Year: 1873

| Vi Ill WAS d pTdSt WOldU,
else should not have this story to write,
but the terrible wildness of the night, the
| furious lashing of the rain, the roar of the
| angry sea, made her falter before going
out. The wind in that one moment
whirlcd past her, and blew open the half
shut library door, bringing her father from
the room to see what bad happened.
katharine, you are not going out ?" in
amazement.


"Yes."


There was certainly no hesitation in her
voice, and something in her eyes made her
father careful of his next words.
''Let me go if it is a necessary errand."


'It is a necessary errand, but one which
my father would not wish to attend to-"
she said. with her eyes looking straight in
to his. "A messenger brought me word
five minutes since that Courtney Alcott's
vessel was upon the rocks at Bay Stone
Point"


You will do nothing unwomanly, /
trust" Mr.. Forsyth said, in real alarm
now, as he took his rubber coat from the
rack, and hastily slipped it on.
You had better not go. father, if you
are afraid of me" she said, as quietly as
before. though he saw well enough that it
was forced quiet, ''for l am afraid OF
| myself tonight. One thing is certain, if
Captain AlcOtt lives to see me again, he
will know that love him, and that it was
no fault of mine that he thought different
! ly six months ago"


Mr.. Forsyth fairly groaned. He had
been so sure of her, and so certain only
this very evening that she would accept
his plans for uniting the houses and the
lands of the Forsyths and the Holworths,
but now this plebeian, that he hated as he
hated poison, must come between him and
his most cherished hopes.
There are times when such q thing as
authority in parent is not, and cannot be
thought Of. This was his time. He must
60 with her, and while her face held that
awful look, if he was man, there would
be little said.


1t was full mile to the Point, and they
started out, silent and anxious. He hoped
in his heart that the vessel would 90 to
atoms, though he dared not think that he
hoped so, though as he strobe on beside
his quiet daughter. he had some doubts
whether that event would mend the mat
ter in the end. Katharine had, from her
young girlhOod-she was now twenty
three-been a most incOmprehensible per-
son to those who knew her best, and a
year back she had reached the climax of
incomprehensibility by accepting, tacitly,
the most reckless alteration of Captain AL
colt, who cared about as little for her aris-
tocratic blood as any man living, but who
would almost, if not quite. have laid down
his life, If need be, for the love of this
woman.


Katharine's father had managed to see
him alone when he came to make his last
nol hnf n,I
Captains question If he would entrust his
daughter to his keeping, Mr.. Forsyth had
answered him that he could not, because
other plans were matured for her-that
Katharine was engaged to-day-would he
excuse her? and had bowed him out with
all the pOliteness of an earl, and the Cap
tain had gone off to sea, cursing the proud
father who had stood between him and
the dearest hope he had ever had, and al
most cursing the proud daughter, too.


M. Forsyth had told his daughter of the
interview, told every particular, without
comment, because he was little afraid
not to let her know it. and she had receiy-
ed the intelligence with equal reticence,
which the father hoped augured well,
though for the life of him he could not tell
whether it did or whether it did not
Tonight he knew for certainty where
his daughters heart was. and he knew as
well that he had little to hope for unless
Providence should favor him by opening
the door into the next world for this suitor
of his daughter.


As they emerged from the grove Of
pines which skirted the beach, the spray
began to cut their faces sharply, and the
whole fury of the storm seemed to strike
them as it had not done before.


at is a dreadful night, Katharine You
had best return"


'Hush ~ Her voice was sharp and
strained, ~ had rather by far drown in
this hungry ocean here, than live to know
that he had gone down."


She did not usually go to her father or
any one else with her hearf-secrets, but
tonight she would have spoken to any one
who had been near her, with little heed as
to who that person was.


The wreckers were gathered upon the
sand with boats, ropes, life-preservers,
everything needful, but nothing was being
done, nothing could be done, they told
Mr.. Forsyth, and all the while came the
boom boom boom from the guns OF the
Inflated vessel upon the rocks, around
which the sea was tugging and drawing
and surging, as if eager to swallow it up
and be done with it at once.
| Katharine left her fathers side and went
up to one of the bravest of the men.


'.How can you stand hereP Is no one
ready to go with you?" she asked.
| "Yes, we be all ready enough, Miss,
but the good Lord help the man who goes
out tonight.


Katharine said not another word, but
thanking the ''good Lord that she knew
how to handle both boat and pair of
oars, she slipped through them. and be-
fore any knew it, she had unfastened
boat. was in it, and going out swiftly on a
receding wave toward the rocks and
him.


The light fared upon white faces enough
when Mr.. Forsyth gasped for breath. and
nearly tainted when he really believed
that it was true.


The rest of that long highland it
seemed as if morning would never come
they paced up and down the beach,
while the storm ragged on, for not man
would follow the mad woman, though
Mr. FORSYTH offered them more money than