite vacant anddeserted. "

"Why is that?" asked Clara. 

"Why, my love, for the strangest reason! The foolish country people saythat since the doctor's death the place has been haunted!"

"Haunted!"

"Yes, my dear, so the foolish people say, and they get wiser ones tobelieve them. "

"What exactly do they say? I hope--I hope they do not trifle with mydear father's honored name and memory?"

"Oh, no, my darling! no! but they say that although the house is quiteempty and deserted by the living strange sights and sounds are heardand seen by passers-by at night. Lights appear at the upper windowsfrom which pale faces look out. "

"How very strange!" said Clara. 

"Yes, my dear, and these stories have gained such credence that no onecan be found to take the house. "

"So much the better, dear mamma, for if the new judge of the Orphans'Court should give a decision in our favor, as he must, when he hearsthe evidence, old and new, you and I can move right into it and neednot then enter the shirt-making line of business!"

"Heaven grant it, my dear! But now, Clara, my love, we must lose notime in seeing Doctor Williams, lest your guardian should pursue youhere and give you fresh trouble. "

Clara assented to this, and they immediately arose from the table, cleared away the service, put the room in order and went up-stairs toput on their bonnets, Mrs. Rocke lending Clara her own best bonnet andshawl. When they were quite ready they locked up the house and set outfor the town. 

It was a bright, frosty, invigorating winter's morning, and the twofriends walked rapidly until they reached Doctor Williams' house. 

The kind old man was at home, and was much surprised and pleased to seehis visitors. He invited them into his parlor, and when he had heardtheir story, he said: "This is a much more serious affair than theother. We must employ counsel. Witnesses must be brought from theneighborhood of the Hidden House. You are aware that the late judge ofthe Orphans' Court has been appointed to a high office under thegovernment at Washington. The man that has taken his place is a personof sound integrity, who will do his duty. It remains only for us toprove the justice of our cause to his satisfaction, and all will bewell. "

"Oh, I trust in heaven that it will be, " said Marah, fervently. 

"You two must stay in my house until the affair is decided. You mightpossibly be safe from real injury; but you could not be free frommolestation in your unprotected condition at the cottage, " said DoctorWilliams. 

Clara warmly expressed her thanks. 

"You had better go home now and pack up what you wish to bring, and putout the fire and close up the house and come here immediately. In themean time I will see your dear father's solicitor and be ready with myreport by the time you get back, " said Doctor Williams, promptly takinghis hat to go. 

Mrs. Rocke and Clara set out for the cottage, which they soon reached. 

Throwing off her bonnet and shawl, Clara said:

"Now, mamma, the very first thing I shall do will be to write toTraverse, so that we can send the letter by to-day's mail and set hismind at rest. I shall simply tell him that our mutual letters havefailed to reach their destination, but that I am now on a visit to you, and that while I remain here nothing can interrupt our correspondence. I shall not speak of the coming suit until we see how it will end. "

Mrs. Rocke approved this plan, and placed writing materials on thetable. And while the matron employed herself in closing up the rooms, packing up what was needful to take with them to the doctor's andputting out the fire, Clara wrote and sealed her letter. They then puton their bonnets, locked up the house, and set out. They called at thepost-office just in time to mail their letter, and they reached thedoctor's house just as he himself walked up to the door, accompanied bythe lawyer. The latter greeted the daughter of his old client and herfriend, and they all went into the house together. 

In the doctor's study the whole subject of Clara's flight and itsoccasion was talked over, and the lawyer agreed to commence proceedingsimmediately. 

CHAPTER XII. 

CAP "RESTS ON HER LAURELS" AND "SPOILS FOR A FIGHT"

 'Tis hardly in a body's power, To keep at times frae being sour, To see how things are shared; How best o' chiels are whiles in want, While coofs on countless thousands rant, And ken na how to wear't. 

 --BURNS. 

Leaving Clara Day and Marah Rocke in a home of safety, plenty andkindness, in the old doctor's house, we must run down to Hurricane Hallto see what mischief Cap has been getting into since we left her! Intruth, none! Cap had had such a surfeit of adventures that she was fainto lie by and rest upon her laurels. Besides, there seemed just nownothing to do--no tyrants to take down, no robbers to capture, nodistressed damsels to deliver, and Cap was again in danger of "spoilingfor a fight. " And then Herbert Greyson was at the Hall--Herbert Greysonwhom she vowed always did make a Miss Nancy of her! And so Cap had tocontent herself for a week with quiet mornings of needlework at herworkstand, with Herbert to read to or talk with her; sober afternoonrides, attended by Herbert and Old Hurricane; and humdrum evenings atthe chess board, with the same Herbert, while Major Warfield dozed in agreat "sleepy hollow" of an armchair. 

One afternoon when they were out riding through the woods beyond theDemon's Run, a Sheriff's officer rode up, and bowing to the party, presented a suspicious-looking document to Capitola and a similar oneto Herbert Greyson. And while Old Hurricane stared his eyes half out, the parties most interested opened the papers, which they found to berather pressing invitations to be present at a certain solemnity atStaunton. In a word, they were subpoenaed to give testimony in the caseof Williams vs. Le Noir. 

"Here's a diabolical dilemma!" said Old Hurricane to himself, as soonas he learned the purport of these documents. 

"Here I shall have to bring Cap into court face to face with that demonto bear witness against him! Suppose losing one ward, he should layclaim to another! Ah, but he can't, without foully criminating himself!Well, well, we shall see!"

While Old Hurricane was cogitating Cap was exulting. 

"Oh, won't I tell all I know! Yes, and more, too!" she exclaimed, intriumph. 

"'More, too!' Oh, hoity-toity! Never say more, too!" said Herbertlaughing. 

"I will, for I'll tell all I suspect!" said Cap, galloping on ahead, inher eagerness to get home and pack up for her journey. 

The next day Old Hurricane, Herbert Greyson, Capitola, Pitapat and Woolwent by stage to Staunton. They put up at the Planters' and Farmers'Hotel, whence Herbert Greyson and Capitola soon sallied forth to seeClara and Mrs. Rocke. They soon found the doctor's house, and wereushered into the parlor in the presence of their friends. 

The meeting between Capitola and Clara and between Mrs. Rocke andHerbert was very cordial. And then Herbert introduced Capitola to Mrs. Rocke and Cap presented Herbert to Clara. And they all entered intoconversation upon the subject of the coming lawsuit, and thecircumstances that led to it. And Clara and Capitola related to eachother all that had happened to each after their exchanging clothes andparting. And when they had laughed over their mutual adventures andmisadventures, Herbert and Capitola took leave and returned to theirhotel. 

Herbert Greyson was the most serious of the whole family. Upon reachingthe hotel he went to his own room and fell into deep reflection. Andthis was the course of his thought:

"Ira Warfield and Marah Rocke are here in the same town--brought hitherupon the same errand--to-morrow to meet in the same court-room! And yetnot either of them suspects the presence of the other! Mrs. Rocke doesnot know that in Capitola's uncle she will behold Major Warfield! Hedoes not foresee that in Clara's matronly friend he will behold MarahRocke! And Le Noir, the cause of all their misery, will be presentalso! What will be the effect of this unexpected meeting? Ought I notto warn one or the other? Let me think--no! For were I to warn MajorWarfield he would absent himself. Should I drop a hint to Marah shewould shrink from the meeting! No, I will leave it all toProvidence--perhaps the sight of her sweet, pale face and soft, appealing eyes, so full of constancy and truth, may touch that sternold heart! Heaven grant it may!" concluded Herbert Greyson. 

The next day the suit came on. 

At an early hour Doctor Williams appeared, having in charge Clara Day, who was attended by her friend Mrs. Rocke. They were accommodated withseats immediately in front of the judge. 

Very soon afterward Major Warfield, Herbert Greyson and Capitolaentered, and took their places on the witness's bench, at the rightside of the court-room. 

Herbert watched Old Hurricane, whose eyes were spellbound to the benchwhere sat Mrs. Rocke and Clara. Both were dressed in deep mourning, with their veils down and their faces toward the judge. But Herbertdreaded every instant that Marah Rocke should turn her head and meetthat fixed, wistful look of Old Hurricane. And he wondered what strangeinstinct it could be that riveted the old man's regards to thatunrecognized woman. 

At last, to Herbert's great uneasiness, Major Warfield turned andcommenced questioning him:

"Who is that woman in mourning?"

"Hem--m--that one with the flaxen curls under her bonnet is Miss Day. "

"I don't mean the girl, I mean the woman sitting by her?"

"That is--hem--hem--that is Doctor Williams sitting--"

Old Hurricane turned abruptly around and favored his nephew with asevere, scrutinizing gaze, demanding:

"Herbert, have you been drinking so early in the morning? Demmy, sir, this is not the season for mint juleps before breakfast! Is that great, stout, round-bodied, red-faced old Doctor Williams a little woman? Isee him sitting on the right of Miss Day. I didn't refer to him! Ireferred to that still, quiet little woman sitting on her left, who hasnever stirred hand or foot since she sat down there. Who is she?"

"That woman? Oh, she?--yes--ah, let me see--she is a--Miss Day'scompanion!" faltered Herbert. 

"To the demon with you! Who does not see that? But who is she? What isher name?" abruptly demanded Old Hurricane. 

"Her name is a--a--did you ever see her before, sir?"

"I don't know! That is what I am trying to remember; but, sir, will youanswer my question?"

"You seem very much interested in her. "

"You seem very much determined not to let me know who she is! Hang it, sir, will you or will you not tell me that woman's name?"

"Certainly, " said Herbert. "Her name is"--He was about to say MarahRocke, but moral indignation overpowered him and he paused. 

"Well, well, her name is what?" impatiently demanded Old Hurricane. 

"Mrs. Warfield!" answered Herbert, doggedly. 

And just at that unfortunate moment Marah turned her pale face andbeseeching eyes around and met the full gaze of her husband!

In an instant her face blanched to marble and her head sank upon therailing before her bench. Old Hurricane was too dark to grow pale, buthis bronzed cheek turned as gray as his hair, which fairly lifteditself on his head. Grasping his walking stick with both his hands, hetottered to his feet, and, muttering:

"I'll murder you for this, Herbert!" he strode out of the court-room. 

Marah's head rested for about a minute on the railing before her andwhen she lifted it again her face was as calm and patient as before. 

This little incident had passed without attracting attention from anyone except Capitola, who, sitting on the other side of Herbert Greyson, had heard the little passage of words between him and her uncle, andhad seen the latter start up and go out, and who now, turning to hercompanion, inquired:

"What is the meaning of all this, Herbert?"

"It means--Satan! And now attend to what is going on! Mr. Sauter hasstated the case, and now Stringfellow, the attorney for the other side, is just telling the judge that he stands there in the place of hisclient, Lieutenant-Colonel Le Noir, who, being ordered to join GeneralTaylor in Mexico, is upon the eve of setting out and cannot be here inperson!"

"And is that true? Won't he be here?"

"It seems not. I think he is ashamed to appear after what has happened, and just takes advantage of a fair excuse to absent himself. "

"And is he really going to Mexico?"

"Oh, yes! I saw it officially announced in this morning's papers. And, by the bye, I am very much afraid he is to take command of ourregiment, and be my superior officer!"

"Oh, Herbert, I hope and pray not! I think there is wickedness enoughpacked up in that man's body to sink a squadron or lose an army!"

"Well, Cap, such things will happen. Attention! There's Sauter, readyto call his witnesses!" And, in truth, the next moment Capitola Blackwas called to the stand. 

Cap took her place and gave her evidence con amore, and with such vimand such expressions of indignation, that Stringfellow reminded her shewas there to give testimony, and not to plead the cause. 

Cap rejoined that she was perfectly willing to do both! And so shecontinued not only to tell the acts, but to express her opinions as tothe motives of Le Noir, and give her judgment as to what should be thedecision of the court. 

Stringfellow, the attorney for Colonel Le Noir, evidently thought thatin this rash, reckless, spirited witness he had a fine subject forsarcastic cross-examination! But he reckoned "without his host. " He didnot know Cap! He, too, "caught a Tartar. " And before thecross-examination was concluded, Capitola's apt and cutting replies hadoverwhelmed him with ridicule and confusion, and done more for thecause of her friend than all her partisans put together!

Other witnesses were called, to corroborate the testimony of Capitola, and still others were examined to prove the last expressed wishes ofthe late William Day, in regard to the disposal of his daughter'sperson during the period of her minority. 

There was no effective rebutting evidence, and after some hard arguingby the attorneys on both sides, the case was closed, and the judgedeferred his decision until the third day thereafter. 

The parties then left the court and returned to their several lodgings. 

Old Hurricane gave no one a civil word that day. Wool was an atrociousvillain, an incendiary scoundrel, a cut-throat, and a black demon. Capwas a beggar, a vagabond and a vixen. Herbert Greyson was anotherbeggar, besides being a knave, a fop and an impudent puppy. Theinn-keeper was a swindler, the waiters thieves, the whole world wasgoing to ruin, where it well deserved to go, and all mankind to thedemon--as he hoped and trusted they would!

And all this tornado of passion and invective arose just because he hadunexpectedly met in the court-room the purient face and beseeching eyesof a woman, married and forsaken, loved and lost, long ago!

Was it strange that Herbert, who had so resented his treatment of MarahRocke, should bear all his fury, injustice and abuse of himself andothers with such compassionate forbearance? But he not only forbore toresent his own affronts, but so besought Capitola to have patience withthe old man's temper and apologised to the host by saying that MajorWarfield had been very severely tried that day, and when calmer wouldbe the first to regret the violence of his own words. 

Marah Rocke returned with Clara to the old doctor's house. She was morepatient, silent and quiet than before. Her face was a little paler, hereyes softer, and her tones lower--that was the only visible effect ofthe morning's unexpected encounter. 

The next day but one all the parties concerned assembled at thecourt-house to hear the decision of the judge. It was given, as hadbeen anticipated, in favor of Clara Day, who was permitted, inaccordance with her father's approved wishes, to reside in herpatrimonial home under the care of Mrs. Rocke. Colonel Le Noir was toremain trustee of the property, with directions from the courtimmediately to pay the legacies left by the late Doctor Day to MarahRocke and Traverse Rocke, and also to pay to Clara Day, in quarterlyinstalments, from the revenue of her property, an annual sum of moneysufficient for her support. 

This decision filled the hearts of Clara and her friends with joy. Forgetting time, and place, she threw herself into the arms of MarahRocke and wept with delight. All concerned in the trial then soughttheir lodgings. 

Clara and Mrs. Rocke returned to the cottage to make preparations forremoving to Willow Heights. 

Doctor Williams went to the agent of the property to require him togive up the keys, which he did without hesitation. 

Old Hurricane and his party packed up to be ready for the stage to takethem to Tip-Top the next day. 

But that night a series of mysterious events were said to have takenplace at the deserted house at Willow Heights that filled the wholecommunity with superstitious wonder. It was reported by numbers ofgardeners and farmers, who passed that road, on their way to earlymarket, that a perfect witches' sabbath had been held in that emptyhouse all night; that lights had appeared, flitting from room to room;that strange, weird faces had looked out from the windows; and wildscreams had pierced the air!

The next day when this report reached the ears of Clara, and she wasasked by Doctor Williams whether she would not be afraid to live there, she laughed gaily and bade him try her. 

Cap, who had come over to take leave of Clara, joined her in hermerriment, declared that she, for her part, doted on ghosts, and thatafter Herbert Greyson's departure she should come and visit Clara andhelp her to entertain the specters. 

Clara replied that she should hold her to her promise. And so thefriends kissed and separated. 

That same day saw several removals. 

Clara and Mrs. Rocke took up their abode at Willow Heights and seizedan hour even of that busy time to write to Traverse and apprise him oftheir good fortune. 

Old Hurricane and his party set out for their home, where they arrivedbefore nightfall. 

And the next day but one Herbert Greyson took leave of his friends anddeparted to join his company on their road to glory. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

BLACK DONALD. 

 Feared, shunned, belied ere youth had lost her force, He hated men too much to feel remorse, And thought the vice of wrath a sacred call, To pay the injuries of some on all. 

 There was a laughing devil in his sneer, That caused emotions both of rage and fear: And where his frown of hatred darkly fell, Hope, withering fled and mercy sighed farewell!

 --BYRON. 

Herbert Greyson had been correct in his conjecture concerning the causeof Colonel Le Noir's conduct in absenting himself from the trial, orappearing there only in the person of his attorney. A proud, vain, conceited man, full of Joseph Surfacisms, he could better have borne tobe arraigned upon the charge of murder than to face the accusation ofbaseness that was about to be proved upon him. Being reasonably certainas to what was likely to be the decision of the Orphan's Court, he wasnot disappointed in hearing that judgment had been rendered in favor ofhis ward and her friends. His one great disappointment had been upondiscovering the flight of Clara. For when he had ascertained that shehad fled, he knew that all was lost--and lost through Capitola, thehated girl for whose destruction he had now another and a strongermotive--revenge!

In this mood of mind three days before his departure to join hisregiment he sought the retreat of the outlaw. He chose an early hour ofthe evening as that in which he should be most likely to find BlackDonald. 

It was about eight o'clock when he wrapped his large cloak around histall figure, pulled his hat low over his sinister brow and set out towalk alone to the secret cavern in the side of the Demon's Punch Bowl. 

The night was dark and the path dangerous; but his directions had beencareful, so that when he reached the brink of that awful abyss he knewprecisely where to begin his descent with the least danger of beingprecipitated to the bottom. 

And by taking a strong hold upon the stunted saplings of pine and cedarthat grew down through the clefts of the ravine, and placing his feetfirmly upon the points of projecting rocks, he contrived to descend theinside of that horrible abyss, which from the top seemed to be fraughtwith certain death to any one daring enough to make the attempt. 

When about half-way down the precipice he reached the clump of cedarbushes growing in the deep cleft, and concealing the hole that formedthe entrance to the cavern. 

"Here he paused, and, looking through the entrance into a dark andapparently fathomless cavern, he gave the peculiar signal whistle, which was immediately answered from within by the well-known voice ofthe outlaw chief, saying:"

"All right, my colonel! Give us your hand! Be careful, now, the floorof this cavern is several feet below the opening. "

Le Noir extended his hand into the darkness within and soon felt itgrasped by that of Black Donald, who, muttering; "Slowly, slowly, mycolonel!" succeeded in guiding him down the utter darkness of thesubterranean descent until they stood upon the firm bottom of thecavern. 

They were still in the midst of a blackness that might be felt, exceptthat from a small opening in the side of the rock a light gleamed. Toward this second opening Black Donald conducted his patron. 

And stooping and passing before him, led him into an inner cavern, welllighted and rudely fitted up. Upon a large natural platform of rock, occupying the center of the space, were some dozen bottles of brandy orwhisky, several loaves of bread and some dried venison. Around thisrude table, seated upon fragments of rock, lugged thither for thepurpose, were some eight or ten men of the band, in various stages ofintoxication. Along the walls were piles of bearskins, some of whichserved as couches for six or seven men, who had thrown themselves downupon them in a state of exhaustion or drunken stupor. 

"Come, boys, we have not a boundless choice of apartments here, and Iwant to talk to my colonel! Suppose you take your liquor and bread andmeat into the outer cavern and give us the use of this one for anhour, " said the outlaw. 

The men sullenly obeyed and began to gather up the viands. Demon Dickseized one of the lights to go after them. 

"Put down the glim! Satan singe your skin for you! Do you want to bringa hue and cry upon us? Don't you know a light in the outer cavern canbe seen from the outside?" roared Black Donald. 

Dick sulkily set down the candle and followed his comrades. 

"What are you glummering about, confound you! You can see to eat anddrink well enough and find your way to your mouth, in the dark, youbrute!" thundered the captain. But as there was no answer to this andthe men had retreated and left their chief with his visitor alone, Black Donald turned to Colonel Le Noir and said:

"Well, my patron, what great matter is it that has caused you to leavethe company of fair Clara Day for our grim society?"

"Ah, then, it appears you are not aware that Clara Day has fled fromus--has made a successful appeal to the Orphans' Court, and been takenout of our hands?" angrily replied Colonel Le Noir. 

"Whe--ew! My colonel, I think I could have managed that matter better!I think if I had had that girl in my power as you had, she should nothave escaped me!"

"Bah! bah! bah! Stop boasting, since it was through yourneglect--yours! yours! that I lost this girl!"

"Mine!" exclaimed Black Donald, in astonishment. 

"Aye, yours! for if you had done your duty, performed your engagement, kept your word, and delivered me from this fatal Capitola, I had notlost my ward, nor my son his wealthy bride!" exclaimed Le Noir, angrily. 

"Capitola! Capitola again! What on earth had she to do with the loss ofClara Day?" cried Black Donald, in wonder. 

"Everything to do with it, sir! By a cunning artifice she deliveredClara from our power--actually set her free and covered her flightuntil she was in security!"

"That girl again! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho ho, ho!" laughed androared Black Donald, slapping his knees. 

Le Noir ground and gnashed his teeth in rage, muttering hoarsely:

"Yes, you may laugh, confound you, since it is granted those who win todo so! You may laugh; for you have done me out of five thousanddollars, and what on earth have you performed to earn it?"

"Come, come, my colonel, fair and easy! I don't know which isvulgarest, to betray loss of temper or love of money, and you are doingboth. However, it is between friends. But how the demon did that girl, that capital Capitola, get Clara off from right under your eyes?"

"By changing clothes with her, confound you! I will tell you all aboutit, " replied Le Noir, who thereupon commenced and related the wholestratagem by which Capitola freed Clara, including the manner in whichshe accompanied them to the church and revealed herself at the altar. 

Black Donald threw himself back and roared with laughter, vigorouslyslapping his knees and crying:

"That girl! that capital Capitola! I would not sell my prospect ofpossessing her for double your bribe. "

"Your 'prospect!' Your prospect is about as deceptive as a fatamorgana! What have you been doing, I ask you again, toward realizingthis prospect and earning the money you have already received?"

"Fair and easy, my colonel! Don't let temper get the better of justice!What have I been doing toward earning the money you have already paidme? In the first place, I lost time and risked my liberty watchingaround Hurricane Hall. Then, when I had identified the girl and theroom she slept in by seeing her at the window, I put three of my bestmen in jeopardy to capture her. Then, when she, the witch, had capturedthem, I sacrificed all my good looks, transmogrifying myself into afrightful old field preacher, and went to the camp-meeting to watch, among other things, for an opportunity of carrying her off. Thesorceress! she gave me no such opportunity. I succeeded in nothingexcept in fooling the wiseacres and getting admitted to the prison ofmy comrades, whom I furnished with instruments by which they made theirescape. Since that time we have had to lie low--yes, literally to lielow--to keep out of sight, to burrow under ground; in a word, to livein this cavern. "

"And since which you have abandoned all intention of getting the girland earning the five thousand dollars, " sneered Le Noir. 

"Earning the remaining five thousand, you mean, colonel. The first fivethousand I consider I have already earned. It was the last fivethousand that I was to get when the girl should be disposed of. "

"Well?"

"Well, I have not given up either the intention of earning the money orthe hope of getting the girl; in truth, I had rather lose the moneythan the girl. I have been on the watch almost continually; but, thoughI suppose she rides out frequently, I have not yet happened to hit uponher in any of her excursions. At last, however, I have fixed upon aplan for getting the witch into my power. I shall trust the executionof my plan to no one but myself. But I must have time. "

"Time! perdition, sir! delay in this matter is fraught with danger!Listen, sir! How Warfield got possession of this girl or the knowledgeof her history I do not know, except that it was through the agency ofthat accursed hag Nancy Grewell. But that he has her and that he knowsall about her is but too certain. That he has not at present legalproof enough to establish her identity and her rights before a court ofjustice I infer from the fact of his continuing inactive in the matter. But who can foresee how soon he may obtain all the proof that isnecessary to establish Capitola's claims and wrest the whole of thisproperty from me? Who can tell whether he is not now secretly engagedin seeking and collecting such proof? Therefore, I repeat that the girlmust immediately be got rid of! Donald, rid me of that creature and theday that you prove to me her death I will double your fee!"

"Agreed, my colonel, agreed! I have no objection to your doubling, oreven quadrupling, my fee. You shall find me in that, as in all othermatters, perfectly amenable to reason. Only I must have time. Hastewould ruin us. I repeat that I have a plan by which I am certain to getthe girl into my possession--a plan the execution of which I willentrust to no other hands but my own. But I conclude as I began--I musthave time. "

"And how much time?" exclaimed Le Noir, again losing his patience. 

"Easy, my patron. That I cannot tell you. It is imprudent to makepromises, especially to you, who will take nothing into considerationwhen they cannot be kept, " replied Black Donald, coolly. 

"But, sir, do you not know that I am ordered to Mexico, and must leavewithin three days? I would see the end of this before I go, " angrilyexclaimed Le Noir. 

"Softly, softly, my child the colonel! 'Slow and sure!' 'Fair and easygoes far in a day!'"

"In a word, will you do this business for me and do it promptly?"

"Surely, surely, my patron! But I insist upon time. "

"But I go to Mexico in three days. "

"All honor go with you, my colonel. Who would keep his friend from thepath of glory?"

"Perdition, sir, you trifle with me. "

"Perdition, certainly, colonel; there I perfectly agree with you. Butthe rest of your sentence is wrong; I don't trifle with you. "

"What in the fiend's name do you mean?"

"Nothing in the name of any absent friend of ours. I mean simply thatyou may go to--Mexico!"

"And--my business--"

"--Can be done just as well, perhaps better, without you. Recollect, ifyou please, my colonel, that when you were absent with Harrison in theWest your great business was done here without you! And done better forthat very reason! No one even suspected your agency in that matter. Theperson most benefited by the death of Eugene Le Noir was far enoughfrom the scene of his murder. "

"Hush! Perdition seize you! Why do you speak of things so long past?"exclaimed Le Noir, growing white to his very lips. 

"To jog your worship's memory and suggest that your honor is the lastman who ought to complain of this delay, since it will be very well foryou to be in a distant land serving your country at the time that yourbrother's heiress, whose property you illegally hold, is got out ofyour way. "

"There is something in that, " mused Le Noir. 

"There is all in that!"

"You have a good brain, Donald. "

"What did I tell you? I ought to have been in the cabinet--and mean tobe, too! But, colonel, as I mean to conclude my part of the engagement, I should like, for fear of accidents, that you conclude yours--andsettle with me before you go. "

"What do you mean?"

"That you should fork over to me the remaining five thousand. "

"I'll see you at the demon first, " passionately exclaimed Le Noir. 

"No, you won't, for in that case you'd have to make way with the girlyourself, or see Old Hurricane make way with all your fortune. "

"Wretch that you are!"

"Come, come, colonel, don't let's quarrel. The Kingdom of Satan dividedagainst itself cannot stand. Do not let us lose time by falling out. Iwill get rid of the girl. You, before you go, must hand over the tin, lest you should fall in battle and your heirs dispute the debt! Shellout, my colonel! Shell out and never fear! Capitola shall be a wife andBlack Donald a widower before many weeks shall pass. "

"I'll do it! I have no time for disputation, as you know, and youprofit by the knowledge. I'll do it, though under protest, " muttered LeNoir, grinding his teeth. 

"That's my brave and generous patron!" said Black Donald, as he aroseto attend Le Noir from the cavern; "that's my magnificent colonel ofcavalry! The man who runs such risks for you should be very handsomelyremunerated!"

CHAPTER XIV. 

GLORY. 

 "What Alexander sighed for, What Caesar's soul possessed, What heroes, saints have died for, Glory!"

Within three days after his settlement with Black Donald, Colonel LeNoir left home to join his regiment, ordered to Mexico. 

He was accompanied by his son Craven Le Noir as far as Baltimore, fromwhich port the reinforcements were to sail for New Orleans, en routefor the seat of war. 

Here, at the last moment, when the vessel was about to weigh anchor, Craven Le Noir took leave of his father and set out for the HiddenHouse. 

And here Colonel Le Noir's regiment was joined by the company of newrecruits in which Herbert Greyson held a commission as lieutenant, andthus the young man's worst forebodings were realized in having for atraveling companion and superior officer the man of whom he had beendestined to make a mortal enemy, Colonel Le Noir. However, Herbert soonmarked out his course of conduct, which was to avoid Le Noir as much aswas consistent with his own official duty, and, when compelled to meethim, to deport himself with the cold ceremony of a subordinate to asuperior officer. 

Le Noir, on his part, treated Herbert with an arrogant scorn amountingto insult, and used every opportunity afforded him by his position towound and humiliate the young lieutenant. 

After a quick and prosperous voyage they reached New Orleans, wherethey expected to be farther reinforced by a company of volunteers whohad come down the Mississippi river from St. Louis. These volunteerswere now being daily drilled at their quarters in the city, and wereonly waiting the arrival of the vessel to be enrolled in the regiment. 

One morning, a few days after the ship reached harbor, Herbert Greysonwent on shore to the military rendezvous to see the new recruitsexercised. While he stood within the enclosure watching theirevolutions under the orders of an officer, his attention becameconcentrated upon the form of a young man of the rank and file who wasmarching in a line with many others having their backs turned towardhim. That form and gait seemed familiar--the circumstances in which hesaw them again--painfully familiar. And yet he could not identify theman. While he gazed, the recruits, at the word of command, suddenlywheeled and faced about. And Herbert could scarcely repress anexclamation of astonishment and regret. 

That young man in the dress of a private soldier was Clara Day'sbetrothed, the widow's only son, Traverse Rocke! While Herbertcontinued to gaze in surprise and grief, the young recruit raised hiseyes, recognized his friend, flushed up to his very temples and casthis eyes down again. The rapid evolutions soon wheeled them around, andthe next order sent them into their quarters. 

Herbert's time was also up, and he returned to his duty. 

The next day Herbert went to the quarters of the new recruits andsought out his young friend, whom he found loitering about the grounds. Again Traverse blushed deeply as the young lieutenant approached. ButHerbert Greyson, letting none of his regret appear, since now it wouldbe worse than useless in only serving to give pain to the youngprivate, went up to him cordially and shook his hands, saying:

"Going to serve your country, eh, Traverse? Well, I am heartily glad tosee you, at any rate. "

"But heartily sorry to see me here, enlisted as a private in a companyof raw recruits, looking not unlike Falstaff's ragged regiment?"

"Nay; I did not say that, Traverse. Many a private in the ranks hasrisen to be a general officer, " replied Herbert, encouragingly. 

Traverse laughed good humoredly, saying:

"It does not look much like that in my case. This dress, " he said, looking down at his coarse, ill-fitting uniform, cowhide shoes, etc. ;"this dress, this drilling, these close quarters, coarse food and mixedcompany are enough to take the military ardor out of any one!"

"Traverse, you talk like a petit maitre, which is not at all yourcharacter. Effeminacy is not your vice. "

"Nor any other species of weakness, do you mean? Ah, Herbert, youraspiring hopeful, confident old friend is considerably taken down inhis ideas of himself, his success and life in general! I went to theWest with high hopes. Six months of struggling against indifference, neglect and accumulated debts lowered them down! I carried out lettersand made friends, but their friendship began and ended in wishing mewell. While trying to get into profitable practice I got into debt. Meanwhile I could not hear from my betrothed in all those months. Anoccasional letter from her might have prevented this step. But troublesgathered around me, debts increased and--"

"--Creditors were cruel. It is the old story; my poor boy!"

"No; my only creditors were my landlady and my laundress, two poorwidows who never willingly distressed me, but who occasionally askedfor 'that little amount' so piteously that my heart bled to lack it togive them. And as victuals and clean shirts were absolute necessariesof life, every week my debts increased. I could have faced a prosperousmale creditor, and might, perhaps, have been provoked to bully such anone, had he been inclined to be cruel; but I could not face poor womenwho, after all, I believe, are generally the best friends a strugglingyoung man can have; and so, not to bore a smart young lieutenant with apoor private's antecedents--"

"Oh, Traverse--"

"--I will even make an end of my story. 'At last there came a weary daywhen hope and faith beneath the weight gave way. ' And, hearing that acompany of volunteers was being raised to go to Mexico, I enlisted, sold my citizen's wardrobe and my little medical library, paid mydebts, made my two friends, the poor widows, some acceptable presents, sent the small remnant of the money to my mother, telling her that Iwas going farther south to try my fortune, and--here I am. "

"You did not tell her that you had enlisted?"

"No. "

"Oh, Traverse, how long ago was it that you left St. Louis?"

"Just two weeks. "

"Ah! if you had only had patience for a few days longer!" burst unawarefrom Herbert's bosom. In an instant he was sorry for having spokenthus, for Traverse, with all his soul in his eyes, asked eagerly:

"Why--why, Herbert? What do you mean?"

"Why, you should know that I did not come direct from West Point, butfrom the neighborhood of Staunton and Hurricane Hall. "

"Did you? Oh, did you? Then you may be able to give me news of Claraand my dear mother, " exclaimed Traverse, eagerly. 

"Yes, I am--pleasant news, " said Herbert, hesitating in a manner whichno one ever hesitated before in communicating good tidings. 

"Thank heaven! oh, thank heaven! What is it, Herbert? How is my dearmother getting on? Where is my best Clara?"

"They are both living together at Willow Heights, according to thewishes of the late Doctor Day. A second appeal to the Orphans' Courtmade in behalf of Clara by her next friend, Doctor Williams, about amonth ago, proved more successful. And if you had waited a few dayslonger before enlisting and leaving St. Louis, you would have receiveda letter from Clara to the same effect, and one from Doctor Williamsapprizing you that your mother had received her legacy, and that thethousand dollars left you by Doctor Day had been paid into theAgricultural Bank, subject to your orders. "

"Oh, heaven! had I but waited three days longer!" exclaimed Traverse, in such acute distress that Herbert hastened to console him by saying:

"Do not repine, Traverse; these things go by fate. It was yourdestiny--let us hope it will prove a glorious one. "

"It was my impatience!" exclaimed Traverse. "It was my impatience!Doctor Day always faithfully warned me against it; always told me thatmost of the errors, sins and miseries of this world arose from simpleimpatience, which is want of faith. And now I know it! and now I knowit! What had I, who had an honorable profession, to do with becoming aprivate soldier?"

"Well, well, it is honorable at least to serve your country, " saidHerbert, soothingly. 

"If a foreign foe invaded her shores, yes; but what had I to do withinvading another's country?--enlisting for a war of the rights andwrongs of which I know no more than anybody else does? Growingimpatient because fortune did not at once empty her cornucopia upon myhead! Oh, fool!"

"You blame yourself too severely, Traverse. Your act was natural enoughand justifiable enough, much as it is to be regretted, " said Herbert, cheerfully. 

"Come, come, sit on this plank bench beside me--if you are not ashamedto be seen with a private who is also a donkey--and tell me all aboutit. Show me the full measure of the happiness I have so recklesslysquandered away, " exclaimed Traverse, desperately. 

"I will sit beside you and tell you everything you wish to know, oncondition that you stop berating yourself in a manner that fills mewith indignation, " replied Herbert, as they went to a distant part ofthe dusty enclosure and took their seats upon a rude bench. 

"Oh, Herbert, bear with me; I could dash my wild, impatient headagainst a stone wall!"

"That would not be likely to clear or strengthen your brains, " saidHerbert, who thereupon commenced and told Traverse the whole history ofthe persecution of Clara Day at the Hidden House; the interception ofher letters; the attempt made to force her into a marriage with CravenLe Noir; her deliverance from her enemies by the address and courage ofCapitola; her flight to Staunton and refuge with Mrs. Rocke; her appealto the court, and finally her success and her settlement under thecharge of her matronly friend at Willow Heights. 

Traverse had not listened patiently to this account. He heard it withmany bursts of irrepressible indignation and many involuntary starts ofwild passion. Toward the last he sprang up and walked up and down, chafing like an angry lion in his cage. 

"And this man, " he exclaimed, as Herbert concluded; "this demon! thisbeast! is now our commanding officer--the colonel of our regiment. "

"Yes, " replied Herbert, "but as such you must not call him names;military rules are despotic; and this man, who knows your person andknows you to be the betrothed of Clara Day, whose hand and fortune hecovets for his son? will leave no power with which his command investshim untried to ruin and destroy you! Traverse, I say these things toyou that being 'forewarned' you may be 'forearmed. ' I trust that youwill remember your mother and your betrothed, and for their dear sakespractise every sort of self-control, patience and forbearance under theprovocations you may receive from our colonel. And in advising you todo this I only counsel that which I shall myself practise. I, too, amunder the ban of Le Noir for the part I played in the church insuccoring Capitola, as well as for happening to be 'the nephew of myuncle, ' Major Warfield, who is his mortal enemy. "

"I? Will I not be patient, after the lesson I have just learned uponthe evils of the opposite? Be easy on my account, dear old friend, Iwill be as patient as Job, meek as Moses and long-suffering as--my ownsweet mother!" said Traverse, earnestly. 

The drum was now heard beating to quarters, and Traverse, wringing hisfriend's hand, left him. 

Herbert returned to his ship full of one scheme, of which he had notspoken to Traverse lest it should prove unsuccessful. This scheme wasto procure his free discharge before they should set sail for the RioGrande. He had many influential friends among the officers of hisregiment, and he was resolved to tell them as much as was delicate, proper and useful for them to know of the young recruit's privatehistory, in order to get their cooperation. 

Herbert spent every hour of this day and the next, when off duty, inthis service of his friend. He found his brother officers easilyinterested, sympathetic and propitious. They united their efforts withhis own to procure the discharge of the young recruit, but in vain; thepower of Colonel Le Noir was opposed to their influence and theapplication was peremptorily refused. 

Herbert Greyson did not sit down quietly under this disappointment, butwrote an application embodying all the facts of the case to theSecretary of War, got it signed by all the officers of the regiment anddespatched it by the first mail. 

Simultaneously he took another important step for the interest of hisfriend. Without hinting any particular motive, he had begged Traverseto let him have his photograph taken, and the latter, with a laugh atthe lover-like proposal, had consented. When the likeness was finishedHerbert sent it by express to Major Warfield, accompanied by a letterdescribing the excellent character and unfortunate condition ofTraverse, praying the major's interest in his behalf and concluding bysaying:

"You cannot look upon the accompanying photograph of my friend and anylonger disclaim your own express image in your son. "

How this affected the action of Old Hurricane will be seen hereafter. 

Traverse, knowing nothing of the efforts that had been and were stillbeing made for his discharge, suffered neither disappointment forfailure of the first nor anxiety for the issue of the last. 

He wrote to his mother and Clara, congratulating them on their goodfortune; telling them that he, in common with many young men of St. Louis, had volunteered for the Mexican War; that he was then in NewOrleans, en route for the Rio Grande, and that they would be pleased toknow that their mutual friend, Herbert Greyson, was an officer in thesame regiment of which he himself was at present a private, but withstrong hopes of soon winning his epaulettes. He endorsed an order forhis mother to draw the thousand dollars left him by Doctor Day, and headvised her to re-deposit the sum in her own name for her own use incase of need. Praying God's blessing upon them all, and begging theirprayers for himself, Traverse concluded his letter, which he mailed thesame evening. 

And the next morning the company was ordered on board and the wholeexpedition set sail for the Rio Grande. 

Now, we might just as easily as not accompany our troops to Mexico andrelate the feats of arms there performed with the minuteness andfidelity of an eye-witness, since we have sat at dinner-tables wherethe heroes of that war have been honored guests, and where we haveheard them fight their battles o'er till "thrice the foe was slain andthrice the field was won. "

We might follow the rising star of our young lieutenant, as by his ownmerits and others' mishaps he ascended from rank to rank, through allthe grades of military promotion, but need not because the feats ofLieutenant--Captain--Major and Colonel Greyson, are they not written inthe chronicles of the Mexican War?

We prefer to look after our little domestic heroine, our brave littleCap, who, when women have their rights, shall be a lieutenant-colonelherself. Shall she not, gentlemen?

 * * * * * * *

In one fortnight from this time, while Mrs. Rocke and Clara were stillliving comfortably at Willow Heights and waiting anxiously to hear fromTraverse, whom they still supposed to be practising his profession atSt Louis, they received his last letter written on the eve of hisdeparture for the seat of war. At first the news overwhelmed them withgrief, but then they sought relief in faith, answered his lettercheerfully and commended him to the infinite mercy of God. 

CHAPTER XV. 

CAP CAPTIVATES A CRAVEN. 

 "He knew himself a villain, but he deemed The rest no better than the thing he seemed; And scorned the best as hypocrites who hid Those deeds the bolder spirits plainly did. He knew himself detested, but he knew The hearts that loathed him crouched and--dreaded, too. "

The unregenerate human heart is, perhaps, the most inconsistent thingin all nature; and in nothing is it more capricious than in themanifestations of its passions; and in no passion is it so fantastic asin that which it miscalls love, but which is really often only appetite. 

From the earliest days of manhood Craven Le Noir had been the votary ofvice, which he called pleasure. Before reaching the age of twenty-fivehe had run the full course of dissipation, and found himself ruined inhealth, degraded in character and disgusted with life. 

Yet in all this experience his heart had not been once agitated with asingle emotion that deserved the name of passion. It was colder thanthe coldest. 

He had not loved Clara, though, for the sake of her money, he hadcourted her so assiduously. Indeed, for the doctor's orphan girl he hadfrom the first conceived a strong antipathy. His evil spirit had shrunkfrom her pure soul with the loathing a fiend might feel for an angel. He had found it repugnant and difficult, almost to the extent ofimpossibility, for him to pursue the courtship to which he was onlyreconciled by a sense of duty to--his pocket. 

It was reserved for his meeting with Capitola at the altar of theForest Chapel to fire his clammy heart, stagnant blood and sated senseswith the very first passion that he had ever known. Her image, as shestood there at the altar with flashing eyes and flaming cheeks andscathing tongue defying him, was ever before his mind's eye. There wassomething about that girl so spirited, so piquant and original that sheimpressed even his apathetic nature as no other woman had ever beenable to do. But what most of all attracted him to Capitola was herdiablerie. He longed to catch that little savage to his bosom and haveher at his mercy. The aversion she had exhibited toward him onlystimulated his passion. 

Craven Le Noir, among his other graces, was gifted with inordinatevanity. He did not in the least degree despair of over-coming allCapitola's dislike to his person and inspiring her with a passion equalto his own. 

He knew well that he dared not present himself at Hurricane Hall, buthe resolved to waylay her in her rides and there to press his suit. Tothis he was urged by another motive almost as strong as love--namely, avarice. 

He had gathered thus much from his father, that Capitola Black wassupposed to be Capitola Le Noir, the rightful heiress of all that vastproperty in land, houses, iron and coal mines, foundries and furnaces, railway shares, etc. , and bank stocks, from which his father drew theprincely revenue that supported them both in their lavish extravaganceof living. 

As the heiress--or, rather, the rightful owner--of all this vastfortune. Capitola was a much greater "catch" than poor Clara, with hermodest estate, had been. And Mr. Craven Le Noir was quite willing toturn the tables on his father by running off with the great heiress, and step from his irksome position of dependent upon Colonel Le Noir'soften ungracious bounty to that of the husband of the heiress and themaster of the property. Added to that was another favorablecircumstance--namely, whereas he had had a strong personal antipathy toClara he had as strong an attraction to Capitola, which would make hiscourse of courtship all the pleasanter. 

In one word, he resolved to woo, win and elope with, or forciblyabduct, Capitola Le Noir, marry her and then turn upon his father andclaim the fortune in right of his wife. The absence of Colonel Le Noirin Mexico favored his projects, as he could not fear interruption. 

Meanwhile our little madcap remained quite unconscious of the honorsdesigned her. She had cried every day of the first week of Herbert'sabsence; every alternate day of the second; twice in the third; once inthe fourth; not at all in the fifth, and the sixth week she was quiteherself again, as full of fun and frolic and as ready for any mischiefor deviltry that might turn up. 

She resumed her rides, no longer followed by Wool, because OldHurricane, partly upon account of his misadventure in having had themisfortune inadvertently "to lose sight of" his mistress upon thatmemorable occasion of the metamorphosis of Cap into Clara and partlybecause of the distant absence of Le Noir, did not consider hisfavorite in danger. 

He little knew that a subtle and unscrupulous agent had been left swornto her destruction, and that another individual, almost equallydangerous, had registered a secret vow to run off with her. 

Neither did poor Cap when, rejoicing to be free from the doggingattendance of Wool, imagine the perils to which she was exposed; nor isit even likely that if she had she would have cared for them in anyother manner than as promising piquant adventures. From childhood shehad been inured to danger, and had never suffered harm; therefore, Cap, like the Chevalier Bayard, was "without fear and without reproach. "

Craven Le Noir proceeded cautiously with his plans, knowing that therewas time enough and that all might be lost by haste. He did not wish toalarm Capitola. 

The first time he took occasion to meet her in her rides he merelybowed deeply, even to the flaps of his saddle and, with a melancholysmile, passed on. 

"Miserable wretch! He is a mean fellow to want to marry a girl againsther will, no matter how much he might have been in love with her, and Iam very glad I balked him. Still, he looks so ill and unhappy that Ican't help pitying him, " said Cap, looking compassionately at his whitecheeks and languishing eyes, and little knowing that the illness wasthe effect of dissipation and that the melancholy was assumed for theoccasion. 

A few days after this Cap again met Craven Le Noir, who again, with adeep bow and sad smile, passed her. 

"Poor fellow! he richly deserves to suffer, and I hope it may make himbetter, for I am right-down sorry for him; it must be so dreadful tolose one we love; but it was too base in him to let his father try tocompel her to have him. Suppose, now, Herbert Greyson was to take afancy to another girl, would I let uncle go to him and put a pistol tohis head and say, 'Cap is fond of you, you varlet! and demmy, sir, youshall marry none but her, or receive an ounce of lead in your stupidbrains'? No, I'd scorn it; I'd forward the other wedding; I'd make thecake and dress the bride and--then maybe I'd break--no, I'm blamed if Iwould! I'd not break my heart for anybody. Set them up with it, indeed!Neither would my dear, darling, sweet, precious Herbert treat me so, and I'm a wretch to think of it!" said Cap, with a rich, inimitableunction as, rejoicing in her own happy love, she cheered Gyp and rodeon. 

Now, Craven Le Noir had been conscious of the relenting andcompassionate looks of Capitola, but he did not know that they wereonly the pitying regards of a noble and victorious nature over avanquished and suffering wrong-doer. However, he still determined to becautious, and not ruin his prospects by precipitate action, but to"hasten slowly. "

So the next time he met Capitola he raised his eyes with one deep, sad, appealing gaze to hers, and then, bowing profoundly, passed on. 

"Poor man, " said Cap to herself, "he bears no malice toward me fordepriving him of his sweetheart; that's certain. And, badly as hebehaved, I suppose it was all for love, for I don't know how any onecould live in the same house with Clara and not be in love with her. Ishould have been so myself if I'd been a man, I know!"

The next time Cap met Craven and saw again that deep, sorrowful, appealing gaze as he bowed and passed her, she glanced after him, saying to herself:

"Poor soul, I wonder what he means by looking at me in that piteousmanner? I can do nothing to relieve him. I'm sure if I could I would. But 'the way of the transgressor is hard, ' Mr. Le Noir, and he who sinsmust suffer. "

For about three weeks their seemingly accidental meetings continued inthis silent manner, so slowly did Craven make his advances. Then, feeling more confidence, he made a considerably long step forward. 

One day, when he guessed that Capitola would be out, instead of meetingher as heretofore, he put himself in her road and, riding slowly towarda five-barred gate, allowed her to overtake him. 

He opened the gate and, bowing, held it open until she had passed. 

She bowed her thanks and rode on; but presently, without the leastappearance of intruding, since she had overtaken him, he was at herside and, speaking with downcast eyes and deferential manner, he said:

"I have long desired an opportunity to express the deep sorrow andmortification I feel for having been hurried into rudeness toward anestimable young lady at the Forest Chapel. Miss Black, will you permitme now to assure you of my profound repentance of that act and toimplore your pardon?"

"Oh, I have nothing against you, Mr. Le Noir. It was not I whom youwere intending to marry against my will; and as for what you said anddid to me, ha! ha! I had provoked it, you know, and I also afterwardspaid it in kind. It was a fair fight, in which I was the victor, andvictors should never be vindictive, " said Cap, laughing, for, thoughknowing him to have been violent and unjust, she did not suspect him ofbeing treacherous and deceitful, or imagine the base designs concealedbeneath his plausible manner. Her brave, honest nature could understanda brute or a despot, but not a traitor. 

"Then, like frank enemies who have fought their fight out, yet bear nomalice toward each other, we may shake hands and be friends, I hope, "said Craven, replying in the same spirit in which she had spoken. 

"Well, I don't know about that, Mr. Le Noir. Friendship is a verysacred thing, and its name should not be lightly taken on our tongues. I hope you will excuse me if I decline your proffer, " said Cap, who hada well of deep, true, earnest feeling beneath her effervescent surface. 

"What! you will not even grant a repentant man your friendship, MissBlack?" asked Craven, with a sorrowful smile. 

"I wish you well, Mr. Le Noir. I wish you a good and, therefore, ahappy life; but I cannot give you friendship, for that means a greatdeal. "

"Oh, I see how it is! You cannot give your friendship where you cannotgive your esteem. Is it not so?"

"Yes, " said Capitola; "that is it; yet I wish you so well that I wishyou might grow worthy of higher esteem than mine. "

"You are thinking of my--yes, I will not shrink from characterizingthat conduct as it deserves--my unpardonable violence toward Clara. Miss Black, I have mourned that sin from the day that I was hurriedinto it until this. I have bewailed it from the very bottom of myheart, " said Craven, earnestly, fixing his eyes with an expression ofperfect truthfulness upon those of Capitola. 

"I am glad to hear you say so, " said Cap. 

"Miss Black, please hear this in palliation--I would not presume to sayin defense--of my conduct: I was driven to frenzy by a passion ofcontending love and jealousy as violent and maddening as it was unrealand transient. But that delusive passion has subsided, and among theunmerited mercies for which I have to be thankful is that, in myfrantic pursuit of Clara Day, I was not cursed with success! For allthe violence into which that frenzy hurried me I have deeply repented. I can never forgive myself, but--cannot you forgive me?"

"Mr. Le Noir, I have nothing for which to forgive you. I am glad thatyou have repented toward Clara and I wish you well, and that is reallyall that I can say. "

"I have deserved this and I accept it, " said Craven, in a tone somournful that Capitola, in spite of all her instincts, could not choosebut pity him. 

He rode on, with his pale face, downcast eyes and melancholyexpression, until they reached a point at the back of Hurricane Hall, where their paths diverged. 

Here Craven, lifting his hat and bowing profoundly, said, in a sad tone:

"Good evening, Miss Black, " and, turning his horse's head, took thepath leading down into the Hidden Hollow. 

"Poor young fellow! he must be very unhappy down in that miserableplace; but I can't help it. I wish he would go to Mexico with therest, " said Cap, as she pursued her way homeward. 

Not to excite her suspicion, Craven Le Noir avoided meeting Capitolafor a few days, and then threw himself in her road and, as before, allowed her to overtake him. 

Very subtly he entered into conversation with her, and, guarding everyword and look, took care to interest without alarming her. He said nomore of friendship, but a great deal of regret for wasted years andwasted talents in the past and good resolutions for the future. 

And Cap listened good humoredly. Capitola, being of a brave, hard, firmnature, had not the sensitive perceptions, fine intuitions and trueinsight into character that distinguished the more refined nature ofClara Day--or, at least, she had not these delicate faculties in thesame perfection. Thus, her undefined suspicions of Craven's sinceritywere overborne by a sort of noble benevolence which determined her tothink the best of him which circumstances would permit. 

Craven, on his part, having had more experience, was much wiser in thepursuit of his object. He also had the advantage of being in earnest. His passion for Capitola was sincere, and not, as it had been in thecase of Clara, simulated. He believed, therefore, that, when the timeshould be ripe for the declaration of his love, he would have a muchbetter prospect of success, especially as Capitola, in her ignorance ofher own great fortune, must consider his proposal the very climax ofdisinterestedness. 

After three more weeks of riding and conversing with Capitola he had, in his own estimation, advanced so far in her good opinion as to makeit perfectly safe to risk a declaration. And this he determined to doupon the very first opportunity. 

Chance favored him. 

One afternoon Capitola, riding through the pleasant woods skirting theback of the mountain range that sheltered Hurricane Hall, got a fall, for which she was afterwards inclined to cuff Wool. 

It happened in this way: She had come to a steep rise in the road andurged her pony into a hard gallop, intending as she said to herself, to"storm the height, " when suddenly, under the violent strain, the girth, ill-fastened, flew apart and Miss Cap was on the ground, buried underthe fallen saddle. 

With many a blessing upon the carelessness of grooms, Cap pickedherself up, put the saddle on the horse, and was engaged in drawingunder the girth when Craven Le Noir rode up, sprang from his horse and, with anxiety depicted on his countenance, ran to the spot inquiring:

"What is the matter? No serious accident, I hope and trust, Miss Black?"

"No; those wretches in uncle's stables did not half buckle the girth, and, as I was going in a hard gallop up the steep, it flew apart andgave me a tumble; that's all, " said Cap, desisting a moment from heroccupation to take breath. 

"You were not hurt?" inquired Craven, with deep interest in his tone. 

"Oh, no; there is no harm done, except to my riding skirt, which hasbeen torn and muddied by the fall, " said Cap, laughing and resuming herefforts to tighter the girth. 

"Pray permit me, " said Craven, gently taking the end of the strap fromher hand; "this is no work for a lady, and, besides, is beyond yourstrength. "

Capitola, thanking him, withdrew to the side of the road, and, seatingherself upon the trunk of a fallen tree, began to brush the dirt fromher habit. 

Craven adjusted and secured the saddle with great care, patted andsoothed the pony and then, approaching Capitola in the most deferentialmanner, stood before her and said: "Miss Black, you will pardon me, Ihope, if I tell you that the peril I had imagined you to be in has soagitated my mind as to make it impossible for me longer to withhold adeclaration of my sentiments--" Here his voice, that had trembledthroughout this disclosure, now really and utterly failed him. 

Capitola looked up with surprise and interest; she had never in herlife before heard an explicit declaration of love from anybody. She andHerbert somehow had always understood each other very well, withoutever a word of technical love-making passing between them; so Capitoladid not exactly know what was coming next. 

Craven recovered his voice, and encouraged by the favorable manner inwhich she appeared to listen to him, actually threw himself at her feetand, seizing one of her hands, with much ardor and earnestness and muchmore eloquence than any one would have credited him with, poured forththe history of his passion and his hopes. 

"Well, I declare!" said Cap, when he had finished his speech and waswaiting in breathless impatience for her answer; "this is what iscalled a declaration of love and a proposal of marriage, is it? It isdownright sentimental, I suppose, if I had only sense enough toappreciate it! It is as good as a play; pity it is lost upon me!"

"Cruel girl! how you mock me!" cried Craven, rising from his knees andsitting beside her. 

"No, I don't; I'm in solemn earnest. I say it is first rate. Do itagain; I like it!"

"Sarcastic and merciless one, you glory in the pain you give! But ifyou wish again to hear me say I love you, I will say it a dozen--yes, ahundred--times over if you will only admit that you could love me alittle in return. "

"Don't; that would be tiresome; two or three times is quite enough. Besides, what earthly good could my saying 'I love you' do?"

"It might persuade you to become the wife of one who will adore you tothe last hour of his life. "

"Meaning you?"

"Meaning me; the most devoted of your admirers. "

"That isn't saying much, since I haven't got any but you. "

"Thank fortune for it! Then I am to understand, charming Capitola, thatat least your hand and your affections are free, " cried Craven, joyfully. 

"Well, now, I don't know about that! Really, I can't positively say;but it strikes me, if I were to get married to anybody else, there'ssomebody would feel queerish!"

"No doubt there are many whose secret hopes would be blasted, for socharming a girl could not have passed through this world without havingwon many hearts who would keenly feel the loss of hope in her marriage. But what if they do, my enchanting Capitola? You are not responsiblefor any one having formed such hopes. "

"Fudge!" said Cap, "I'm no belle; never was; never can be; have neitherwealth, beauty nor coquetry enough to make me one. I have no lovers noradmirers to break their hearts about me, one way or another; but thereis one honest fellow--hem! never mind; I feel as if I belonged tosomebody else; that's all. I am very much obliged to you, Mr. Le Noir, for your preference, and even for the beautiful way in which you haveexpressed it, but--I belong to somebody else. "

"Miss Black, " said Craven, somewhat abashed but not discouraged. "Ithink I understand you. I presume that you refer to the young man whowas your gallant champion in the Forest Chapel. "

"The one that made your nose bleed, " said the incorrigible Cap. 

"Well, Miss Black, from your words it appears that this is by no meansan acknowledged but only an understood engagement, which cannot bebinding upon either party. Now, a young lady of your acknowledged goodsense--"

"I never had any more good sense than I have had admirers, " interruptedCap. 

Craven smiled. 

"I would not hear your enemy say that, " he replied; then, resuming hisargument, he said:

"You will readily understand, Miss Black, that the vague engagement ofwhich you speak, where there is want of fortune on both sides, is nomore prudent than it is binding. On the contrary, the position which itis my pride to offer you is considered an enviable one; even apart fromthe devoted love that goes with it. You are aware that I am the soleheir of the Hidden House estate, which, with all its dependencies, isconsidered the largest property, as my wife would be the most importantlady, in the county. "

Cap's lip curled a little; looking askance at him she answered:

"I am really very much obliged to you Mr. Le Noir, for thedistinguished honor that you designed for me. I should highlyappreciate the magnanimity of a young gentleman, the heir of thewealthiest estate in the neighborhood who deigns to propose marriage tothe little beggar that I acknowledge myself to be. I regret to beobliged to refuse such dignities, but--I belong to another, " saidCapitola, rising and advancing toward her horse. 

Craven would not risk his success by pushing his suit further at thissitting. 

Very respectfully lending his assistance to put Capitola into hersaddle, he said he hoped at some future and more propitious time toresume the subject. And then, with a deep bow, he left her, mounted hishorse and rode on his way. 

He did not believe that Capitola was more than half in earnest, or thatany girl in Capitola's circumstances would do such a mad thing as torefuse the position he offered her. 

He did not throw himself in her way often enough to excite hersuspicion that their meetings were preconcerted on his part, and evenwhen he did overtake her or suffer her to overtake him, he avoidedgiving her offense by pressing his suit until another good opportunityshould offer. This was not long in coming. 

One afternoon he overtook her and rode by her side for a short distancewhen, finding her in unusually good spirits and temper, he againrenewed his declaration of love and offer of marriage. 

Cap turned around in her saddle and looked at him with astonishment fora full minute before she exclaimed: "Why, Mr. Le Noir, I gave you ananswer more than a week ago. Didn't I tell you 'No'? What on earth doyou mean by repeating the question?"

"I mean, bewitching Capitola, not to let such a treasure slip out of mygrasp if I can help it. "

"I never was in your grasp, that I know of, " said Cap, whipping up herhorse and leaving him far behind. 

Days passed before Craven thought it prudent again to renew and presshis suit. He did so upon a fine September morning, when he overtook herriding along the banks of the river. He joined her and in the mostdeprecating manner besought her to listen to him once more. Then hecommenced in a strain of the most impassioned eloquence and urged hislove and his proposal. 

Capitola stopped her horse, wheeled around and faced him, looking himfull in the eyes while she said:

"Upon my word, Mr. Le Noir, you remind me of an anecdote told of youngSheridan. When his father advised him to take a wife and settle, hereplied by asking whose wife he should take. Will nobody serve yourpurpose but somebody else's sweetheart? I have told you that I belongto a brave young soldier who is fighting his country's battles in aforeign land, while you are lazing here at home, trying to underminehim. I am ashamed of you, sir, and ashamed of myself for talking withyou so many times! Never do you presume to accost me on the highway oranywhere else again! Craven by name and Craven by nature, you have oncealready felt the weight of Herbert's arm! Do not provoke its seconddescent upon you! You are warned!" and with that Capitola, with herlips curled, her eyes flashing and her cheeks burning, put whip to herpony and galloped away. 

Craven Le Noir's thin, white face grew perfectly livid with passion. 

"I will have her yet! I have sworn it, and by fair means or by foul Iwill have her yet!" he exclaimed, as he relaxed his hold upon hisbridle and let his horse go on slowly, while he sat with his browsgathered over his thin nose, his long chin buried in his neckcloth andhis nails between his teeth, gnawing like a wild beast, as was hiscustom when deeply cogitating. 

Presently he conceived a plan so diabolical that none but Satan himselfcould have inspired it! This was to take advantage of his acquaintanceand casual meetings with Capitola so to malign her character as to makeit unlikely that any honest man would risk his honor by taking her towife; that thus the way might be left clear for himself; and heresolved, if possible, to effect this in such a manner--namely, byjests, innuendos and sneers--that it should never be directly traced toa positive assertion on his part. And in the mean time he determined toso govern himself in his deportment toward Capitola as to arouse nosuspicion, give no offense and, if possible, win back her confidence. 

It is true that even Craven Le Noir, base as he was, shrank from theidea of smirching the reputation of the woman whom he wished to make awife; but then he said to himself that in that remote neighborhood thescandal would be of little consequence to him, who, as soon as heshould be married, would claim the estate of the Hidden House in rightof his wife, put it in charge of an overseer and then, with his bride, start for Paris, the paradise of the epicurean, where he designed tofix their principal residence. 

Craven Le Noir was so pleased with his plan that he immediately setabout putting it in execution. Our next chapter will show how hesucceeded. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

CAP'S RAGE

 Is he not approved to the height of a villain, who hath slandered, scorned, dishonored thy kinswoman. Oh! that I were a man for his sake, or had a friend who would be one for mine!

 --SHAKESPEARE. 

Autumn brought the usual city visitors to Hurricane Hall to spend thesporting season and shoot over Major Warfield's grounds. Old Hurricanewas in his glory, giving dinners and projecting hunts. 

Capitola also enjoyed herself rarely, enacting with much satisfactionto herself and guests her new role of hostess, and not unfrequentlyjoining her uncle and his friends in their field sports. 

Among the guests there were two who deserve particular attention, notonly because they had been for many years annual visitors of HurricaneHall, but more especially because there had grown up between them andour little madcap heroine, a strong mutual confidence and friendship. Yet no three persons could possibly be more unlike than Capitola andthe two cousins of her soul, as she called these two friends. They wereboth distant relatives of Major Warfield, and in right of thisrelationship invariably addressed Capitola as "Cousin Cap. "

John Stone, the elder of the two, was a very tall, stout, squarelybuilt young man, with a broad, good-humored face, fair skin, blue eyesand light hair. In temperament he was rather phlegmatic, quiet andlazy. In character he was honest, prudent and good-tempered. Incircumstances he was a safe banker, with a notable wife and two healthychildren. The one thing that was able to excite his quiet nerves wasthe chase, of which he was as fond as he could possibly be of anyamusement. The one person who agreeably stirred his rather stillspirits was our little Cap, and that was the secret of his friendshipfor her. 

Edwin Percy, the other, was a young West Indian, tall and delicatelyformed, with a clear olive complexion, languishing dark hazel eyes anddark, bright chestnut hair and beard. In temperament he was ardent ashis clime. In character, indolent, careless and self-indulgent. Incondition he was the bachelor heir of a sugar plantation of a thousandacres. He loved not the chase, nor any other amusement requiringexertion. He doted upon swansdown sofas with springs, French plays, cigars and chocolate. He came to the country to find repose, good airand an appetite. He was the victim of constitutional ennui that yieldedto nothing but the exhilaration of Capitola's company; that was themystery of his love for her, and doubtless the young Creole would haveproposed for Cap, had he not thought it too much trouble to getmarried, and dreaded the bustle of a bridal. Certainly Edwin Percy wasas opposite in character to John Stone, as they both were to Capitola, yet great was the relative attraction among the three. Cap impartiallydivided her kind offices as hostess between them. 

John Stone joined Old Hurricane in many a hard day's hunt, and Capitolawas often of the party. 

Edwin Percy spent many hours on the luxurious lounge in the parlor, where Cap was careful to place a stand with chocolate, cigars, waxmatches and his favorite books. 

One day Cap had had what she called "a row with the governor, " that isto say, a slight misunderstanding with Major Warfield; a very uncommonoccurrence, as the reader knows, in which that temperate old gentlemanhad so freely bestowed upon his niece the names of "beggar, foundling, brat, vagabond and vagrant, " that Capitola, in just indignation, refused to join the birding party, and taking her game bag, powderflask, shot-horn and fowling piece, and calling her favorite pointer, walked off, as she termed it, "to shoot herself. " But if Capitola's byno means sweet temper had been tried that morning, it was destined tobe still more severely tested before the day was over. 

Her second provocation came in this way: John Stone, another deserterof the birding party had that day betaken himself to Tip-top upon someprivate business of his own. He dined at the Antlers in company withsome sporting gentlemen of the neighborhood, and when the conversationnaturally turned upon field sports, Mr. John Stone spoke of the fineshooting that was to be had around Hurricane Hall, when one of thegentlemen, looking straight across the table to Mr. Stone, said:

"Ahem! That pretty little huntress of Hurricane Hall--that niece orward, or mysterious daughter of Old Hurricane, who engages with so muchenthusiasm in your field sports over there, is a girl of very free andeasy manners I understand--a Diana in nothing but her love of thechase!"

"Sir, it is a base calumny! And the man who endorses it is a shamelessslanderer! There is my card! I may be found at my present residence, Hurricane Hall, " said John Stone, throwing his pasteboard across thetable, and rising to leave it. 

"Nay, nay, " said the stranger, laughing and pushing the card away. "Ido not endorse the statement--I know nothing about it! I wash my handsof it, " said the young man. And then upon Mr. Stone's demanding theauthor of the calumny, he gave the name of Mr. Craven Le Noir, who, hesaid, had "talked in his cups, " at a dinner party recently given by oneof his friends. 

"I pronounce--publicly, in the presence of all these witnesses, as Ishall presently to Craven Le Noir himself--that he is a shamelessmiscreant, who has basely slandered a noble girl! You, sir, havedeclined to endorse those words; henceforth decline to repeat them! Forafter this I shall call to a severe account any man who ventures, byword, gesture or glance to hint this slander, or in any other way deallightly with the honorable name and fame of the lady in question. Gentlemen, I am to be found at Hurricane Hall, and I have the honor ofwishing you a more improving subject of conversation, and--a very goodafternoon, " said John Stone, bowing and leaving the room. 

He immediately called for his horse and rode home. 

In crossing the thicket of woods between the river and the risingground in front of Hurricane Hall, he overtook Capitola, who, as wehave said, had been out alone with her gun and dog, and was nowreturning home with her game bag well laden. 

Now, as John Stone looked at Capitola, with her reckless, free andjoyous air, he thought she was just the sort of girl, unconsciously, toget herself and friends into trouble. And he thought it best to giveher a hint to put an abrupt period to her acquaintance, if she had evenhe slightest, with the heir apparent of the Hidden House. 

While still hesitating how to begin the conversation, he came up withthe young girl, dismounted, and, leading his horse, walked by her side, asking carelessly:

"What have you bagged, Cap?"

"Some partridges! Oh, you should have been out with me and Sweetlips!We've had such sport! But, anyhow, you shall enjoy your share of thespoils! Come home and you shall have some of these partridges broiledfor supper, with currant sauce--a dish of my own invention for uncle'ssake, you know! He's such a gourmand!"

"Thank you, yes--I am on my way home now. Hem--m! Capitola, I counselyou to cut the acquaintance of our neighbor, Craven Le Noir. "

"I have already done so; but--what in the world is the matter that youshould advise me thus?" inquired Capitola, fixing her eyes steadilyupon the face of John Stone, who avoided her gaze as he answered:

"The man is not a proper associate for a young woman. "

"I know that, and have cut him accordingly; but, Cousin John, there issome reason for your words, that you have not expressed; and as theyconcern me, now I insist upon knowing what they are!"

"Tut! it is nothing!" said the other evasively. 

"John Stone, I know better! And the more you look down and whip yourboot the surer I am that there is something I ought to know, and I willknow!"

"Well, you termagant! Have your way! He has been speaking lightly ofyou--that's all! Nobody minds him--his tongue is no scandal. "

"John Stone--what has he said?" asked Capitola, drawing her breathhardly between her closed teeth. 

"Oh, now, why should you ask? It is nothing--it is not proper that Ishould tell you, " replied that gentleman, in embarrassment. 

"'It is nothing, ' and yet 'it is not proper that you should tell me!'How do you make that out? John Stone, leave off lashing the harmlessbushes and listen to me! I have to live in the same neighborhood withthis man, after you have gone away, and I insist upon knowing the wholelength and breadth of his baseness and malignity, that I may know howto judge and punish him!" said Capitola, with such grimness ofresolution that Mr. Stone, provoked at her perversity, answered:

"Well, you wilful girl, listen!" And commencing, he mercilessly toldher all that had passed at the table. 

To have seen our Cap then! Face, neck and bosom were flushed with thecrimson tide of indignation!

"You are sure of what you tell me, Cousin John?"

"The man vouches for it!"

"He shall bite the dust!"

"What?"

"The slanderer shall bite the dust!"

Without more ado, down was thrown gun, game bag, powder flask andshot-horn, and, bounding from point to point over all the interveningspace, Capitola rushed into Hurricane Hall, and without an instant'sdelay ran straight into the parlor, where her epicurean friend, theyoung Creole, lay slumbering upon the lounge. 

With her face now livid with concentrated rage, and her eyes glitteringwith that suppressed light peculiar to intense passion, she stoodbefore him and said:

"Edwin! Craven Le Noir has defamed your cousin! Get up and challengehim!"

"What did you say, Cap?" said Mr. Percy, slightly yawning. 

"Must I repeat it? Craven Le Noir has defamed my character--challengehim!"

"That would be against the law, coz; they would indict me sure!"

"You--you--you lie there and answer me in that way! Oh that I were aman!"

"Compose, yourself, sweet coz, and tell me what all this is about!Yaw-ooo!--really I was asleep when you first spoke to me!"

"Asleep! Had you been dead and in your grave, the words that I spokeshould have roused you like the trump of the archangel!" exclaimedCapitola, with the blood rushing back to her cheeks. 

"Your entrance was sufficiently startling, coz, but tell me overagain--what was the occasion?"

"That caitiff, Craven Le Noir, has slandered me! Oh, the villain! He isa base slanderer! Percy, get up this moment and challenge Le Noir! Icannot breathe freely until it is done!" exclaimed Capitola, impetuously. 

"Cousin Cap, duelling is obsolete; scenes are passe; law settleseverything; and here there is scarcely ground for action for libel. Butbe comforted, coz, for if this comes to Uncle Hurricane's ears, he'llmake mince-meat of him in no time, It is all in his line; he'll chawhim right up!"

"Percy, do you mean to say that you will not call out that man?" askedCapitola, drawing her breath hardly. 

"Yes, coz. "

"You won't fight him?"

"No, coz. "

"You won't?"

"No. "

"Edwin Percy, look me straight in the face!" said Cap, between herclosed teeth. 

"Well, I am looking you straight in the face--straight in the twoblazing gray eyes, you little tempest in a teapot--what then?"

"Do I look as though I should be in earnest in what I am about tospeak?"

"I should judge so. "

"Then listen, and don't take your eyes off mine until I am donespeaking!"

"Very well, don't be long, though, for it rather agitates me. "

"I will not! Hear me, then! You say that you decline to challenge LeNoir. Very good! I, on my part, here renounce all acquaintance withyou! I will never sit down at the same table--enter the same room, orbreathe the same air with you--never speak to you--listen to you, orrecognize you in any manner, until my deep wrongs are avenged in thepunishment of my slanderer, so help me--"

"Hush--sh! don't swear, Cap--it's profane and unwomanly; and nothing onearth but broken oaths would be the result!"

But Cap was off! In an instant she was down in the yard, where hergroom was holding her horse, ready in case she wished to take her usualride. 

"Where is Mr. John Stone?" she asked. 

"Down at the kennels, miss, " answered the boy. 

She jumped into her saddle, put whip to her horse and flew over theground between the mansion house and the kennels. 

She pulled up before the door of the main building, sprang from hersaddle, threw the bridle to a man in attendance, and rushed into thehouse and into the presence of Mr. John Stone, who was busy inprescribing for an indisposed pointer. 

He looked up in astonishment, exclaiming: "Hilloe! All the witches!Here's Cap! Why, where on earth did you shoot from? What's up now? Youlook as if you were in a state of spontaneous combustion and couldn'tstand it another minute. "

"And I can't--and I won't! John Stone, you must call that man out!"

"What man, Cap--what the deuce do you mean?"

"You know well enough--you do this to provoke me! I mean the man ofwhom you cautioned me this afternoon--the wretch who slandered me--theniece of your host!"

"Whe--ew!"

"Will you do it?"

"Where's Percy?"

"On the lounge with an ice in one hand and a novel in the other! Isuppose it is no use mincing the matter, John--he is a--mereepicure--there is no fight in him! It is you who must vindicate yourcousin's honor!"

"My cousin's honor cannot need vindication! It is unquestioned andunquestionable!"

"No smooth words, if you please, cousin John! Will you, or will you notfight that man?"

"Tut, Cap, no one really questions your honor--that man will gethimself knocked into a cocked hat if he goes around talking of anhonest girl!"

"A likely thing, when her own cousins and guests take it so quietly. "

"What would you have them do, Cap? The longer an affair of this sort isagitated, the more offensive it becomes! Besides, chivalry is out ofdate! The knights-errant are all dead. "

"The men are all dead! If any ever really lived!" cried Cap, in a fury. "Heaven knows I am inclined to believe them to have been a fabulousrace like that of the mastodon or the centaur! I certainly never saw acreature that deserved the name of man! The very first of your race wasthe meanest fellow that ever was heard of--ate the stolen apple andwhen found out laid one half of the blame on his wife and the other onhis Maker--'The woman whom thou gavest me' did so and so--pah! I don'twonder the Lord took a dislike to the race and sent a flood to sweepthem all off the face of the earth! I will give you one more chance toretrieve your honor--in one word, now--will you fight that man?"

"My dear little cousin, I would do anything in reason to vindicate theassailed manhood of my whole sex, but really, now--"

"Will you fight that man? One word--yes or no?"

"Tut, Cap! you are a very reckless young woman! You--it's yournature--you are an incorrigible madcap! You bewitch a poor wretch untilhe doesn't know his head from his heels--puts his feet into his hat andcovers his scalp with his boots! You are a will-o'-the-wisp who lures apoor fellow on through woods, bogs and briars, until you land him inthe quicksands! You whirl him around and around until he grows dizzyand delirious, and talks at random, and then you'd have him called out, you blood-thirsty little vixen! I tell you, Cousin Cap, if I were totake up all the quarrels your hoydenism might lead me into, I shouldhave nothing else to do!"

"Then you won't fight!"

"Can't, little cousin! I have a wife and family, which are powerfulchecks upon a man's duelling impulses!"

"Silence! You are no cousin of mine--no drop of your sluggish bloodstagnates in my veins--no spark of the liquid fire of my life's currentburns in your torpid arteries, else at this insult would it set you ina flame! Never dare to call me cousin again. " And so saying, she flungherself out of the building and into her saddle, put whip to her horseand galloped away home. 

Now, Mr. Stone had privately resolved to thrash Craven Le Noir; but hedid not deem it expedient to take Cap into his confidence. As Capitolareached the horse block, her own groom came to take the bridle. 

"Jem, " she said, as she jumped from her saddle, "put Gyp up and thencome to my room, I have a message to send by you. "

And then, with burning cheeks and flashing eyes, she went to her ownsanctum, and after taking off her habit, did the most astounding thingthat ever a woman of the nineteenth or any former centuryattempted--she wrote a challenge to Craven Le Noir--charging him withfalsehood in having maligned her honor--demanding from him "thesatisfaction of a gentleman, " and requesting him as the challengedparty to name the time, place and weapons with which he would meet her. 

By the time she had written, sealed and directed this warlike defiance, her young groom made his appearance. 

"Jem, " she asked, "do you know the way to the Hidden House?"

"Yes, miss, sure. "

"Then take this note thither, ask for Mr. Le Noir, put it into hishands, and say that you are directed to wait an answer. And listen! Youneed not mention to any one in this house where you are going--nor whenyou return, where you have been; but bring the answer you may getdirectly to this room, where you will find me. "

"Yes, miss, " said the boy, who was off like a flying Mercury. 

Capitola threw herself into her chair to spend the slow hours until theboy's return as well as her fierce impatience and forced inaction wouldpermit. 

At tea time she was summoned; but excused herself from going below uponthe plea of indisposition. 

"Which is perfectly true, " she said to herself, "since I am utterlyindisposed to go. And besides, I have sworn never again to sit at thesame table with my cousins, until for the wrongs done me I havereceived ample satisfaction. "

CHAPTER XVII. 

CAPITOLA CAPS THE CLIMAX. 

 Oh! when she's angry, she is keen and shrewd She was a vixen when she went to school; And though she is but little she is fierce. 

 --SHAKESPEARE

It was quite late in the evening when Jem, her messenger, returned. 

"Have you an answer?" she impetuously demanded, rising to meet him ashe entered. 

"Yes, miss, here it is, " replied the boy, handing a neatly folded, highly perfumed little note. 

"Go, " said Cap, curtly, as she received it. 

And when the boy had bowed and withdrawn, she threw herself into achair, and with little respect for the pretty device of the piercedheart with which the note was sealed, she tore it open and devoured itscontents. 

Why did Capitola's cheeks and lips blanch white as death? Why did hereyes contract and glitter like stilettoes? Why was her breath drawnhard and laboriously through clenched teeth and livid lips?

That note was couched in the most insulting terms. 

Capitola's first impulse was to rend the paper to atoms and grind thoseatoms to powder beneath her heel. But a second inspiration changed herpurpose. 

"No--no--no! I will not destroy you, precious little note! No legaldocument involving the ownership of the largest estate, no cherishedlove letter filled with vows of undying affection, shall be morecarefully guarded! Next to my heart shall you lie. My shield andbuckler shall you be! My sure defense and justification! I know what todo with you, my precious little jewel! You are the warrant for thepunishment of that man, signed by his own hand. " And so saying Capitolacarefully deposited the note in her bosom. 

Then she lighted her chamber lamp, and, taking it with her, wentdown-stairs to her uncle's bedroom. 

Taking advantage of the time when she knew he would be absorbed in agame of chess with John Stone, and she would be safe from interruptionfor several hours if she wished, she went to Major Warfield's littlearmory in the closet adjoining his room, opened his pistol case andtook from it a pair of revolvers, closed and locked the case, andwithdrew and hid the key that they might not chance to be missed untilshe should have time to replace them. 

Then she hurried back into her own chamber, locked the pistols up inher own drawer, and, wearied out with so much excitement, prepared togo to rest. Here a grave and unexpected obstacle met her; she hadalways been accustomed to kneel and offer up to heaven her evening'stribute of praise and thanksgiving for the mercies of the day, andprayers for protection and blessing through the night. 

Now she knelt as usual, but thanksgiving and prayer seemed frozen onher lips! How could she praise or pray with such a purpose as she hadin her heart?

For the first time Capitola doubted the perfect righteousness of thatpurpose which was of a character to arrest her prayers upon her lips. 

With a start of impatience and a heavy sigh, she sprang up and hurriedinto bed. 

She did not sleep, but lay tossing from side to side in feverishexcitement the whole night--having, in fact, a terrible battle betweenher own fierce passions and her newly awakened conscience. 

Nevertheless, she arose by daybreak in the morning, dressed herself, went and unlocked her drawer, took out the pistols, carefully loadedthem, and laid them down for service. 

Then she went down-stairs, where the servants were only just beginningto stir, and sent for her groom, Jem, whom she ordered to saddle herpony, and also to get a horse for himself, to attend her in a morningride. 

After which she returned up-stairs, put on her riding habit, andbuckled around her waist a morocco belt, into which she stuck the tworevolvers. She then threw around her shoulders a short circular capethat concealed the weapons, and put on her hat and gloves and wentbelow. 

She found her little groom already at the door with the horses. Shesprang into her saddle, and, bidding Jem follow her, took the roadtoward Tip-Top. 

She knew that Mr. Le Noir was in the habit of riding to the villageevery morning, and she determined to meet him. She knew, from the earlyhour of the day, that he could not possibly be ahead of her, and sherode on slowly to give him an opportunity to overtake her. 

Probably Craven Le Noir was later that morning than usual, for Capitolahad reached the entrance of the village before she heard the sound ofhis horse's feet approaching behind her. 

She did not wish that their encounter should be in the streets of thevillage, so she instantly wheeled her horse and galloped back to meethim. 

As both were riding at full speed, they soon met. 

She first drew rein, and, standing in his way, accosted him with:

"Mr. Le Noir!"

"Your most obedient, Miss Black!" he said, with a deep bow. 

"I happen to be without father or brother to protect me from affront, sir, and my uncle is an invalid veteran whom I will not trouble! I am, therefore, under the novel necessity of fighting my own battles!Yesterday, sir, I sent you a note demanding satisfaction for a heinousslander you circulated against me! You replied by an insulting note. You do not escape punishment so! Here are two pistols; both are loaded;take either one of them; for, sir, we have met, and now we do not partuntil one of us falls from the horse!"

And so saying, she rode up to him and offered him the choice of thepistols. 

He laughed--partly in surprise and partly in admiration, as he said, with seeming good humor:

"Miss Black, you are a very charming young woman, and delightfullyoriginal and piquant in all your ideas; but you outrage all the lawsthat govern the duello. You know that, as the challenged party, I havethe right to the choice of time, place and arms. I made that choiceyesterday. I renew it to-day. When you accede to the terms of themeeting I shall endeavor to give you all the satisfaction you demand!Good-morning, miss. "

And with a deep bow, even to the flaps of his saddle, he rode past her. 

"That base insult again!" cried Capitola, with the blood rushing to herface. 

Then lifting her voice, she again accosted him: "Mr. Le Noir!"

He turned, with a smile. 

She threw one of the pistols on the ground near him, saying: "Take thatup and defend yourself. "

He waved his hand in negation, bowed, smiled, and rode on. 

"Mr. Le Noir!" she called, in a peremptory tone. 

Once more he turned. 

She raised her pistol, took deliberate aim at his white forehead, andfired--

Bang! bang! bang! bang! bang! bang!

Six times without an instant's intermission, until her revolver wasspent. 

When the smoke cleared away, a terrible vision met her eyes!

It was Craven Le Noir with his face covered with blood, reeling in hissaddle, from which he soon dropped to the ground. 

In falling his foot remained in the hanging stirrup. The well-trainedcavalry horse stood perfectly still, though trembling in a panic ofterror, from which he might at any moment start to run, dragging thehelpless body after him. 

Capitola saw this danger, and not being cruel, she tempered justicewith mercy, threw down her spent pistol, dismounted from her horse, went up to the fallen man, disengaged his foot from the stirrup, and, taking hold of his shoulders, tried with all her might to drag thestill breathing form from the dusty road where it lay in danger ofbeing run over by wagons, to the green bank, where it might lie incomparative safety. 

But that heavy form was too much for her single strength. And, callingher terrified groom to assist her, they removed the body. 

Capitola then remounted her horse and galloped rapidly into thevillage, and up to the "ladies' entrance" of the hotel, where, aftersending for the proprietor she said:

"I have just been shooting Craven Le Noir for slandering me; he lies bythe roadside at the entrance of the village; you had better sendsomebody to pick him up. "

"Miss!" cried the astonished inn-keeper. 

Capitola distinctly repeated her words and then, leaving theinn-keeper, transfixed with consternation, she crossed the street andentered a magistrate's office, where a little, old gentleman, with apair of green spectacles resting on his hooked nose, sat at awriting-table, giving some directions to a constable, who was standinghat in hand before him. 

Capitola waited until this functionary had his orders and a writtenpaper, and had left the office, and the magistrate was alone, beforeshe walked up to the desk and stood before him. 

"Well, well, young woman! Well, well, what do you want?" inquired theold gentleman, impatiently looking up from folding his papers. 

"I have come to give myself up for shooting Craven Le Noir, whoslandered me, " answered Capitola, quietly. 

The old man let fall his hands full of papers, raised his head andstared at her over the tops of his green spectacles. 

"What did you say, young woman?" he asked, in the tone of one whodoubted his own ears. 

"I say that I have forestalled an arrest by coming here to give myselfup for the shooting of a dastard who slandered, insulted and refused togive me satisfaction, " answered Capitola, very distinctly. 

"Am I awake? Do I hear aright? Do you mean to say that you have killeda man?" asked the dismayed magistrate. 

"Oh, I can't say as to the killing! I shot him off his horse and thensent Mr. Merry and his men to pick him up, while I came here to answerfor myself!"

"Unfortunate girl! And how can you answer for such a dreadful deed?"exclaimed the utterly confounded magistrate. 

"Oh, as to the dreadfulness of the deed, that depends oncircumstances, " said Cap, "and I can answer for it very well! He madeaddresses to me. I refused him. He slandered me. I challenged him. Heinsulted me. I shot him!"

"Miserable young woman, if this be proved true, I shall have to commityou!"

"Just as you please, " said Cap, "but bless your soul, that won't helpCraven Le Noir a single bit!"

As she spoke several persons entered the office in a state of highexcitement--all talking at once, saying:

"That is the girl!"

"Yes, that is her!"

"She is Miss Black, old Warfield's niece. "

"Yes, he said she was, " etc. , etc. , etc. 

"What is all this, neighbors, what is all this?" inquired the troubledmagistrate, rising in his place. 

"Why, sir, there's been a gentleman, Mr. Craven Le Noir, shot. He hasbeen taken to the Antlers, where he lies in articulus mortis, and wewish him to be confronted with Miss Capitola Black, the young womanhere present, that he may identify her, whom he accuses of having shotsix charges into him, before his death. She needn't deny it, because heis ready to swear to her!" said Mr. Merry, who constituted himselfspokesman. 

"She accuses herself, " said the magistrate, in dismay. 

"Then, sir, had she not better be taken at once to the presence of Mr. Le Noir, who may not have many minutes to live?"

"Yes, come along, " said Cap. "I only gave myself up to wait for this;and as he is already at hand, let's go and have it all over, for I havebeen riding about in this frosty morning air for three hours, and Ihave got a good appetite, and I want to go home to breakfast. "

"I am afraid, young woman, you will scarcely get home to breakfast thismorning, " said Mr. Merry. 

"We'll see that presently, " answered Cap, composedly, as they all leftthe office, and crossed the street to the Antlers. 

They were conducted by the landlord to a chamber on the first floor, where upon a bed lay stretched, almost without breath or motion, theform of Craven Le Noir. His face was still covered with blood, that thebystanders had scrupulously refused to wash off until the arrival ofthe magistrate. His complexion, as far as it could be seen, was verypale. He was thoroughly prostrated, if not actually dying. 

Around his bed were gathered the village doctor, the landlady andseveral maid-servants. 

"The squire has come, sir; are you able to speak to him?" asked thelandlord, approaching the bed. 

"Yes, let him swear me, " feebly replied the wounded man, "and then sendfor a clergyman. "

The landlady immediately left to send for Mr. Goodwin, and themagistrate approached the head of the bed, and, speaking solemnly, exhorted the wounded man, as he expected soon to give an account of theworks done in his body, to speak the truth, the whole truth, andnothing but the truth, without reserve, malice or exaggeration, both asto the deed and its provocation. 

"I will I will--for I have sent for a minister and I intend to try tomake my peace with heaven, " replied Le Noir. 

The magistrate then directed Capitola to come and take her stand at thefoot of the bed, where the wounded man, who was lying on his back, could see her without turning. 

Cap came as she was commanded and stood there with some irrepressibleand incomprehensible mischief gleaming out from under her longeye-lashes and from the corners of her dimpled lips. 

The magistrate then administered the oath to Craven Le Noir, and badehim look upon Capitola and give his evidence. 

He did so, and under the terrors of a guilty conscience and of expecteddeath, his evidence partook more of the nature of a confession than anaccusation. He testified that he had addressed Capitola, and had beenrejected by her; then, under the influence of evil motives, he hadcirculated insinuations against her honor, which were utterlyunjustifiable by fact; she, seeming to have heard of them, took thestrange course of challenging him--just as if she had been a man. Hecould not, of course, meet a lady in a duel, but he had taken advantageof the technical phraseology of the challenged party, as to time, placeand weapons, to offer her a deep insult; then she had waylaid him onthe highway, offered him his choice of a pair of revolvers, and toldhim that, having met, they should not part until one or the other fellfrom the horse; he had again laughingly refused the encounter exceptupon the insulting terms he had before proposed. She had then thrownhim one of the pistols, bidding him defend himself. He had laughinglypassed her when she called him by name, he had turned and shefired--six times in succession, and he fell. He knew no more until hewas brought to his present room. He said in conclusion he did not wishthat the girl should be prosecuted, as she had only avenged her ownhonor; and that he hoped his death would be taken by her and herfriends as a sufficient expiation of his offenses against her; and, lastly he requested that he might be left alone with the minister. 

"Bring that unhappy young woman over to my office, Ketchum, " said themagistrate, addressing himself to a constable. Then turning to thelandlord, he said:

"Sir, it would be a charity in you to put a messenger on horseback andsend him to Hurricane Hall for Major Warfield, who will have to enterinto a recognizance for Miss Black's appearance at court. "

"Stop, " said Cap, "don't be too certain of that! 'Be always sure you'reright--then go ahead!' Is not any one here cool enough to reflect thatif I had fired six bullets at that man's forehead and every one hadstruck, I should have blown his head to the sky? Will not somebody atonce wash his face and see how deep the wounds are?"

The doctor who had been restrained by others now took a sponge andwater and cleaned the face of Le Noir, which was found to be wellpeppered with split peas!

Cap looked around, and seeing the astonished looks of the good people, bust into an irrepressible fit of laughter, saying, as soon as she hadgot breath enough:

"Upon my word, neighbors, you look more shocked, if not actually moredisappointed, to find that, after all he is not killed, and there'll beno spectacle, than you did at first when you thought murder had beendone. "

"Will you be good enough to explain this, young woman?" said themagistrate, severely. 

"Certainly, for your worship seems as much disappointed as others!"said Cap. Then turning toward the group around the bed, she said:

"You have heard Mr. Le Noir's 'last dying speech and confession, ' as hesupposed it to be; and you know the maddening provocations thatinflamed my temper against him. Last night, after having received hisinsulting answer to my challenge, there was evil in my heart, I doassure you! I possessed myself of my uncle's revolvers and resolved towaylay him this morning and force him to give me satisfaction, or if herefused--well, no matter! I tell you, there was danger in me! But, before retiring to bed at night, it is my habit to say my prayers; nowthe practice of prayer and the purpose of 'red-handed violence' cannotexist in the same person at the same time! I wouldn't sleep withoutpraying, and I couldn't pray without giving up my thoughts of fatalvengeance upon Craven Le Noir. So at last I made up my mind to sparehis life, and teach him a lesson. The next morning I drew the chargesof the revolvers and reloaded them with poor powder and dried peas!Everything else has happened just as he has told you! He has receivedno harm, except in being terribly frightened, and in having his beautyspoiled! And as for that, didn't I offer him one of the pistols, andexpose my own face to similar damage? For I'd scorn to take advantageof any one!" said Cap, laughing. 

Craven Le Noir had now raised himself up in a sitting posture, and waslooking around with an expression of countenance which was a strangeblending of relief at this unexpected respite from the grave, andintense mortification at finding himself in the ridiculous positionwhich the address of Capitola and his own weak nerves, cowardice andcredulity had placed him. 

Cap went up to him and said, in a consoling voice:

"Come, thank heaven that you are not going to die this bout! I'm gladyou repented and told the truth; and I hope you may live long enough tooffer heaven a truer repentance than that which is the mere effect offright! For I tell you plainly that if it had not been for the grace ofthe Lord, acting upon my heart last night, your soul might have been inHades now!"

Craven Le Noir shut his eyes, groaned and fell back overpowered by thereflection. 

"Now, please your worship, may I go home?" asked Cap, demurely, poppingdown a mock courtesy to the magistrate. 

"Yes--go! go! go! go! go!" said that officer, with an expression asthough he considered our Cap an individual of the animal kingdom whomneither Buffon nor any other natural philosopher had ever classified, and who, as a creature of unknown habits, might sometimes be dangerous. 

Cap immediately availed herself of the permission, and went out to lookfor her servant and horses. 

But Jem, the first moment he had found himself unwatched, had put outas fast as he could fly to Hurricane Hall, to inform Major Warfield ofwhat had occurred. 

And Capitola, after losing a great deal of time in looking for him, mounted her horse and was just about to start, when who should ride upin hot haste but Old Hurricane, attended by Wool. 

"Stop there!" he shouted, as he saw Cap. 

She obeyed, and he sprang from his horse with the agility of youth, andhelped her to descend from hers. 

Then drawing her arm within his own, he led her into the parlor, and, putting an unusual restraint upon himself, he ordered her to tell himall about the affair. 

Cap sat down and gave him the whole history from beginning to end. 

Old Hurricane could not sit still to hear. He strode up and down theroom, striking his stick upon the floor, and uttering inarticulatesounds of rage and defiance. 

When Cap had finished her story he suddenly stopped before her, broughtdown the point of his stick with a resounding thump upon the floor andexclaimed:

"Demmy, you New York newsboy! Will you never be a woman? Why the demondidn't you tell me, sirrah? I would have called the fellow out andchastised him to your heart's content! Hang it, miss, answer me andsay!"

"Because you are on the invalid list and I am in sound condition andcapable of taking my own part!" said Cap. 

"Then, answer me this, while you were taking your own part, why thefoul fiend didn't you pepper him with something sharper than driedpeas?"

"I think he is quite as severely punished in suffering from extremeterror and intense mortification and public ridicule, " said Cap. 

"And now, uncle, I have not eaten a single blessed mouthful thismorning, and I am hungry enough to eat up Gyp, or to satisfy Patty. "

Old Hurricane, permitting his excitement to subside in a few expiringgrunts, rang the bell and gave orders for breakfast to be served. 

And after that meal was over he set out with his niece for HurricaneHall. 

And upon arriving at home he addressed a letter to Mr. Le Noir, to theeffect that as soon as the latter should have recovered from the effectof his fright and mortification, he, Major Warfield, should demand andexpect satisfaction. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

BLACK DONALD'S LAST ATTEMPT. 

 Who can express the horror of that night, When darkness lent his robes to monster fear? And heaven's black mantle, banishing the light, Made everything in fearful form appear. 

 --BRANDON. 

Let it not be supposed that Black Donald had forgotten his promise toColonel Le Noir, or was indifferent to its performance. 

But many perilous failures had taught him caution. 

He had watched and waylaid Capitola in her rides. But the girl seemedto bear a charmed safety; for never once had he caught sight of herexcept in company with her groom and with Craven Le Noir. And very soonby eavesdropping on these occasions, he learned the secret design ofthe son to forestall the father, and run off with the heiress. 

And as Black Donald did not foresee what success Craven Le Noir mighthave with Capitola, he felt the more urgent necessity for prompt actionon his own part. 

He might, indeed, have brought his men and attacked and overcomeCapitola's attendants, in open day; but the enterprise must needs havebeen attended with great bloodshed and loss of life, which would havemade a sensation in the neighborhood that Black Donald, in the presentstate of his fortunes, was by no means ambitious of daring. 

In a word, had such an act of unparalleled violence been attempted, thebetter it succeeded the greater would have been the indignation of thepeople, and the whole country would probably have risen and armedthemselves and hunted the outlaws, as so many wild beasts, with horsesand hounds. 

Therefore, Black Donald preferred quietly to abduct his victim, so asto leave no trace of her "taking off, " but to allow it to be supposedthat she had eloped. 

He resolved to undertake this adventure alone, though to himselfpersonally this plan was even more dangerous than the other. 

He determined to gain access to her chamber, secrete himself anywherein the room (except under the bed, where his instincts informed himthat Capitola every night looked), and when the household should beburied in repose, steal out upon her, overpower, gag and carry her off, in the silence of the night, leaving no trace of his own presencebehind. 

By means of one of his men, who went about unsuspected among thenegroes, buying up mats and baskets, that the latter were in the habitof making for sale, he learned that Capitola occupied the same remotechamber, in the oldest part of the house; but that a guest slept in theroom next, and another in the one opposite hers. And that the house wasbesides full of visitors from the city, who had come down to spend thesporting season, and that they were hunting all day and carousing allnight from one week's end to another. 

On hearing this, Black Donald quickly comprehended that it was no timeto attempt the abduction of the maiden, with the least probability ofsuccess. All would be risked and most probably lost in the endeavor. 

He resolved, therefore, to wait until the house should be clear ofcompany, and the household fallen into their accustomed carelessnessand monotony. 

He had to wait much longer than he had reckoned upon--through Octoberand through November, when he first heard of and laughed over Cap's"duel" with Craven Le Noir, and congratulated himself upon the factthat that rival was no longer to be feared. He had also to wait throughtwo-thirds of the month of December, because a party had come down toenjoy a short season of fox-hunting. They went away just beforeChristmas. 

And then at last came Black Donald's opportunity! And a fineopportunity it was! Had Satan himself engaged to furnish him with oneto order, it could not have been better!

The reader must know that throughout Virginia the Christmas week, fromthe day after Christmas until the day after New-year, is the negroes'saturnalia! There are usually eight days of incessant dancing, feastingand frolicking from quarter to quarter, and from barn to barn. Then thebanjo, the fiddle and the "bones" are heard from morning until night, and from night until morning. 

And nowhere was this annual octave of festivity held more sacred thanat Hurricane Hall. It was the will of Major Warfield that they shouldhave their full satisfaction out of their seven days' carnival. Heusually gave a dinner party on Christmas day, after which his peoplewere free until the third of January. 

"Demmy, mum!" he would say to Mrs. Condiment, "they wait on usfifty-one weeks in the year, and it's hard if we can't wait onourselves the fifty-second!"

Small thanks to Old Hurricane for his self-denial! He did nothing forhimself or others, and Mrs. Condiment and Capitola had a hot time of itin serving him. Mrs. Condiment had to do all the cooking and housework. And Cap had to perform most of the duties of Major Warfield's valet. And that was the way in which Old Hurricane waited on himself. 

It happened, therefore, that about the middle of the Christmas week, being Wednesday, the twenty-eighth of December, all the house-servantsand farm laborers from Hurricane. Hall went off in a body to a banjobreak-down given at a farm five miles across the country. 

And Major Warfield, Mrs. Condiment and Capitola were the only livingbeings left in the old house that night. 

Black Donald, who had been prowling about the premises evening afterevening, watching his opportunity to effect his nefarious object, soondiscovered the outward bound stampede of the negroes, and theunprotected state in which the old house, for that night only, would beleft. And he determined to take advantage of the circumstance toconsummate his wicked purpose. 

In its then defenceless condition he could easily have mustered hisforce and carried off his prize without immediate personal risk. But, as we said before, he eschewed violence, as being likely to provokeafter effects of a too fatal character. 

He resolved rather at once to risk his own personal safety in thequieter plan of abduction which he had formed. 

He determined that as soon as it should be dark he would watch hisopportunity to enter the house, steal to Cap's chamber, secrete himselfin a closet, and when all should be quiet, "in the dead waste andmiddle of the night, " he would come out, master her, stop her mouth andcarry her off. 

When it became quite dark he approached the house, and hid himselfunder the steps beneath the back door leading from the hall into thegarden, to watch his opportunity of entering. He soon found that hisenterprise required great patience as well as courage. He had to waitmore than two hours before he heard the door unlocked and opened. 

He then peered out from his hiding-place and saw old Hurricane takinghis way out towards the garden. 

Now was his time to slip unperceived into the house. He stealthily cameout from his hiding-place, crept up the portico stairs to the backdoor, noiselessly turned the latch, entered and closed it behind him. He had just time to open a side door on his right hand and concealhimself in a wood closet under the stairs, when he heard the footstepsof Old Hurricane returning. 

The old man came in and Black Donald laughed to himself to hear withwhat caution he locked, bolted and barred the doors to keep outhouse-breakers!

"Ah, old fellow, you are fastening the stable after the horse has beenstolen!" said Black Donald to himself. 

As soon as old Hurricane had passed by the closet in which the outlawwas concealed, and had gone into the parlor, Black Donald determined torisk the ascent into Capitola's chamber. From the description given byhis men, who had once succeeded in finding their way thither, he knewvery well where to go. 

Noiselessly, therefore, he left his place of concealment and crept outto reconnoitre the hall, which he found deserted. 

Old Hurricane's shawl, hat and walking stick were deposited in onecorner. In case of being met on the way, he put the hat on his head, wrapped the shawl around his shoulders, and took the stick in his hand. 

His forethought proved to be serviceable. He went through the hall andup the first flight of stairs without interruption; but on going alongthe hall of the second story he met Mrs. Condiment coming out of OldHurricane's room. 

"Your slippers are on the hearth, your gown is at the fire and thekettle is boiling to make your punch, Major Warfield, " said the oldlady in passing. 

"Umph! umph! umph!" grunted Black Donald in reply. 

The housekeeper then bade him good-night, saying that she was going atonce to her room. 

"Umph!" assented Black Donald. And so they parted and this peril waspassed. 

Black Donald went up the second flight of stairs and then down a backpassage and a narrow staircase and along a corridor and through severaluntenanted rooms, and into another passage, and finally through a sidedoor leading into Capitola's chamber. 

Here he looked around for a safe hiding-place--there was a highbedstead curtained; two deep windows also curtained; two closets, adressing bureau, workstand, washstand and two arm chairs. Theforethought of little Pitapat had caused her to kindle a fire on thehearth and place a waiter of refreshments on the workstand, so as tomake all comfortable before she had left with the other negroes to goto the banjo breakdown. 

Among the edibles Pitapat had been careful to leave a small bottle ofbrandy, a pitcher of cream, a few eggs and some spice, saying toherself, "Long as it was Christmas time Miss Caterpillar might want asup of egg nog quiet to herself, jes' as much as old marse did hiswhiskey punch"--and never fancying that her young mistress wouldrequire a more delicate lunch than her old master. 

Black Donald laughed as he saw this outlay, and remarking that theyoung occupant of the chamber must have an appetite of her own, he putthe neck of the brandy bottle to his lips and took what he called "aheavy swig. "

Then vowing that old Hurricane knew what good liquor was, he replacedthe bottle and looked around to find the best place for his concealment. 

He soon determined to hide himself behind the thick folds of the windowcurtain, nearest the door, so that immediately after the entrance ofCapitola he could glide to the door, lock it, withdraw the key and havethe girl at once in his power. 

He took a second "swig" at the brandy bottle and then went into hisplace of concealment to wait events. 

That same hour Capitola was her uncle's partner in a prolonged game ofchess. It was near eleven o'clock before Cap, heartily tired of thebattle, permitted herself to be beaten in order to get to bed. 

With a satisfied chuckle, Old Hurricane arose from his seat, lightedtwo bed-chamber lamps, gave one to Capitola, took the other himself, and started off for his room, followed by Cap as far as the head of thefirst flight of stairs, where she bade him good night. 

She waited until she saw him enter his room, heard him lock his door onthe inside and throw himself down heavily into his arm chair, and thenshe went on her own way. 

She hurried up the second flight of stairs and along the narrowpassages, empty rooms, and steep steps and dreary halls, until shereached the door of her own dormitory. 

She turned the latch and entered the room. 

The first thing that met her sight was the waiter of provisions uponthe stand. And at this fresh instance of her little maid's forethought, she burst into a uncontrollable fit of laughter. 

She did not see a dark figure glide from behind the window curtains, steal to the door, turn the lock and withdraw the key!

But still retaining her prejudice against the presence of food in herbed-chamber, she lifted up the waiter in both hands to cany it out intothe passage, turned and stood face to face with--Black Donald!

CHAPTER XIX. 

THE AWFUL PERIL OF CAPITOLA. 

 Out of this nettle, danger, I'll pluck the flower, safety!

 --SHAKESPEARE. 

Capitola's blood seemed turned to ice, and her form to stone by thesight! Her first impulse was to scream and let fall the waiter! Shecontrolled herself and repressed the scream though she was very neardropping the waiter. 

Black Donald looked at her and laughed aloud at her consternation, saying with a chuckle:

"You did not expect to see me here to-night, did you now, my dear?"

She gazed at him in a silent panic for a moment. 

Then her faculties, that had been suddenly dispersed by the shock, assuddenly rallied to her rescue. 

In one moment she understood her real position. 

Black Donald had locked her in with himself and held the key--so shecould not hope to get out. 

The loudest scream that she might utter would never reach the distantchamber of Major Warfield, or the still more remote apartment of Mrs. Condiment; so she could not hope to bring any one to her assistance. 

She was, therefore, entirely in the power of Black Donald. She fullycomprehended this, and said to herself:

"Now, my dear Cap, if you don't look sharp your hour is come! Nothingon earth will save you, Cap, but your own wits! For if ever I sawmischief in any one's face, it is in that fellow's that is eating youup with his great eyes at the same time that he is laughing at you withhis big mouth! Now, Cap, my little man, be a woman! Don't you stick attrifles! Think of Jael and Sisera! Think of Judith and Holofernes! Andthe devil and Doctor Faust, if necessary, and don't you blanch! Allstratagems are fair in love and war--especially in war, and mostespecially in such a war as this is likely to be--a contest in closequarters for dear life!"

All this passed through her mind in one moment, and in the next herplan was formed. 

Setting her waiter down upon the table and throwing herself into one ofthe armchairs, she said:

"Well, upon my word! I think a gentleman might let a lady know when hemeans to pay her a domiciliary visit at midnight!"

"Upon my word, I think you are very cool!" replied Black Donald, throwing himself into the second armchair on the other side of thestand of refreshments. 

"People are likely to be cool on a December night, with the thermometerat zero, and the ground three feet under the snow, " said Cap, nothingdaunted. 

"Capitola, I admire you! You are a cucumber! That's what you are, acucumber!"

"A pickled one?" asked Cap. 

"Yes, and as pickled cucumbers are good to give one an appetite, Ithink I shall fall to and eat. "

"Do so, " said Cap, "for heaven forbid that I should fail inhospitality!"

"Why, really, this looks as though you had expected a visitor--doesn'tit?" asked Black Donald, helping himself to a huge slice of ham, andstretching his feet out toward the fire. 

"Well, yes, rather; though, to say the truth, it was not your reverenceI expected, " said Cap. 

"Ah! somebody else's reverence, eh? Well, let them come! I'll be readyfor them!" said the outlaw, pouring out and quaffing a large glass ofbrandy. He drank it, set down the glass, and turning to our littleheroine, inquired:

"Capitola did you ever have Craven Le Noir here to supper with you?"

"You insult me! I scorn to reply!" said Cap. 

"Whe--ew! What long whiskers our Grimalkin's got! You scorn to reply!Then you really are not afraid of me?" asked the robber, rolling agreat piece of cheese in his mouth. 

"Afraid of you? No, I guess not!" replied Cap, with a toss of her head. 

"Yet, I might do you some harm. "

"But, you won't!"

"Why won't I?"

"Because it won't pay!"

"Why wouldn't it?"

"Because you couldn't do me any harm, unless you were to kill me, andyou would gain nothing by my death, except a few trinkets that you mayhave without. "

"Then, you are really not afraid of me?" he asked, taking another deepdraught of brandy. 

"Not a bit of it--I rather like you!"

"Come, now, you're running a rig upon a fellow, " said the outlaw, winking and depositing a huge chunk of bread in his capacious jaws. 

"No, indeed! I liked you, long before I ever saw you! I always did likepeople that make other people's hair stand on end! Don't you rememberwhen you first came here disguised as a peddler, though I did not knowwho you were, when we were talking of Black Donald, and everybody wasabusing him, except myself? I took his part and said that for my part Iliked Black Donald and wanted to see him. "

"Sure enough, my jewel, so you did! And didn't I bravely risk my lifeby throwing off my disguise to gratify your laudable wish?"

"So you did, my hero!"

"Ah, but well as you liked me, the moment you thought me in your powerdidn't you leap upon my shoulders like a catamount and cling there, shouting to all the world to come and help you, for you had caughtBlack Donald and would die before you would give him up? Ah! you littlevampire, how you thirsted for my blood! And you pretended to like me!"said Black Donald, eying her from head to foot, with a sly leer. 

Cap returned the look with interest. Dropping her head on one side, sheglanced upward from the corner of her eye, with an expression of"infinite" mischief and roguery, saying:

"Lor, didn't you know why I did that?"

"Because you wanted me captured, I suppose. "

"No, indeed, but, because--"

"Well, what?"

"Because I wanted you to carry me off!"

"Well, I declare! I never thought of that!" said the outlaw, droppinghis bread and cheese, and staring at the young girl. 

"Well, you might have thought of it then! I was tired of hum-drum life, and I wanted to see adventures!" said Cap. 

Black Donald looked at the mad girl from head to foot and then said, coolly:

"Miss Black, I am afraid you are not good. "

"Yes I am--before folks!" said Cap. 

"And so you really wished me to carry you off?"

"I should think so! Didn't I stick to you until you dropped me?"

"Certainly! And now if you really like me as well as you say you do, come give me a kiss. "

"I won't!" said Cap, "until you have done your supper and washed yourface! Your beard is full of crumbs!"

"Very well, I can wait awhile! Meantime just brew me a bowl of egg-nog, by way of a night-cap, will you?" said the outlaw, drawing off hisboots and stretching his feet to the fire. 

"Agreed, but it takes two to make egg-nog; you'll have to whisk up thewhites of the eggs into a froth, while I beat the yellows, and mix theother ingredients, " said Cap. 

"Just so, " assented the outlaw, standing up and taking off his coat andflinging it upon the floor. 

Cap shuddered, but went on calmly with her preparations. There were twolittle white bowls setting one within the other upon the table. Captook them apart and set them side by side and began to break the eggs, letting the whites slip into one bowl and dropping the yellows into theother. 

Black Donald sat down in his shirt sleeves, took one of the bowls fromCapitola and began to whisk up the whites with all his might and main. 

Capitola beat up the yellows, gradually mixing the sugar with it. Inthe course of her work she complained that the heat of the firescorched her face, and she drew her chair farther to-wards the cornerof the chimney, and pulled the stand after her. 

"Oh, you are trying to get away from me, " said Black Donald, hitchinghis own chair in the same direction, close to the stand, so that he satimmediately in front of the fireplace. 

Cap smiled and went on beating her eggs and sugar together. Then shestirred in the brandy and poured in the milk and took the bowl fromBlack Donald and laid on the foam. Finally, she filled a goblet withthe rich compound and handed it to her uncanny guest. 

Black Donald untied his neck cloth, threw it upon the floor and sippedhis egg-nog, all the while looking over the top of the glass atCapitola. 

"Miss Black, " he said, "it must be past twelve o'clock. "

"I suppose it is, " said Cap. 

"Then it must be long past your usual hour of retiring. "

"Of course it is, " said Cap. 

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"For my company to go home, " replied Cap. 

"Meaning me?"

"Meaning you. "

"Oh, don't mind me, my dear. "

"Very well, " said Cap, "I shall not trouble myself about you, " and hertones were steady, though her heart seemed turned into a ball of ice, through terror. 

Black Donald went on slowly sipping his egg-nog, filling up his gobletwhen it was empty, and looking at Capitola over the top of his glass. At last he said:

"I have been watching you, Miss Black. "

"Little need to tell me that, " said Cap. 

"And I have been reading you. "

"Well, I hope the page was entertaining. "

"Well, yes, my dear, it was, rather so. But why don't you proceed?"

"Proceed--with what?"

"With what you are thinking of, my darling. "

"I don't understand you!"

"Why don't you offer to go down-stairs and bring up some lemons?"

"Oh, I'll go in a moment, " said Cap, "if you wish. "

"Ha--ha--ha--ha--ha! Of course you will, my darling! And you'd deliverme into the hands of the Philistines, just as you did my poor men whenyou fooled them about the victuals! I know your tricks and all youracting has no other effect on me than to make me admire your wonderfulcoolness and courage; so, my dear, stop puzzling your little head withschemes to baffle me! You are like the caged starling! Youcan't--get--out!" chuckled Black Donald, hitching his chair nearer tohers. He was now right upon the center of the rug. 

Capitola turned very pale, but not with fear, though Black Donaldthought she did, and roared with laughter. 

"Have you done your supper?" she asked, with a sort of awful calmness. 

"Yes my duck, " replied the outlaw, pouring the last of the egg-nog intohis goblet, drinking it at a draught and chuckling as he set down theglass. 

Capitola then lifted the stand with the refreshments to remove it toits usual place. 

"What are you going to do, my dear?" asked Black Donald. 

"Clear away the things and set the room in order, " said Capitola, inthe same awfully calm tone. 

"A nice little housewife you'll make, my duck!" said Black Donald. 

Capitola set the stand in its corner and then removed her own armchairto its place before the dressing bureau. 

Nothing now remained upon the rug except Black Donald seated in thearmchair!

Capitola paused; her blood seemed freezing in her veins; her heart beatthickly; her throat was choked; her head full nearly to bursting, andher eyes were veiled by a blinding film. 

"Come--come--my duck--make haste; it is late; haven't you done settingthe room in order yet?" said Black Donald, impatiently. 

"In one moment, " said Capitola, coming behind his chair and leaningupon the back of it. 

"Donald, " she said, with dreadful calmness, "I will not now call youBlack Donald! I will call you as your poor mother did, when your youngsoul was as white as your skin, before she ever dreamed her boy wouldgrow black with crime! I will call you simply Donald, and entreat youto hear me for a few minutes. "

"Talk on, then, but talk fast, and leave my mother alone! Let the deadrest!" exclaimed the outlaw, with a violent convulsion of his beardedchin and lip that did not escape the notice of Capitola, who hoped somegood of this betrayal of feeling. 

"Donald, " she said, "men call you a man of blood; they say that yourhand is red and your soul black with crime!"

"They may say what they like--I care not!" laughed the outlaw. 

"But I do not believe all this of you! I believe that there is good inall, and much good in you; that there is hope for all, and strong hopefor you!"

"Bosh! Stop talking poetry! 'Tain't in my line, nor yours either!"laughed Black Donald. 

"But truth is in all our lines. Donald, I repeat it, men call you a manof blood! They say that your hands are red and your soul black withsin. Black Donald, they call you! But, Donald, you have never yetstained your soul with a crime as black as that which you think ofperpetrating to-night!"

"It must be one o'clock, and I'm tired, " replied the outlaw, with ayawn. 

"All your former acts, " continued Capitola, in the same voice of awfulcalmness, "have been those of a bold, bad man. This act would be thatof a base one!"

"Take care, girl--no bad names! You are in my power--at my mercy!"

"I know my position, but I must continue. Hitherto you have robbed mailcoaches and broken into rich men's houses. In doing thus you havealways boldly risked your life, often at such fearful odds that menhave trembled at their firesides to hear of it. And even women, whiledeploring your crimes, have admired your courage. "

"I thank 'em kindly for it! Women always like men with a spice of thedevil in them!" laughed the outlaw. 

"No, they do not!" said Capitola, gravely. "They like men of strength, courage and spirit--but those qualities do not come from the Evil One, but from the Lord, who is the giver of all good. Your Creator, Donald, gave you the strength, courage and spirit that all men and women somuch admire; but He did not give you these great powers that you mightuse them in the service of his enemy, the devil!"

"I declare there is really something in that! I never thought of thatbefore. "

"Nor ever thought, perhaps, that however misguided you may have been, there is really something great and good in yourself that might yet beused for the good of man and the glory of God!" said Capitola, solemnly. 

"Ha, ha, ha! Oh, you flatterer! Come, have you done? I tell you it isafter one o'clock, and I am tired to death!"

"Donald, in all your former acts of lawlessness your antagonists werestrong men; and as you boldly risked your life in your depredations, your acts, though bad, were not base! But now your antagonist is afeeble girl, who has been unfortunate from her very birth; to destroyher would be an act of baseness to which you never yet descended. "

"Bosh! Who talks of destruction? I am tired of all this nonsense! Imean to carry you off and there's an end of it!" said the outlaw, doggedly, rising from his seat. 

"Stop!" said Capitola, turning ashen pale. "Stop--sit down and hear mefor just five minutes--I will not tax your patience longer. "

The robber, with a loud laugh, sank again into his chair, saying:

"Very well, talk on for just five minutes, and not a single secondlonger; but if you think in that time to persuade me to leave this roomto-night without you, you are widely out of your reckoning, my duck, that's all. "

"Donald, do not sink your soul to perdition by a crime that heavencannot pardon! Listen to me! I have jewels here worth several thousanddollars! If you will consent to go I will give them all to you and letyou quietly out of the front door and never say one word to mortal ofwhat has passed here to-night. "

"Ha, ha, ha! Why, my dear, how green you must think me! What hinders mefrom possessing myself of your jewels, as well as of yourself!" saidBlack Donald, impatiently rising. 

"Sit still! The five minutes' grace are not half out yet, " saidCapitola, in a breathless voice. 

"So they are not! I will keep my promise, " replied Black Donald, laughing, and again dropping into his seat. 

"Donald, Uncle pays me a quarterly sum for pocket money, which is atleast five times as much as I can spend in this quiet country place. Ithas been accumulating for years until now. I have several thousanddollars all of my own. You shall have it if you will only go quietlyaway and leave me in peace!" prayed Capitola. 

"My dear, I intend to take that anyhow--take it as your bridal dower, you know! For I'm going to carry you off and make an honest wife ofyou!"

"Donald, give up this heinous purpose!" cried Capitola, in an agony ofsupplication, as she leaned over the back of the outlaw's chair. 

"Yes, you know I will--ha--ha--ha!" laughed the robber. 

"Man, for your own sake give it up!"

"Ha, ha, ha! for my sake!"

"Yes, for yours! Black Donald, have you ever reflected on death?" askedCapitola, in a low and terrible voice. 

"I have risked it often enough; but as to reflecting upon it--it willbe time enough to do that when it comes! I am a powerful man, in theprime and pride of life, " said the athlete, stretching himselfexultingly. 

"Yet it might come--death might come with sudden overwhelming power, and hurl you to destruction! What a terrible thing for this magnificentframe of yours, this glorious handiwork of the Creator, to be hurled toswift destruction, and for the soul that animates it to be cast intohell!"

"Bosh again! That is a subject for the pulpit, not for a pretty girl'sroom. If you really think me such a handsome man, why don't you go withme at once and say no more about it, " roared the outlaw laughing. 

"Black Donald--will you leave my room?" cried Capitola, in an agony ofprayer. 

"No!" answered the outlaw, mocking her tone. 

"Is there no inducement that I can hold out to you to leave me?"

"None!"

Capitola raised herself from her leaning posture, took a step backward, so that she stood entirely free from the trap-door, then slipping herfoot under the rug, she placed it lightly on the spring-bolt, which shewas careful not to press; the ample fall of her dress concealed theposition of her foot. 

Capitola was now paler than a corpse, for hers was the pallor of aliving horror! Her heart beat violently, her head throbbed, her voicewas broken as she said:

"Man, I will give you one more chance! Oh, man, pity yourself as I pityyou, and consent to leave me!"

"Ha, ha, ha! It is quite likely that I will! Isn't it, now? No, myduck, I haven't watched and planned for this chance for this long timepast to give it up, now that you are in my power! A likely storyindeed! And now the five minutes' grace are quite up!"

"Stop! Don't move yet! Before you stir, say: 'Lord, have mercy on me!"said Capitola, solemnly. 

"Ha, ha, ha! That's a pretty idea! Why should I say that?"

"Say it to please me! Only say it, Black Donald!"

"But why to please you?"

"Because I wish not to kill both your body and soul--because I wouldnot send you prayerless into the presence of your Creator! For, BlackDonald, within a few seconds your body will be hurled to swiftdestruction, and your soul will stand before the bar of God!" saidCapitola, with her foot upon the spring of the concealed trap. 

She had scarcely ceased speaking before he bounded to his feet, whirledaround and confronted her, like a lion at bay, roaring forth:

"You have a revolver there, girl--move a finger and I shall throwmyself upon you like an avalanche?"

"I have no revolver--watch my hands as I take them forth, and see!"said Capitola, stretching her arms out toward him. 

"What do you mean, then, by your talk of sudden destruction?" inquiredBlack Donald, in a voice of thunder. 

"I mean that it hangs over you--that it is imminent! That it is not tobe escaped! Oh, man, call on God, for you have not a minute to live!"

The outlaw gazed on her in astonishment. 

Well he might, for there she stood paler than marble--sterner thanfate--with no look of human feeling about her, but the gleaming lightof her terrible eyes, and the beading sweat upon her death-like brow. 

For an instant the outlaw gazed on her in consternation, and then, recovering himself he burst into a loud laugh, exclaiming:

"Ha, ha, ha! Well, I suppose this is what people would call a piece ofsplendid acting! Do you expect to frighten me, my dear, as you didCraven Le Noir, with the peas!"

"Say 'Lord have mercy on my soul'--say it. Black Donald--say it. Ibeseech you!" she prayed. 

"Ha, ha, ha, my dear! You may say it for me! And to reward you, I willgive you, such a kiss! It will put life into those marble cheeks ofyours!" he laughed. 

"I will say it for you! May the Lord pity and save Black Donald's soul, if that be yet possible, for the Saviour's sake!" prayed Capitola, in abroken voice, with her foot upon the concealed and fatal spring. 

He laughed aloud, stretched forth his arms and rushed to clasp her. 

She pressed the spring. 

The drop fell with a tremendous crash!

The outlaw shot downwards--there was an instant's vision of a white andpanic-stricken face, and wild, uplifted hands as he disappeared, andthen a square, black opening, was all that remained where the terribleintruder had sat. 

No sight or sound came up from that horrible pit, to hint of thesecrets of the prison house. 

One shuddering glance at the awful void and then Capitola turned andthrew herself, face downward, upon the bed, not daring to rejoice inthe safety that had been purchased by such a dreadful deed, feelingthat it was an awful, though a complete victory!

CHAPTER XX. 

THE NEXT MORNING. 

 Oh, such a day! So fought, so followed and so fairly won Came not till now to dignify the times. Since Caesar's fortunes. 

 --SHAKESPEARE. 

Capitola lay upon the bed, with her face buried in the pillow, thegreater portion of the time from two o'clock until day. Anuncontrollable horror prevented her from turning lest she should seethe yawning mystery in the middle of the floor, or hear some awfulsound from its unknown depths. The very shadows on the walls thrown upwildly by the expiring firelight were objects of grotesque terror. Never--never--in her whole youth of strange vicissitude, had the nervesof this brave girl been so tremendously shaken and prostrated. 

It was late in the morning when at last nature succumbed, and she sankinto a deep sleep. She had not slept long when she was aroused from aprofound state of insensibility by a loud, impatient knocking at herdoor. 

She started up wildly and gazed around her. For a minute she could notremember what were the circumstances under which she had laid down, orwhat was that vague feeling of horror and alarm that possessed her. Then the yawning trapdoor, the remnants of the supper, and BlackDonald's coat, hat and boots upon the floor, drove in upon her reelingbrain the memory of the night of terror!

The knocking continued more loudly and impatiently, accompanied by thevoice of Mrs. Condiment, crying:

"Miss Capitola--Miss Capitola--why, what can be the matter with her?Miss Capitola!"

"Eh? What? Yes!" answered Capitola, pressing her hands to her feverishforehead, and putting back her dishevelled hair. 

"Why, how soundly you sleep, my dear! I've been calling and rappinghere for a quarter of an hour! Good gracious, child what made youoversleep yourself so?"

"I--did not get to bed till very late, " said Capitola, confusedly. 

"Well, well, my dear, make haste now, your uncle is none of thepatientest, and he has been waiting breakfast for some time! Come, openthe door and I will help you to dress, so that you may be ready sooner. "

Capitola rose from the side of the bed, where she had been sitting, andwent cautiously around that gaping trap door to her chamber door, whenshe missed the key, and suddenly remembered that it had been in BlackDonald's pocket when he fell. A shudder thrilled her frame at thethought of that horrible fall. 

"Well--well--Miss Capitola, why don't you open the door?" cried the oldlady, impatiently. 

"Mrs. Condiment, I have lost the key--dropped it down the trap-door. Please ask uncle to send for some one to take the lock off--and don'twait breakfast for me. "

"Well, I do think that was very careless, my dear; but I'll go atonce, " said the old lady, moving away. 

She had not been gone more than ten minutes, when Old Hurricane washeard, coming blustering along the hall and calling:

"What now, you imp of Satan? What mischief have you been at now?Opening the trap-door, you mischievous monkey! I wish from the bottomof my soul you had fallen into it, and I should have got rid of onetrial! Losing your key, you careless baggage! I've a great mind toleave you locked up there forever. "

Thus scolding, Old Hurricane reached the spot and began to plyscrew-drivers and chisels until at length the strong lock yielded, andhe opened the door. 

There a vision met his eyes that arrested his steps upon the verythreshold; the remains of a bacchanalian supper; a man's coat and hatand boots upon the floor; in the midst of the room the great, square, black opening; and beyond it standing upon the hearth, the form ofCapitola, with disordered dress, dishevelled hair and wild aspect!

"Oh, uncle, see what I have been obliged to do!" she exclaimed, extending both her arms down toward the opening with a look of blendedhorror and inspiration, such as might have sat upon the countenance ofsome sacrificial priestess of the olden time. 

"What--what--what!" cried the old man, nearly dumb with amazement. 

"Black Donald was in my room last night. He stole from his concealmentand locked the door on the inside and withdrew the key, thus locking mein with himself, and--" She ceased and struck both hands to her face, shuddering from head to foot. 

"Go on, girl!" thundered Old Hurricane, in an agony of anxiety. 

"I escaped harmless--oh, I did, sir--but at what a fearful price!"

"Explain! Explain!" cried Old Hurricane, in breathless agitation. 

"I drew him to sit upon the chair on the rug, and"--again she shudderedfrom head to foot, "and I sprang the trap and precipitated him to--oh, heaven of heavens!--where? I know not!"

"But you--you were unharmed?"

"Yes--yes!"

"Oh, Cap! Oh, my dear Cap! Thank heaven for that!"

"But, uncle, where--oh, where did he go?" inquired Capitola, almostwildly. 

"Who the demon cares? To perdition. I hope and trust, with all my heartand soul!" cried Old Hurricane, with emphasis, as he approached andlooked down the opening. 

"Uncle, what is below there?" asked Capitola anxiously, pointing downthe abyss. 

"An old cellar, as I have told you long ago, and Black Donald, as youhave just told me. Hilloe there! Are you killed, as you deserve to be, you atrocious villain?" roared Old Hurricane, stooping down into theopening. 

A feeble distant moan answered him. 

"Oh, heaven! He is living! He is living! I have not killed him!" criedCapitola, clasping her hands. 

"Why, I do believe you are glad of it!" exclaimed Old Hurricane, inastonishment. 

"Oh, yes, yes, yes! For it was a fearful thought that I had beencompelled to take a sacred life! to send an immortal soul unprepared toits account!"

"Well! his neck isn't broken, it appears, or he couldn't groan; but Ihope and trust every other bone in his body is! Mrs. Condiment, mum!I'll trouble you to put on your bonnet and walk to Ezy's and tell himto come here directly! I must send for the constable, " said OldHurricane, going to the door and speaking to his housekeeper, who, withan appalled countenance had been a silent spectator of all that hadpassed. 

As soon as the old woman had gone to do her errand he turned again, andstooping down the hole, exclaimed:

"I say, you scoundrel down there! What do you think of yourself now?Are you much hurt, you knave? Is everyone of your bones broken, as theydeserve to be, you villain? Answer me, you varlet!"

A low, deep moan was the only response. 

"If that means yes, I'm glad to hear it, you wretch. You'll go to thecamp-meeting with us again, won't you, you knave? You'll preach againstevil passions and profane swearing, looking right straight at me allthe time, until you bring the eyes of the whole congregation upon me asa sinner above all sinners, you scoundrel? You'll turn me out of my ownbed and away from my own board, won't you, you villain? Won't you, precious Father Grey? Oh, we'll Father Grey you! Demmy, the next time atrap-door falls under you, you rascal, there shall be a rope aroundyour neck to keep you from the ground, precious Father Grey!"

"Uncle! Uncle! that is cowardly!" exclaimed Capitola. 

"What is cowardly, Miss Impertinence?"

"To insult and abuse a fallen man who is in your power! The poor man isbadly hurt, may be dying, for aught you know, and you stand over himand berate him when he cannot even answer you!"

"Umph, umph, umph; Demmy, you're--umph, well, he is fallen, fallenpretty badly, eh? and if he should come round after this, the next fallhe gets will be likely to break his neck, eh?--I say, you gentlemanbelow there--Mr. Black Donald--precious Father Grey--you'll keep quiet, won't you, while we go and get our breakfast? do, now! Come, Cap, comedown and pour out my coffee, and by the time we get through, Old Ezywill be here. "

Capitola complied, and they left the room together. 

The overseer came in while they were at breakfast, and with his hairstanding on end, listened to the account of the capture of the outlawby our heroine. 

"And now saddle Fleetfoot and ride for your life to Tip-Top and bring apair of constables, " were the last orders of Old Hurricane. 

While Mr. Ezy was gone on his errand, Major Warfield, Capitola and Mrs. Condiment remained below stairs. 

It was several hours before the messenger returned with the constables, and with several neighbors whom interest and curiosity had instigatedto join the party. 

As soon as they arrived, a long ladder was procured and carried up intoCapitola's chamber, and let down through the trap-door. Fortunately itwas long enough, for when the foot of the ladder found the floor of thecellar, the head rested securely against the edge of the opening. 

In a moment the two constables began singly to descend, the foremostone carrying a lighted candle in his hand. 

The remaining members of the party, consisting of Major Warfield, Capitola, Mrs. Condiment, and some half dozen neighbors, remainedgathered around the open trap-door, waiting, watching, and listeningfor what might next happen. 

Presently one of the constables called out:

"Major Warfield, sir!"

"Well!" replied Old Hurricane. 

"He's a-breathing still, sir; but seems badly hurt, and may be a-dying, seeing as he's unsensible and unspeakable. What shall we do long ofhim?"

"Bring him up! let's have a look at the fellow, at any rate!" exclaimedOld Hurricane, peremptorily. 

"Just so, sir! but some of the gem-men up there'll have to come down onthe ladder and give a lift. He's a dead weight now, I tell your honor!"

Several of the neighbors immediately volunteered for the service, andtwo of the strongest descended the ladder to lend their aid. 

On attempting to move the injured man he uttered a cry of pain, andfainted, and then it took the united strength and skill of four strongmen to raise the huge insensible form of the athlete, and get him upthe ladder. No doubt the motion greatly inflamed his inward wounds, butthat could not be helped. They got him up at last, and laid out uponthe floor a ghastly, bleeding, insensible form, around which every onegathered to gaze. While they were all looking upon him as upon aslaughtered wild beast, Capitola alone felt compassion. 

"Uncle, he is quite crushed by his fall. Make the men lay him upon thebed. Never think of me; I shall never occupy this room again; itsassociations are too full of horrors. There, uncle, make them at oncelay him upon the bed. "

"I think the young lady is right, unless we mean to let the fellowdie, " said one of the neighbors. 

"Very well! I have particular reasons of my own for wishing that theman's life should be spared until he could be brought to trial andinduced to give up his accomplices, " said Old Hurricane. Then, turningto his ward, he said:

"Come along, Capitola. Mrs. Condiment will see that your effects aretransferred to another apartment. "

"And you, friends, " he continued, addressing the men present, "be sogood, so soon as we have gone, to undress that fellow and put him tobed, and examine his injuries while I send off for a physician; for Iconsider it very important his life should be spared sufficiently longto enable him to give up his accomplices. " And so saying, Old Hurricanedrew the arm of Capitola within his own and left the room. 

It was noon before the physician arrived. When he had examined thepatient he pronounced him utterly unfit to be removed, as besides otherserious contusions and bruises, his legs were broken and several of hisribs fractured. 

In a word. It was several weeks before the strong constitution of theoutlaw prevailed over his many injuries, and he was pronounced wellenough to be taken before a magistrate and committed to prison to awaithis trial. Alas! his life, it was said, was forfeit by a hundredcrimes, and there could be no doubt as to his fate. He maintained aself-possessed good-humored and laughingly defiant manner, and whenasked to give up his accomplices, he answered gaily:

That treachery was a legal virtue which outlaws could not be expectedto know anything about. 

Capitola was everywhere lauded for her brave part in the capture of thefamous desperado. But Cap was too sincerely sorry for Black Donald tocare for the applause. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

A FATAL HATRED. 

 "Oh, heaven and all its hosts, he shall not die!"

 "By Satan and his fiends, he shall not live! This is no transient flash of fugitive passion, His death has been my life for years of misery, Which, else I had not lived, Upon that thought, and not on food, I fed, Upon that thought, and not on sleep, I rested, I came to do the deed that must be done, Nor thou, nor the sheltering angels could prevent me. "

 --MATURIN. 

The United States army, under General Scott, invested the city ofMexico. 

A succession of splendid victories had marked every stage of theiradvance, from the seacoast to the capital. Vera Cruz had fallen;Cerro-Gordo had been stormed and passed: Xalapa taken; the glorioustriumph of Churubusco had been achieved. The names of Scott, Worth, Wool, Quitman, Pillow and others were crowned with honor. Others again, whose humble names and unnoticed heroism have never been recorded, endured as nobly, suffered as patiently, and fought as bravely. Our ownyoung hero, Herbert Greyson, had covered himself with honor. 

The war with Mexico witnessed, perhaps, the most rapid promotions ofany other in the whole history of military affairs. 

The rapid ascent of our young officer was a striking instance of this. In two years from the time he had entered the service, with alieutenant's commission, he held the rank of major, in the--Regiment ofInfantry. 

Fortune had not smiled upon our other young friend, TraverseRocke--partly because, being entirely out of his vocation, he had noright to expect success; but mostly because he had a powerful enemy inthe Colonel of his regiment--an unsleeping enemy, whose constantvigilance was directed to prevent the advancement and insure thedegradation and ruin of one whom he contemptuously termed the"gentleman private. "

Now, it is known that by the rules of military etiquette, a wide socialgulf lies between the Colonel of the regiment and the private in theranks. 

Yet, Colonel Le Noir continually went out of his way to insult PrivateRocke, hoping to provoke him to some act of fatal insubordination. 

And very heavy was this trial to a high spirited young man likeTraverse Rocke, and very fortunate was it for him that he had earlybeen imbued with that most important truth, that "He who ruleth his ownspirit is greater than he who taketh a city. "

But, if Colonel Le Noir crossed the gulf of military etiquette toharass the poor young soldier, Major Greyson did the same thing for themore honorable purpose of soothing and encouraging him. 

And both Herbert and Traverse hoped that the designs of their Colonelwould be still frustrated by the self-command and patience of the youngprivate. 

Alas! they did not know the great power of evil! They did not know thatnothing less than Divine Providence could meet and overcome it. 

They fondly believed that the malignity of Le Noir had resulted in noother practical evil than in preventing the young soldier'swell-merited advancement, and in keeping him in the humble position ofa private in the ranks. 

They were not aware that the discharge of Traverse Rocke had long agoarrived, but that it had been suppressed through the diabolical cunningof Le Noir. That letters, messages and packets, sent by his friends tothe young soldier, had found their way into his Colonel's possessionand no further. 

And so, believing the hatred of that bad man to have been fruitless ofserious, practical evil, Herbert encouraged his friend to be patientfor a short time longer, when they should see the end of the campaign, if not of the war. 

It was now that period of suspense and of false truce between theglorious 20th of August and the equally glorious 8th of September, 1847--between the two most brilliant actions of the war, the battle ofChurubusco and the storming of Chapultepec. 

The General-in-Chief of the United States forces in Mexico was at hisheadquarters in the Archiepiscopal palace of Tacubaya, on the suburbs, or in the full sight of the city of the Montezumas, awaiting the issueof the conference between the commissioners of the hostile governments, met to arrange the terms of a treaty of peace--that every day grew morehopeless. 

General Scott, who had had misgivings as to the good faith of theMexicans, had now his suspicions confirmed by several breaches on thepart of the enemy of the terms of the armistice. 

Early in September he despatched a letter to General Santa Anna, complaining of these infractions of the truce, and warning him that ifsome satisfactory explanations were not made within forty-eight hourshe should consider the armistice at an end, and renew hostilities. 

And not to lose time, he began on the same night a series ofreconnaisances, the object of which was to ascertain their bestapproach to the city of Mexico, which, in the event of the renewal ofthe war, he purposed to carry by assault. 

It is not my intention to pretend to describe the siege and capture ofthe capital, which has been so often and eloquently described by graveand wise historians, but rather to follow the fortunes of an humbleprivate in the ranks, and relate the events of a certain court-martial, as I learned them from the after-dinner talk of a gallant officer whohad officiated on the occasion. 

It was during these early days in September, while the illustriousGeneral-in-Chief was meditating concluding the war by the assault ofthe city of Mexico, that Colonel Le Noir also resolved to bring his ownprivate feud to an end, and ruin his enemy by a coup-de-diable. 

He had an efficient tool for his purpose in the Captain of the companyto which Traverse Rocke belonged. This man, Captain Zuten, was a vulgarupstart thrown into his command by the turbulence of war, as the scumis cast up to the surface by the boiling of the cauldron. 

He hated Traverse Rocke, for no conceivable reason, unless it was thatthe young private was a perfect contrast to himself, in the possessionof a handsome person, a well cultivated mind, and a gentlemanlydeportment--cause sufficient for the antagonism of a mean and vulgarnature. 

Colonel Le Noir was not slow to see and to take advantage of thishatred. 

And Captain Zuten became the willing coadjutor and instrument of hisvengeance. Between them they concocted a plot to bring the unfortunateyoung man to an ignominious death. 

One morning, about the first of September, Major Greyson, in going hisrounds, came upon Traverse, standing sentry near one of the outposts. The aspect of the young private was so pale, haggard and despairingthat his friend immediately stopped and exclaimed:

"Why Traverse, how ill you look! More fitted for the sick list than thesentry's duties. What the deuce is the matter?"

The young soldier touched his hat to his superior and answered sadly, "I am ill, ill in body and mind, sir. "

"Pooh!--leave off etiquette when we are alone, Traverse, and call meHerbert, as usual. Heaven knows, I shall be glad when all this is overand we fall back into our relative civil positions towards each other. But what is the matter now, Traverse? Some of Le Noir's villainy again, of course. "

"Of course. But I did not mean to complain, Herbert; that werechildish. I mus' endure this slavery, these insults and persecutionspatiently since I have brought them upon myself. "

"Take comfort, Traverse. The war is drawing to a close. Either thisarmistice will end in a permanent peace, or when hostilities arerenewed our General will carry the city of Mexico by storm, and dictatethe terms of a treaty from the grand square of the capital. In eitherevent the war will soon be over, the troops disbanded, and thevolunteers free to go about their business, and Doctor Traverse Rockeat liberty to pursue his legitimate profession, " said Herbert, cheerfully. 

"It may be so; I do not know. Oh, Herbert, whether it be from want ofsleep and excessive fatigue--for I have been on duty for three days andnights--or whether it be from incipient illness, or all these causesput together, I cannot tell, but my spirits are dreadfully depressed!There seems to be hanging over me a cloud of fate I cannot dispel. Every hour seems descending lower and blacker over my head, until itfeels like some heavy weight about to suffocate or crush me, " saidTraverse, sadly. 

"Pooh, pooh! hypochondria! cheer up! Remember that in a month we shallprobably be disbanded, and in a year--think of it, TraverseRocke--Clara Day will be twenty-one, and at liberty to give you herhand. Cheer up!"

"Ah, Herbert, all that seems now to be more unsubstantial than thefabric of a dream. I cannot think of Clara or of my mother withoutdespair. For oh, Herbert, between me and them there seems to yawn adishonored grave! Herbert, they talk, you know, of an attack upon theMolino-del-Rey, and I almost hope to fall in that charge!"

"Why?" inquired Major Greyson, in dismay. 

"To escape being forced into a dishonored grave! Herbert, that man hassworn my ruin, and he will accomplish it!" said Traverse, solemnly. 

"For Heaven's sake, explain yourself!" said Herbert. 

"I will. Listen! I will tell you the history of the last three days, "said Traverse; but before he could add another word the sentry that wasto relieve his guard approached and said:

"Captain Zuten orders you to come to his tent instantly. "

With a glance of significance, Traverse bowed to Herbert and walkedoff, while the sentinel took his place. 

Herbert saw no more of Traverse that day. At night he went to inquirefor him, but learned that he had been sent with a reconnoitering partyto the Molino-del-Rey. 

The next day, on seeking Traverse, he understood that the young privatehad been despatched on a foraging expedition. That night, upon againinquiring for him, he was told that he had been sent in attendance uponthe officers who had borne secret despatches to General Quitman, at hisquarters on the Acapulco road. 

"Traverse is right. They mean to ruin him. I see how it is, exactly. When I saw Traverse on guard, two days ago, he looked like a manexhausted and crazed for want of sleep, and since that time he has beennight and day engaged in harassing duty. That demon, Le Noir, withZuten to help him, has determined to keep Traverse from sleep, untilnature is thoroughly exhausted, and then set him upon guard, that hemay be found sleeping on his post. That was what the boy meant when hetalked of the cloud that was hanging over him, and of being forced intoa dishonored grave, and when he hoped, poor fellow, to fall in theapproaching assault upon the Molino-del-Rey! I see it all now. Theyhave decided upon the destruction of Traverse. He can do nothing. Asoldier's whole duty is comprised in one word--obedience, even if, asin this instance, he is ordered to commit suicide. Let them hatch theirdiabolical plots. We will see if the Lord does not still reign, and thedevil is not a fool. It shall go hard, but that they are 'hoist withtheir own petard!'" said Herbert, indignantly. 

Early the next morning he went to the tent of Captain Zuten andrequested to see Private Traverse Rocke, in whom, he said, he felt awarm interest. 

The answer of Colonel Le Noir's tool confirmed Herbert's worsesuspicions. 

Touching his cap with an air of exaggerated deference, he said:

"As you think so much of the young fellow, Major, I am very sorry toinform you, sir, that he is under arrest. "

"Upon what charge?" inquired Herbert, calmly, concealing the suspicionand indignation of his bosom. 

"Upon a rather bad one, Major--sleeping on his post, " replied theofficer, masking his exultation with a show of respect. 

"Rather bad! The penalty is death, " said Herbert, dryly. 

"Yes, sir--martial law is rather severe. "

"Who charges him?" asked Herbert, curtly. 

"The Colonel of our regiment, sir, " replied the man, scarcely able toconceal his triumph. 

"An accusation from a high quarter. Is his charge supported by othertestimony?"

"Beg pardon, Major, but is that necessary?"

"You have answered my question by asking another one, sir. I willtrouble you for a direct reply, " said Herbert with dignity. 

"Then, Major, I must reply--yes. "

"What testimony? I would know the circumstances?"

"Well, sir, I will tell you about it, " said the officer, withill-concealed triumph. "Private Traverse Rocke had the early morningwatch--"

"After his return from the night ride to Acapulco?"

"Yes, sir. Well, Colonel Le Noir and myself in going our rounds thismorning, just before sunrise, came full upon the young fellow, fastasleep on his post. In fact, sir, it required a hearty shake to awakenhim. "

"After ninety-six hours' loss of sleep, I should not wonder. "

"I know nothing about that, sir. I only know that Colonel Le Noir andmyself found him fast asleep on his post. He was immediately arrested. "

"Where is he now?" inquired Herbert. 

"In one of the Colonel's extra tents, under guard, " replied the officer. 

Herbert immediately went to the tent in question, where he found twosentinels, with loaded muskets, on duty before the door. They groundedarms on the approach of their superior officer. 

"Is Private Traverse Rocke confined within there?" he inquired. 

"Yes, sir, "

"I must pass in to see him. "

"I beg your pardon, sir, but our orders are strict, not even to admitan officer, without a written order from our Colonel, " said thesentinel. 

"Where is the Colonel?"

"In his tent, sir. "

Herbert immediately went on to the fine marquee occupied by Colonel LeNoir. 

The sentinel on duty there at once admitted him, and he passed on intothe presence of the Colonel. 

He saluted his superior officer with cold military etiquette, and said:

"I have come, sir, to ask of you an order to see Private TraverseRocke, confined under the charge of sleeping on his post. "

"I regret to say, Major Greyson, that it cannot be done, " replied LeNoir, with ironical politeness. 

"Will you have the kindness to inform me, sir, upon what pretext myreasonable request is refused?" asked Herbert, coldly. 

"I deem it quite unnecessary to do so, sir, " answered the Colonel, haughtily. 

"Then I have no more to do here, " replied Herbert, leaving the tent. 

He immediately threw himself into his saddle and rode off to theArchiepiscopal palace of Tacubaya, where the General-in-Chief had fixedhis headquarters. 

Here he had to wait some little time before he was admitted to thepresence of the gallant commander, who received him with all thestately courtesy for which that renowned officer is distinguished. 

Herbert mentioned the business that had brought him to the general'spresence, the request of a written order to see a prisoner in strictconfinement for sleeping on his post. 

The commander whose kind heart was interested in the welfare of all hissoldiers, made some inquiries into the affair, of which Herbertproceeded to give him a short history, without, however, venturing, asyet, directly to charge the Captain or the Colonel with intentionalfoul play; indeed to have attempted to criminate the superior officersof the accused man would then have been most unwise, useless andhurtful. 

The General immediately wrote the desired order and passed it to theyoung officer. 

Herbert bowed and was about to retire from the room, when he was calledback by the General, who placed a packet of letters in his hand, sayingthat they had arrived among his despatches, and were for the prisoner, to whom Major Greyson might as well take them at once. 

Herbert received them with avidity, and on his way back to theColonel's tent he examined their superscription. 

There were three letters--all directed to Traverse Rocke. On two ofthem, he recognized the familiar handwriting of Marah Rocke, on theother he saw the delicate Italian style of a young lady's hand, whichhe readily believed to be that of Clara. 

In the midst of his anxiety on his friend's account rejoiced to havethis one little ray of comfort to carry him. He knew that many monthshad elapsed since the young soldier had heard from his friends athome--in fact, Travers never received a letter unless it happened tocome under cover to Herbert Greyson. And well they both knew the reason. 

"How very fortunate, " said Herbert, as he rode on, "that I happened tobe at the General's quarters to receive these letters just when I did;for if they had been sent to Colonel Le Noir's quarters or to CaptainZ. 's, poor traverse would never have heard of them. However, I shall nodistract Traverse's attention by showing him these letters until he hastold me the full history of his arrest, for I wish him to give me acool account of the whole thing, so that I may know if I can possibleserver him. Ah, it is very unlikely that nay power of mine will be aleto save him if indeed, and in truth, he did sleep upon his post, "ruminated Herbert, as he rode up to the tent where the prisoner wasconfined. 

Another pair of sentinels were on duty in place of those who hadrefused him admittance. 

He alighted from his horse, was challenged, showed his order, andpassed into the tent. 

There a sight met him that caused the tears to rush to his eyes--forthe bravest is always the tenderest heart. 

Thrown down on the mat at the back of the tent lay Traverse Rocke, pale, haggard and sunken in the deep, deep sleep of utter exhaustion. Even in that state of perfect abandonment, prostration andinsensibility, the expression of great mental anguish remained upon hisdeathly countenance; a mortal pallor overspread his face; his thick, black curls, matted with perspiration, clung to his hollow temples andcheeks; great drops of sweat beaded upon his corrugated brow; a quiverconvulsed his mouth and chin; every circumstance betrayed how severely, even in that swoonlike state, he suffered. 

Herbert drew a camp-stool and sat down beside his mat, resolving not tobreak that greatly needed rest, but to wait patiently until the sleepershould awake. 

Again, I say that I know nothing about mesmerism, but I have seenstrange effects produced quite unconsciously by the presence of oneperson upon another. And in a few minutes after Herbert took his seatbeside Traverse, it was noticeable that the face of the sleeper lostits look of pain, and his rest grew deep and calm. 

Herbert sat watching that pale, calm, intellectual face, thankingheaven that his mother, in her distant home, knew nothing of her boy'sdeadly peril and praying heaven that its justice might be vindicated inthe deliverance of this victim from the snares of those who sought hislife. 

For more than an hour longer Traverse slept the deep sleep ofexhaustion, and then calmly awoke. On seeing Herbert sitting besidehim, he smiled sadly, saying:

"You here, Herbert? How kind of you to come. Well, Herbert, you seethey have succeeded, as I knew they would. That was what I wished totell you about when I was abruptly ordered away. I do believe it wasdone on purpose to prevent my telling you. I really think I have beensurrounded by spies to report and distort every word and look andgesture. If our company had only watched die enemy with half thevigilance with which they watched me, that party of emigrants would nothave been cut off on the plains. "

"Traverse, " said Herbert solemnly taking the hand of his friend, "wereyou caught sleeping on your post?"

"Ah, sleeping like death, Herbert. "

Herbert dropped the hand of his friend, covered his face with his own, and groaned aloud, "He could not help it!"

"I told you that they had resolved upon my death, Herbert. I told youthat I should be pushed into a shameful grave!"

"Oh, no, no, the Lord forbid! But tell me all about it, Traverse, thatI may understand and know how to proceed, " said Herbert, in a brokenvoice. 

"Well, I need not tell you how I have been insulted, oppressed andpersecuted by those two men, for you know that already. "

"Yes, yes!"

"It really soon became apparent to me that they were resolved, ifpossible, to exasperate to desert, to retort, or to commit some otherfatal act of insubordination or violence. Yet, for the sake of my dearmother and of Clara, I did violence only to my own natural manhood, andbore it all with the servility of a slave. "

"With the submission of a saint, dear Traverse; and in doing so youfollowed the divine precept and example of Our Saviour, who, whenaccused, railed upon and buffeted, 'opened not his mouth. ' And in Hisforbearance, dear Traverse, there was as much of God-like dignity asthere was of saintly patience. Great self-respect is as oftenmanifested in forbearance as in resentment, " said Herbert, soothingly. 

"But you see it availed me nothing. Here I am, under a charge to whichI plead guilty, and the penalty of which is--death!" replied Traversein despair. 

"Tell me how it was, Traverse. Your persecutions and your patience Iknew before, but what are the circumstances that led to your presentposition? That your misfortune is the result of a concerted plan on thepart of Le Noir and his tool, I partly see, but I wish you to put me inpossession of all the facts, that I may see in what manner I may beable to assist you. "

"Ah, Herbert, I thank you, most faithful of friends, but I doubtwhether you can assist me in any other manner than in being kind to mypoor mother and my dear Clara when I am gone--for ah, old playmate, theact can be too surely proved upon me, and the penalty is certain--andit is death!" said the poor boy, deeply sighing. 

Herbert groaned, and said:

"But tell me, at least, the history of the four days preceding yourarrest. "

"I will. Let me see--this is Friday. Well, until this morning's fatalsleep, I had not slept since Sunday night. Monday was passed in theusual routine of military duty. Monday evening I was sent on areconnoitering expedition to the old castellated Spanish fort of theCasa de Mata, that occupied the whole night. On Tuesday morning I wasselected to attend the messenger who went with the flag of truce intothe city to carry our General's letter of expostulation to Santa Anna, which employed the whole day. On Tuesday night, without having had anhour's rest in the interval, I was put on guard. Wednesday morning Iwas sent with a party to escort an emigrant caravan across the marsh tothe village of Churubusco. Wednesday afternoon you saw me on guard andI told you that I had not slept one hour for three days and nights. "

"Yes, you looked ill enough to be ordered on the sick list. "

"Yet, listen. Thoroughly exhausted as I was, on Wednesday night I wasordered to join a party to go on a secret reconnoitering expedition tothe Molina-del-Rey. On Thursday morning I was sent out with anotherparty on a foraging tour. On Thursday night I was sent in attendanceupon the officer who carried despatches to General Quitman. On Fridaymorning I was set on guard between the hours of four and eight!"

"Oh, heaven, what an infamous abuse of military authority!" exclaimedHerbert, indignantly. 

"Herbert, in my life I have sometimes suffered with hunger, cold andpain, and have some idea of what starving, freezing and torture may be, but among all the ills to which flesh is heir, I doubt if there is oneso trying to the nerves and brain of man as enforced and long-continuedvigilance, when all his failing nature sinks for want of sleep. Insanity and death must soon be the result. "

"Humph! Go on. Tell me about the manner of their finding you, " saidHerbert, scarcely able to repress his indignation. 

"Well, when after--let me see--eighty-four--ninety--ninety six hours ofincessant watching, riding and walking, I was set on guard to keep themorning watch between four o'clock and eight, 'my whole head was sickand my whole heart faint'; my frame was sinking; my soul could scarcelyhold my body upright. In addition to this physical suffering was themental anguish of feeling that these men had resolved upon my death, and thinking of my dear mother and Clara, whose hearts would be brokenby my fall. Oh! the thought of them at this moment quite unmans me. Imust not reflect. Well, I endeavored with all the faculties of my mindand body to keep awake. I kept steadily pacing to and fro, though Icould scarcely drag one limb after the other, or even stand upright;sleep would arrest me while in motion, and I would drop my musket andwake up in a panic, with the impression of some awful, overhanging ruinappalling my soul. Herbert, will you think me a miserably weak wretchif I tell you that that night was a night of mental and physicalhorrors? Brain and nerves seemed in a state of disorganization; thoughtand emotion were chaos; the relations of soul and body broken up. I hadbut one strong, clear idea, namely, that I must keep awake at allcosts, or bring shameful death upon myself and disgrace upon my family. And even In the very midst of thinking this I would fall asleep. "

"No power within yourself could have prevented it; indeed, you had todrop into sleep or death!"

"I pinched myself, I cut my flesh, I burned my skin, but all in vain. Nothing could withstand the overwhelming power of sleep that finallyconquered me, about five o'clock this morning. Then, in the midst of adelightful dream of mother and Clara and home, I was roused up by arude shake, and awoke to find my musket fallen from my hands, and myCaptain and Colonel standing over me. It was several minutes before Icould travel back from the pleasant land of sleep and dreams andrealize my real position. When I did I had nothing to say. Theinevitable ruin I felt had come, and crushed me into a sort of dumbdespair. Nor did my superior officers reproach me--their revenge wastoo perfect. The captain called a sergeant to take my gun, and I wasmarched off to my present prison. And, Herbert, no sooner was I leftalone here than sleep overcame me again, like a strong man, and despiteall the gloom and terror of my situation, despite all of my thoughts ofhome and mother and Clara, I slept like a tired child. But thisawakening. Oh! this awakening. Herbert!"

"Be of good courage. Let us hope that heaven will enable us to confoundthe plots of the evil, and save you!"

"Ah, Herbert, that will be impossible. The duty of a soldier is clearand stern; his punishment if he fails in it, swift and sure. At theword of command he must march into the very jaws of death, as is right. He must die or madden for the want of rest, rather than fall asleep onhis post, for if he does, his punishment is certain and shameful death. Oh, my mother! Oh, Clara! Would heaven I had fallen at Vera Cruz orChurubusco, rather than live to bring this dreadful sorrow upon you, "cried Traverse, covering his convulsed face with his hands. 

"Cheer up, cheer up, old comrade. All is not lost that is endangered, and we shall save you yet!"

"Herbert, you know it is impossible. "

"No, I do not know any such thing!"

"You know that I shall be tried to-day and shot tomorrow! Oh, Herbert, never let my dear ones at home know how I shall die. Tell them that Ifell before Chepultepec--which will be literally true, you know. Oh, mymother! Oh, my dear Clara, shall I never see you more? Never hear yoursweet voices calling me? Never feel the kind clasp of your hands again?Is this the end of a life of aspiration and endeavor? Is this thecomfort and happiness I was to bring you?--early bereavement, dishonored names and broken hearts?"

"I tell you, no! You shall be saved! I say it!"

"Ah, it is impossible. "

"No, it is only very difficult--so very difficult that I shall be sureto accomplish it!"

"What a paradox. "

"It is a truth. Things difficult--almost to impossibility--can alwaysbe accomplished. Write that upon your tables, for it is a valuabletruth. And no cheer up, for I bring you letters from Clara and yourmother. "

"Letters! from Clara! and mother! Oh, give them to me!" exclaimed theyoung man eagerly. 

Herbert handed them, and Traverse eagerly broke the seals, one afteranother, and devoured the contents. 

"They are well! They are well and happy! Oh, thank God they are so. Oh, Herbert, never let them know how I shall die! If they think I fellhonorably in battle, they will get over it in time, but if they know Idied a convict's death it will break their hearts. Oh, Herbert, my dearfriend, by all our boyhood's love, never let my poor mother and dearClara know the manner of my death!" cried Traverse, in an imploringvoice. 

Before he could say another word or Herbert could answer, an orderlysergeant entered and put into Major Greyson's hands a paper that provedto be a summons for him to attend immediately at headquarters to serveupon a court-martial, to try Private Traverse Rocke upon the charge ofsleeping on his post. 

"This is done on purpose to prevent me becoming a witness for thedefense!" whispered Herbert to his friend, "but take courage. We willsee yet whether you shall succeed!"

CHAPTER XXII. 

THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

 I wish I could Meet all accusers with as good excuse, As well as I am certain I can clear Myself of this. 

 --SHAKESPEARE. 

Pursuant with the general orders issued from headquarters, thecourt-martial, consisting of thirteen officers, convened at Tacubaya, for the trial of Traverse Rocke, private in the--Regiment of Infantry, accused of sleeping on his post. 

It was a sultry morning, early in September, and by seven o'clock thedrum was heard beating before the Archiepiscopal palace, where it wasunderstood the trial, involving life or death, would come off. 

The two sentinels on guard before the doors and a few officers offduty, loitering about the verandas, were the only persons visible nearthe well-ordered premises, until the members of the court-martial, withthe prosecutors and witnesses, began to assemble and pass in. 

Within a lofty apartment of the building, which was probably at onetime the great dining-hall of the priests, were collected some twentypersons, comprising the court-martial and its attendants. 

An extension table covered with green cloth occupied the middle of thelong room. 

At the head of this table sat General W. , the president of the court. On his right and left, at the sides of the table, were arranged theother members according to their rank. 

At a smaller table, near the right hand of the President, stood theJudge Advocate or prosecutor on behalf of the United States. 

At the door stood a sentinel on guard, and near him two or threeorderly sergeants in attendance upon the officers. 

The Judge Advocate opened the court by calling over the names of themembers, beginning with the President and ending with the youngestofficer present, and recording them as they responded. Thispreliminary settled, orders were despatched to bring the prisoner, prosecutor and witnesses into court. 

And in a few minutes entered Colonel Le Noir, Captain Zuten, EnsignAllen and Sergeant Baker. They were accommodated with seats near theleft hand of the President. 

Lastly, the prisoner was brought in guarded, and placed standing at thefoot of the table. 

Traverse looked pale, from the severe effects of excessive fatigue andanxiety, but he deported himself with firmness and dignity, bowedrespectfully to the court, and then drew his stately form up to itsfullest height, and stood awaiting the proceedings. 

The Judge Advocate at the order of the President, commenced and readthe warrant for holding the court. He then read over the names of themembers, commencing as before, with the President, and descendingthrough the gradations of rank to the youngest officer, and demanded ofthe prisoner whether he had any cause of challenge, or took anyexception to any member present, and if so, to declare it, as was hisprivilege. 

Traverse lifted his noble head and keen eyes, and looked slowly around, in turn, upon each officer of the court-martial. 

They might all be said to be strangers to him, since he knew them onlyby sight--all except his old acquaintance, Herbert Greyson, who satfirst at the left hand of the President, and who returned his look ofscrutiny with a gaze full of encouragement. 

"I find no cause of challenge, and take no exception to any among theofficers composing this court, " answered Traverse, again bowing withsuch sweetness and dignity in tone and gesture that the officers, insurprise, looked first at the prisoner and then at each other. No onecould doubt that the accused, in the humble garb of a private soldier, was nevertheless a man of education and refinement--a true gentleman, both in birth and breeding. 

As no challenge was made, the Judge Advocate proceeded to administer toeach of the members of the court the oath prescribed in the Articles ofWar, to the intent that they should "try the matter before them, between the prisoner and the United States, according to the evidence, without fear, favor or affection. "

This oath was taken by each member holding up his right hand andrepeating the words after the officer. 

The court then being regularly constituted, and every preliminary formobserved, the Judge Advocate arose and directed the prisoner to listento the charge brought against him, and preferred by the Colonel of hisRegiment, Gabriel Le Noir. 

Traverse raised his head and fixed his eagle eyes upon the prosecutor, who stood beside the Judge Advocate, while the latter in an audiblevoice read the accusation, charging the prisoner with wilful neglect ofduty, in that he, the said Traverse Rocke, on the night of the first ofSeptember, being placed on guard at the northwestern outpost of theInfantry quarters, at Tacubaya, did fall asleep upon his post, therebyendangering the safety of the quarters, and violating the 46th Articleof War. 

To which charge the prisoner, in a firm voice, replied:

"Not guilty of wilful neglect of duty, though found sleeping upon mypost. "

The Judge Advocate then cautioned all witnesses to withdraw from thecourt and come only as they were called. They withdrew, and he thenarranged some preliminaries of the examination, and called in--CaptainZuten, of the--Regiment of Infantry. 

This witness was a short, coarse-featured, red-haired person of Dutchextraction, without intellect enough to enable him to conceal themalignity of his nature. 

He testified that on Thursday, the first of September, Traverse Rocke, private in his company, was ordered on guard at the northwestern outpost of the quarters, between the hours of four and eight a. M. Thatabout five o'clock on the same morning, he, Joseph Zuten, in making hisusual rounds, and being accompanied on that occasion by Colonel GabrielLe Noir, Lieutenant Adams and Ensign Baker, did surprise PrivateTraverse Rocke asleep on his post leaning against the sentry box withhis musket at his feet. 

This witness was cross-examined by the Judge Advocate, who, it isknown, combines in his own person the office of prosecutor on the partof the United States and counsel for the prisoner, or rather, if he behonest, he acts as impartial inquirer and arbiter between the two. 

As no new facts were gained by the cross-examination, the JudgeAdvocate proceeded to call the next witness, Colonel Le Noir. 

Here, then, was a gentleman of most prepossessing exterior, as well asof most irreproachable reputation. 

In brief, his testimony corroborated that of the foregoing witness, asto the finding of the prisoner asleep on his post at the time and placespecified. In honor of his high social and military standing, thiswitness was not cross-examined. 

The next called was Lieutenant Adams, who corroborated the evidence offormer witnesses. The last person examined was Ensign Baker, whosetestimony corresponded exactly to that of all who had gone before him. 

The Judge Advocate then briefly summed up the case on the part of theUnited States--first by reading the 46th Article of War, to wit, that:

"Any sentinel who shall be found sleeping on his post, or shall leaveit before he shall be regularly relieved, shall suffer death, " etc. , etc. , etc. 

And secondly, by reading the recorded evidence to the effect that:

Traverse Rocke had been found by competent witnesses sleeping on hispost. 

And concluded by saying:

"Gentlemen, officers of the court-martial, here is the law and here isthe fact both proven, and it remains for the court to find a verdict inaccordance with both. "

The prisoner was then put upon his defence. 

Traverse Rocke drew himself up and said, that the truth, like theblessed sun, must, on its shining forth, dispel all clouds of error;that, trusting in the power of truth, he should briefly relate thehistory of the preceding seven days. And then he commenced and narratedthe facts with which the reader is, already acquainted. 

Traverse was interrupted several times in the course of his narrativeby the President, General W. , a severe martinet, who reminded him thatan attempt to criminate his superior Officers would only injure hiscause before the court. 

Traverse, bowing, as in duty bound to the President at every freshinterruption, nevertheless proceeded straight on with his narrative toits conclusion. 

The defence being closed, the Judge Advocate arose, as was hisprivilege, to have the last word. He stated that if the prisoner hadbeen oppressed or aggrieved by his superior officer, his remedy lay inthe 35th of the Articles of War, providing that any soldier who shallfeel himself wronged by his captain shall complain thereof to theColonel of his Regiment. 

To this the prisoner begged to reply that he had considered the Colonelof his Regiment his personal enemy, and as such could have little hopeof the issue, even if he had had opportunity afforded him, of appealingto that authority. 

The Judge Advocate expressed his belief that this complaint wasvexatious and groundless. 

And here the evidence was closed, the prosecutor, prisoner andwitnesses dismissed, and the court adjourned to meet again todeliberate with closed doors. 

It was a period of awful suspense with Traverse Rocke. The prospectseemed dark for him. 

The fact of the offence and the law affixing the penalty of death tothat offence was established, and as the Judge Advocate truly said, nothing remained but for the court to find their verdict in accordanceto both. 

Extenuating circumstances there were certainly; but extenuatingcircumstances were seldom admitted in courts-martial, the law andpractice of which were severe to the extent of cruelty. 

Another circumstance against him was the fact that it did not requirean unanimous vote to render a legal verdict, but that if a majority oftwo-thirds should vote for conviction, the fate of the prisoner wouldbe sealed. Traverse had but one friend in the court, and what could hissingle voice do against so many? Apparently nothing: yet, as theprisoner on leaving the court-room, raised his eyes to that friend, Herbert Greyson returned the look with a glance of more thanencouragement--of triumph. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE VERDICT. 

 We must not make a scare-crow of the law, Setting it up to frighten birds of prey; And let it keep one shape till custom makes it, Their perch and not their terror. 

 --SHAKESPEARE. 

The members of a court-martial sit in the double capacity of jurors andjudges; as jurors they find the facts, and as judges they award thepunishment. Yet their session with closed doors was without the solemnformality that the uninitiated might have supposed to attend a gravedeliberation upon a matter of guilt or innocence involving a questionof life or death. 

No sooner were the doors closed that shut out the "vulgar" crowd, thanthe "high and mighty" officials immediately fell into easy attitudes, and disengaged conversation upon the weather, the climate, yesterday'sdinner at General Cushion's quarters, the claret, the cigars and theMexican signoritas. 

They were presently recalled from this easy chat by the President, asevere disciplinarian, who reminded them rather sharply of the businessupon which they had convened. 

The officers immediately wheeled themselves around in the chairs, facing the table, and fell into order. 

The Judge Advocate seated himself at his detached stand, opened hisbook, called the attention of the court, and commenced and read overthe whole record of the evidence and the proceedings up to this time. 

The President then said:

"For my own part, gentlemen, I think this quite a simple matter, requiring but little deliberation. Here is the fact of the offenceproved, and here is the law upon that offence clearly defined. Nothingseems to remain for us to do but to bring in a verdict in accordancewith the law and the fact. "

Several of the elder officers and sterner disciplinarians agreed withthe President, who now said:

"I move that the vote be immediately made upon this question. "

To this, also, the elder officers assented. And the Judge Advocate waspreparing to take the ballot, when one of the younger members arose andsaid:

"Mr. President and gentlemen, there are mitigating circumstancesattending this offence, which, in my opinion, should be duly weighedbefore making up our ballot. "

"Lieutenant Lovel, when your hair has grown white in the service ofyour country, as mine has, and when your skin is mottled with the scarsof a score of well-fought fields, you will find your soft theoriescorrected by hard experience, and you will know that in the case of asentinel steeping upon, his post there can be no mitigatingcircumstances; that nothing can palliate such flagrant and dangerousneglect, involving the safety of the whole army; a crime that martiallaw and custom have very necessarily made punishable by death, " saidthe President, sternly. 

The young lieutenant sat down abashed, under the impression that he hadbetrayed himself into some act of gross impropriety. This was his firstappearance in the character of juror and judge; he was literallyunaccustomed to public speaking, and did not hazard a reply. 

"Has any other gentleman any views to advance before we proceed to ageneral ballot?" inquired the President. 

Several of the officers whispered together, and then some one repliedthat there seemed to be no reason why the vote should not beimmediately taken. 

Herbert Greyson remained perfectly silent. Why he did not speak then, in reply to this adjuration--why, indeed, he had not spoken before, insupport of Lieutenant Lovel's views in favor of his friend, I do notknow to this day, though I mean to ask him the first time I have theopportunity. Perhaps he wished to "draw the enemy's fire, " perhaps hewas inclined to dramatic effects; but whatever might have been themotive, he continued silent, offering no obstacle to the immediatetaking of the vote. 

The Judge Advocate then called the court to order for the taking of theballot, and proceeded to question the members in turn, commencing withthe youngest. 

"How say you, Lieutenant Lovel, is the prisoner on trial guilty or notguilty of the offence laid to his charge?"

"Guilty, " responded the young officer, as his eyes filled with tears ofpity for the other young life against which he had felt obliged torecord this vote. 

"If that is the opinion of one who seems friendly to him, what will bethe votes of the other stern judges?" said Herbert Greyson to himself, in dismay. 

"What say you, Lieutenant Adams--is the prisoner guilty or not guilty?"said the Judge Advocate, proceeding with the ballot. 

"Guilty!"

"Lieutenant Cragin?"

"Guilty!"

"Lieutenant Evans?"

"Guilty!"

"Lieutenant Goffe?"

"Guilty!"

"Lieutenant Hesse?"

"Guilty!"

"Captain Kingsley?"

"Guilty!"

"Captain McConkey?"

"Guilty!"

"Captain Lucas?"

"Guilty!"

"Captain O'Donnelly?"

"Guilty!"

"Captain Rozencrantz?"

"Guilty!"

"Major Greyson?"

"NOT GUILTY!"

Every officer sprang to his feet and gazed in astonishment, consternation and indignant inquiry upon the renderer of thisunprecedented vote. 

The President was the first to speak, breaking out with:

"Sir! Major Greyson! your vote, sir, in direct defiance of the fact andthe law upon it, is unprecedented, sir, in the whole history ofcourt-martial!"

"I record it as uttered, nevertheless, " replied Herbert. 

"And your oath, sir! What becomes of your oath as a judge, of thiscourt?"

"I regard my oath in my vote!"

"What, sir?" inquired Captain McConkey, "do you mean to say that youhave rendered that vote in accordance with the facts elicited inevidence, as by your oath you were bound to do?"

"Yes. "

"How, sir, do you mean to say that the prisoner did not sleep upon hispost?"

"Certainly I do not; on the contrary, I grant that he did sleep uponhis post, and yet I maintain that in doing so he was not guilty!"

"Major Greyson plays with us, " said the President. 

"By no means, sir! I never was in more solemn earnest than at present!Your honor, the President and gentlemen judges of the court, as I amnot counsel for the prisoner, nor civil officer, nor lawyer, of whoseinterference courts-martial are proverbially jealous, I beg you willpermit me to say a few words in support, or at least, I will say, inexplanation of the vote which you have characterized as an opinion inopposition to fact and law, and unprecedented in the whole history ofcourts-martial. "

"Yes, it is! it is!" said General W. , shifting uneasily in his seat. 

"You heard the defense of the prisoner, " continued Herbert; "you heardthe narrative of his wrongs and sufferings, to the truth of which hisevery aspect bore testimony. I will not here express a judgment as tothe motives that prompted his superior officers, I will merely advertto the facts themselves, in order to prove that the prisoner, under thecircumstances, could not, with his human power, have done otherwisethan he did. "

"Sir, if the prisoner considered himself wronged by his captain, whichis very doubtful, he could have appealed to the Colonel of hisRegiment!"

"Sir, the Articles of War accord him that privilege. But is it evertaken advantage of? Is there a case on record where a private soldierventures to make a dangerous enemy of his immediate superior bycomplaining of his Captain to his Colonel? Nor in this case would ithave been of the least use, inasmuch as this soldier had well-foundedreasons for believing the Colonel of his regiment his personal enemy, and the Captain as the instrument of this enmity. "

"And you, Major Greyson, do you coincide in the opinion of theprisoner? Do you think that there could have been anything in commonbetween the Colonel of the regiment and the poor private in the ranks, to explain such an equalizing sentiment as enmity?" inquired CaptainO'Donnelly. 

"I answer distinctly, yes, sir! In the first place, this poor privateis a young gentleman of birth and education, the heir of one of themost important estates in Virginia, and the betrothed of one of themost lovely girls in the world. In both these capacities he has stoodin the way of Colonel Le Noir, standing between him and the estate onthe one hand, and between him and the young lady on the other. He hasdisappointed Le Noir both in love and ambition. And he has thereby madean enemy of the man who has, besides, the nearest interest in hisdestruction. Gentlemen, what I say now in the absence of Colonel LeNoir, I am prepared to repeat in his presence, and maintain at theproper time and place. "

"But how came this young gentleman of birth and expectations to befound in the ranks?" inquired Captain Rosencrantz. 

"How came we to have headstrong sons of wealthy parents, fast young menof fortune, and runaway students from the universities and colleges ofthe United States in our ranks? In a burst of boyish impatience theyouth enlisted. Destiny gave him as the Colonel of his regiment hismortal enemy. Colonel Le Noir found in Captain Zuten a ready instrumentfor his malignity. And between them both they have done all that couldpossibly be effected to defeat the good fortune and insure thedestruction of Traverse Rocke. And I repeat, gentlemen, that what Ifeel constrained to affirm here in the absence of those officers, Ishall assuredly reassert and maintain in their presence, upon theproper occasion. In fact I shall bring formal charges against ColonelLe Noir and Captain Zuten, of conduct unworthy of officers andgentlemen!"

"But it seems to me that this is not directly to the point at issue, "said Captain Kingsley. 

"On the contrary, sir, it is the point, the whole point, and onlypoint, as you shall presently see by attending to the facts that Ishall recall to your memory. You and all present must, then, see thatthere was a deliberate purpose to effect the ruin of this young man. Heis accused of having been found sleeping on his post, the penalty ofwhich, in time of war, is death. Now listen to the history of the daysthat preceded his fault, and tell me if human nature could havewithstood the trial?"

"Sunday night was the last of repose to the prisoner until Fridaymorning, when he was found asleep on his post. "

"Monday night he was sent with the reconnoitering party toCasa-de-Mata. "

"Tuesday he was sent with the officer that carried our General'sexpostulation to Santa Anna. At night he was put on guard. "

"Wednesday he was sent with another party to protect a band ofemigrants crossing the marshes. At night he was sent with still anotherparty to reconnoiter Molina-del-Rey. "

"Thursday he was sent in attendance upon the officer that carrieddespatches to General Quitman, and did not return until after midnight, when, thoroughly worn out, driven indeed to the extreme degree ofmortal endurance, he was again on a sultry, oppressive night, in astill, solitary place, set on guard where a few hours later he wasfound asleep upon his post--by whom? The Colonel of his regiment andthe Captain of his company, who seemed bent upon his ruin--as I holdmyself bound to establish before another court-martial. "

"This result had been intended from the first! If five nights' loss ofsleep would not have effected this, fifteen probably would; if fifteenwould not, thirty would; or if thirty wouldn't sixty would!--and allthis Captain Zuten had the power to enforce until his doomed victimshould fall into the hands of the provost-marshal, and into the arms ofdeath!"

"And now, gentlemen, in view of all these circumstances, I ask you--wasTraverse Rocke guilty of wilful neglect of duty in dropping asleep onhis post? And I move for a reconsideration, and a new ballot!"

"Such a thing is without precedent, sir! These mitigating circumstancesmay be brought to bear on the Commander-in-Chief, and may be embodiedin a recommendation to mercy! They should have no weight in the findingof the verdict, " said the President, "which should be in accordancewith the fact and the law. "

"And with justice and humanity! to find a verdict against this youngman would be to place an unmerited brand upon his spotless name, thatno after clemency of the Executive could wipe out! Gentlemen, will youdo this! No! I am sure that you will not! And again I move for a newballot!"

"I second the motion!" said Lieutenant Lovel, rising quite encouragedto believe in his own first instincts, which had been so favorable. 

"Gentlemen, " said the President sternly, "this thing is withoutprecedent! In all the annals of courts-martial, without precedent!"

"Then, if there is no such precedent, it is quite time that such a onewere established, so that the iron car of literal law should not alwaysroll over and crush justice! Gentlemen, shall we have a new ballot?"

"Yes! yes! yes!" were the answers. 

"It is irregular! It is illegal! It is unprecedented! A new ballot?Never heard of such a thing in forty years of military life! Lord blessmy soul, what is the service coming to!"

"A new ballot! a new ballot! a new ballot!" was the unanimous cry. 

The President groaned in spirit, and recorded a vow never to forgiveHerbert Greyson for this departure from routine. 

The new ballot demanded by acclamation had to be held. 

The Judge Advocate called the court to order and began anew. The voteswere taken as before, commencing with the young lieutenant, who nowresponded sonorously:

"Not guilty!"

And so it ran around the entire circle. 

"Not guilty!" "Not guilty!" "Not guilty!" were the hearty responses ofthe court. 

The acquittal was unanimous. The verdict was recorded. 

The doors were then thrown open to the public, and the prisoner calledin and publicly discharged from custody. 

The court then adjourned. 

Traverse Rocke threw himself upon the bosom of his friend, exclaimingin a broken voice:

"I cannot sufficiently thank you! My dear mother and Clara will dothat!"

"Nonsense!" said Herbett laughing; "didn't I tell you that the Lordreigns, and the devil is a fool? This is only the beginning ofvictories!"

CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE END OF THE WAR

 Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths, Our bruised arms hung up for monuments; Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings, Our dreadful marches to delightful measures. Grim-visaged war hath smoothed his wrinkled front, And now instead of mounting barbed steeds, To fright the souls of fearful adversaries, He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber, To the lascivious pleasing of a lute. 

 --SHAKESPEARE. 

Ten days later Molina-del-Rey, Casa-de-Mata, and Chapultepec hadfallen! The United States forces occupied the city of Mexico, GeneralScott was in the Grand Plaza, and the American standard waved above thecapital of the Montezumas!

Let those who have a taste for swords and muskets, drums and trumpets, blood and fire, describe the desperate battles and splendid victoriesthat led to this final magnificent triumph!

My business lies with the persons of our story, to illustrate whom Imust pick out a few isolated instances of heroism in this gloriouscampaign. 

Herbert Greyson's division was a portion of the gallant Eleventh thatcharged the Mexican batteries on Molina-del-Rey. He covered his namewith glory, and qualified himself to merit the command of the regiment, which he afterwards received. 

Traverse Rocke fought like a young Paladin. When they were marchinginto the very mouths of the cannon they were vomiting fire upon them, and when the young ensign of his company was struck down before him, Traverse Rocke took the colors from his falling hand, and crying"Victory!" pressed onward and upward over the dead and the dying, andspringing upon one of the guns which continued to belch forth fire, hethrice waved the flag over his head and then planted it upon thebattery. Captain Zuten fell in the subsequent assault upon Chapultepec. 

Colonel Le Noir entered the city of Mexico with the victorious army, but on the subsequent day, being engaged in a street skirmish with theleperos, or liberated convicts, he fell mortally wounded by a copperbullet, and he was now dying by inches at his quarters near the GrandCathedral. 

It was on the evening of the 20th of September, six days from thetriumphant entry of General Scott into the capital, that Major Greysonwas seated at supper at his quarters, with some of his brotherofficers, when an orderly entered and handed a note to Herbert, whichproved to be a communication from the surgeon of their regiment, begging him to repair without delay to the quarters of Colonel Le Noir, who, being in extremity, desired to see him. 

Major Greyson immediately excused himself to his company, and repairedto the quarters of the dying man. 

He found Colonel Le Noir stretched upon his bed in a state of extremeexhaustion and attended by the surgeon and chaplain of his regiment. 

As Herbert advanced to the side of his bed, Le Noir stretched out hispale hand and said:

"You bear no grudge against a dying man, Greyson?"

"Certainly not, " said Herbert, "especially when he proposes doing theright thing, as I judge you do, from the fact of your sending for me. "

"Yes, I do; I do!" replied Le Noir, pressing the hand that Herbert'skindness of heart could not withhold. 

Le Noir then beckoned the minister to hand him two sealed packets, which he took and laid upon the bed before him. 

Then taking up the larger of the two packets, he placed it in the handsof Herbert Greyson, saying:

"There, Greyson, I wish you to hand that to your friend, young Rocke, who has received his colors, I understand?"

"Yes, he has now the rank of ensign. "

"Then give this parcel into the hands of Ensign Rocke, with therequest, that being freely yielded up, they may not be used in anymanner to harass the last hours of a dying man. "

"I promise, on the part of my noble young friend, that they shall notbe so used, " said Herbert as he took possession of the parcel. 

Le Noir then took up the second packet, which was much smaller, butmuch more firmly secured, than the first, being in an envelope ofparchment, sealed with three great seals. 

Le Noir held it in his hand for a moment, gazing from the surgeon tothe chaplain, and thence down upon the mysterious packet, while spasmsof pain convulsed his countenance. At length he spoke:

"This second packet, Greyson, contains a--well, I may as well call it anarrative. I confide it to your care upon these conditions--that itshall not be opened until after my death and funeral, and that, when ithas served its purpose of restitution, it may be, as far as possible, forgotten. Will you promise me this?"

"On my honor, yes, " responded the young man, as he received the secondparcel. 

"This is all I have to say, except this--that you seemed to me, uponevery account, the most proper person to whom I could confide thistrust. I thank you for accepting it, and I believe that I may safelypromise that you will find the contents of the smaller packet of greatimportance and advantage to yourself and those dear to you. "

Herbert bowed in silence. 

"That is all, good-by. I wish now to be alone with our chaplain, " saidColonel Le Noir, extending his hand. 

Herbert pressed that wasted hand; silently sent up a prayer for thedying wrong-doer, bowed gravely and withdrew. 

It was almost eight o'clock, and Herbert thought that he would scarcelyhave time to find Traverse before the drum should beat to quarters. 

He was more fortunate than he had anticipated, for he had scarcelyturned the Grand Cathedral when he came full upon the young ensign. 

"Ah! Traverse, I am very glad to meet you! I was just going to look foryou. Come immediately to my rooms, for I have a very importantcommunication to make to you. Colonel Le Noir is supposed to be dying. He has given me a parcel to be handed to you, which I shrewdly suspectto contain your intercepted correspondence for the last two years, "said Herbert. 

Traverse started and gazed upon his friend in amazement, and was aboutto express his astonishment, when Herbert, seeing others approach, drewthe arm of his friend within his own, and they hurried silently ontoward Major Greyson's quarters. 

They had scarcely got in and closed the door and stricken a lightbefore Traverse exclaimed impatiently:

"Give it me!" and almost snatched the parcel from Herbert's hands. 

"Whist! don't be impatient! I dare say it is all stale news!" saidHerbert, as he yielded up the prize. 

They sat down together on each side of a little stand supporting alight. 

Herbert watched with sympathetic interest while Traverse tore open theenvelope and examined its contents. 

They were, as Herbert had anticipated, letters from the mother and thebetrothed of Traverse--letters that had arrived and been intercepted, from time to time, for the preceding two years. 

There were blanks, also, directed in a hand strange to Traverse, butfamiliar to Herbert as that of Old Hurricane, and those blanks incloseddrafts upon a New Orleans bank, payable to the order of Traverse Rocke. 

Traverse pushed all these latter aside with scarcely a glance and not aword of inquiry, and began eagerly to examine the long-desired, long-withheld letters from the dear ones at home. 

His cheek flamed to see that every seal was broken, and the fresh aromaof every heart-breathed word inhaled by others, before they reachedhimself. 

"Look here, Herbert! look here! Is not this insufferable? Every fondword of my mother, every delicate and sacred expression of--of regardfrom Clara, all read by the profane eyes of that man!"

"That man is on his deathbed, Traverse, and you must forgive him! Hehas restored your letters. "

"Yes, after their sacred privacy has been profaned! Oh!"

Traverse handed his mother's letters over to Herbert, that his fosterbrother might read them, but Clara's "sacred epistles" were kept tohimself. 

"What are you laughing at?" inquired Traverse, looking up from hispage, and detecting Herbert with a smile upon his face. 

"I am thinking that you are not as generous as you were some few yearssince, when you would have given me Clara herself; for now you will noteven let me have a glimpse of her letters!"

"Have they not been already sufficiently published?" said Traverse, with an almost girlish smile and blush. 

When those cherished letters were all read and put away, Traversestooped down and "fished up" from amidst envelopes, strings and wastepaper another set of letters which proved to be the blanks inclosingthe checks, of various dates, which Herbert recognized as cominganonymously from Old Hurricane. 

"What in the world is the meaning of all this, Herbert? Have I a nabobuncle turned up anywhere, do you think? Look here!--a hundreddollars--and a fifty, and another--all drafts upon the Planters' Bank, New Orleans, drawn in my favor and signed by Largent Dor, bankers!--I, that haven't had five dollars at a time to call my own for the last twoyears! Here, Herbert, give me a good, sharp pinch to wake me up! I maybe sleeping on my post again?" said Traverse in perplexity. 

"You are not sleeping, Traverse!"

"Are you sure?"

"Perfectly, " replied Herbert, laughing. 

"Well, then, do you think that crack upon the crown of my head that Igot upon Chapultepec has not injured my intellect?"

"Not in the slightest degree!" said Herbert, still laughing at hisfriend's perplexity. 

"Then I am the hero of a fairy tale, that is all--a fairy tale in whichwaste paper is changed into bank notes and private soldiers princepalatines! Look here!" cried Traverse, desperately, thrusting the bankchecks under the nose of his friend, "do you see those things and knowwhat they are, and will you tell me that everything in this castledon't go by enchantment?"

"Yes, I see what they are, and it seems to me perfectly natural thatyou should have them!"

"Humph!" said Traverse, looking at Herbert with an expression thatseemed to say that he thought the wits of his friend deranged. 

"Traverse, " said Major Greyson, "did it never occur to you that youmust have other relatives in the world besides your mother? Well, Isuspect that those checks were sent by some relative of yours or yourmother's, who just begins to remember that he has been neglecting you. "

"Herbert, do you know this?" inquired Traverse, anxiously. 

"No, I do not know it; I only suspect this to be the case, " saidHerbert, evasively. "But what is that which you are forgetting. "

"Oh! this--yes, I had forgotten it. Let us see what it is!" saidTraverse, examining a paper that had rested unobserved upon the stand. 

"This is an order for my discharge, signed by the Secretary of War, anddated--ha-ha-ha--two years ago! Here I have been serving two yearsillegally, and if I had been convicted of neglect of duty in sleepingon my post, I should have been shot unlawfully, as that man, when heprosecuted me, knew perfectly well!" exclaimed Traverse. 

"That man, as I said before, lies upon his deathbed! Remember, nothingagainst him! But that order for a discharge! now that you are in theway of promotion and the war is over, will you take advantage of it?"

"Decidedly, yes! for though I am said to have acquitted myself passablywell at Chapultepec--"

"Gloriously, Traverse! You won your colors gloriously!"

"Yet for all that my true mission is not to break men's bones, but toset them when broken. Not to take men's lives, but to save them whenendangered! So to-morrow morning, please Providence, I shall presentthis order to General Butler and apply for my discharge. "

"And you will set out immediately for home?"

The face of Traverse suddenly changed. 

"I should like to do so! Oh, how I should like to see my dear motherand Clara, if only for a day! but I must not indulge the longing of myheart. I must not go home until I can do so with honor!"

"And can you not do so now? You, who triumphed over all your personalenemies and who won your colors at Chapultepec?"

"No, for all this was in my legitimate profession! Nor will I presentmyself at home until, by the blessing of the Lord, I have done what Iset out to do, and established myself in a good practice. And so, bythe help of heaven, I hope within one week to be on my way to NewOrleans to try my fortune in that city. "

"To New Orleans! And a new malignant fever of some horrible, unknowntype, raging there!" exclaimed Herbert. 

"So much the more need of a physician! Herbert, I am not the leastuneasy on the subject of infection! I have a theory for itsannihilation. "

"I never saw a clever young professional man without a theory!" laughedHerbert. 

The drum was now heard beating the tattoo, and the friends separatedwith hearts full of revived hope. 

The next morning Traverse presented the order of the Secretary to theCommander-in-Chief and received his discharge. 

And then, after writing long, loving and hopeful letters to his motherand his betrothed, and entreating the former to try to find out who wasthe secret benefactor who had sent him such timely aid, Traverse tookleave of his friends, and set out for the Southern Queen of Cities, once more to seek his fortune. 

Meantime the United States army continued to occupy the City of Mexico, through the whole of the autumn and winter. General Butler, whotemporarily succeeded the illustrious Scott in the chief command, verywisely arranged the terms of an armistice with the enemy that wasintended to last two months from the beginning of February, but whichhappily lasted until the conclusion of the treaty of peace between thetwo countries. 

Colonel Le Noir had not been destined soon to die; his wound, an inwardcanker from a copper bullet, that the surgeon had at length succeededin extracting, took the form of a chronic fester disease. Since thenight, upon which he had been so extremely ill to be supposed dying, and yet had rallied, the doctors felt no apprehensions of his speedydeath, though they gave no hopes of his final recovery. 

Under these circumstances there were hours in which Le Noir bitterlyregretted his precipitation in permitting those important documents togo out of his own hands. And he frequently sent for Herbert Greyson inprivate to require assurances that he would not open the packetconfided to him before the occurrence of the event specified. 

And Herbert always soothed the sufferer by reiterating his promise thatso long as Colonel Le Noir should survive the seals of that packetshould not be broken. 

Beyond the suspicion that the parcel contained an important confession, Herbert Greyson was entirely ignorant of its contents. 

But the life of Gabriel Le Noir was prolonged beyond all human calculusof probabilities. 

He was spared to experience a more effectual repentance than thatspurious one into which he had been frightened by the seeming rapidapproach of death. And after seven months of lingering illness andgradual decline, during the latter portions of which he was comfortedby the society of his only son, who had come at his summons to visithim, in May, 1848, Gabriel Le Noir expired a sincere penitent, reconciled to God and man. 

And soon afterward, in the month of May, the treaty of peace havingbeen ratified by the Mexican Congress at Queretaro, the American armyevacuated the city and territory of Mexico. 

And our brave soldiers, their "brows crowned with victorious wreaths, "set out upon their return to home and friends. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

THE FORTUNATE BATH

 Heaven has to all allotted soon or late Some lucky revolution of their fate; Whose motions if we watch and guide with skill (For human good depends on human will) Our fortune rolls as from a smooth descent. And from the first impression takes its bent. Now, now she meets you with a glorious prize, And spreads her locks before her as she flies. 

 --DRYDEN. 

Meanwhile, what had our young adventurer been doing in all these monthsbetween September and June!

Traverse, with his two hundred dollars, had set out for New Orleansabout the first of October. 

But by the time he had paid his traveling expenses and fitted himselfout with a respectable suit of professional black and a few necessarybooks, his little capital had diminished three-quarters. 

So that when he found himself settled in his new office, in a highlyrespectable quarter of the city, he had but fifty dollars and a fewdimes left. 

A portion of this sum was expended in a cheap sofa-bedstead, a closedwashstand and a spirit lamp coffee boiler, for Traverse determined tolodge in his office and board himself--"which will have this additionaladvantage, " said the cheerful fellow to himself--"for besides saving mefrom debt, it will keep me always on hand for calls. "

The fever, though it was October, had scarcely abated; indeed, on thecontrary, it seemed to have revived and increased in virulency inconsequence of the premature return of many people who had fled on itsfirst appearance, and who in coming back too soon to the infectedatmosphere, were less able to withstand contagion than those whoremained. 

That Traverse escaped the plague was owing not so much to his favorite"theory" as to his vigorous constitution, pure blood and regular habitsof temperance, cleanliness and cheerful activity of mind and body. 

Just then the demand was greater than the supply of medical service. Traverse found plenty to do, and his pleasant, young face and hopefuland confident manners won him great favor in sick rooms, where, whetherit were to be ascribed to his "theory, " his "practice" or to the happy, inspiring influence of his personal presence, or to all these together, with the blessing of the Lord upon them, it is certain that he was verysuccessful in raising the sick. It is true that he did not earn fivedollars in as many days, for his practice, like that of almost everyvery young professional man, was among the indigent. 

But what of that? What if he were not running up heavy accounts againstwealthy patrons? He was "giving to the poor, " not money, for he himselfwas as poor as any of them; but his time, labor and professional skill;he was "giving to the poor;" he was "lending to the Lord, " and he"liked the security. " And the most successful speculator that ever madea fortune on 'change never, never invested time, labor or money to asurer advantage. 

And this I would say for the encouragement of all young persons insimilar circumstances--do not be impatient if the "returns" are alittle while delayed, for they are so sure and so rich that they arequite worth waiting for, nor will the waiting be long. Give yourservices cheerfully, also, for "the Lord loveth a cheerful giver. "

Traverse managed to keep out of debt; he regularly paid his office rentand his laundress' bill; he daily purchased his mutton chop or pound ofbeefsteak and broiled it himself; he made his coffee, swept and dustedhis office, put up his sofa-bed, blacked his boots; and oh! miracle ofindependence, he mended his own gloves and sewed on his own shirtbuttons, for you may depend that the widow's son knew how to do allthese things; nor was there a bit of hardship in his having so to waitupon himself, though if his mother and Clara, in their well-providedand comfortable home at Willow Heights, had only known how destitutethe young man was of female aid and comfort, how they would have cried!

"No one but himself to mend his poor dear gloves! Oh--oh-boo-hoo-oo!"

Traverse never alluded to his straitened circumstances, but boasted ofthe comfort of his quarters and the extent of his practice, anddeclared that his income already exceeded his outlay, which wasperfectly true, since he was resolved to live within it, whatever itmight be. 

As the fever began to subside Traverse's practice declined, and aboutthe middle of November his "occupation was gone. "

We said that his office was in the most respectable locality in thecity; it was, in fact, on the ground floor of a first-class hotel. 

It happened that one night, near the close of winter, Traverse layawake on his sofa-bedstead, turning over in his mind how he shouldcontrive to make both ends meet at the conclusion of the present termand feeling as near despondency as it was possible for his buoyant andGod-trusting soul to be, when there came a loud ringing at his officebell. 

This reminded him of the stirring days and nights of the precedingautumn. He started up at once to answer the summons. 

"Who's there?"

"Is Doctor Rocke in?"

"Yes, what's wanted?"

"A gentleman, sir, in the house here, sir, taken very bad, wants thedoctor directly, room number 555. "

"Very well, I will be with the gentleman immediately, " answeredTraverse, plunging his head into a basin of cold water and drying ithastily. 

In five minutes Traverse was in the office of the hotel, inquiring fora waiter to show him up into 555. 

One was ordered to attend him, who led the way up several flights ofstairs and around divers galleries, until he opened a door and usheredthe doctor immediately into the sick room. 

There was a little, old, dried-up Frenchman in a blue nightcap, extended on a bed in the middle of the room and covered with a whitecounterpane that clung close to his rigid form as to a corpse. 

And there was a little, old, dried-up Frenchwoman in a brown merinogown and a high-crowned muslin cap who hopped and chattered about thebed like a frightened magpie. 

"Ou! Monsieur le Docteur!" she screamed, jumping at Traverse in a wayto make him start back; "Ou, Monsieur le Docteur, I am very happy youto see! Voila mon frere! Behold my brother! He is ill! He is verra ill!He is dead! He is verra dead!"

"I hope not, " said Traverse, approaching the bed. 

"Voila, behold! Mon dieu, he is verra still! He is verra cold! He isverra dead! What can you, mon frere, my brother to save?"

"Be composed, madam, if you please, and allow me to examine mypatient, " said Traverse. 

"Ma foi! I know not what you speak 'compose. ' What can you my brotherto save?"

"Much, I hope, madam, but you must leave me to examine my patient andnot interrupt me, " said Traverse, passing his hand over the naked chestof the sick man. 

"Mon Dieu! I know not 'exam' and 'interrup'! and I know not what canyou mon frere to save!"

"If you don't hush parley-vooing, the doctor can do nothink, mum, " saidthe waiter, in a respectful tone. 

Traverse found his patient in a bad condition--in a stupor, if not in astate of positive insensibility. The surface of his body was cold asice, and apparently without the least vitality. If he was not, as hissister had expressed it, "very dead, " he was certainly "next to it. "

By close questioning, and by putting his questions in various forms, the doctor learned from the chattering little magpie of a Frenchwomanthat the patient had been ill for nine days; that he had been under thecare of Monsieur le Doctor Cartiere; that there had been a consultationof physicians; that they had prescribed for him and given him over:that le Docteur Cartiere still attended him, but was at this instant inattendance as accoucheur to a lady in extreme danger, whom he could notleave; but Doctor Cartiere had directed them, in his unavoidableabsence, to call in the skilful, the talented, the soon to beillustrious young Docteur Rocque, who was also near at hand. 

The heart of Traverse thrilled with joy. The Lord had remembered him!His best skill spent upon the poor and needy who could make him noreturn, but whose lives he had succeeded in saving, had reached theears of the celebrated Dr. C. , who had with the unobtrusive magnanimityof real genius quietly recommended him to his own patrons. 

Oh! well, he would do his very best, not only to advance his ownprofessional interests, and to please his mother and Clara, but also todo honor to the magnanimous Doctor C. 's recommendation!

Here, too, was an opportunity of putting in practise his favoritetheory; but first of all it was necessary to be informed of thepreceding mode of treatment and its results. 

So he further questioned the little, restless magpie, and byingeniously framed inquiries succeeded in gaining from her thenecessary knowledge of his patient's antecedents. He examined all themedicines that had been used, and informed himself of their effectsupon the disease. But the most serious difficulty of all seemed to bethe impossibility of raising vital action upon the cold, dead skin. 

The chattering little woman informed him that the patient had beencovered with blisters that would not "pull, " that would not"delineate, " that would not, what call you it--"draw!"

Traverse could easily believe this, for not only the skin, but the veryflesh of the old doctor seemed bloodless and lifeless. 

Now for his theory! What would kill a healthy man with a perfectcirculation might save the life of this dying one, whose whole surface, inch deep, seemed already dead. 

"Put him in a bath of mustard water, as hot as you can bear your ownhand in and continue to raise the temperature slowly, watching theeffect, for about five minutes. I will go down and prepare a cordialdraught to be taken the moment he gets back to bed, " said Doctor Rocke, who immediately left the room. 

His directions were all but too well obeyed. The bathing tub wasquickly brought into the chamber and, filled with water as hot as thenurse could bear her hand in then the invalid was hastily invested in aslight bathing gown and lifted by two servants and laid in the hot bath. 

"Now, bring quickly, water boiling, " said the little, old woman, imperatively. And when a large copper kettleful was forthcoming, shetook it and began to pour a stream of hissing, bubbling water in at thefoot of the bath. 

The skin of the torpid patient had been reddening for a few seconds, soas to prove that its sensibility was returning, and now when the streamfrom the kettle began to mix with the already very hot bath, and toraise its temperature almost to boiling, suddenly there was heard a cryfrom the bath, and the patient, with the agility of youth and health, skipped out of the tub and into his bed, kicking vigorously andexclaiming:

"Brigands! Assassins! You have scalded my legs to death!"

"Glory be to the Lord, he's saved!" cried one of the waiters, a devoutIrishman. 

"Ciel! he speaks! he moves! he lives! mon frere!" cried the littleFrenchwoman, going to him. 

"Ah, murderers! bandits! you've scalded me to death! I'll have you allbefore the commissaire!"

"He scolds! he threatens! he swears! he gets well! mon frere!" criedthe old woman, busying herself to change his clothes and put on hisflannel nightgown. They then tucked him up warmly in bed and putbottles of hot water all around, to keep up this newly stimulatedcirculation. 

At that moment Dr. Rocke came in, put his hand into the bath-tub andcould scarcely repress a cry of pain and of horror--the water scaldedhis fingers! What must it have done to the sick man?

"Good heavens, madam! I did not tell you to parboil your patient!"exclaimed Traverse, speaking to the old woman. Traverse was shocked tofind how perilously his orders had been exceeded. 

"Eh bien, Monsieur! he lives! he does well! voila mon frere!" exclaimedthe little old woman. 

It was true: the accidental "boiling bath" as it might almost becalled, had effected what perhaps no other means in the world could--arestored circulation. 

The disease was broken up, and the convalescence of the patient wasrapid. And as Traverse kept his own secret concerning the accidentalhigh temperature of that bath, which every one considered a fearful andsuccessful experiment, the fame of Dr. Rocke spread over the whole cityand country. 

He would soon have made a fortune in New Orleans, had not the hand ofdestiny beckoned him elsewhere. It happened thus:

The old Frenchman whose life Traverse had, partly by accident andpartly by design, succeeded in saving, comprehended perfectly well hownarrow his escape from death had been, and attributed his restorationsolely to the genius, skill and boldness of his young physician, andwas grateful accordingly with all a Frenchman's noisy demonstration. 

He called Traverse his friend, his deliverer, his son. 

One day, as soon as he found himself strong enough to think of pursuinghis journey, he called his "son" into the room and explained to himthat he, Doctor Pierre St. Jean, was the proprietor of a private insaneasylum, very exclusive, very quiet, very aristocratic, indeed, receiving none but patients of the highest rank; that this retreat wassituated on the wooded banks of a charming lake in one of the mosthealthy and beautiful neighborhoods of East Feliciana; that he hadoriginally come down to the city to engage the services of some youngphysician of talent as his assistant, and finally, that he would bedelighted, enraptured if "his deliverer, his friend, his son, " wouldaccept the post. 

Now Traverse particularly wished to study the various phases of mentalderangement, a department of his professional education that hadhitherto been opened to him only through books. 

He explained this to his old friend, the French physician, whoimmediately went off into ecstatic exclamations of joy as, "Good!Great! Grand!" and "I shall now repay my good child! my dear son! forhis so excellent skill!"

The terms of the engagement were soon arranged, and Traverse preparedto accompany his new friend to his "beautiful retreat, " the privatemadhouse. But Traverse wrote to his mother and to Clara in Virginia, and also to Herbert Greyson in Mexico, to apprise them of his goodfortune. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE MYSTERIOUS MANIAC. 

 Stay, jailer, stay, and hear my woe; She is not mad, who kneels to thee, For what I am, full well I know, And what I was, and what should be; I'll rave no more in proud despair-- My language shall be calm tho' sad But yet I'll truly, firmly swear, I am not mad! no, no, not mad!

 --M. G. LEWIS

It was at the close of a beautiful day in early spring that TraverseRocke, accompanying the old doctor and the old sister, reached thegrove on the borders of the beautiful lake upon the banks of which wassituated the "Calm Retreat. "

A large, low, white building surrounded with piazzas and shaded byfragrant and flowering southern trees, it looked like the luxuriouscountry seat of some wealthy merchant or planter rather than a prisonfor the insane. 

Doctor St. Jean conducted his young assistant into a broad and coolhall on each side of which doors opened into spacious rooms, occupiedby the proprietor and his household. The cells of the patients, as itappeared were up-stairs. The country doctor and the matron who had beenin charge during the absence of the proprietor and his sister now cameforward to welcome the party and report the state of the institutionand its inmates. 

All were as usual, the country doctor said, except "Mademoiselle. "

"And what of her--how is Mademoiselle--?"

"A patient most interesting, Doctor Rocke, " said the old Frenchman, alternately questioning his substitute and addressing Traverse. 

"She has stopped her violent ravings, and seems to me to be sinkinginto a state of stupid despair, " replied the substitute. 

"A patient most interesting, my young friend! A history most pathetic!You shall hear of it some time. But come into the parlor, and you, Angele, my sister, ring and order coffee, " said the old Frenchman, leading the way into a pleasant apartment on the right of the hall, furnished with straw matting upon the floor and bamboo settees andchairs around the walls. 

Here coffee was presently served to the travelers, who soon afterretired for the night. 

Traverse's room was a large, pleasant apartment at the end of a wide, long hall, on each side of which were the doors opening into the cellsof the patients. 

Fatigued by his journey, Traverse slept soundly through the night; butearly in the morning he was rudely awakened by the sounds of maniacvoices from the cells. Some were crying, some laughing aloud somegroaning and howling and some holding forth in fancied exhortations. 

He dressed himself quickly and left his room to walk down the length ofthe long hall and observe the cells on each side. The doors were atregular intervals, and each door had in its center a small opening toenable the proprietor to look in upon the patients. 

As these were all women, and some of them delicate and refined even intheir insanity, Traverse felt shocked at this necessary, if it werenecessary, exposure of their sanctuary. 

The cells were, in fact, small bedrooms that with their white-washedwalls and white-curtained beds and windows looked excessively neat, clean and cool, but also, it must be confessed, very bare, dreary andcheerless. 

"Even a looking-glass would be a great benefit to those poor girls, forI remember that even Clara, in her violent grief, and mother in herlifelong sorrow, never neglected their looking-glass and personalappearance, " said Traverse to himself, as he passed down the hall andresolved that this little indulgence should be afforded the patients. 

And except those first involuntary glances he scrupulously avoidedlooking in through the gratings upon those helpless women who had nomeans of secluding themselves. 

But as he turned to go down the stairs his eyes went full into anopposite cell and fell upon a vision of beauty and sorrow thatimmediately riveted his gaze. 

It was a small and graceful female figure, clothed in deep black, seated by the window, with her elbow resting upon the sill and her chinsupported on her hand. Her eyes were cast down until her eyelashes laylike inky lines upon her snow-white cheek. Her face, of classicregularity and marble whiteness, bore a ghastly contrast to the longeyelashes, arched eyebrows and silken ringlets black as midnight. Shemight have been a statue or a picture, so motionless she sat. 

Conscious of the wrong of gazing upon this solitary woman, Traverseforced his looks away and passed on down-stairs, where he again met theold doctor and Mademoiselle Angele at breakfast. 

After breakfast Doctor St. Jean invited his young assistant toaccompany him on a round of visits to the patients, and they wentimmediately up to the hall, at the end of which Traverse had slept. 

"There are our incurables, but they are not violent; incurables neverare! Poor Mademoiselle! She has just been conveyed to this ward, " saidthe doctor, opening the door of the first cell on the right at the headof the stairs and admitting Traverse at once into the presence of thebeautiful, black-haired, snow-faced woman, who had so much interestedhim. 

"This is my friend, Doctor Rocke, Mademoiselle; Doctor, this is myfriend, Mademoiselle Mont de St. Pierre!"

Traverse bowed profoundly, and the lady arose, curtsied and resumed herseat, saying, coldly:

"I have told you, Monsieur, never to address me as Mademoiselle; youpersist in doing so, and I shall never notice the insult again. "

"Ten thousand pardons, madame! But if madame will always look so young, so beautiful, can I ever remember that she is a widow?"

The classic lip of the woman curled in scorn, and she disdained a reply. 

"I take an appeal to Monsieur Le Docteur--is not madame young andbeautiful?" asked the Frenchman, turning to Traverse, while thesplendid, black eyes of the stranger passed from the one to the other. 

Traverse caught the glance of the lady and bowed gravely. It was themost delicate and proper reply. 

She smiled almost as gravely, and with a much kinder expression thanany she had bestowed upon the Frenchman. 

"And how has madame fared during my absence so long? The servants--havethey been respectful? Have they been observant? Have they been obedientto the will of madame? Madame has but to speak!" said the doctor, bowing politely. 

"Why should I speak when every word I utter you believe, or affect tobelieve, to be the ravings of a maniac? I will speak no more, " said thelady, turning away her superb dark eyes and looking out of the window. 

"Ah, madame will not so punish her friend, her servant, her slave!"

A gesture of fierce impatience and disgust was the only reply deignedby the lady. 

"Come away; she is angry and may become dangerously excited, " said theold doctor, leading the way from the cell. 

"Did you tell me this lady is one of the incurables?" inquiredTraverse, when they had left her apartment. 

"Bah! yes, poor girl, vera incurable, as my sister would say. "

"Yet she appears to me to be perfectly sane, as well as exceedinglybeautiful and interesting. "

"Ah, bah; my excellent, my admirable, my inexperienced young friend, that is all you know of lunatics! With more or less violence ofassertion, they every one insist upon their sanity, just as criminalsprotest their innocence. Ah, bah! you shall go into every cell in thisward and find not one lunatic among them, " sneered the old doctor, ashe led the way into the next little room. 

It was indeed as he had foretold, and Traverse Rocke found himselfdeeply affected by the melancholy, the earnest and sometimes theviolent manner in which the poor unfortunates protested their sanityand implored or demanded to be restored to home and friends. 

"You perceive, " said the doctor, with a dry laugh, "that they are noneof them crazy?"

"I see, " said Traverse, "but I also detect a very great differencebetween that lovely woman in the south cell and these other inmates. "

"Bah! bah! bah! She is more beautiful, more accomplished, more refinedthan the others, and she is in one of her lucid intervals! That is all;but as to a difference between her insanity and that of the otherpatients, it lies in this, that she is the most hopelessly mad of thewhole lot! She has been mad eighteen years!"

"Is it possible?" exclaimed Traverse, incredulously. 

"She lost her reason at the age of sixteen, and she is now thirty-four;you can calculate!"

"It is amazing and very sorrowful! How beautiful she is!"

"Yes; her beauty was a fatal gift. It is a sad story. Ah, it is a sadstory. You shall hear it when we get through. "

"I can connect no idea of woman's frailty with that refined andintellectual face, " said Traverse coldly. 

"Ah, bah! you are young! you know not the world! you, my innocent, mypious young friend!" said the old doctor, as they crossed the hall togo into the next wing of the building, in which were situated the men'swards. 

Traverse found nothing that particularly interested him in thisdepartment, and when they had concluded their round of visits and wereseated together in the old doctor's study, Traverse asked him for thestory of his beautiful patient. 

The doctor shrugged his shoulders. 

"It is a story miserable, as I told you before. A gentleman, illustrious, from Virginia, an officer high in the army, anddistinguished in the war, he brought this woman to me nearly threeyears ago. He informed me that--oh, bien! I had better tell you thestory in my own manner. This young lady, Mademoiselle Mont de St. Pierre, is of a family noble and distinguished--a relative of thisofficer, illustrious and brave. At fifteen Mademoiselle met a man, handsome and without honor. Ah, bah! you understand! at sixteen thechild became a fallen angel! She lost her reason through sorrow andshame. This relative--this gentleman, illustrious and noble, tender andcompassionate--took her to the seclusion of his country house, whereshe lived in elegance, luxury and honor. But as the years passed hermalady increased; her presence became dangerous; in a word, thegentleman, distinguished and noble, saw the advertisement of my 'CalmRetreat, ' my institution incomparable, and he wrote to me. In a word, he liked my terms and brought to me his young relative, so lovely andso unfortunate. Ah! he is a good man, this officer, so gallant, sochivalrous; but she is ungrateful!"

"Ungrateful!"

"Ah, bah! yes; it is the way of lunatics! They ever imagine their bestfriends to be their worst enemies. The poor, crazed creature fanciesthat she is the sister-in-law of this officer illustrious! She thinksthat she is the widow of his elder brother, whom she imagines hemurdered, and that she is the mother of children, whom she says he hasabducted or destroyed, so that he may enjoy the estate that is herwidow's dower and their orphans' patrimony. That is the reason why sheinsists on being called madame instead of mademoiselle, and we indulgeher when we think of it!"

"But all this is very singular!"

"Ah, bah! who can account for a lunatic's fancies? She is the maddestof the whole lot. Sometimes she used to become so violent that we wouldhave to restrain her. But lately, Doctor Wood tells me, she is quitestill; that we consider a bad sign; there is always hope for a lunaticuntil they begin to sink into this state, " said the doctor, with an airof competency. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE MANIAC'S STORY, A scheming villain forged the tale That chains me in this dreary cell, My fate unknown, my friends bewail, Oh, doctor, haste that fate to tell! Oh, haste my daughter's heart to cheer, Her heart, at once, 'twill grieve and glad To know, tho' chained and captive here, I am not mad! I am not mad!

 --M. G. LEWIS. 

There is some advantage in having imagination, since that visionaryfaculty opens the mental eyes to facts that more practical and dullerintellects could never see. 

Traverse was young and romantic, and deeply interested in the doctor'sbeautiful patient. He, therefore, did not yield his full credulity tothe tale told by the "relative illustrious" to the old doctor, as tothe history and cause of the lady's madness, or even take it forgranted that she was mad. He thought it quite possible that thedistinguished officer's story might be a wicked fabrication, to conceala crime, and that the lady's "crazy fancy" might be the pure truth. 

And Travers had heard to what heinous uses private madhouses weresometimes put by some unscrupulous men, who wished to get certain womenout of their way, yet who shrank from bloodshed. 

And he thought it not impossible that this "gentleman so noble, socompassionate and tender, " might be just such a man, and this "fallenangel" such a victim. And he determined to watch and observe. And hefurther resolved to treat the interesting patient with all the studiousdelicacy and respect due to a refined and accomplished woman in thefull possession of her faculties. If she were really mad, this demeanorwould not hurt her, and if she were not mad it was the only properconduct to be observed toward her, as any other must be equally crueland offensive. Her bodily health certainly required the attendance of aphysician, and Traverse had therefore a fair excuse for his dailyvisits to her cell. 

His respectful manners, his grave bow, and his reverential tone insaying--

"I hope I find you stronger to-day, Madam, " seemed to gratify one whohad few sources of pleasure. 

"I thank you, " she would answer, with a softened tone and look, adding, "Yes" or "No, " as the truth might be. 

One day, after looking at the young physician some time, she suddenlysaid:

"You never forget. You always address me by my proper title of Madam, and without the touch of irony which others indulge in when 'humoring'me, as they call it! Now, pray explain to me why, in sober earnest, yougive me this title?"

"Because, Madam, I have heard you lay claim to that title, and I thinkthat you yourself, of all the world, have the best right to know howyou should be addressed, " said Traverse, respectfully. 

The lady looked wistfully at him and said:

"But my next-door neighbor asserts that she is a queen; she insistsupon being called 'your majesty. ' Has she, then, the best right to knowhow she should be addressed?"

"Alas! no, Madam, and I am pained that you should do yourself the greatwrong to draw such comparisons. "

"Why? Am not I and the 'queen' inmates of the same ward of incurables, in the same lunatic asylum?"

"Yes, but not with equal justice of cause. The 'queen' is a hopelesslyderanged, but happy lunatic. You, Madam, are a lady who has retainedthe full possession of your faculties amid circumstances andsurroundings that must have overwhelmed the reason of a weaker mind. "

The lady looked at him in wonder and almost in joy. 

"Ah! it was not the strength of my mind; it was the strength of theAlmighty upon whom my mind was stayed, for time and for eternity, thathas saved my reason in all these many years! But how did you know thatI was not mad? How do you know that this is anything more than a lucidinterval of longer duration than usual?" she asked. 

"Madam, you will forgive me for having looked at you so closely, andwatched you so constantly, but I am your physician, you know--"

"I have nothing to forgive and much to thank you for, young man. Youhave an honest, truthful, frank, young face! the only one such that Ihave seen in eighteen years of sorrow! But why, then, did you notbelieve the doctor? Why did you not take the fact of my insanity upontrust, as others did?" she asked, fixing her glorious, dark eyesinquiringly upon his face. 

"Madam, from the first moment in which I saw you, I disbelieved thestory of your insanity, and mentioned my doubts to Doctor St. Jean--"

"Who ridiculed your doubts, of course. I can readily believe that hedid. Doctor St. Jean is not a very bad man, but he is a charlatan and adullard; he received the story of my reported insanity as he receivedme, as an advantage to his institution, and he never gave himself theunprofitable trouble to investigate the circumstances. I told him thetruth about myself as calmly as I now speak to you, but somebody elsehad told him that this truth was the fiction of a deranged imagination, and he found it more convenient and profitable to believe somebodyelse. But again I ask you, why were not you, also, so discreetlyobtuse?"

"Madam, " said Traverse, blushing ingenuously, "I hope you will forgiveme for saying that it is impossible any one could see you withoutbecoming deeply interested in your fate. Your face, Madam, speaksequally of profound sorrows and of saintly resignation. I saw no signof madness there. In the calm depths of those sad eyes, lady, I knewthat the fires of insanity never could have burned. Pardon me that Ilooked at you so closely; I was your physician, and was most deeplyanxious concerning my patient. "

"I thank you; may the Lord bless you! Perhaps he has sent you here formy relief, for you are right, young friend--you are altogether right; Ihave been wild with grief, frantic with despair, but never for one hourin the whole course of my life have I been insane. "

"I believe you, Madam, on my sacred honor I do!" said Traverse, fervently. 

"And yet you could get no one about this place to believe you! Theyhave taken my brother-in-law's false story, indorsed as it is by thedoctor-proprietor, for granted. And just so long as I persist intelling my true story, they will consider me a monomaniac, and so oftenas the thought of my many wrongs and sorrows combines with the nervousirritability to which every woman is occasionally subject, and makes merave with impatience and excitement, they will report me a dangerouslunatic, subject to periodical attacks of violent frenzy; but, youngman, even at my worst, I am no more mad than any other woman, wild withgrief and hysterical through nervous irritation, might at any timebecome without having her sanity called in question. "

"I am sure that you are not, nor ever could have been, Madam. Thenervous excitement of which you speak is entirely within the control ofmedicine, which mania proper is not. You will use the means that Iprescribe and your continued calmness will go far to convince eventhese dullards that they have been wrong. "

"I will do everything you recommend; indeed, for some weeks before youcame, I had put a constraint upon myself and forced myself to be verystill; but the effect of that was, that acting upon their theory theysaid that I was sinking into the last or 'melancholy-mad' state ofmania, and they put me in here with the incurables. "

"Lady, " said Traverse, respectfully taking her hand, "now that I amacquainted in some slight degree with the story of your heavy wrongs, do not suppose that I will ever leave you until I see you restored toyour friends. "

"Friends! ah, young man, do you really suppose that if I had hadfriends I should have been left thus long unsought? I have no friends, Doctor Rocke, except yourself, newly sent me by the Lord; nor anyrelatives except a young daughter whom I have seen but twice in mylife!--once upon the dreadful night when she was born and torn awayfrom my sight and once about two years ago, when she must have beensixteen years of age. My little daughter does not know that she has apoor mother living, and I have no friend upon earth but you, whom theLord has sent. "

"And not in vain!" said Traverse, fervently, "though you have no otherfriends, yet you have the law to protect you. I will make your caseknown and restore you to liberty. Then, lady, listen: I have a goodmother, to whom suffering has taught sympathy with the unfortunate, andI have a lovely betrothed bride, whom you will forgive her lover forthinking an angel in woman's form; and we have a beautiful home amongthe hills of Virginia, and you shall add to our happiness by livingwith us. "

The lady looked at Traverse Rocke with astonishment and incredulity. 

"Boy, " she said, "do you know what you are promising--to assume thewhole burden of the support of a useless woman for her whole life? Whatwould your mother or your promised wife say to such a proposition?"

"Ah! you do not know my dear mother nor my Clara--no, nor even me. Itell you the truth when I say that your coming among us would make ushappier. Oh. Madam, I myself owe so much to the Lord and to Hisinstruments, the benevolent of this world, for all that has been donefor me. I seize with gratitude the chance to serve in my turn any ofHis suffering children. Pray believe me!"

"I do! I do, Doctor Rocke! I see that life has not deprived you of agenerous, youthful enthusiasm, " said the lady, with the tears wellingup into her glorious black eyes. 

After a little, with a smile, she held out her hand to him, saying:

"Young friend, if you should succeed in freeing me from this prison andestablishing my sanity before a court of justice, I and my daughterwill come into the immediate possession of one of the largest estatesin your native Virginia! Sit you down, Doctor Rocke, while I tell youmy true story, and much, very much more of it than I have ever confidedto any human being. "

"Lady, I am very impatient to hear your history, but I am yourphysician, and must first consider your health. You have beensufficiently excited for one day; it is late; take your tea and retireearly to bed. To-morrow morning, after I have visited the wards and youhave taken your breakfast, I will come, and you shall tell me the storyof your life. "

"I will do whatever you think best, " said the lady. 

Traverse lifted her hand to his lips, bowed and retreated from the cell. 

That same night Traverse wrote to his friend Herbert Greyson, inMexico, and to his mother and Clara, describing his interestingpatient, though as yet he could tell but little of her, not even infact her real name, but promising fuller particulars next time, anddeclaring hi intention of bringing her home for the present to theirhouse. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

END OF THE LADY'S STORY. 

 Of the present naught is bright, But in the coming years I see A brilliant and a cheerful light, Which burns before thee constantly. 

 --W. D. GALLAGHER

At the appointed hour the next morning Traverse Rocke repaired to thecell of his mysterious patient. 

He was pleased to find her up, dressed with more than usual care andtaste and looking, upon the whole, much better in health and spiritsthan upon the preceding day. 

"Ah, my young hero, it is you; you see that I am ready for you, " shesaid, holding out her hand. 

"You are looking very well this morning, " said Traverse, smiling. 

"Yes, hope is a fine tonic, Doctor Rocke. "

She was seated by the same window at which Traverse had first seen her, and she now beckoned the young doctor to come and take a seat near her. 

"My story is almost as melodramatic as a modern romance, Doctor Rocke, "she said. 

Traverse bowed gravely and waited. 

"My father was a French patriot, who suffered death in the cause ofliberty when I, his only child, was but fourteen years of age. Mymother, broken-hearted by his loss, followed him within a few months. Iwas left an orphan and penniless, for our estate was confiscated. "

"Ah, your sorrows came early and heavily indeed, " said Traverse. 

"Yes; well, a former servant of my father held an humble situation ofporter on the ground floor of a house, the several floors of which werelet out to different lodgers. This poor man and his wife gave me atemporary home with themselves. Among the lodgers of the house therewas a young Virginian gentleman of fortune, traveling for pleasure andimprovement; his name was Mr. Eugene Le Noir. "

"Le Noir!" cried Traverse, with a violent start. 

"Yes--what is the matter?"

"It is a familiar Virginia name, Madam, that is all; pray go on. "

"Mr. Le Noir was as good and kind as he was wise and cultivated. Heused to stop to gossip with old Cliquot every time he stopped at theporter's room to take or to leave his key. There he heard of the poorlittle orphan of the guillotine, who had no friend in the world but herfather's old servant. He pitied me, and after many consultations withFather and Mother Cliquot, he assumed the position of guardian to me, and placed me at one of the best schools in Paris. He lingered in thecity and came to see me very often; but always saw me in the presenceof Madame, the directress. I clung to him with affection as to a fatheror an elder brother, and I knew he loved me with the tender, protectingaffection that he would have given a younger sister, had he possessedone. Ah! Doctor Rocke, tell me, besides yourself, are there many othermen in your State like him?"

"I knew but one such; but go on, dear Madam. "

"When I had been to school some months he came to me one day scarcelyable to conceal his woe. He told me that his father was ill and that heshould have to sail in the first packet from Havre, and that, in fact, he had then come to take leave of me. I was wild with grief, not onlyupon his account but upon my own, at the prospect of losing him, myonly friend. I was but a child, and a French child to boot. I knewnothing of the world; I regarded this noble gentleman, who was so muchmy superior in years as in everything else, as a father, guardian orelder brother; so in an agony of grief I threw myself into his arms, sobbing and weeping bitterly and imploring him not to break my heart byleaving me. It was in vain Madame the Directress exclaimed andexpostulated at these improprieties. I am sure I did not hear a worduntil he spoke. Putting me out of his arms, he said:"

"I must go, my child; duty calls me. "

"Then take me with you; take your poor little one with you, and do notpull her out of your warm, good heart, or she will wither and die likea flower torn up by the roots!" I cried, between my sobs and tears. 

"He drew me back to his bosom and whispered:"

"There is but one way in which I can take you with me, my child. Willyou be my wife, little Capitolie?"

"Capitola!" cried Traverse, with another great start. 

"Yes! Why? What is the matter now?"

"Why, it is such an odd name, that is all! Pray proceed, Madam. "

"We were married the same day, and sailed the third morning thereafterfrom Havre for the United States, where we arrived, alas! only to findthe noble gentleman, my Eugene's father, laid in his grave. After Mr. Le Noir's natural grief was over we settled down peaceably to ourcountry life at the Hidden House--"

"The Hidden House!" again exclaimed Traverse Rocke. 

"Yes! that is another odd name, isn't it? Well, I was very happy. Atfirst when I understood my real position, I had been afraid that myhusband had married me only from compassion; but he soon proved to methat his love was as high, as pure and as noble as himself. I was veryhappy. But one day, in the midst of my exultant joy, a thunderbolt felland shattered my peace to destruction forever! Oh, Doctor Rocke, myhusband was murdered by some unknown hand in his own woods, in openday! I cannot talk of this!" cried the widow, breaking down, overwhelmed with the rush of terrible recollections. 

Traverse poured out a glass of water and handed it to her. 

She drank it, made an effort at self-control, and resumed:

"Thus, scarcely sixteen years of age, I was a widow, helpless, penniless and entirely dependent--upon my brother-in-law, ColonelGabriel Le Noir, for by the terms of their father's will, if Eugenedied without issue the whole property descended to his younger brother, Gabriel. To speak the truth, Colonel Le Noir was exceedingly kind to meafter, my awful bereavement, until a circumstance was discovered thatchanged all our relations. It was two months after my husband's deaththat I discovered, with mingled emotions of joy and sorrow, that heavenhad certainly destined me to become a mother! I kept my cherishedsecret to myself as long as it was possible, but it could not indeed belong concealed from the household. I believe that my brother-in-law wasthe first to suspect it. He called me into his study one day, and Iobeyed like a child. And there he rudely questioned me upon the subjectof my sacred mother-mystery. He learned the truth more from my silencethan from my replies, for I could not answer him. "

"The brute! the miserable hound!" ejaculated Traverse. 

"Oh, Doctor Rocke, I could not tell you the avalanche of abuse, insultand invective that he hurled upon my defenseless head. He accused me ofmore crimes than I had ever heard talk of. He told me that my conditionwas an impossible one unless I had been false to the memory of hisbrother; that I had dishonored his name, disgraced his house andbrought myself to shame; that I should leave the roof, leave theneighborhood and die as I deserved to die, in a ditch! I made no reply. I was crushed into silence under the weight of his reproaches. "

"The caitiff! The poltroon! Ah, poor stranger, why did you not leavethe house at once and throw yourself upon the protection of theminister of your parish or some other kind neighbor?"

"Alas! I was a child, a widow and a foreigner all in one! I did notknow your land or your laws or your people. I was not hopeful orconfident; I had suffered so cruelly and I was overwhelmed by hisabuse. "

"But did you not know, dear lady, that all his rage was aroused only bythe fact that the birth of your child would disinherit him?"

"Ah, no! I was not aware, at that time, that Gabriel Le Noir was avillain. I thought his anger honest, though unjust, and I was asignorant as a child. I had no mother nor matronly friend to instructme. I knew that I had broken no command of God or man; that I had beena faithful wife, but when Gabriel Le Noir accused me with such bitterearnestness I feared that some strange departure from the usual courseof nature had occurred for my destruction. And I was overwhelmed bymortification, terror and despair!"

"Ah, the villain!" exclaimed Traverse, between his teeth. 

"He told me at last that to save the memory of his dead brother hewould hide my dishonor, and he ordered me to seclude myself from thesight of all persons. I obeyed him like a slave, grateful even for theshelter of his roof. "

"A roof that was your own, as he very well knew. And he knew, also, thecaitiff! that if the circumstance became known the whole State wouldhave protected you in your rights, and ejected him like a cur. "

"Nay, even in that case no harm should have reached him on my account. He was my husband's brother. "

"And worst enemy! But proceed, dear lady. "

"Well, I secluded myself as he commanded. For four months I never leftthe attic to which he had ordered me to retreat. At the end of thattime I became the mother of twins--a boy and a girl. The boy onlyopened his eyes on this world to close them again directly. The girlwas living and healthy. The old nurse who attended me had an honest andcompassionate face; I persuaded her to secrete and save the livingchild, and to present the dead babe to Colonel Le Noir as the only one, for the suspicions that had never been awakened for myself were alarmedfor my child. I instinctively felt that he would have destroyed it. "

"The mother's instinct is like inspiration, " said Traverse. 

"It may be so. Well, the old woman pitied me and did as I desired. Shetook the dead child to Colonel Le Noir, who carried it off, andafterward buried it as the sole heir of his elder brother. The oldwoman carried off my living child and my wedding ring, concealed underher ample shawl. Anxiety for the 'fate of my child caused me to do whatnothing else on earth would have tempted me to do--to creep about thehalls and passages on tiptoe and under cover of the night and listen atkeyholes, " said the lady, blushing deeply at the recollection. 

"You--you were perfectly right, Mrs. Le Noir! In a den of robbers, where your life and honor were always at stake, you could have done nootherwise!" exclaimed Traverse, warmly. 

"I learned by this means that my poor old nurse had paid with herliberty for her kindness to me. She had been, abducted and forced fromher native country together with a child found in her possession, whichthey evidently suspected, and I knew, to be mine. Oh, heaven! the agonythen of thinking of what might be her unknown fate, worse than death, perhaps! I felt that I had only succeeded in saving her life-doubtfulgood!"

Here Mrs. Le Noir paused in thought for a few moments and then resumed. 

"It is the memory of a long, dreary and hopeless imprisonment, myrecollection of my residence in that house! In the same manner in whichI gained all my information, I learned that it was reported in theneighborhood that I had gone mad with grief for the loss of my husbandand that I was an inmate of a madhouse in the North! It was altogetherfalse! I never left the Hidden House in all those years until about twoyears ago. My life there was dreary beyond all conception. I wasforbidden to go out or to appear at a window. I had the whole attic, containing some eight or ten rooms, to rove over, but I was forbiddento descend. An ill-looking woman called Dorcas Knight, between whom andthe elder Le Noir there seemed to have been some sinful bond wasengaged ostensibly as my attendant, but really as my jailer. Nevertheless, when the sense of confinement grew intolerable Isometimes eluded her vigilance and wandered about the house at night. "

"Thence, no doubt, " said Traverse, "giving rise to the report that thehouse was haunted. "

Mrs. Le Noir smiled, saying:

"I believe the Le Noirs secretly encouraged that report. I'll tell youwhy. They gave me a chamber lamp inclosed in an intense blue, shade, that cast a strange, unearthly light around. Their ostensible reasonwas to insure my safety from fire. Their real reason was that thislight might be seen from without in what was reputed to be anuninhabited portion of the house, and give color to its bad reputationamong the ignorant of being haunted. "

"So much for the origin of one authenticated ghost story, " saidTraverse. 

"Yes, and there was still more circumstantial evidence to support thisghostly reputation of the house. As the years passed I had, even in myconfined state, gathered knowledge in one way and another--picking upstray books and hearing stray conversation; and so, in the end Ilearned how gross a deception and how great a wrong had been practisedupon me. I was not wise or cunning. I betrayed constantly to myattendant my knowledge of these things. In consequence of which myconfinement became still more restricted. "

"Yes, they were afraid of you, and fear is always the mother ofcruelty, " said Traverse. 

"Well, from the time that I became enlightened as to my real position, all my faculties were upon the alert to find means of escaping andmaking my condition known to the authorities. One night they had aguest, Colonel Eglen, of the army, Old Dorcas had her hands full, andforgot her prisoner. My door was left unlocked. So, long after ColonelEglen had retired to rest, and when all the household were buried inrepose, I left my attic and crept down to the chamber of the guest, with no other purpose than to make known my wrongs and appeal to hiscompassion. I entered his chamber, approached his bed to speak to him, when this hero of a hundred fields started up in a panic, and at thesight of the pale woman who drew his curtains in the dead of the night, he shrieked, violently rang his bell and fainted prone away. "

"Ha! ha! ha! he could brave an army or march into a cannon's moutheasier than meet a supposed denizen of another world! Well, DoctorJohnson believed in ghosts, " laughed Traverse. 

"It remained for me to retreat as fast as possible to my room to avoidthe Le Noirs, who were hurrying with head-long speed to theguest-chamber. They knew of course, that I was the ghost, although theyaffected to treat their visitor's story as a dream. After that myconfinement was so strict that for years I had no opportunity ofleaving my attic. At last the strict espionage was relaxed. Sometimesmy door would be left unlocked. Upon one such occasion, in creepingabout in the dark, I learned, by overhearing a conversation between LeNoir and his housekeeper, that my long lost daughter, Capitola, hadbeen found and was living at Hurricane Hall! This was enough to comfortme for years. About three years ago the surveillance over me was somodified that I was left again to roam about the upper rooms of thehouse at will, until I learned that they had a new inmate, young ClaraDay, a ward of Le Noir! Oh, how I longed to warn that child to fly! ButI could not; alas, again I was restricted to my own room, lest I shouldbe seen by her. But again, upon one occasion, old Dorcas forgot to lockmy door at night. I stole forth from my room and learned that a younggirl, caught out in the storm, was to stay all night at the HiddenHouse. Young girls were not plentiful in that neighborhood, I knew. Besides, some secret instinct told me that this was my daughter: I knewthat she would sleep in the chamber under mine, because that was theonly habitable guest-room in the whole house. In the dead of night Ileft my room and went below and entered the chamber of the young girl. I went first to the toilet table to see if among her little girlishornaments, I could find any clue to her identity. I found it in aplain, gold ring--the same that I had intrusted to the old nurse. Somestrange impulse caused me to slip the ring upon my finger. Then I wentto the bed and threw aside the curtains to gaze upon the sleeper. Mygirl--my own girl! With what strange sensations I first looked upon herface! Her eyes were open and fixed upon mine in a panic of terror. Istooped to press my lips to her's and she closed her eyes in mortalfear, I carried nothing but terror with me! I withdrew from the roomand went back, sobbing, to my chamber. My poor girl next morningunconsciously betrayed her mother. It had nearly cost me my life. "

"When the Le Noirs came home, the first night of their arrival theyentered my room, seized me in my bed and dragged me shrieking from it!"

"Good heaven! What punishment is sufficient for such wretches!"exclaimed Traverse, starting up and pacing the narrow limits of thecell. 

"Listen! They soon stopped both my shrieks and my breath at once. Ilost consciousness for a time, and when I awoke I found myself in aclose carriage, rattling over a mountain road, through the night. Latethe next morning we reached an uninhabited country house, where I wasagain imprisoned, in charge of an old dumb woman, whom Le Noir calledMrs. Raven. This I afterwards understood to be Willow Heights, theproperty of the orphan heiress, Clara Day. And here, also, for the termof my stay, the presence of the unknown inmate got the house thereputation of being haunted. "

"The old dumb woman was a shade kinder to me than Dorcas Knight hadbeen, but I did not stay in her charge very long. One night the LeNoirs came in hot haste. The young heiress had been delivered fromtheir charge by a degree, of the Orphans' Court, and they had to giveup her house. I was drugged and hurried away. Some narcotic sedativemust have been insinuated into all my food, for I was in a state ofsemi-sensibility and mild delirium during the whole course of a longjourney by land and sea, which passed to me like a dream, and at theend of which I found myself here. No doubt, from the excessive use ofnarcotics, there was something wild and stupid in my manner andappearance that justified the charge of madness. And when I found thatI was a prisoner in a lunatic asylum, far, far away from theneighborhood where at least I had once been known I gave way to thewilder grief that further confirmed the story of my madness. I havebeen here two years, occasionally giving way to outbursts of wilddespair, that the doctor calls frenzy. I was sinking into an apathy, when one day I opened the little Bible that lay upon the table of mycell. I fixed upon the last chapters in the gospel of John. Thatnarrative of meek patience and divine love. It did for me what no powerunder that of God could have done. It saved me! It saved me frommadness! It saved me from despair! There is a time for the second birthof every soul; that time had collie fur me. From that hour, this bookhas been my constant companion and comfort. I have learned from itspages how little it matters how or where this fleeting, mortal life ispassed, so that it answers its purpose of preparing the soul foranother. I have learned patience with sinners, forgiveness of enemies, and confidence in God. In a word, I trust I have learned the way ofsalvation, and in that have learned everything. Your coming and yourwords, young friend, have stirred within my heart the desire to befree, to mingle again on equal terms with my fellow beings, and aboveall, to find and to embrace my child. But not wildly anxious am I evenfor these earthly blessings. These, as well as all things else, Idesire to leave to the Lord, praying that His will may be mine. Youngfriend, my story is told. "

"Madam, " said Traverse, after a thoughtful pause, "our fates have beenmore nearly connected than you could have imagined. Those Le Noirs havebeen my enemies as they are yours. That young orphan heiress, whoappealed from their cruelty to the Orphans' Court, was my ownbetrothed. Willow Heights was her patrimony and is now her quiet homewhere she lives with my mother, and where in their names I invited youto come. And take this comfort also; your enemy no longer lives: monthsago I left him ill with a mortal wound. This morning the papersannounce his death. There remains, therefore, but little for me to do, but to take legal measures to free you from this place, and restore youto your home. Within an hour I shall set out for New Orleans, for thepurpose of taking the initiatory steps. Until my return then, dearlady, " said Traverse, respectfully taking her hand--"farewell, and beof good cheer!"

CHAPTER XXIX. 

PROSPECTS BRIGHTEN. 

 Thus far our fortune keeps an onward course, And we are graced with wreaths of victory. 

 --SHAKESPEARE. 

Leaving Mrs. Le Noir, Traverse went down to the stable, saddled thehorse that had been allotted to his use, and set off for a long day'sjourney to New Orleans, where late at night he arrived, and put up atthe St. Charles. 

He slept deeply from fatigue until late the next morning, when he wasawakened by the sounds of trumpets, drums and fifes, and by generalrejoicing. 

He arose and looked from his windows to ascertain the cause, and sawthe square full of people in a state of the highest excitement, watching for a military procession coming up the street. 

It was the United States troops under their gallant commanders, who hadlanded from the steamboats that morning and were now marching from thequays up to their quarters at the St. Charles. 

As they advanced, Traverse, eagerly upon the lookout, recognized hisown regiment. 

Traverse withdrew from the window, hurriedly completed his toilet, andhastened down-stairs, where he soon found himself face to face withHerbert, who warmly grasping his hand, exclaimed:

"You here, old friend? Why, I thought you were down in East Feliciana, with your interesting patient!"

"It is for the interest of that 'interesting patient' that I am here, Herbert! Did I tell you, she was one of the victims of that demon LeNoir?"

"No: but I know it from another source. I know as much, or more of her, perhaps, than you do!"

"Ah!" exclaimed Traverse, in surprise. 

"Yes! I know, for instance, that she is Capitola's mother, thelong-lost widow of Eugene Le Noir, the mistress of the Hidden House, and the ghost who drew folks' curtains there at night. "

"Then you do know something about her, but how did you arrive at theknowledge?"

"By the 'last dying speech and confession' of Gabriel Le Noir, confidedto me to be used in restitution after his decease. But, come! There isthe second bell. Our mess are going in to breakfast; join us andafterwards you and I will retire and compare notes, " said Herbert, taking the arm of his friend as they followed the moving crowd into thebreakfast parlor. 

After the morning meal was concluded the friends withdrew together tothe chamber occupied by Traverse Rocke, where they sat down for mutualexplanations. 

Herbert first related to Traverse all that had occurred from the timethat the latter left the city of Mexico, including the arrival ofCraven Le Noir at the dying bed of his father, the subsequent death andfuneral of Colonel Le Noir, and the late emigration of Craven, who toavoid the shame of the approaching revelation, joined a party ofexplorers bound for the recently discovered gold mines in California. 

"The civilized world is then rid of two villains at once, " said theuncompromising Traverse. 

Herbert took from his pocket the confession of Colonel Le Noir, whichhe said he was now at liberty to use as he thought proper for the endsof justice. That certain parts of the disclosure intimately concernedTraverse Rocke, to whom he should therefore read the whole. Theconfession may be briefly summed up as follows:

The first item was that he had sought to win the affections of MarahRocke, the supposed wife of Major Ira Warfield; he had sedulouslywaylaid and followed her with his suit during the whole summer; she hadconstantly repulsed and avoided him; he, listening to his own evilpassions, had bribed her maid to admit him in the dark to Marah'scabin, upon a certain night when her husband was to be absent; that theunexpected return of Major Warfield who had tracked him to the house, had prevented the success of his evil purpose, but had not saved thereputation of the innocent wife, whose infuriated husband would notbelieve her ignorant of the presence of the villain in her house; thathe, Gabriel Le Noir, in hatred as well as in shame, had forborne untilnow to make the explanation, which he hoped might now, late in life asit was, bring the long-severed pair together, and establish Marah Rockeand her son in their legal and social rights. 

The second item in the black list of crime was the death of his elderbrother, whom he declared he had not intended to kill. He said that, having contracted large debts which he was unable to pay he hadreturned secretly from his distant quarters to demand the money fromhis brother, who had often helped him; that, meeting his brother in thewoods, he made this request. Eugene reproached him for his extravaganceand folly, and refused to aid him; an encounter ensued, in which Eugenefell. He, Gabriel Le Noir, fled pursued by the curse of Cain, andreached his own quarters before even his absence had been suspected. His agency in the death of his brother was not suspected even by hisaccomplice in other crimes, the outlaw called Black Donald, who, thinking to gain an ascendency over one whom he called his patron, actually pretended to have made way with Eugene Le Noir for the sake ofhis younger brother. 

The third item of confession was the abduction of the nurse and babe ofthe young widow of Eugene, the circumstances of which are already knownto the reader. 

The fourth in the dreadful list comprised the deceptions, wrongs andpersecutions practised upon Madame Eugene Le Noir, and the final falseimprisonment of that lady under the charge of insanity, in the privatemadhouse kept by Doctor Pierre St. Jean, in East Feliciana. 

In conclusion, he spoke of the wrongs done to Clara Day, whose pardon, with that of others, he begged. And he prayed that in consideration ofhis son, as little publicity as was possible might be given to thesecrimes. 

During the reading of this confession, the eyes of Traverse Rocke werefixed in wonder and half incredulity upon the face of Herbert, and atits conclusion he said:

"What a mass of crime! But that we may not dare to question the mercyof the Lord, I should ask if these were sins that he would ever pardon!Herbert, it appals me to think of it!"

Then, after deep thought, he added:

"This, then, was the secret of my dear mother's long unhappiness. Shewas Major Warfield's forsaken wife. Herbert, I feel as though I never, never could forgive my father!"

"Traverse, if Major Warfield had wilfully and wantonly forsaken yourmother, I should say that your resentment was natural and right. Whoshould be an honorable woman's champion if not her own son? But MajorWarfield, as well as his wife, was more sinned against than sinning. Your parents were both victims of a cruel conspiracy, and he sufferedas much in his way as she did in hers, " said Herbert. 

"I always thought, somehow, that my dear mother was a forsaken wife. She never told me so, but there was some-thing about her circumstancesand manners, her retired life, her condition, so much below herdeserts, her never speaking of her husband's death, which would havebeen natural for her to do, had she been a widow--all, somehow, went togive me the impression that my father had abandoned us. Lately I hadsuspected Major Warfield had something to do with the sad affair, though I never once suspected him to be my father. So much for naturalinstincts, " said Traverse, with a melancholy smile. 

"Traverse, " said Herbert, with the design of drawing him off from sadremembrances of his mother's early trials. "Traverse, this confession, signed and witnessed as it is, will wonderfully simplify your course ofaction in regard to the deliverance of Madame Le Noir. "

"Yes; so it will, " said Traverse, with animation. "There will be noneed now of applying to law, especially if you will come down with meto East Feliciana and bring the confession with you. "

"I will set out with you this very morning, if you wish, as I am onleave. What! To hasten to the release of Capitola's mother, I would setout at midnight and ride straight on for a week!"

"Ah! there is no need of such extravagant feats of travel. It is nowten o'clock; if we start within an hour we can reach the 'Calm Retreat'by eleven o'clock to-night. "

"En avant, then, " exclaimed Herbert, rising and ringing the bell. 

Traverse ordered horses, and in twenty minutes the friends were on theroad to East Feliciana. 

They reached the "Calm Retreat" so late that night that there was nonebut the porter awake to admit them. 

Traverse took his friend up to his own dormitory, saying, laughingly:

"It is an unappreciable distance of time since you and I occupied thesame bed, Herbert. "

"Yes; but it is not the first, by five hundred times. D' you remember, Traverse, the low attic where we used to sleep and how on stormy nightswe used to listen to the rain pattering on the roof, within two orthree inches of our faces, and how we used to be half afraid to turnover for fear that we should bump our heads against the timbers of theceiling?"

"Yes, indeed, " said Traverse. 

And thereupon the two friends launched into a discussion of old times, when the two widows and their sons lived together--the two womenoccupying one bed, and the two boys the other. And this discussion theykept up until long after they retired, and until sleep overtook them. 

The next morning Traverse conducted his friend down to the breakfastparlor, to introduce him to Doctor St. Jean, who, as soon as heperceived his young medical assistant, sprang forward exclaiming:

"Grand ciel! Is this then you? Have you then returned? What for did yourun away with my horse?"

"I went to New Orleans in great haste, upon very important business, sir. "

"Grand Dieu! I should think so, when you ride off on my horse withoutsaying a word. If it had been my ambling pony I should have been indespair, I! Your business so hasty and so important was accomplished, Ihope. "

"Yes; I did my errand with less trouble than I had anticipated, owingto the happy circumstance of meeting my friend here, who has come downhither connected with the same business. "

"Ah! vera happy to see your friend. In the medical profession, Isuppose?"

"No, sir; in the army. Allow me to present him. Major Herbert Greyson, of the -th Regiment of Cavalry. "

"Ou! ay! Grand ciel! This is the brave, the distinguished, theillustrious officer, so honorably mentioned in the dispatches of theinvincible Taylor and the mighty Scott!" said the little Frenchman, bowing his night-capped head down to his slippery toes. 

Herbert smiled as he returned the bow. And then the little Frenchdoctor, turning to Traverse said:

"But your business, so important and so hasty, which has brought thisofficer so illustrious down here--what is it, my friend?"

"We will have the honor of explaining to Monsieur le Docteur, over ourcoffee, if he will oblige us by ordering the servant to retire, " saidTraverse, who sometimes adopted, in speaking to the old Frenchman, hisown formal style of politeness. "Go, then, John!"

"Oui, oui, certainement! Allez donc, John!"

As soon as the man had gone, Traverse said:

"I propose to discuss this business over our coffee, because it willsave time without interfering with our morning meal, and I know thatimmediately afterwards you will go your usual round of visits to yourpatients. "

"Eh bien! proceed, my son! proceed!"

Traverse immediately commenced and related all that was necessaryconcerning the fraud practised upon the institution by introducing intoit an unfortunate woman, represented to be mad, but really onlysorrowful, nervous and excitable. And to prove the truth of his words, Traverse desired Herbert to read from the confession the portionrelating to this fraud, and to show the doctor the signature of theprincipal and the witness. 

To have seen the old French doctor then! I rejoice in a Frenchman, forthe frank abandon with which he gives himself up to his emotions! Ourdoctor, after staring at the confession, took hold of the top of hisblue tasseled night-cap, pulled it off his head and threw it violentlyupon the floor! Then remembering that he was exposing a cranium as baldas a peeled potato, he suddenly caught it up again, clapped it upon hiscrown and exclaimed:

"Sacre! Diable!" and other ejaculations dreadful to translate, andothers again which it would be profane to set down in French or English. 

Gabriel Le Noir was no longer an officer illustrious, a gentleman nobleand distinguished, compassionate and tender; he was a robber infamous!a villain atrocious, a caitiff ruth, and without remorse!

After breakfast the doctor consented that his young hero, his littleknight-errant, his dear son, should go to the distressed lady and openthe good news to her, while the great Major Greyson, the warriorinvincible, should go around with himself to inspect the institution. 

Traverse immediately repaired to the chamber of Mrs. Le Noir, whom hefound sitting at the window, engaged in some little trifle ofneedlework, the same pale, patient woman that she had first appeared tohim. 

"Ah, you have come! I read good news upon your smiling face, my friend!Tell it! I have borne the worst of sorrows! Shall I not have strengthto bear joy?"

Traverse told her all, and then ended by saying:

"Now, dear madame, it is necessary that we leave this place within twohours, as Major Greyson's regiment leaves New Orleans for Washingtonto-morrow, and it is advisable that you go under our protection. We canget you a female attendant from the St. Charles. "

"Oh, I can be ready in ten minutes! Bless you, I have no fine lady'swardrobe to pack up!" replied Mrs. Le Noir, with a smile. 

Traverse bowed and went out to procure a carriage from the nextvillage. And in half an hour afterwards the whole party took leave ofDoctor Pierre St. Jean and his "institution in-comparable, " and setforth on their journey to New Orleans, whence in two days afterwardsthey sailed for the North. And now, dear reader, let you and I take thefast boat and get home before them, to see our little Cap, and find outwhat adventures she is now engaged in, and how she is getting on. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

CAPITOLA A CAPITALIST. 

 Plumed victory Is truly painted with a cheerful look, Equally distant from proud insolence And sad dejection. 

 --MASSINGER. 

How glad I am to get back to my little Cap, for I know very well, reader, just as well as if you had told me, that you have beengrumbling for some time for the want of Cap. But I could not help it, for, to tell the truth, I was pining after her myself, which was thereason that I could not do half justice to the scenes of the MexicanWar. 

Well, now let us see what Cap has been doing--what oppressors she haspunished--what victims she has delivered--in a word, what new heroicadventures she has achieved. 

Well, the trial of Donald Bayne, alias Black Donald, was over. Cap, ofcourse, had been compelled to appear against him. During the wholecourse of the trial the court-room was crowded with a curiousmultitude, "from far and near, " eager to get sight of the notoriousoutlaw. 

Black Donald, through the whole ordeal, deported himself with a gallantand joyous dignity, that would have better become a triumph than atrial. 

He was indicted upon several distinct counts, the most serious ofwhich--the murder of the solitary widow and her daughter in the forestcabin, and the assassination of Eugene Le Noir in the woods near theHidden House--were sustained only by circumstantial evidence. But theaggregate weight of all these, together with his very bad reputation, was sufficient to convict him, and Black Donald was sentenced to death. 

This dreadful doom, most solemnly pronounced by the judge was receivedby the prisoner with a loud laugh, and the words:

"You're out o' your reckoning now, cap'n! I never was a saint, the Lordknows, but my hands are free from blood guiltiness! There's an honestlittle girl that believes me--don't you?" he said, turning laughinglyto our little heroine. 

"Yes, I do!" said Cap, bursting into tears; "and I am sorry for you asever I can be, Donald Bayne. "

"Bother! It was sure to come to this first or last, and I knew it! Now, to prove you do not think this rugged hand of mine stained with blood, give it a friendly shake!" said the condemned man. And before OldHurricane could prevent her, Capitola had jumped over two or threeintervening seats and climbed up to the side of the dock, and reachedup her hand to the prisoner, saying:

"God help you, Donald Bayne, in your great trouble, and I will do all Ican to help you in this world. I will go to the Governor myself, andtell him I know you never did any murder. "

"Remove the prisoner, " said the judge, peremptorily. 

The constables approached and led away Black Donald. 

Old Hurricane rushed upon Cap, seized her, and, shaking her fiercely, exclaimed, under his breath:

"You--you--you--you New York hurrah boy! You foundling! You vagabond!You vagrant! You brat! You beggar! Will you never be a lady? To go andshake hands with that ruffian!"

"Sure, uncle, that's nothing new; I have shaken hands with you oftenenough!"

"Demmy, you--you--you New York trash, what do you mean by that?"

"Of course I mean, uncle, that you are as rough a ruffian as everDonald Bayne was!"

"Demmy, I'll murder you!"

"Don't, uncle; they have an uncivilized way here of hanging murderers, "said Cap, shaking herself free of Old Hurricane's grasp, and hasteningout of the court-room to mount her horse and ride home. 

One night after tea, Capitola and her uncle occupied their usual seatsby the little bright wood fire, that the chilly evening and keenmountain air made agreeable, even in May. 

Old Hurricane was smoking his pipe and reading his paper. 

Cap was sitting with her slender fingers around her throat, which she, with a shudder, occasionally compressed:

"Well, that demon Black Donald will be hanged the 26th of July, " saidOld Hurricane, exultingly, "and we shall get rid of one villain, Cap. "

"I pity Black Donald, and I can't bear to think of his being hanged! Itquite breaks my heart to think that I was compelled to bring him tosuch a fate!"

"Oh, that reminds me! The reward offered for the apprehension of BlackDonald, to which you were entitled, Cap, was paid over to me for you. Iplaced it to your account in the Agricultural Bank. "

"I don't want it! I won't touch it! The price of blood! It would burnmy fingers!" said Cap. 

"Oh, very well! A thousand dollars won't go a-begging, " said OldHurricane. 

"Uncle, it breaks my heart to think of Black Donald's execution! Itjust does! It must be dreadful, this hanging! I have put my fingeraround my throat and squeezed it, to know how it feels, and it isawful. Even a little squeeze makes my head feel as if it would burst, and I have to let go! Oh, it is horrible to think of!"

"Well, Cap, it wasn't intended to be as pleasant as tickling, you know. I wish it was twenty times worse! It would serve him right, thevillain! I wish it was lawful to break him on the wheel--I do!"

"Uncle, that is very wicked in you! I declare I won't have it! I'llwrite a petition to the Governor to commute his sentence, and carry itall around the county myself!"

"You wouldn't get a soul to sign it to save your life, much less his. "

"I'll go to the Governor myself, and beg him to pardon Donald Bayne!"

"Ha! ha! ha! the Governor would not do it to save all our lives, and ifhe were to do such an outrageous thing he might whistle for hisreelection!"

"I declare, Donald Bayne shall not be hanged--and so there!" said Cap, passionately. 

"Whe-ew! You'll deliver him by the strength of your arm, my littleDonna Quixota. "

"I'll save him one way or another, now mind I tell you! He sinned moreagainst me than against anybody else, and so I have the best right ofanybody in the world to forgive him, and I do forgive him! And heshan't be hanged I I say it!"

"You say it! Ha! ha! ha! Who are you, to turn aside the laws?"

"I, Capitola Black, say that Donald Bayne, not having deserved to behanged, shall not be hanged! And in one way or another I'll keep myword!"

And Cap did her best to keep it. The next morning she mounted Gyp androde up to Tip Top, where she employed the village lawyer to draw up apetition to the Governor for the commutation of Donald Bayne'ssentence. And then she rode all over the county to try to getsignatures to the document. But all in vain. People of every age andcondition too thoroughly feared and hated the famous outlaw, and tooearnestly wished to be entirely and forever rid of him, to sign anypetition for a commutation of his sentence. If a petition for hisinstant execution had been carried around it would have stood a muchbetter chance of success. 

Cap spent many days in her fruitless enterprise, but at last gave itup--but by no means in despair, for--

"I'll save his life, yet! by one means or another! I can't changeclothes with him as I did with Clara; he's too big, but one way orother I'll save him, " said Cap, to herself. She said it to no one else, for the more difficult the enterprise the more determined she was tosucceed, and the more secretive she grew as to her measures. 

In the mean time the outlaw, double-ironed, was confined in thecondemned cell, the strongest portion of the county jail. All personswere strictly prohibited from visiting him, except certain of theclergy. 

They did all they could to bring the outlaw to a sense of hiscondition, to prepare him to meet his fate and to induce him to make aconfession and give up the retreat of his band. 

And Donald listened to them with respect, acknowledged himself a greatsinner, and knelt with them when they knelt to pray for him. 

But he denied that he was guilty of the murders for which he had beendoomed to die, and he utterly refused to give up his old companions, replying to the ministers in something like these words:

"Poor wretches! They are no more fit to die than I am, and a condemnedcell, with the thought of the scaffold before him, are not exactly themost favorable circumstances under which a man might experience sincererepentance, my masters!"

And so, while the convict listened with docility to all that theministers had to say, he steadily persisted in asserting his owninnocence of the crimes for which he was condemned, and in his refusalto deliver up his companions. 

Meantime, Capitola, at Hurricane Hall, was doing all she could todiscover or invent means to save the life of Black Donald. But stillshe said no more about it even to Old Hurricane. 

One evening, while Cap was sitting by the fire with her thoughts busywith this subject, her uncle came in saying:

"Cap, I have got some curiosities to show you!"

"What are they?" said Cap, languidly. 

"A set of burglar's tools, supposed to belong to some member of BlackDonald's band! One of my negroes found them in the woods in theneighborhood of the Devil's Punch Bowl! I wrote to the sheriffconcerning them, and he requested me to take care of them until heshould have occasion to call for them. Look! Did you ever see suchthings?" said Old Hurricane, setting down a canvas bag upon the tableand turning out from it all sorts of strange looking instruments--tinysaws, files, punches, screws, picks, etc. , etc. , etc. 

Cap looked at them with the most curious interest, while Old Hurricaneexplained their supposed uses. 

"It must have been an instrument of this sort, Cap, that that blameddemon, Donald, gave to the imprisoned men to file their fetters offwith!" he said, showing a thin file of tempered steel. 

"That!" said Cap. "Hand it here! Let me see it!" And she examined itwith the deepest interest. 

"I wonder what they force locks with?" she inquired. 

"Why, this, and this, and this!" said Old Hurricane, producing aburglar's pick, saw and chisel. 

Cap took them and scrutinized them so attentively that Old Hurricaneburst out into a loud laugh, exclaiming:

"You'll dream of house-breakers to-night, Cap!" and taking the tools, he put them all back in the little canvas bag, and put the bag up on ahigh shelf of the parlor closet. 

The next morning, while Cap was arranging flowers on the parlormantelpiece, Old Hurricane burst in upon her with his hands full ofletters and newspapers, and his heart full of exultation--throwing uphis hat and cutting an alarming caper for a man of his age, heexclaimed:

"Hurrah, Cap! Hurrah! Peace is at last proclaimed and our victorioustroops are on their way home! It's all in the newspapers, and here areletters from Herbert, dated from New Orleans! Here are letters for you, and here are some for me! I have not opened them yet! Hurrah, Cap!Hurrah!"

"Hurrah, Uncle! Hurrah!" cried Cap, tossing up her flowers and rushinginto his arms. 

"Don't squeeze me into an apoplexy, you little bear, " said OldHurricane, turning purple in the face, from the savage hug of Cap'sjoyful arms. "Come along and sit down with me, at this table, and letus see what the letters have brought us. "

They took their seats opposite each other at a small table, and OldHurricane threw the whole mail between them, and began to pick out theletters. 

"That's for you, Cap. This is for me, " he said, pitching out two in thehandwriting of Herbert Greyson. 

Cap opened hers and commenced reading. It was in fact Herbert's firstdownright, practical proposal of marriage, in which he begged thattheir union might take place as soon as he should return, and that ashe had written to his uncle by the same mail, upon another subject, which he did not wish to mix up with his own marriage, she would, upona proper opportunity, let her uncle know of their plans. 

"Upon my word, he takes my consent very coolly as a matter of course, and even forces upon me the disagreeable duty of asking myself of myown uncle! Who ever heard of such proceedings? If he were not cominghome from the wars, I declare I should get angry; but I won't get uponmy dignity with Herbert--dear, darling, sweet Herbert. If it wereanybody else, shouldn't they know the difference between their liegelady and Tom Trotter? However, as it's Herbert, here goes! Now, Isuppose the best way to ask myself of uncle, for Herbert, will be justto hand him over this matter. The dear knows it isn't so over and aboveaffectionate that I should hesitate. Uncle, " said Cap, pulling OldHurricane's coat sleeve. 

"Don't bother me, Cap, " exclaimed Major Warfield, who sat there, holding a large, closely written document in his hand, with his greatround eyes strained from their sockets, as they passed along the lineswith devouring interest. 

"Well, I do declare! I do believe he has received a proposal ofmarriage himself, " cried Cap, shooting much nearer the truth than sheknew. 

Old Hurricane did not hear her. Starting up with the document in hishand, he rushed from the room and went and shut himself up in his ownstudy. 

"I vow, some widow has offered to marry him, " said Cap, to herself. 

Old Hurricane did not come to dinner, nor to supper. But after supper, when Capitola's wonder was at its climax, and while she was sitting bythe little wood fire that that chilly evening required, Old Hurricanecame in, looking very unlike himself, in an humble, confused, deprecating, yet happy manner, like one who had at once a mortifyingconfession to make, and a happy secret to tell. 

"Cap, " he said, trying to suppress a smile, and growing purple in theface. 

--"Oh, yes! You've come to tell me, I suppose, that you're going to puta step-aunt-in-law over my head, only you don't know how to announceit, " answered Capitola, little knowing how closely she had come to thetruth; when, to her unbounded astonishment, Old Hurricane answered:

"Yes, my dear, that's just it!"

"What! My eyes! Oh, crickey!" cried Cap, breaking into her newsboy'sslang, from mere consternation. 

"Yes, my dear, it is perfectly true!" replied the old man, growingfuriously red, and rubbing his face. 

"Oh! oh! oh! Hold me! I'm 'kilt!'" cried Cap, falling back in her chairin an inextinguishable fit of laughter, that shook her whole frame. Shelaughed until the tears ran down her cheeks. She wiped her eyes andlooked at Old Hurricane, and every time she saw his confused and happyface she burst into a fresh paroxysm that seemed to threaten her lifeor her reason. 

"Who is the happy--Oh, I can't speak! Oh, I'm 'kilt' entirely!" shecried, breaking off in the midst of her question and falling into freshconvulsions. 

"It's no new love, Cap; it's my old wife!" said Old Hurricane, wipinghis face. 

This brought Capitola up with a jerk! She sat bolt upright gazing athim with her eyes fixed as if In death. 

"Cap, " said Old Hurricane, growing more and more confused, "I've been amarried man more years than I like to think of! Cap, I've--I've a wifeand grown-up son! Why do you sit there staring at me, you little demon?Why don't you say something to encourage me, you little wretch?"

"Go on!" said Cap, without removing her eyes. 

"Cap, I was--a jealous--passionate--Demmy, confession isn't in my line. A diabolical villain made me believe that my poor little wife wasn'tgood!"

"There! I knew you'd lay it on somebody else. Men always do that, " saidCap, to herself. 

"He was mortally wounded in Mexico. He made a confession and confidedit to Herbert, who has just sent me an attested copy. It was Le Noir. My poor wife lived under her girlhood's name of Marah Rocke. " OldHurricane made a gulp, and his voice broke down. 

Cap understood all now, as well as if she had known it as long as OldHurricane had. She comprehended his extreme agitation upon a certainevening, years ago, when Herbert Greyson had mentioned Marah Rocke'sname, and his later and more lasting disturbance upon accidentallymeeting Marah Rocke at the Orphans' Court. 

This revelation filled her with strange and contradictory emotions. Shewas glad; she was angry with him; she was sorry for him; she wasdivided between divers impulses to hug and kiss him, to cry over him, and to seize him and give him a good shaking! And between them she didnothing at all. 

Old Hurricane was again the first to speak, "What was that you wished to say to me, Cap, when I ran ray from youthis morning?"

"Why, uncle, that Herbert wants to follow your example, and--and--and--" Cap blushed and broke down. 

"I thought as much. Getting married at his age! A boy of twenty-five!"said the veteran in contempt. 

"Taking a wife at your age, uncle, an infant of sixty-six!"

"Bother, Cap! Let me see that fellow's letter to you. "

Cap handed it to him and the old man read it. 

"If I were to object, you'd get married all the same! Demmy! you'reboth of age. Do as you please!"

"Thank you, sir, " said Cap, demurely. 

"And now, Cap, one thing is to be noticed. Herbert says, both in yourletter and in mine, that they were to start to return the day afterthese letters were posted. These letters have been delayed in the mail. Consequently we may expect our hero here every day. But Cap, my dear, you must receive them. For to-morrow morning, please the Lord, I shallset out for Staunton and Willow Heights, and go and kneel down at thefeet of my wife, and ask her pardon on my knees!"

Cap was no longer divided between the wish to pull Old Hurricane's graybeard and to cry over Him. She threw herself at once into his arms andexclaimed:

"Oh, uncle! God bless you! God bless you! God bless you! It has comevery late in life, but may you be happy with her through all the agesof eternity!"

Old Hurricane was deeply moved by the sympathy of his little madcap, and pressed her to his bosom, saying:

"Cap, my dear, if you had not set your heart upon Herbert, I wouldmarry you to my son Traverse, and you two should inherit all that Ihave in the world! But never mind, Cap, you have an inheritance of yourown. Cap, Cap, my dear, did it ever occur to you that you might havehad a father and mother?"

"Yes! often! But I used to think you were my father, and that my motherwas dead. "

"I wish to the Lord that I had been your father, Cap, and that MarahRocke had been your mother! But Cap, your father was a better man thanI, and your mother as good a woman as Marah. And Cap, my dear, youvagabond, you vagrant, you brat, you beggar, you are the sole heiressof the Hidden House estate and all its enormous wealth! What do youthink of that, now? What do you think of that, you beggar? cried OldHurricane. "

A shriek pierced the air, and Capitola starting up, stood before OldHurricane, crying in an impassioned voice:

"Uncle! Uncle! Don't mock me! Don't overwhelm me! I do not care forwealth or power; but tell me of the parents who possessing both, castoff their unfortunate child--a girl, too! to meet the sufferings andperils of such a life as mine had been, if I had not met you!"

"Cap, my dear, hush! Your parents were no more to blame for theirseeming abandonment of you, than I was to blame for the desertion of mypoor wife. We are all the victims of one villain, who has now gone tohis account, Capitola. I mean Gabriel Le Noir. Sit down, my dear, and Iwill read the copy of his whole confession, and afterwards, inaddition, tell you all I know upon the subject!"

Capitola resumed her seat, Major Warfield read the confession ofGabriel Le Noir, and afterwards continued the subject by relating theevents of that memorable Hallowe'en when he was called out in a snowstorm to take the dying deposition of the nurse who had been abductedwith the infant Capitola. 

And at the end of his narrative Cap knew as much of her own history asthe reader has known all along. 

"And I have a mother, and I shall even see her soon! You told me shewas coming home with the party--did you not, Uncle?" said Capitola. 

"Yes, my child. Only think of it! I saved the daughter from the streetsof New York, and my son saved the mother from her prison at themadhouse! And now, my dear Cap, I must bid you good night and go tobed, for I intend to rise to-morrow morning long before daylight, toride to Tip Top to meet the Staunton stage, " said the old man, kissingCapitola. 

Just as he was about to leave the room he was arrested by a loudringing and knocking at the door. 

Wool was heard running along the front hall to answer the summons. 

"Cap, I shouldn't wonder much if that was our party. I wish it may be, for I should like to welcome them before I leave home to fetch mywife, " said Old Hurricane, in a voice of agitation. 

And while they were still eagerly listening, the door was thrown openby Wool, who announced:

"Marse Herbert, which I mean to say, Major Herbert Greyson;" andHerbert entered and was grasped by the two hands of Old Hurricane, whoexclaimed:

"Ah, Herbert, my lad! I have got your letters. It is all right, Herbert, or going to be so. You shall marry Cap when you like. And I amgoing to-morrow morning to throw myself at the feet of my wife. "

"No need of your going so far, dear sir, no need. Let me speak to myown dear girl a moment, and then I shall have something to say to you, "said Herbert, leaving the old man in suspense, and going to saluteCapitola, who returned his fervent embrace by an honest, downrightfrank kiss, that made no secret of itself. 

"Capitola! My uncle has told you all?"

"Every single bit! So don't lose time by telling it all over again! Ismy mother with you?"

"Yes! and I will bring her in, in one moment; but first I must bring insome one else, " said Herbert, kissing the hand of Capitola and turningto Old Hurricane, to whom he said:

"You need not travel far to find Marah. We took Staunton in our way andbrought her and Clara along--Traverse!" he said going to thedoor--"bring in your mother. "

And the next instant Traverse entered with the wife of Major Warfieldupon his arm. 

Old Hurricane started forward to meet her, exclaiming in a broken voice:

"Marah, my dear Marah, God may forgive me, but can you--can you ever doso?" And he would have sunk at her feet, but that she prevented, bymeeting him and silently placing both her hands in his. And so quietlyMarah's forgiveness was expressed, and the reconciliation sealed. 

Meanwhile Herbert went out and brought in Mrs. Le Noir and Clara. Mrs. Le Noir, with a Frenchwoman's impetuosity, hurried to her daughter andclasped her to her heart. 

Cap gave one hurried glance at the beautiful pale woman that claimedfrom her a daughter's love and then, returning the caress, she said:

"Oh, mamma! Oh, mamma! If I were only a boy instead of a girl, I wouldthrash that Le Noir within an inch of his life! But I forgot! He hasgone to his account. "

Old Hurricane was at this moment shaking hands with his son, Traverse, who presently took occasion to lead up and introduce his betrothedwife, Clara Day, to her destined father-in-law. 

Major Warfield received her with all a soldier's gallantry, agentleman's courtesy and a father's tenderness. 

He next shook hands with his old acquaintance, Mrs. Le Noir. 

And then supper was ordered and the evening was passed in general andcomparative reminiscences and cheerful conversation. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

"THERE SHALL BE LIGHT AT THE EVENTIDE. "--Holy Bible. 

 They shall be blessed exceedingly, their store Grow daily, weekly more and more, And peace so multiply around, Their very hearth seems holy ground. 

 --MARY HOWITT. 

The marriage of Capitola and of Herbert and that of Clara and ofTraverse was fixed to take place upon the first of August, which wasthe twenty-first birthday of the doctors daughter, and also thetwenty-fifth anniversary of the wedding of Ira Warfield and Marah Rocke. 

German husbands and wives have a beautiful custom of keeping thetwenty-fifth anniversary of their marriage by a festival, which theycall the "Silver Wedding. " And thus Major Warfield and Marah resolvedto keep this first of August, and further to honor the occasion byuniting the hands of their young people. 

There was but one cloud upon the happiness of Capitola; this was theapproaching execution of Black Donald. 

No one else seemed to care about the matter, until a circumstanceoccurred which painfully aroused their interest. 

This was the fact that the Governor, through the solicitation ofcertain ministers of the gospel who represented the condemned asutterly unprepared to meet his fate, had respited him until the firstof August, at which time he wished the prisoner to be made tounderstand that his sentence would certainly, without further delay, becarried into effect. 

This carried a sort of consternation into the heart of every member ofthe Hurricane Hall household!

The idea of Black Donald being hanged in their immediate neighborhoodupon their wedding day was appalling!

Yet there was no help for it, unless their wedding was postponed toanother occasion than that upon which Old Hurricane had set his heart. No one knew what to do. 

Cap fretted herself almost sick. She had cudgeled her brains to nopurpose. She had not been able to think of any plan by which she coulddeliver Black Donald. Meantime the last days of July were rapidlypassing away. 

Black Donald in the condemned cell maintained his firmness, resolutelyasserting his innocence of any capital crime and persistently refusingto give up his band. As a last motive of confession, the paper writtenby Gabriel Le Noir upon his death-bed was shown him. He laughed a loud, crackling laugh, and said that was all true, but that he, for his part, never had intended to harm a hair of Capitola's head; that he had takena fancy to the girl when he had first seen her, and had only wanted tocarry her off and force her into a marriage with himself; that he hadpretended to consent to her death only for the purpose of saving herlife. 

When Cap heard this she burst into tears and said she believed it wastrue. 

The night before the wedding of Capitola and Herbert, and Clara andTraverse, and of the execution of Black Donald, came. 

At Hurricane Hall the two prospective bridegrooms were busy with OldHurricane over some papers that had to be prepared in the library. 

The two intended brides were engaged, under the direction of Mrs. Warfield, in her dressing-room, consulting over certain proprieties ofthe approaching festival. But Capitola could give only a half attentionto the discussion. Her thoughts were with the poor condemned man whowas to die the next day. 

And suddenly she flew out of the room, summoned her groom, mounted herhorse, and rode away. 

In his condemned cell Black Donald was bitterly realizing howunprepared he was to die, and how utterly impossible it was for him toprepare in the short hours left him. He tried to pray, but could formno other petition than that he might be allowed, if possible, a littlelonger to fit himself to meet his Creator. From his cell he could hearthe striking of the great clock in the prison hall. And as every hourstruck it seemed "a nail driven in his coffin. "

At eight o'clock that night the warden sat in his little office, consulting the sheriff about some details of the approaching execution. While they were still in discussion, a turnkey opened the door, saying:

"A lady to see the warden. "

And Capitola stood before them!

"Miss Black!" exclaimed both sheriff and warden, rising in surprise, gazing upon our heroine, and addressing her by the name under whichthey had first known her. 

"Yes, gentlemen, it is I. The truth is, I cannot rest tonight withoutsaying a few words of comfort to the poor man who is to die to-morrow. So I came hither, attended by my groom, to know if I may see him for afew minutes. "

"Miss Black, here is the sheriff. It is just as he pleases. My orderswere so strict that had you come to me alone I should have been obligedto refuse you. "

"Mr. Keepe, you will not refuse me, " said Capitola, turning to thesheriff. 

"Miss Black, my rule is to admit no one but the officers of the prisonand the ministers of the gospel, to see the condemned! This we havebeen obliged to observe as a measure of safety. This convict, as youare aware, is a man of consummate cunning, so that it is reallywonderful he has not found means to make his escape, closely as he hasbeen watched and strongly as he has been guarded. "

"Ah, but Mr. Keepe, his cunning was no match for mine, you know!" saidCapitola, smiling. 

"Ha-ha-ha! so it was not! You took him very cleverly! Very cleverly, indeed! In fact, if it had not been for you, I doubt if ever we shouldhave captured Black Donald at all. The authorities are entirelyindebted to you for the capture of this notorious outlaw. And reallythat being the case, I do think it would be straining a point to refuseyou admittance to see him. So, Miss Black, you have my authority forvisiting the condemned man in his cell and giving him all the comfortyou can. I would attend you thither myself, but I have got to go to seethe captain of a militia company to be on the scene of actionto-morrow, " said the sheriff, who soon after took leave of the wardenand departed. 

The warden then called a turnkey and ordered him to attend Miss Blackto the condemned cell. 

The young turnkey took up a lamp and a great key and walked before, leading the way down-stairs to a cell in the interior of the basement, occupied by Black Donald. 

He unlocked the door, admitted Capitola, and then walked off to theextremity of the lobby, as he was accustomed to do when he let in thepreachers. 

Capitola thanked heaven for this chance, for had he not done so shewould have to invent some excuse for getting rid of him. 

She entered the cell. It was very dimly lighted from the great lampthat hung in the lobby, nearly opposite the cell door. 

By its light she saw Black Donald, not only doubly ironed but confinedby a chain and staple to the wall. He was very pale and haggard fromlong imprisonment and great anxiety. 

Cap's heart bled for the poor banned and blighted outlaw, who had not afriend in the world to speak a kind word to him in his trouble. 

He also recognized her, and rising and coming to meet her as far as thelength of the chain would permit, he held out his hand and said:

"I am very glad you have come, little one; it is very kind of you tocome and see a poor fellow in his extremity! You are the first femalethat has been in this cell since my imprisonment. Think of that, child!I wanted to see you, too, I wanted to say to you yourself again, that Iwas never guilty of murder, and that I only seemed to consent to yourdeath to save your life! Do you believe this? On the word of a dyingman it is truth!"

"I do believe you, Donald Bayne, " said Capitola, in a broken voice. 

"I hear that you have come into your estate. I am glad of it. And theytell me that you are going to be married to-morrow! Well! God blessyou, little one!"

"Oh, Donald Bayne! Can you say God bless me, when it was I who put youhere?"

"Tut, child, we outlaws bear no malice. Spite is a civilized vice. Itwas a fair contest, child, and you conquered. It's well you did. Giveme your hand in good will, since I must die to-morrow!"

Capitola gave her hand, and whilst he held it, she stooped and said:

"Donald, I have done everything in the world I could to save your life!"

"I know you have, child. May yours be long and happy. "

"Donald, may your life be longer and better than you think. I havetried all other means of saving you in vain; there is but one meansleft!"

The outlaw started violently, exclaiming:

"Is there one?"

"Donald, yes! There is! I bring you the means of deliverance andescape. Heaven knows whether I am doing right--for I do not! I knowmany people would blame me very much, but I hope that He who forgavethe thief upon the cross and the sinful woman at his feet, will notcondemn me for following His own compassionate example! For Donald, asI was the person whom you injured most of all others, so I considerthat I of all others have the best right to pardon you and set youfree. Oh, Donald! Use well the life I am about to give you, else Ishall be chargeable with every future sin you commit!"

"In the name of mercy, girl, do not hold out a false hope! I had nervedmyself to die!'"

"But you were not prepared to meet your Maker! Oh, Donald! I hold outno false hope! Listen, for I must speak low and quick. I could never behappy again if on my wedding-day you should die a felon's death! Here!here are tools with the use of which you must be acquainted, for theywere found in the woods near the Hidden House!" said Capitola, producing from her pockets a burglar's lock-pick, saw, chisel, file, etc. 

Black Donald seized them as a famished wolf might seize his prey. 

"Will they do?" inquired Capitola, in breathes anxiety. 

"Yes--yes--yes! I can file off my irons, pick every lock, drive backevery bolt, and dislodge every bar between myself and freedom withthese instruments! But, child, there is one thing you have forgotten:suppose a turnkey or a guard should stop me? You have brought me norevolver!"

Capitola turned pale. 

"Donald, I could easily have brought you a revolver; but I would not, even to save you from to-morrow's death! No, Donald, no! I give you themeans of freeing yourself, if you can do it, as you may, withoutbloodshed! But, Donald, though your life is not justly forfeited, yourliberty is, and so I cannot give you the means of taking any one's lifefor the sake of saving your own!"

"You are right, " said the outlaw. 

"Listen further, Donald. Here are a thousand dollars! I thought neverto have taken it from the bank, for I would never have used the priceof blood! But I drew it to-day for you. Take it--it will help you tolive a better life! When you have picked your way out of this place, goto the great elm-tree at the back of the old mill, and you will find myhorse, Gyp, which I shall have tied there. He is very swift. Mount himand ride for your life to the nearest seaport, and so escape by avessel to some foreign country. And oh, try to lead a good life, andmay God redeem you, Donald Bayne! There--conceal your tools and yourmoney quickly, for I hear the guard coming. Good-by--and again, Godredeem you, Donald Bayne!"

"God bless you, brave and tender girl! And God forsake me if I do notheed your advice!" and the outlaw pressed the hand she gave him whilethe tears rushed to his eyes. 

The guard approached; Capitola turned to meet him. They left the celltogether and Black Donald was locked in for the last time!

"Oh, I hope, I pray, that he may get off! Oh, what shall I do if hedoesn't! How can I enjoy my wedding to-morrow! How can I bear the musicand the dancing and the rejoicing, when I know that a fellow creatureis in such a strait! Oh, Lord grant that Black Donald may get clear offto-night, for he isn't fit to die!" said Cap to herself, as she hurriedout of the prison. 

Her young groom was waiting for her and she mounted her horse and rodeuntil they got to the old haunted church at the end of the village, when drawing rein, she said:

"Jem, I am very tired. I will wait here and you must just ride back tothe village, to Mr. Cassell's livery stable, and get a gig, and putyour horse into it, and come back here to drive me home, for I cannotride. "

Jem, who never questioned his imperious little mistress's orders, rodeoff at once to do her bidding. 

Cap immediately dismounted from her pony and led him under the deepshadows of the elm tree, where she fastened him. Then taking his facebetween her hands, and looking him in the eyes, she said:

"Gyp, my son, you and I have had many a frolic together, but we've gotto part now! It almost breaks my heart, Gyp, but it is to save a fellowcreature's life, and it can't be helped! He'll treat you well, for mysake, dear Gyp. Gyp, he'll part with his life sooner than sell you!Good-by, dear, dear Gyp. "

Gyp took all these caresses in a very nonchalant manner, only snortingand pawing in reply. 

Presently the boy came back, bringing the gig. Cap once more hugged Gypabout the neck, pressed her cheek against his mane, and with awhispered "Good-by, dear Gyp, " sprang into the gig and ordered the boyto drive home. 

"An' leab the pony, miss?"

"Oh, yes, for the present; everybody knows Gyp--no one will steal him. I have left him length of line enough to move around a little and eatgrass, drink from the brook, or lie down. You can come after him earlyto-morrow morning. "

The little groom thought this a queer arrangement, but he was not inthe habit of criticising his young mistress's actions. 

Capitola got home to a late supper and to the anxious inquiries of herfriends she replied that she had been to the prison to take leave ofBlack Donald, and begged that they would not pursue so painful asubject. 

And, in respect to Cap's sympathies, they changed the conversation. 

That night the remnant of Black Donald's band were assembled in theirfirst old haunt, the Old Road Inn. They had met for a twofoldpurpose--to bury their old matron, Mother Raven, who, since the deathof her patron and the apprehension of her captain, had returned to theinn to die--and to bewail the fate of their leader, whose execution wasexpected to come off the next day. 

The men laid the poor old woman in her woodland grave, and assembled inthe kitchen to keep a death watch in sympathy with their "unfortunate"captain. They gathered around the table, and, foaming mugs of ale werefreely quaffed for "sorrow's dry, " they said. But neither laugh, songnor jest attended their draughts. They were to keep that night's vigilin honor of their captain, and then were to disband and separateforever. 

Suddenly, in the midst of their heavy grief and utter silence afamiliar sound was heard--a ringing footstep under the back windows. 

And every man leaped to his feet, with looks of wild delight andquestioning. 

And the next instant the door was flung wide open, and the outlaw chiefstood among them!

Steve stopped rolling and curled himself around Black Donald's neck, exclaiming:

"It's you--it's you--it's you!--my dear, my darling--my adored--mysweetheart--my prince!--my lord!--my king!--my dear, dear captain!"

Steve, the lazy mulatto, rolled down upon the floor at his master'sfeet, and embraced him in silence. 

While Demon Dick growled forth:

"How the foul fiend did you get out?"

And the anxious faces of all the other men silently repeated thequestion. 

"Not by any help of yours, boys! But don't think I reproach you, lads!Well I know that you could do nothing on earth to save me! No one onearth could have helped me except the one who really freedme--Capitola!"

"That girl again!" exclaimed Hal, in the extremity of wonder. 

Steve stopped rolling, and curled himself around the feet of his masterand gazed up in stupid astonishment. 

"It's to be hoped, then, you've got her at last, captain, " said DemonDick. 

"No--heaven bless her!--she's in better hands. Now listen, lads, for Imust talk fast! I have already lost a great deal too much time. I wentfirst to the cave in the Punch Bowl, and, not finding you there, camehere at a venture, where I am happy to meet you for the last time--forto-night we disband forever!"

"'Twas our intention, captain, " said Hal, in a melancholy voice. 

Black Donald then threw himself into a seat at the head of the table, poured out a mug of ale, and invited his band to pledge him. Theygathered around the table, filled their mugs, pledged him standing, andthen resumed their seats to listen to the last words of their chief. 

Black Donald commenced and related the manner of his deliverance byCapitola; and then, taking from his bosom a bag of gold, he poured itupon the table and divided it two into equal portions, one of which hehanded to "Headlong Hal, " saying:

"There, Hal, take that and divide it among your companions, and scatterto distant parts of the country, where you may yet have a chance ofearning an honest livelihood! As for me, I shall have to quit thecountry altogether, and it will take nearly half this sum to enable meto do it. Now I have not a minute more to give you! So once more pledgeyour captain and away!"

The men filled their mugs, rose to their feet, and pledged their leaderin a parting toast and then:

"Good luck to you all!" exclaimed Black Donald, waving his hat thriceabove his head with a valedictory hurrah. And the next moment he wasgone!

That night, if any watchman had been on guard near the stables ofHurricane Hall, he might have seen a tall man mounted upon Capitola'spony, ride up in hot haste, dismount and pick the stable lock, take Gypby the bridle and lead him in, and presently return leading outFleetfoot, Old Hurricane's racer, upon which he mounted and rode away. 

The next morning, while Capitola was dressing; her groom rapped at thedoor and, in great dismay, begged that he might speak to Miss Cap oneminute. 

"Well, what is it, Jem?" said Capitola. 

"Oh, Miss Cap, you'll kill me! I done been got up long afore day andgone to Tip-Top arter Gyp, but somebody done been stole him away aforeI got there!"

"Thank heaven!" cried Capitola, to little Jem's unspeakable amazement. For to Capitola the absence of her horse meant just the escape of BlackDonald!

The next minute Cap sighed and said:

"Poor Gyp! I shall never see you again!"

That was all she knew of the future!

That morning while they were all at breakfast a groom from the stablescame in with a little canvas bag in his hand, which he laid, with abow, before his master. 

Major Warfield took it up; it was full of gold, and upon its side waswritten, in red chalk:

"Three hundred dollars, to pay for Fleetfoot. --Black Donald, ReformedRobber. "

While Old Hurricane was reading this inscription, the groom said thatFleetfoot was missing from his stall, and that Miss Cap's pony, thatwas supposed to have been stolen, was found in his place, with this bagof gold tied around his neck!

"It is Black Donald--he has escaped!" cried Old Hurricane, about tofling himself into a rage, when his furious eyes encountered the gentlegaze of Marah, that fell like oil on the waves of his rising passion. 

"Let him go! I'll not storm on my silver wedding day, " said MajorWarfield. 

As for Cap, her eyes danced with delight--the only little clouds uponher bright sky were removed. Black Donald had escaped, to commence abetter life, and Gyp was restored!

That evening a magnificent old-fashioned wedding came off at HurricaneHall. 

The double ceremony was performed by the bishop of the diocese (then ona visit to the neighborhood) in the great salon of Hurricane Hall, inthe presence of as large and splendid an assembly as could be gatheredtogether from that remote neighborhood. 

The two brides, of course, were lovely in white satin, Honiton lace, pearls and orange flowers. "Equally, " of course, the bridegrooms werehandsome and elegant, proud and happy. 

To this old-fashioned wedding succeeded a round of dinners and eveningparties, given by the wedding guests. And when all these old-timecustoms had been observed for the satisfaction of old friends, thebridal party went upon the new-fashioned tour, for their own delight. They spent a year in traveling over the eastern continent, and thenreturned home to settle upon their patrimonial estates. 

Major Warfield and Marah lived at Hurricane Hall and as his heart issatisfied and at rest, his temper is gradually improving. As the lionshall be led by the little child, Old Hurricane is led by the gentlestwoman that ever loved or suffered, and she is leading him in his oldage to the Saviour's feet. 

Clara and Traverse live at Willow Heights, which has been repaired, enlarged and improved, and where Traverse has already an extensivepractice, and where both endeavor to emulate the enlightened goodnessof the sainted Doctor Day. 

Cap and Herbert, with Mrs. Le Noir, live at the Hidden House, which hasbeen turned by wealth and taste into a dwelling of light and beauty. Asthe bravest are always the gentlest, so the most high-spirited arealways the most forgiving. And thus the weak or wicked old DorcasKnight finds still a home under the roof of Mrs. Le Noir. Her onlyretribution being the very mild one of having her relations changed inthe fact that her temporary prisoner is now her mistress and sovereignlady. 

I wish I could say "they all lived happy ever after. " But the truth isI have reason to suppose that even Clara had sometimes occasion toadminister to Doctor Rocke dignified curtain lectures, which no doubtdid him good. And I know for a positive fact that our Cap sometimesgives her "dear, darling, sweet Herbert, " the benefit of the sharp edgeof her tongue, which, of course, he deserves. 

But notwithstanding all this, I am happy to say that all enjoy a fairamount of human felicity.