, 1884-12-21

TT n 7" r-T-TT-T N 7
would@loath as l was 10 allow myself to be
convinced, l was bound TO decide thai she
must have taken the path to Roding. Theru
was no other. She had gone. even as / was
going, to moet Ferrand. She may have
started, intending to come to me; but at the
last moment n desire to SEQ the man once
more-I fondly hoped for the purpose OF
heaping reproaches on his head-had mas
tered her. Yes, whatever her object might
be. she had gone to meet him And my
heart sank as conviction was carried to 1t
by the remembrance that coupled with her
refusal to permit mo 10 fetch her was an as
sertion that she had something 10 do before
she cana to me. That, as / now road It,
could DO but one thing-to meet this mani
Never again, II l can help 1t, shall his
voice strike on bar earl Never again shall
their eyes mssti Never again shall the
touch OF even his finger contaminato heri
Let mo follow, and stand between her and
the scoundrel II they meet he will wound
her to the heart Her pride will rise; she
will threaten- Then the coward will try
another line He will plead for mercy; he
will swear no still loves her; he will bait his
hook with promises. She will listen; hesi-
tate; perhaps yield, and find herself once
more deceived. Thon she will be lost to mo
forever. Now she is, in my eyes, pure a.
when first we mot Let mo haste on, over
take. pass her moot hor b~etrayor. and, II
nocdful, strike him to the ground
As i turned from tho house l became
aware that a great and sudden change had
como over the night. It seemed to me that,
even IN the few minutes which l had spent
in considering what to do, the heavy clouds
had banked and mAssed together. IL was
all but pitch-dark, so dark that / paused,
and drawing from my pocket tho lantern
with which Williams foresight had provid-
cd me, managed after several trials to light
It Then, impatient at the delay, 1 sped up
tho road.
/ was now almost facing tho wind. All at
once, sharp and quick, l felt tho binding
snow on my face. The wind moaned through
the leafess branches on either side OF the
road Tho snow fakes whirled madly hero
and there. Even In my sxcitemont l was
able to realize the fact that never before
had l secn in England 70 hsrca n snow
storm, or one which came on 80 suddenly.
And. like myself. Philippe was abroad. and
exposed to Its full fury. Heavensi she
might lose her way and wander about all
night
This fear quickened my stops l forced
my way on through the mad storm. For the
time all thought OF Sir Mervyn Ferrand and
vengeance left my heart All l now wanted
was to find Phiippa; 10 lead her home, and
SEQ her safe beneath my roof. Surely l
said, as / battlsd along. 'sho cannot have
gone much further"
i kept n sharp lookout-if, indeed, II can
be called a lookout; for tho whirling snow
made everything, ave what wa within a
few feet Of mo, invisible. 1 strained my
ears to catch tho faintost cry or other sound.
l went on, flashing my lantern first on one
and thon on the other side of the road. Ny
dread was that Philippe, utterly unable to
fight against the white tempest, might DO
crouching undor ono OF the banks, and II SO
l might pass without seeing her or even at
tracing her. attention. My doing 20 on
such a night ~ this might mean her death.
oh, why had she not come as promised 7
Why had she gone to meet the man who had
20 foully wronged herf Aftor what had
happened, she could not, dared not love him
And for a dreary comfort I recalled the
utter bitterness Of her accent last night
when she turned 10 me and said. "Basil, did
you over hate a manr' No, sho could not
love him
These thoughts brought my craving for
vengeance back to my mind. Where was
Ferrandi BY all my calculations, taking
into account the time wasted at starting, /
should by now awe met him. Perhaps he
had not come, after all. Perhaps tho look
Of tho weather had frightened him, and he
had decided TO stay at Roding for the night
ragged at the thought II only l knew that
"f HHAAN navy hhtaN1An WI III III
present frame OF mind, would have suited
me better than TO nave met him on this
lonely road, In the midst OF this wild storm.
II Philippe were only safe
Still no sign OF her. l began to waver In
my mind What IL my first superstition,
that 1 had passed her ON the road, was cor
rectl She might DO now at my cottage,
wondering what had become OF me. Should
go further or turn backl But what would
DO my feelings II ! did tho latter and found
when l arrived home that she had not made
her appearancef
l halted, irrosolute, in tho centre OF the
road. Instinctivoiy / boat my hands to-
gether to promote circulation. I had left
my home hurriedly, and had made no pro-
vision for tho undergoing of such an ordeal
as this terrible, unprecedented Anowstorm
inflicted. In spite OF the speed at which /
had Travelled, my hands and feet we're grow
ing numbed, my face smarted with tho cold.
Heaven help me to decide Alright. whethsr to
20 on or turn backi
Tho decision was not left TO me. Suddenly,
close at hand. l hoard n wild peal, a scream
Of laughter which made my blood run cold.
Swift from the whirling, tossing, drifting
snow emerged a tall gray figure. II swept
past mo like the wind; but as 1t passed. me l
knew that my quest was ended-that Philip
pa was foundl
ShO vanished In a second, before tho ter
ror which rooted mo to tho spot had passed
away. Then turned and. fast as / could
run, followed her, crying as l went. "Phil-
ippal %Philippar'
soon overlook her; but 30 dark was tho
night that l was almost touching her before
! saw her shadowy, ghost-like form. Ithrew
my arms round hor and held her. She strug-
gled violently in my grasp.
"Philippa, dearssti 1t is ], Basil,n / said,
bending close to her car.
The sound OF my voice seemed to calm her,
or l should rather say she ceased TO strug-
gle.
Thank heaven, I have found your Isaid.
o US get back as soon as possible"
Back mol Go on, go onI' she exclaimed.
ION, on, on, up the road yet awhile-on
through the storm, through tho snow-on
till you see what l have left behind mel
On till you see the wages OF sin-the wages
OF sinf'
Her words came like bullets from n nit
railleuse. Through the night 1 could SEQ
her face cleaning whittier than the snow on
her hood. l could see her great, fxed, dark
eyes full Of nameless horror.
Dearest, be calm,n l said, and strovo 10
take her hands In mine.
As l tried to gain possession Of her right
hand something fell from IL, and, although
the road was now coated with snow, a me-
tallic sound rang out as 1t touched the
ground. Mechanically 1 stopped and picked
up the fallen object
As / did so. Philippe, with n wild cry,
wrested herself from the one hand WHOSE
numbed grasp still sought TO retain her, and
with a frenxied reiteration OF the words,
The wages Of sinrp fed from me, and was
lost In the night
Even as l rushed In pursuit / shuddered
as the sense Of feeling told me what thing ID
was / had picked up from the snowy ground.
Il was n mail pistol Cold as the touch Of
a Certain Cure for Group.
The following treatment has been used