, 1859-09-02

blow must be immediate. HI s2
at shall fall tomorrow" said Wyckhamme
"leave the means to me. But | say, father, how
dost thou propose to get possession Of the maiden
and wheni" .-.....
"TO-night" replied the monk, and his eye
glistened; " ! am her father confcssor."
Capt. Wyckhamme smacked his lips. r....
"a sweet duty, by my faith, to listen to the
1uttering thoughts Of youthful female hearts /
almost would were monk. I" H. ,,-1.fs.
Curses on thy licentious tOnguep exclaimed
the churchman, in voice Of surprised passion.
Listen: have imposed on her midnight soil
tary penance. Al the dead hour Of the night she
is to knee before the shrine Of the Virgin, in tho
cathedral. shall be there" ..
"And attempt to carry her of? She will
scream"
"Thcre are gags" ..'a err +
"She will fy." n
"There are bonds and secret keeping-plaees
she wOts not Of at my disposal; while Mark
Huntey-"
"Is my part Of the job. Priest, it is o we'll
laid schene-I think Il may prosper"
alt must, answered the priest "But the sun
hath passed the meridian-is it not time thou
vert on thy way homeward ?" .i -,..'. ...,s7
Marry, you say true" exclaimed tho other;
"and will plot my share in the matter as
ride" t}' "'- 81 ~
ADO so," sud the priest; "and farewell" Z
In five minutes, Capt Wyckhamme, attended
by two yeomen Of his troop, was spurring down
Ludgate Hill, oil his way westward; while Father
Francis, enveloped in his cowl, paced slowly and
thoughtfully back to his cathedral. The people
made way for liim reverently and bowed low; the
father had the reputation Of being rich in the
odor Of sanctity, and many counted themselves
happy in Lis "Benedieis." d
II was near the hour Of midnight, when the
light figure Of woman, closely mufiled, glided
cautiously and timidly along the quiet pavement
and tripped up the steps towards one Of the side
entrances Of the cathedral. The door Of q chap
elry, from which adlnittance might be had into the
main portion Of the building, was open. As she
crossed the threshold, the damp chill Of the air,
50 different from the genial atmosphere without,
made her pause. It was but for moment and
then she entered the cathedral
Mabel Lorne knelt before the shrine Of the Vir-
gin. She had hardly passed minute in devo-
ton, when heavy hand was laid upon her shoul-
der; with o Tutoring heart, she started to her
foCt and beheld the lace Of Father Francis dim
ly seen close to hers. atai.at5 ss.i. .al.E Il
"FatherI' she exclaimed. ar.ixs all laN
"DHughter," returned tho priest, in voice
trembling with passionate eagerness, for he
thought he had bis victim in his clutch, "tbou
must 60 with me /" and at the same instant be.
fore she could make motion to prevent him, he
slipped handkerchief, prepared for the purpose,
over the lower part Of her face, and she was an
able to utter q sound.
"Come, sweet one, come II said Father Fran.
els, ina low, tremulous voice, as he attempted to
seize her arm and waist Surprise and despair,
however, gave Mabel strength; making frantic
effort she freed herself from the rude grasp, and
fed. Uttering muttered imprecation, the priest
pursued, but his flowing robes hindered his pro-
gress With reeling head, and almost insensible
Of what she did, Mabel few over the pavement;
she tried to make for the door, but her confusion
was too great to enable her to discover it-she
heard the ootstep Of the priest close 70 her, and
6ed, inviting whittier she went. III
"Hat now have thee,n painted the monk, as
the fugitive appeared driven in corner Of the
building, and lie made plunge lorward to grasp
her. He was disappointed. A Alow-browed door
stood open in the wall leading to spiral stone
staircase, and up she few like the wind As Ma
bel put her foot upon the first step-a loud elang
rang through the cathedral--it WIS the first
chime Of twelve struck by the great clock. Up
-up-up-went pursuer and pursued Fear
gave unnatural swiitness 70 Mabel and she rushed
upwards, round and round the spiral staircase
as though her feet ielt not the stone steps. The
priest was close behind-with clenched teeth and
glaring eyes; maddened by passion and disap-
pointinent, he made desperate efforts to overtako
his victim, and sometimes Mabel heard his loud
paintings close behind her. Up thsy went, higher
and higher; the gyratiOns Of the stairs seemed
endless and all the while the cock rang slowly out
the iron chimes Of midnight. The place was dark,
but there was nothing to impede ones progress;
and here and there bars Of white moonlight
through looph0les, checquered the gloom Upl
up higher and 6ster-but Mabel felt that her
limbs were falling her-she made one more ef
fort-one frantic bound, and lol she saw above
her, In space on which the moOnbeams fell, the
complicated works Of the great clock. She had
no breath to raise an alarm which could be heard
by those below. She listened to the rapidly
mounting footsteps Of the priest, and her heart
sunk within her. Just then the great iron ham.
mer which struck the hours, rang the last stroke
Of twelve upon the bell A thought darted like
lightning through Mabes brain-she might make
that iron tongue speak for her. Gliding through
the machinery, she mounted among lis frame
work, and grasping the hammer with both hands,
she strained every nerve and muscle Of her white
arms, and slowly raising the ponderous weight, let
II fall upon the bell, and 10, with clang that
rung through every brain, the TnIRTEENTH CHIME
fell upon the sleeping city.
Breathlessly was the priest preparing to seize
her, when the iron peal for moment arrested his
hand. He looked up-there stood the gentle
creature amid the throbbing mechanism-ber
white hand convulsively clutching the iron and
her white face distorted with terror and fatigue.
The moonlight showed him all this, and showed
him, moreover, the hammer agnin moving under
the maiden's grasp. The danger Of his position
Immediately flashed across him he knew that
there were many within the chapels and cells at
tached to the cathedral sleepless watchers Of the
hours-and he feared the unusual number Of
chimes would attract immediate attention. Nut.
tering deep curse, he turned, and Mabel heard
him hurrying down the staircase. Cautiously
she followed, and on reaching the bottom, heard
his voice communicating with brother monk.
al am certain" said the latter, " that the clock