Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-09-25
Dark Darrell's Bride.
CHAPTER vII.-coNTINUED

| the terrible ride OF Lenore aud 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 and faithful, never deyo-
ton more perfect; his every thought was
hers-his first love; for, though ne had
tasted deep OF LIES pleasures, lac had new
Ell loved till now; aud now he laid down
his life at the feet of "a 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 20 the distant land of light and love.
! Was the VOW quite forgotten?
His hand WAS on his companions bride,
but, even rs 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 dd he check with an iron-band his
own horses onward course! 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,
Woo and death TO both who love"
The fierce revulsion was terrible; he al
most reeled in the saddle; he scarcely saw
for or a no xil lara1 m fhaf lima
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 lie saw her, his love, so young,
SO wondrous fair, he felt the bitterest an
guish of seli-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
emotions and Ilma's keen glance was
keener now, too, to read his face.
"What is ity' she said hnrriedly, paus-
ing and leaning forward, with her large
clear eyes full of trouble. ais it All,
forgive me" ~
She raised her head and followed his
glance, which seemed to answer her, to-
wards the river. For a few seconds she
sat quite silent, listening TO the roar of the
weir, her ey'" dim with binding tears;
but her IA quite turned from her COM
panion, SO that lie could not see it.
4 Ia "a.
DEAR" he said half lightly, half caressing-
ly, as one might speak TO child. III am
so grieved that | caused you even pass
ing troub But the sound came on me
suddenly and unncrved me; for was for
getting the shadows in the sunshine, and
needed a reminder, | suppose. Hark-
there IS Roanu's shout! Snail we make a
detour round the bracken yOnder aud join
them!"
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 selt-con-
troll She was child 10 him then-only
childs Well, and did not she behave like
childg What else could he think her?
She was not seventeen yet, not for another
week; so il 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 flow-
ers; and-why, OF course he would not
have given her Zuleika, ii he had thought
she was more than child! Well, here
were the others; and how yexed Roland
was looking, though he laughed and called
out "Truantsw Then the girls came up,
and there was good deal OF laughter and
banter; and lima laughed rs 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,
aud was as far rs ever from imagining why
lie should be veXed, except that he had
not wanted her to leap the ditch. She let
him keep her by his side however, and
talked and laughed, and seemed in fine
spirits.
Roland proposed crossing the Coalmere,
and returning home by the Mill; and as
no one objected TO the idea, they made for
a narrow bridge, that spanued the river
three or four miles above Scarth Abbot
Only two horses abreast could cross this
bridge, and here ii happened that Sir Phil
ip Darrell and lima were side by side
again.
"What rapid current the river has !"
said the girl, afraid that he should think
she had been annoyed when he had last
spoken to her.
"Ay," he answered, glancing over the
low parapet, with a strange thought of
what that swift stream might be bearing
away before many days were past; "and IL
will be running six miles an hour or more
before long"
llma's words were hardly relevant to
this remark.
"Sir Philip, is it all true-really true2"
she said In u low tone.
'.Sceptical still, young America-after
what | showed you the other day too, End
the dreadful stories | told your"
lima did not know that his testing tone
was n refuge for himself; in her tones
there was not doubt, but an inetiable
dread, IA 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 lille. she could not
I've Indifferent TO his fate; but IL need not
influence her whole existence.