The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1869-10-15

"Presently there came up the heavy,
rough step of the earl, and looking into
his hard, insolent face, met an evil glare
in his cold eye. ?
"By love, sir, said he, this is a pretty
revenge because she refused you-because
she could not love you!
ard have struck him to the earth as he
stood there, with that evil light upon his
faces dnlEt dared not leave my hold Of the
precious burden I. clasped in my arms:
but ground my teeth in my fierce, savage
agony, as l turned from the great cold
blooded fellow to Ada. Her eyes were
open now, and with a faint struggle she
released herself, and Lord Baconly knelt
down on the ground beside her; but she
rose up slowly and painfully, putting her
hand to her left shoulder. Staggering to
my feet, blurted out some unintelligible
explanation of my blindness and my sor-
row. Lord Baconly stopped me with
something very like an oath, as he got up,
and strove to place his arm round her, and
asking where she was hurt.
"tIt has only Just grazed my shoulder,
she said, land for the first time L noticed
how the shot had passed through the
upper part of the velvet sleeve and it
is not much-only felt frightened, and
faint, and stupid t.ag r..
| "How fast the color was coming back
| into her lovely faceI-and how strange it
was that she turned from the earl, and put
her little hand through my arm! But he
\ was not going to stand this; he stroye to
| interpose, coming out, with some great
cowardly words about my having shot
her.
"Lean on me, Miss Greville,' said he,
'let me support you. OF course you are
faint and frightened, who wouldn't be?
And you, sir, the best thing you can do is
to go off to the house, and send some sort
of conveyance here.
His tones were full of contemptuous
command, and he held out his arm TO Ada,
but both her small hands were twined
round mine as she leant against me for
@No,-I will stay here with Captain
Dacre' she said, and you, if you will be
so kind, 90 on TO the house, and tell Brown
to come here in the little pony-carriage
for me- But stay, Lord Baconly, one mo-
ment, before you go. IL heard you say
one word that was not true just now ~
1.-THE color flashed brightly over her
face, and her eyes looked like stars as we
two men stood gazing at her:
"You told Captain Dacre, she said, he
had shot me on purpose-bccause l could
not love him 1t was all false-entircly
false. Now go, SIR
blinded with rage and pride, and with
fiercely clenched hands, his lordship
stalked away without word; and, in a
mad bewilderment or joy, turned TO Ada
as she stood trembling beside me.
"Is it true? can you love me? ex.
claimed and then 1 let my arms fall
around her, and my eager, passionate kisses
pressed her cheeks and lips, feeling that ii
was an too true, too bright too real
"That night, when Ada had retired, and
her shoulder had been well doctored, III
was merely faint Craze Heaven knows
il might have been worse-I shuddered TO
think of IT'D l sat up in the smoking-roo
! with JIM -.f5- N11 tt
al knew it a year ago, my dear fellow,
he said. 1t seems she found out that she
had made a4nistake, after you left us thai
time. but she wouldn't LET me tell you OF it
and when she found had asked you here
the,other day she protested to be highly
irate. However, i trusted to chance and
NV usual good luck, and it has all come
right, you see!
"Jim smiled benignly upon me ano
pulled away at his weed, while felt toe
happy to smoke or talk, or do anything
but think of Ada.
1--WE were married about five month.
after; and Go you know l begin to think
never made better shot in my life than
did on the first of last September"
And so Ned Dacre wound up his story
and after due congratulations to him, he
} asked us to dine next day with him and
Mrs. Dacre at the Lord Warden Hotel
where they were stopping on their way to
Doric