The Forrest City times., 1891-11-13
Dark DarrelI's Bride.
CHAPTER nL-coxr1xIrrn.

"Good evening" she said, curtseyinr
 ts the gentleman and ladies in turn. and
 glancing very keenly at lima. "Beeu
 showing the foreign young lady the weir,
 and the Mill and all, see.- lima made out the drift of this speech,
 though the words were delivered with a
 broad Cumberland accent. Roland re- piled to it.
 | "This young lady is Miss Costello, our
 cousin, Zeph,"-anothcr curtsey from
 zcph--"and she thinks the place very
 beautiful. We shall ask Job to show us
 over the Mill in day or two" "Shes welcomc--most welcomev' said
 Zeph, scanning lima furtively again. | "Did ye sec the lord ride past, Mir. Ro- l land,"
 '.No. Where and when.v | "Oh, just before ,ou came up! He rode by on black horse-a rare beauty. It
 will be best Tor the lord not to stay here
 long,"
 | "why, Zcph." asked Rose eagerly. "Father says there will be heavy rains
 next month, and he knows.v | "What tbeny" asked Roland. | "Father says the floods will be out to
 the hills this year, said zeph orsculsrly;
 ''and you know what it sayss" | "lt" was apparently the Darrell curse
 sn the Scarth Abbot.
 "Well, but" said Roland athe Darrells
 have braved the floods again and again.-
 Sec how Sir Philip himself escaped when
 he saved widow Hunt.o ellis time was not come, Mir. Roland"
 returned Zeph, frowning little; "but
 the time must come, and Sir Philip is the
 last Of his house. Good evening, my la-
 dies; good evening, sir" With another .ook-not over-fricndly-
 at lima, and covert glance at Roland,
 Zeph went on her way.
 "What an oddityw said lima, gazing
 aner her. "I can follow her pretty we'll,
 What pity we missed seeing Dark Dar- rell on his black steed! knew it would
 be black, Rose"
 Rose and Jamie discussed the black horse
 which Sir Philip had not had the last time
 he came to Scarth Abbot, all the way
 home, while lima walked by Roland's side
 and asked him hosts of questions about the place and the people. The remainder of the evening passed pleasantly in music and conversation, and 1t was late when Miss Durnford md lima | returned to the Grange. Ilma's dreams that night was tumble Of Ottawa and scarth Abbot. gipsies,
 weirs, mills, and Spanish-looking cavaliers on black horses. and she awoke early, with the sun shining in her room. The girl sprang up, dressed quickly, and opened her bedroom door. Not soul
 was stirring in the house. lima looked at
 her watch; it was barely six o'clock. Jolly" she thought. "I shall run
 down to the weir before breakfast'' She did not put on her hat, but ran out
 bareheaded, effecting her exit by her bed.
 room window. A creeper grew without,
 and by means of this the agile young girl
 rapidly reached the garden; she then hur-
 ried away toward the river. She had the dcwy morning all to herself, and scattered | the diamond drops like spray as she moved | through the grass, laughing to see how wet were her shoes and the bottom of her
 biue-and-white serge mornng-dress.
 The mll-wIeel had just began to work, l but no one was about; and lima stood for
 nearly quarter of an hour on Zsrali's
 leap-so Roland had told her the fatal spot was called-looking down upon the
 weir; then stepping back to the bank, she | wandered along towards the brilge which 1 Mistress Anncris Darrell had refused to | cross. The ground rose in this direction,
 and, looking ahead, lima could see that
 the river, which wound very much, flowed
 between banks fully twenty feet high, not
 more th n a quarter of mile from where
 she now was.
 She paused presently close to the bridge
 and, going up to he extreme verge of the bank, looked down at the rapid current, | flowing at this spot with terrible velocity | towards the weir. Absorbed in listening | to the roar of the weir, which seemed to | all ntl hn uirI irbt have remained thus for an hour, had not .
 most unexpected sound made her look up
 and glance quickly towards the bridge,
 whence had come clear penetrating | s'Holloa.' in mans voice. A man mounted on splendid black
 horse was crossing the bridge, and, as lima turned her face, he waved his hand with
 an imperative gesture, intimating to her
 to draw back. She obeyed instantly, re-
 tiring several feet, with less of any fear in
 her heart of a possible peril against which
 the rider had warned her, than feeling of keen amusement and pleasure on he-
 holding one who could be no other than tho famous Dark Darrell, the accursed. Yes;
 there was the dark hands nc face: and,
 as she drew back the rider raised his hat | and bowed, as if to apologize for having l called to her, or to thank her for con- descending to have her life saved. She | stood still, watching the horseman, and little thinking what an exquisite picture she herself made with her youthful beau- ty.
 While yet hundred paees from where lima stood, Sir Philip Darrell drew bri- de, and, springng lightly to the ground, advanced on foot, with dofled hat.-
 Seeing that he approached her, the girl went forward to meet him, thinking that this last of the Darrells needed only shin ing armor or velvet and lace to be a hero
 of some wild poetic romance of the Rhine. .Pray forgive me-" he said, as the two met, s.for shouting to you; but you were standing in very dangerous place. The | earth there frequently yields" "Why, l ought to thank you very
 much 1" replied lima earnestly, looking up almost fearfully into pair of large | steadily y-brilIiant eyes of the deep gray that seem black in the shade. "If I had fallen in, I should have been washed over the weir. But l came only yester- day; so l don't know where there is dan ger"
 "I should know you were stranger ny both your looks and speech" said Sir Phil ip, smiling; and lima felt that so sweet smile could redeem any curse, even were the face it illumined less strikingly hand. some than that of the Lord of the Manor. "There is not the remotest of the Cum berland about you"
 1.Nor is there about you," returned H. ma frankly. "I should think you were foreign altogether if 1 did not know who you were"
 "You have the advantage of me-" said