, 1864-03-26


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thus suddenly. So intolerable n trial unon
Isabel, that 4 seemed m her "a n Ibs XIV.
light itself must be false and its rboIe
tale dream. Il sbuld hi bs tr;;s A
brave, innocent man generous ali b;s i;fe
to an unthankful stcn- -brotbor. ,bov oorIS
not mean that people were 10 bcI;sve th;s
most iniouitous lie.
.Take courage. Isabel. Re brays bnL
own y, They were his words. hut ho,y
long IL seemed since he smoke them How
terribly long since she had sect hin / Was
she ever to See him again ffis own, Tn
life or death his own but which was IL 10
bef
Isabel had no bravery left. Great crises
are SO ant to take MS ,,nprepared. An SIR.
lives nsrbons vr nave bhan nrenar;no E,r
sometb;nc. bat not tb;s. not th;s wb;cb
has fallen unon us now this u ;s;rtolershIe
only let it be removed and We will snfFer
ANYTHING. She too had been nrenared as
she thought, for somethipp on that niobt Of
anxious watching f,r Godfrey bnf not
this.
The subject which had cansed her so in.
explicable an oppression tbat n;ybt came
back with terrible Significance now fhe
Coloners calm tones were forever in her
ears. with their unmoveti testifboty II tbe;r
condemning power Of that circumstahtiaI
evidence which had acquired so fearful an
interest for her. Tales bearing upon il had
began to float through her brain; hysterical
speculations as to whether or not man
would be hanged in such a case as this
and mixed up with them that strange night,
the open window, Godfrey's vet sleeve and
Lleeding cheek: mass Of ghostly remem.
branc, which would leave her suddenly TO-
combat again and again her own disbelief
in the monstrous truth that Godfrey, her
Godfrey, was under arrest-to take bis trial
for the murder Of his half lfbrother, George
Rcdiern.
And she herself was about 70 stand forth
and bear witness--against him, or for him;
how did she know which! How did she
know what such wisdom as could look in
his face and still suspect him might make
out Of her words, Whatever they were?
Who had done this deed! Was it, as God
frey suggested, suicide, or had some un-
known hand in reality sent George Red
fern to his death and in either ease, was
there any hope Of discovering the truth ?
None, 70 far.
At the entrance to the coppice above
the beeches the brothers had met at the
opposite end Of the same coppice there had
been a struggle. If indeed that could be
called n strneole which consisted onIv of
self.defence no inst A violent attack This
was Godtrey's own tale. Knowing nothing
Of his brothers visit to the house. he had
refrained from telling Isabel the story on
the night Of its occurrence and he had
not known anything of his brothers fate
until the strange bearers met him, and un-
covered before him the dead mans face.
But the coppice was close % the pool;
the ground was trodden with footmarEs,'
signs Of the struggle, which Godfrey never
denied and on the very brink Of the pool
was found the elder brothers missing bat.
That no marks of violence had been dis
vered on the body proved nothing, since
sudden push would have effected the
thing as surely as violent blow, and il was
well known that the younger Redfefn was
unable to swim.
All was against Godfrey. What could
the Squire test fy, except, indeed, to his
knowledge Of the lifelong ill-will between
the brothers; TO the quarrel which had
terminated their intercourse two years ago,
in that very coppice when they had been
fellow guests of his own?
What could Isabel say in Godffey's favor,
except that he was dearer to her than life!
They would not spare him for that these
heart ess accusers of an innocent man:
As to the Squire. the whole affair was 40
enormous, SO impossible. according to his
ideas, that he half expected to be raist d uiS
suddenly from Ct Of nightmare. Witha
crestfalien looking back upcn his theory.
that an honest English gentleman could be
in no real danger from circumstantial evil
dence, he could but confess that the case
had an ugly appearance Frightfal that il
should be so that Godfrey Redfern, in
whose praise thousand lips would unclose,
in his own neiehborhood as well as here
should yet be in danger. 1t was tfse that
many lips would speak in his praise, but
none could deny the fact Of the enmity be-
twetn the half-bro;hsrs. And the Squire
L. .,n,,, a. .l:.no.,o. .k.Gse. - Al n Az.