The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1868-07-26
VOLUME ].
from the Catholic world.l
NELLIE NETTERVILLE;
ONE OF THE TRANsPLANTED
CHAPTER XII.

CHAPTER XII.
y When first O'More unfolded the cloak in
which he had brought Nellie safely through
3 the flames, she lay 80 white and still that, for
3 one brief, terrible moment, he almost fancied
she was dead The fresh air, however, soon re-
X vived her, and opening her eyes, filled with a
y look of terror which afterward haunted them
for months, she fixed them upon Roger, and
= whispered nervOusly:
z "Where are the rest-the priest and all :
T Where are theyT
swered solemnly. At that awful moment he
felt that he could say nothing but the truth,
terrible as he knew that truth must sound in
the ears of the pale girl beside him His words,
( and she fell upon her knees, exclaiming, II
only saved-I only saved! o my God, my God
have mercy on their souls" Then suddenly
: remembering that, if she were safe, she owed
z it entirely to Roger, she added earnestly, You
have risked your life for mine. How shall
thank you ~
"By helping me once more to save it," he
answered CURLY. "Nellie," he went on rapidly,
for he knew too we'll that every moment they
fingered there was fraught with peril" Nellie,
however, is in your own hands now. and with
courage and good trust in Providence, doubt
not we shall pull safely through"
Nellie seemed to gather up her mind for
great effort, and said calmly:
"Only say what must do and will do IT"
"The case is this" said Roger shortly:
pile over-head-"y onder tower must fall soon,
and, if we linger here, will crush us in it's ruins
On the the other hand, even if we could creep
round to the opposite side of the church, thing
in itself almost impossible, the fanatical demons
who guard the gates will probably shoot us
down like dogs. The cliff, therefore, is our
best-almost our only chance. Nevertheless, 4
leave the choice in your own hands. Only re-
member YOU must decide at once"
"The cliff then be itw said Ne Nellie witt, with
mereifdi t ti,an man. He viii save us, perhaps;
if not, His will be done-not mlne VIII trust
entirely to Him-entirely to Him and you.
Almost ere she had finished speaking, Roger
had undonc the rope which he carried round
his waist, and was looking eagerly about MIN
for somerneans of securing it in such way as
to make it useful to Nellie IN her descent. For,
tunately for his purpose, a thorny tree had
planted itself, some hundreds OF years before,
in a assure of the rocks SO close to the walls
of the tower that, old, and gray, ana stunned
penetrated beneath their broad foundatlon, ana
were quite as firmly settled in the ground.
Upon this Roger at ano snre Of
its powers of endurance, he passed one emu OF
his rope round the thickest and lowest portions
of the stem, and made it fast with sailors d1ia
and then watched it's fall with terrible, silent
fear at his heart lest it should prove shorter
than his need required. Down 1T WENT ana
down, and he stopped over to mark it's progress
until Nellie felt sick with fear, and turned
away to avoid the giddiness which she knew
would be fatal to them both.
At last she heard him say, "Thank God, 1T
has reached the platform !" Then he turned
round and anxionsly scanned her features.
''Nelhe" he said, "this thing is difficult, but
not impossible. have seen You bound like n
deer down cliffs almost as steep; if not so high.
The great, the only real peril, is in the eyeslght
Lots wife persisted by aAlook. You must pro
mise me neither to glance up nor down, but to
keep your eyes fixed on the rocks before YOU
Hold well by the rope; take it hand over hand
like sailor, u remember that you know the
trick y and leave the rest to me. There ts
really path, though you can hardl y see it from
this spot ; and there are chinks and crevices be-
sides, in which you will easily find footing. You
must feel for them as you descend, and when
YOU at a loss, shall be below to help you.
Neither will you be quite alone, for am going
to fasten you by this cord, so that if You should
happen to let go, may perhaps be able to sup
"My God ~ said Nellie, white with terror, as
he passed strong light cord, first round her
waist and then his own, i'll such Il way that
there length sufficient to enable them to
act Independently OF each other, while, at the
same time, neither could have fallen without
almost to a certainty ensuring the destruction
of both. MY God, l cannot consent to this.
Go by yourself; my fall would kill YOU"
But you will not fall-you shall not fall "
he pleaded anxiously, "if only you will abide
by my directions"
$50 alone do beseech youw she answered,
with SILVER You cannot save me, and
shall but ensure your destruction with my own "
"Nay, then, give itup he answered, almost
sullenly. eve will stay here and die together
for never shall it be said of an O'More, that in
seeking safety for himself he left woman thus
toperish."
Then, in Gods name, let us try!" said
Nelliei only tell me what to do, and will do
tiff can"
Hold fast the rope, that is all. Never let
one hand go until the other has grasped it
firmly, and leave the rest to me. will help to
place your feet in safe resting places as we go
down. Only trust me, and all viii yet be welf''
81 will trust to you, and to God, and our
Lady" said Nellie, unconscionsly repeating the
password of the morning Her color was ris-
ing fast, and her eyes had begun to sparkle
with excitement. 0'More seized the propitious
moment, and, almost before Nellie knew it, she
Z had begun her perilous descent.