The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-19


 throw some wood on the fire. Looking down, his blurred and uncertain eyes saw what seemed like gold on the floor. He gasped, scarcely daring to move | At last he stopped His hestating ing CTS encountered soft curls.
 de sank into his chair powerless under l the double presence of a bewilderlng, inexplcable happening and a hurrying influx of old memories and feelings. The child, which he had now lifted to his lap, stirred fibers that had not quiv- cred in fifteen years.
 The mystery of it's arrival filled him with awe. He felt again his old, almost forgotten belief in a great Power pre-
 siding over life. He was not aroused till the little one began to cry. Then he awoke to himself to warm it and feed it. Under the effect of action his mind cleared. anf e began to wonder how the
 child had le to him. He went to the door and fs7ted out. Before him was a
 trail made by the baby as it crawled to the door.
 Half an hour later he appeared at the Cass house with the girl in his arms,
 asking wildly for the doctor. As soon as l he had told his story that functionary, accompanied by others of the men. hur- ried to the house whither Silas had
 managed to drag the woman whom he | had found in the snow.
 Godfrey Cass waited outside. He had
 recognized the child at once. If she is l dead" thought he to himself, q may | marry Nancy. An. then I shall be a 1 good fellow in the future and the child
 shall be well taken care of somehow" Yet deeper down there was a sense in
 him that he ought to accept the conse-
 auences of his deed, own the miserable wife and fulfill the claims of the helpless child. But he could not contemplate the renunciation of Nancy that this might mean now in the very moment when he might hope to win her.
 At last the doctor came out and an- nounced that the woman was dead. l Godfrey entered, cast one nasty look at her and then stopped over the girl where l Silas Marner held her in his lap. Her eyes were eglantine blue and she looked at him with baby smile.
 You'll take her to the paris tomor-
 row, I suppose?' he asked, speaking as indifferently as he could.
 Who says so?" cried Marner excited ly. Will they make me give her up?'' They did not make him give her up, all though his determination to keep her caused hardly less excitement than the robbery of his money had done. But it was excitement attended with more use- ful results, for the women developed an active sympathy for him.
 As the weeks grew to months and the
 months linked themselves to make a year. the child created fresh ties again and again between himself and other
 lives. Gradually, bit by bit, his mind turned away from breeding over the lost gold. Gradually as she grew and de-
 manded air and sunshine, he came away from his weaving and made holiday. When the spring sun grew warmer he ! carried her out to where the flowers were starting.
 l So, as time went by, and the child s mind was growing into knowledge, his | mind was growing into memory as her life unfolded, his soul, long stupefied In
 cold, narrow prison was unfolding, too, and trembling gradually into full con-
 sciousness.
 He took her with him everywhere, not
 withstanding the diInculty of carrying
 her and his load of linen at the same time. No one treated him now with fear 1l.f1I ha1
 to link him once more with the whole world.
 There was one person who watched the growth of Eppie, as Silas called her, with keener though more hidden interest than any one else. That was the young Squire, Godfrey Cass who had succeed ed to his father and married Miss Nan cy He did all he dared for the weaver, and looked forward to the time when he might do more for his daughter. His secret seemed safe. Dunstan new CT had returned. So he drifted on, hap py in the love of his wife, and postpon- ing the day of reckoning with his con
 science. Each day, as he saw Eppie
 grow more beautiful and happy, he be- came more contented to let matters go as they were.
 But there came a time when Godfrey Casss secret was to be its own pun
 ishment. The child that Nancy bore
 him died in its infancy; and the Squire,
 who had built great hopes on his heir,
 felt the loss keenly. The years went on
 and no other child came to take it's
 place. As we pine most for that which
 we may not have, Godfrey felt hun
 ger in himself growing year by year. His love for Nancy did not diminish, but
 increased. But over it hung the shadow
 of the desire that was to be unsatisfied-
 a shadow that Nancy felt as we'll as did
 her husband.
 So in an their peace and affection each
 knew the othere had secret grief
 Nancy because of her husbands disap-
 pointment and Godfrey because of the absence of a child from their hearth.
 That famous ring that pricked its own CT when he forgot duty and followed de- sire-did it prick its owner very hard
 when he set out on the chase or did 1t
 prick but lightly then and only pierce
 to the quick when the chase had long
 been ended and hope. folding her wings, looked backward and became regret?
 Twice did Godfrey propose to Nancy