Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-07-06

into orc another's faces. l saw he was
deeply moved; that he was thinking Of
Dymphna and how had saved her. He
held my hands as though he would never
loose them.
We'll said as chcerfully as I could,
have you brought us an offer OF tcrmsi
But let ne tell you flrst,'' continued,
how it happened" And ! briefly cx-
planned that we had mistaken the captain
Of tho guard and his two followers for
Clarence and the two Spaniards. lis he
deads" continued
mo; he is still alive" Master Lind
s.rom answered gravely. Put tho towns
folk are furious. and tho seizure of the
tower has still further exasperated them
Why did you do its''
Because Tc-should have been torn to
pieces If we had not done it., answered
Gryiy. lyon think We are in a strait
placer
DO You not think SO yourselfs' he
said, somewhat astonished
laughed. That is rs may be,'' an
swercd, with an afTectation of reckless
ness. "The staircase is marrow and the
window low. We shall sell our lives dear
ly, my friend. Yet for the sake of tho
women who arc with us we are willing to
surrender II he>citizens offer us terms
After all, it was an accident. Cannot you
impress this on them?" added eagerly.
He shook his head. They will not hear
reason" Eo said.
Then" replied, Empress the other
thing upon them. Tell them that our
swords are sharp and we are desperate
Il will see what can do" he answered
slowly. The Duke of Cloves is expected
here tomorrow, and the townsfolk feel
they would Le diseraccd forever if ho
should find their gate held by u party Of
marauders, as they consider you"
The Duho of Clcves?' 1 repeated.
Perhaps no may DO better affected to-
w.r;i us ="
They viii ovcrpowor you before he
comes, Master Lindstrom answered de-
spondently. Il would put no trust in him
il we're you. Eut will go to them, ard,
believe me, will 90 all that man can do"
'Of that l an sure said warmly.
And then, cautioning me to remain strict
ly on the defensive. he left me-
Before his footsteps had ceased to echo
OF. the stairs tho door beside me opened,
and Mistress Anne appeared at it. saw
at once that his familiar voice had rouscL
her from the stupor of fear in which I had
last seen her. Her eyes were bright; her
whole frame was thrilling with excite
meIt, hope, suspense began to under
stand her, to discern beneath the disguise
thrown. over it in ordinary times by q
strong will the nervous nature which was
always confident Or dcspairing, which felt
everything SO kcenly-cyerything that is,
which Touched itself. "Wells" she cried.
..Wcl!:"
Patience! Paticnce!" 1 replied rather
sharply. could not help comparing her
conduct with that of the duchess and
blaming her not for her timidity but for
the sclfishncss which she had betrayed in
her fear. could fancy Potronilla trem-
bling and coward, but not dcspairing,
nor utterly cast down, nor useless when
others needed her, nor wrapped in her
own tcrrors to the very exclusion of rea-
son. ''paticnce!" l said. 'Hc is coming
buck. He and his friends will do all they
can for us. We must wait awhile and
hope and keep Z good lookout
She had her hand on the door. and by
an abrupt movement she slipped out to
me and closed it behind her. This made
the staircase so dark that could no longer
distinguish her face, but judged from
her tone that ECr fears were rc2aining pos
session Of her Clarence" she muttored,
her voice low and trembling. "Havo you
thought of him? Could not he help us?
Hc may have followed us here and may
BIO here now. Now! And perhaps he docs
not know in what danger we arc.'
'CIarencc!" said, astonished and al
most angry. Clarence help us2 Go
back, girl, 90 back. You are mad. He
would DO more likely to complete our ruin.
Go in and nurse the baby" added bit
teTly.
What could she mean? 1 asked myself
when she had gone in. Was there any
thing in her SUGGESTION Would Clarence
follow US hithcr? If so, and if he should
come in time, would he have power to
help us, using such mysterious influence,
Spanish or English, as he seemed to pos
sess? And, If he could help us, would it
be better to fall into his hands than into
those of the oxaspcrated Santonese? I
thought tho duchess would say NOT
80 1t mattercd not what answered my
self l hoped, now Master Lindstrom
had appeared, that the women would be
allowed to 20 free, and it seemed to me
that to surrender to Clarence would DO to
hand over the duchess to her enemy sim
ply that the rest CT us might escape.
Master Lindstrom returned while l was
still considering this, and observing the
same precautions as before I babe him
join me. "Weil," l said, not SO impetu-
ously, hope, rs Mistress Anne, yet dare
say with good deal of cagerness, "weIl,
what do they say" For no was slow to
speak.
II have bad news" he answered gently.
All" tjacu!atcd, a lump which was
due As much to rage rs to any other emo
tion rising in my throat so they will
give Us no termsi Then SO be it! Let them
come and take u.s."
Nay" he FASTENED to answer. at is
not so bad as that, lad. They are fathers
and husbands themselves, and not lanz-
knechts. They viii suffer the women to
60 free and will even let me take charge
Of them If necessary"
They wi!l!'' l exclaimed, overlooked l
wondered why on earth he had hesItated
to tell mo this. why, that is the main
point, friend"
Yes" he said gravely, perhaps SO.
More, the men may go, too, il the tower
be surrendered within an hour-with one
exception, that is. The man who struck
the blow must be given up
The man who struck the blow" re-
peated slowly Do you mean-yuu mean