Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1891-09-25
Dark DarreIl's Bride.
CHAPTER yu.-coNrrNUEp.

throbbed 30 quickly as he rode over the
moorland by llma's side; and the strange
old German legend came back 10 him of
the terrible ride Of Lenore and her lover
through the forest, away, TO unknown re.
gions., lima was too fair, too pure for SO
black fate; his love should not destroy,
but save her. Death could not wrest her
from such great love as his. Never was
love more true aud faithful, never devo-
tion more perfect; his every thought was
hers-his first love; for, though he had
tasted deep OF life's pleasures, he had new
er loved till now and now he laid down
his life at the feet of go.den-haired girl.
Would she spurn the treasure, or weuld
she fear him? On, on they sped through
the summer sunshine, away from the fate
full river
''Let the dead past bury its dead"
ON to the distant land of light and love.
| Was the vow quite forgotten?
His hand was OH his companions bride,
but, even as her questioning eyes were
raised to his face, his eyes were turned
from her, and mighty and terrible change
had gone over her features. 1t was well
perhaps that she did not meet his eyes Just
then, for surely she must have read there
! in his whole heart. But why did his looks
change, and his cheeks grow livid, and
his hand drop from Zuleika's rein, and
why did he check with an iron-hand his
own horses onward courseY Because of
the sound that came sweeping on the wind
-"the sound of many waters" the sullen
roar OF Gipsy's Weir; and the awful
words flashed across his mind
ever Darrells love shall prove,
Woe and death 10 both who love"
The fierce revulsion was terrible; he al
most reeled in the saddle; he scarcely saw
I for one bewildered moment that lima, I'M
able at once to check her horse, had turned
now and was riding back TO him. But,
when the mist had rolled away from his
eyes. and he saw her, his love, so young,
80 wondrous fair, he felt the bitterest an
guish of self-reproach. Death to her, for
whom he would shed his blood drop by
drop smiling in the suffering borne for her
sake? Had he been mad, mad indeed!-
but was IL too late TO save her-to bear the
curse alone.
His strong will rose to meet the great
need of the moment, TO hide the truth
from lima. Yet even the quick command
OF feature which had become second ma
ture to him could not, in the few seconds
that elapsed, smooth away all signs of deep
emotion; and Ilma's keen glance was
keener now, too, to read his face.
"what is itg" she said hnrriedly, paus-
ing and leaning forward, with her large
clear eyes full OF trouble. "Is it All,
forgive mew
She raised her head and followed his
glance, which seemed TO answer her, to-
wards the river. For few seconds she
sat quite silent, listening to the roar of the
!
but her fa quite turned from her COM
panion, so that he could not see it,
"Don't trouble your bonnie head, lima
DEAR" he said half lightly, half caressing-
ly, as one might speak to II child. al aln
SO grieved that / caused you even pass
ing troub But the sound came on me
suddenly and unnerved me; for l was for
getting the shadows in the sunshine, and
needed a reminder, L suppose. Hark-
there IS Roland's shout! Snail we make
detour round the bracken yonder and join
them!7
lima made no answer, but silently loosed
her bride and rode off again, Sir Philip
by her side. She could not have spoken
one word. She still kept her face away
from him, though now there was an added
pain that yet helped her to gain sef-con-
} troll. She was child to him then--only a
child? Well, and did not she behave like
a child? What else could he think herr
She was not seventeen yet, not for another
week; so it was only kindness when he
said that nothing was trouble that was
done for her. lie only wanted TO tease
her, when he Knocked her about the how-
ers; and-why, OF course lie would not
have given her Zuleika, if lac had thought
she was more than a childl Well, here
/ fl.a x-.A Dala s.A
was looking, though he laughed and called
out "Truants" Then the girls came up,
and there was good deal OF laughter and
banter; and lima laughed as much as any
one; but she was conscious all the time
that Roland was anything but pleased
She did not care in the least about that,
, and was as far as ever from imagining why
lie should be yeXcd, except that he had
, not wanted her To leap the ditch. She let
him keep her by his side however, aud
talked and laughed, and seemed in tine
spirits. E
Roland proposed crossing the Coalmere,
and returning home by the Mill; aud as
no one objected TO the idea, they made for
! a narrow bridge, that spanned the river
three or four miles above Scarth Abbot
Only two horses abreast could cross this
bridge, and here it happened that Sir Phil
lip Darrell aud lima were side by side
again.
"What a rapid current the river has 70
, said the girl, afraid that he should think
she had been annoyed when he had last
spoken to her.
gay" he answered, CHANGING over the
low parapet, with a strange thought Of
what that swift stream might be bearing
away before many days were past; sand it
will be running six miles an hcuc or more
before long,"
, Ilma's words were hardly relevant to
, this remark.
"Sir Philip, is it all true-really trues"
she said In u low tohe.
"Sceptical still, young America-after
what showed you the other day too, and
the dreadful stories told your"
lima did not know that his testing tone
was n refuge for himself; In her tones
, there was net doubt, but an ineffable
dread, yearning after possibility, the
wild effort to grasp at some means Of es-
cape, but the feeling thus unconsciously
expressed might not really have taken a
, hold on the girls inner life. She could not
be Indifferent to his fate; but IL need not
, influence her whole existence.
"Don't laugh ut me, please" said lima,
a.. IT, A.