Year: 1873

me! Ii you can tell me that, Marga


ret, it seems to me that I can face
!, even the desolate future with brave


heart if 1 know that"


But she did not answer him. Hel


pale lips did not move; her downcast
t eyes did not lift; she only suddenly
a drew her hand from the clasp of his,
d and darted toward the door.
r He followed, and assisted her into
l the carriage; then, to her surprise, en-.
r tered also, and closed the door.
3 "Are you coming with met" she
3 asked.


' IF you do not object" he answer
t ed, Il viii certainly assure myself that
, you reach home safely


She could not demr at this, but
} she winged a fervent prayer to Heay-
en- that Hugh might be safely gone
, to his morning work. If he should
i still chance to be at home, whatwould
, he say, what would he think, to see
her drive up with Roland Tyrrell! Of
| course she meant to tell him where
and how she had spent the night; but,
/ all the same, it must be done with
caution, not with such abrupt force.
She might have spared her fears,
however, for Roland Tyrrell was nev-
er dull man, nor enc likely to fall
into such blunder as this. When
they were once safely in q street
which led straight to the Churchill
cottage, he stopped the carriage and
got out.


Il will bid you goodbye here" he
said to Margaret, and extended his
hand.


She placed her own within it, but
what she said she did not know; she
could not afterward remember,
though she vainly tried to think that
it had been something kind. It was
much more likely to have been some
thing wholly commonplace and un-
meaning, for what else do any of us
say at those decisive moments of
1


meeting and parting which stamp
themselves for good or Ill upon the
heart? Then she drove on, and left
him standing alone.


1t has been already said that the
neighborhood in which the Church
ills lived was principally inhabited by
the class who found employment in
the large mines and their adjacent
works, not far distant This part of
the town had not suffered in the least
from that destructive food which had
almost swept away the lower portion;
yet, as Margaret drove toward the
cottage, she could not but observe
signs of an unusual commotion in the
streets and about the doors of houses.
Knots of people gathered, talking ex-
citedly; women ran past with terror
and dismay>o on their faces; even the
children looked wild and horror
stricken.


"What can possibly have occurred?"
thought Miss Churchill; and she was
not sorry that, as she stopped the
carriage at her own gate, man whom
she knew well as connected with the
mines came hurrying past.


"One minute, Mr.. Wayland!" she
cried, for he did not seem to notice
her. ''Pray tell me what is the mat
teri Something has happened sure
ly?"


Nothing much is the matter, Miss
Churchill" he said, turning round
with face which behed his words


"Only there's been an accident at
the mines. '1t's all come right, I
dare say. You-you better go inl"


He hurried on, but Margaret stood
still, panic-stricken. She knew well
what those fatal words, accident at
the mines" meant. She had not iv-
ed for years at the very verge with
out knowing far more than the outer
world of the perils which beset the
workers in earth's mysterious depths.
1t never occurred to her for a moment
that Hugh might be connected with
the accident, but yet her heart stood
still at thought of the horrible posi-
bilities Of suffering SO near her. She
realized the agony with which every
woman around her was asking, SIS it
my husband, or my son!" She even
realized-or thought she did-the
awful despair of those who were bur
led alive far beneath the green sur
face of the world "God help them!"
she said, to herself; and then as she
was turning to enter the gate, she
heard two men speaking as they pass
ed at rapid pace.


81 thought as much one of them
said. sits all Churchill's fault. He
insisted on pressing the work in that
direction-and it was only yester-
day he volunteered to direct the men
himself. He was q headstrong fel-
low; but one can't help being sorry
for him, and this Will come hard on
his sister!"


1t did come hard on her, harder
even than the speaker thought, ,fromits
horrible unexpectedness. She reeled
back and caught the low fence, white
as sheet, and trembling like an as
pen. For a moment she tried
to smile-it was such utter folly!-.
Hugh! How could Hugh possibly be
in danger! Then that awful sickness
of the heart-like unto no other sick
ness of earth-came over her, and she
would have fallen to the ground if an
arm had not supported her. 1t was