The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1879-07-10

time TO eat his heart out, and profoundly
convinced that he was victim Of the
blackest treachery, and that if Emily
we're false, then all the world was false.
Six months Of that bitter diet, with the
swift, mad scene before his eyes, chang.
ing only to show the man falling, Sophy
running forward with shrek, and
Emily standing frozen to stone as she
had started from her chair, and the open
hearted and gay youth had become a
taciturn and gloomy man, without q
word TO spare, ready for any dangerous
service, and never half so pleased as
when some black tempest followed
them, and the thick darkness shut them
in like the curtain Of death and judg-
ment that they were soon about to lift.
Yet when twelvemonth had passed,
| his bitterness began to be something
less in degree occasionally a ray Of
sense would break upon his gloom, and
the thought would come to him that,
after all, he had never once spoken of
marriage to Emily Travers in 80 many
words he had taken everything for
granted he had left the way open for
any other beggar that chose to come
along. Why, he asked, had he ever
doubted Emily? She loved him to-day
like a brother, as she had always DONE
Loved him like brother Not she, he
would reply to himself, when he had
felled her lover to the ground, and had
flung her from him like a snake. She
had reason to hate him, he said of
course she did hate him.
Life looked dark enough to Norman
Macpherson at that time, and you may
be sure that he made no effort to set
things right but with the persistency
of his Scottish race, he fitted his back
to bear the burden and when the three
years cruise was over, he made no visit
to his home at all, but got another term
Of sea service, much to the relief of
some one else who wished to stay ashore.
As for Emily, she had not been sure
that night that she was not beside her.
self. Talking to the young naval officer
who was going to marry Sophy-a a
secret she had kept at Sophy's require
ment, and concerning which she had
often drawn on her fancy for Norman's
pleasure and surprise when she should
be allowed to tell him-addressing him
af1ectionately, as she felt toward one so
soon to be her brother, and answering
his threat of taking Sophy away by beg
ging him not to part her from her sister,
suddenly white maniac with blazing
eyes had appeared in the window, an
uplifted arm had fallen, the shrieking
Sophy had Iuu to lift the head OF her
senseless lover, and Norman was gone.
What it all meant she could not coniec.
ture, and she WAS too stunned to make
the effort. She went about as if she
were a moving statue everything SEEM
ed to go on long, long way beyond her
view; she was waiting for n word that
did not come and when day after day
and week after week crept by, and no ex.
planation came from Norman, and she
knew nothing Of his whereabouts, except
the official statement, she realized that
her world had collapsed like q pricked
bubble, and she collapsed with it.
When Emily came up from that sick
ness it was like one emerging from the
dark valley of the shadow Of death, and
some of the shadow still cluug to her I;
there was a look on her pale face as if
she was gazing into land beyond.
Sophy was married, and went away her
mother closed the house and took Emily
to Europe, settling down at last in lit
tie town on the Mediterranean shores,
whore they could pick up their scattered
threads, and see if they we're still Amer
leans; and the days went by so quietly,
with the slow rising and falling of the
blue water Of the tideless sea like an
indolent breath beside them, that they
hardly knew how many of them passed.
II they we're not happy days to Emily,
neither were they entirely unhappy;
only there seemed to be nothing to look
forward to, and, except her mother,
nothing to live for.
Nor was there any very giddy variety
in Norman's days-out of sight of shore,
the sun coming up and going down as if
by machinery, and he only glad to be in
harbor for the sake Of putting to sea
again.
One day, being in Asiatic waters, the
officers of the Attaseok, that had paused
on her way from more southerly har-
Dor, came on board, and as they stepped
on the deck, almost the first person that
Norman saw was tall, dark, handsome
fellow with scar across his forehead.
In on instant he had turned upon his
heel, and was striding to another part
Of the ship, before he knew what he was
doing, or could make up his bewildered
mind to action in relation to this man,
who must long since have been Emily's
husband, as he reasoned. But he was
not 80 quick that another foot did not
come striding aftor, and hand was laid
upon his shoulder in manner that
made him wheel shout at once.
We'll, Mr.. Macpherson said the
stranger, in a great honest voice, 'ac-
cording to all the laws Of society, / be-
lieye You owe me some satisiaotion, and