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V-Wi-fc M \ . ■ft*- ^ .!« 4- ^,^.: POPULAR NOVELS BY MAY AGNES >LEMING. t ./ I.-GUY EARLSCOURT'S WIFE. •.-A Wonderful woman. 3.— A TERRIBLE SECRET. ^ 4.— NORINE'S REVENGE. 5.— A MAD MARRIAGE. 6.T-ONE NIGHT'S MYSTERY. 7.-KATE DANTON. 8.— SILENT AND TRUE. 9.— HEIR OF CHARLTON. ^ 10.— CARRIED BY STORM. ,/ II.— LOST FOR A WOMAN. «.— A WIFE'S TRAGEDY. 13— A CHANGED HEART. 14.-PRIDE AND PASSION. IS.-SHARING HER CRIME. i«.-A WRONGED WIFE. 17.— MAUDE PERCY'S SECRET, 18.-THE ACTRESS' DAUGHTER. 19.— THE QUEEN OF THE ISLE, so.— THE MIDNIGHT QUEEN. »i.— EDITH PERCIVAL. ai— WEDDED FOR PIQUE. a3,— A FATEFUL ABDUCTION. 24.— THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. (New). " Mn. Flemins's itoriet are growing more and more popular erery day. Their delineations of character, life-like con- ▼enationf, flashes of wit, constantly varying scenes, and deeply interesting plots, combine to place their author in the very firnt rank of Modem Noveluts." Elegantly bound in cloth. Price $1.50 each, and sent PRiB by mail on receipt of price, by a. W. Dillinghain Co., Publishers, NEW YORK. AUl l'/ i ■:-^> ) ^+ • THE MISTRESS OP TORWOOD A Loi^Ei^Y Old house, standing by itself in a green hpllm^^, shut y^^ on tlie three sides by the sloping hills • of Maryland, and on the front a winding pathTlead- mg down through a long avenue of pines to tbe ceaseless sea. A dingy old house, built of red brick whose reclhess had long ago departed, leaving 'it" " black and,hsnial to look at-an old place, indeed, " looking as old as the hills themselves almost, but ■ ' ["'l^^^f,^"''^'^' ^^^ i^^^le and-upright through it .ill. True, the attics leaked, and the. cellars were moldering, and the chimneys leaned like the Tower f of Rsa but the wall would have borne cannonading, and^not minded it in the least, and the doors Si massive oak and studdeckwith huge nails of iron and brass would haVe defied a battering-ram. A ouaint .Ic place, ,,i,,eakeagat^ highnarrow winl't with diamond panes set in leaden casements, and ' o^a ZT'T""" f ^^ ^"^' ^^^^'^g it t^« look of a broken down c1«^rch retired into private life It was from this last it took, its name-Tor;^ood .„ ,„„„ ^„ yj^jyj^^^ ii,s name — Torwood lower.-and there had been a time when MnaS™ floated from them in the breeze, announcing toT ' -t-l THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. country round whep the lords of tlie manor were at home. But that time had passed .f\vay ; there was no lord to reign at Torwood Towers now, not even an h^, but a jointured widow and four blooming heiresses. Never before had Torwood been without an heir, but though the late Judge Torwood had been mar-' ried three times, no son came to reign when. ho should have passed away. One daugh ter, Miss Lucy Torwood, followed his first marriage ; three daugh- ters, Mesdemoiselles Edith, Florence, and Margaret followed his second ; and none at all his third. He had wedded i^rst, for money, a Maryland heiress, ugly as a Hottentot, and with the purse of Fortuna- tus ; he had wedded next for love a beautiful Creole, whom he met in Cuba; and ho had nuirricd the last time for— he could hardly have told himself, for what. Not for nionoy— he had enough of that, and tl^e lady had none ; not for love— at sixty-live gentle- men take to gout and rheumatism oftener than^to the gra/nde passion; not for a housekeeper— Miss Lucy 'Torwood was twenty years old and an excel- lent manager. But in Washington he had met Mrs. Stuart, S, handsome and well-preserved Avidow at five- and-forty, and without very well seeing any reason for it, he proposed, was accepted, and married. Widows of forty-five are not to be trifled with. Mrs. Stuart clinched the bargain at once, and though her son, a tall young man of five-and-twenty, who with M. D. aftef his name, supported his mother in very good style, look ed g rave and a little annoyed. # she became Mrs. TorWood the third week after the offer. THE SfSTERS OP TORWOOD. 7 Judge Torwood had a way of burying his wives, but widows with grown up sons are apt to be toueh and the third Mrs. Torwood buried him three years' after she married him. It was in Italy the sad event took place; they had liyed there ever since the marriage, for Judo-e Torwood's health, and Mrs. Torwood's pleasure, leav- ing only the eldest and the youngest Miss Torwood at home to look after the old place, for Miss Edith was in Cuba with her dead mamma's friends, and Miss Florence was in a fashionable boarding-school m New York. And thaf perhaps, was the reason why such a general air <^ neglect and desolation reigned about Torwoo^^wers, why the broad fields that spread away around it, lay waste and unculti- vated, why the fences were broken, the outhouses decaying, the roof leaking, the orchard, shrubbery and flower-garden running wild, the swallows build' ing their nests undisturbed in the eaves and sloping chimneys, the dogs and little negroes dozing lazily all day m the sunshine in the paved courtyard in front of the house, the gates hanging from their hinges, and grass growing tall and rank in the , graveled footpath leading down to the sea. For though Miss Torwood was an excellent manager she was only a young lady of three-and-twenty, too gentle to rule a tribe of lazy, shiftless servants, and a place so vast as Torwood Towers required the able head and strong hand of a man. In Torw^town, a bustling, self-im^rtant little / ..!„„„ J IX rT> " uuamng, seu-important littla Tlace, Wf-miiiifg yiTTage haIf-city7^M^^ was yery littleknown, except to the tradespeople whose busm^s brought them to the Hall- while o THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. Miss Margaret, better known as Miss Madge, was a celebrated character, known to all, high and low. The aristocracy in and around Torwoodtown called sometimes on the solitary young lady in the great lonely mansion ; but as Miss Torwootl was not fond of society, these friendly visits were rarely returned, and the aristocracy becaipe offended, and discontinued them. So Miss Lucy became known after a time as the Eecluse of Tor wood, and was rarely seen except on Sunday at the little Scotch kirk in the town, for she was a strict follower of John Knox and her Scotch ancestors, and never failed, rain or shine, to appear every Sabbath morn- ing and afternoon in the square, high-backed pew under the pulpit. 'There the young men stared at the pretty, quiet face, bending over her hymn-book but none of them got farther than lifting their hats' for Miss Lucy had a quiet dignity about her, that said in very large print, " Thus far shalt thou come, and no farther." The gossii)s whispered that Mr. Alexander ^c- Pherson, the tall young man in the white neckcloth, who propounded the Word to the kirk-goers of Tor- woodtown, and whose hair was sandy, whose face- Avas freckled, and who spoke through his nos0> never was so eloquent a*s when Lucy Torwood's fair face looke'■ A v/ b ThE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. n 3'd\t^'' own father ; agentleman^who was freckled, hid sandy hair, and spoke through his nose, andv iho was known as the Keverend Atex- ander McPlderson, of Torwoodtown "Well?" said the Jady, fixing her keen, dark eyes on his face, and stopping in her walk nasJd "' ?''"" ; •" "'^^'''^ '^^ ^'^- ^^lexander, in the nasal drawl peculiar to him, " I have got through." tl~itr^^^"^"^^"^"^"--^^^^<^<>y- The Rev Alexander was the most honest, plain- spoken, and straightforward of men. « The truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth," was the golden rule he persistently followed in spite of the world, the flesh, and the devil. I„ his hTnd he carried a black cudgel; he always carried it? and t w^uld have .erved an Irishman at Donnybrook fair When some tremendous bullet of truth was ready to whiz out, it was his custom to strike h^ shillelah a smart rap on the ground. He gave it a knock now that made the piazza ring. ^ ^^ ''' ^ " I think, ma'am, it is the most unjust, absurd and ridiculous will that was ever heard of » " " flaJhedfir'e'' ""'" '^" '"^^^^' ^"^ ^^ ^^^s "Sir!" ffivLV'thf •'*' ""^^^"^l '^'^ '^^ ^^^- Alexander, fZ^ fi!^''* ^"^^'^^^ ^^P' "i*^'« the most pre- posterous thing that ever was known. My l2 in^thejudge,mu,thavebeens<^k,staiiTi™ when he mada ,f Tir„^ , ' ""^'"K/nnn" A hare. » he made it. Mad, ma'am ; mad as a March . 1 ■%^J 3&M,*.iUftl.^ "'»■?' 4%, ^^, f. . 12 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. • "You are mistaken, sir. My husband was per- fectly sane." ^ " Beg your pardon, ma'am • no sane man could have made such a will ! It carries absurdity on the tace of It. If one had read of it in the ' Children of the Abbey,' or the ' Mysteries of Udolpho,' he would not have been surprised ; but in the ninetenth cen- tury, and by a Christian man, and what is more, a .Scotchman, and what is still more, a Presbyterian f Oh, ma'am, you'll excuse me, but the judge must have been as mad as a Bedlamite." "Mr. McPherson," said the ladv, facing around rather fiercely, "do you mean to insult me?" Tvr"^V^i? "''^'''"'' ™''^'«™'" s«^flthe imperturbable' Mr. McPherson, no way discomposed; "you asked my opmion and you have it." / "Opinions can be rather too plainly expressed. ' Be good enough to remember you are speaking of my dead husband." / " It's a most extraordinary wilj, ma'am." " My husband was a most extraordinary man sir " " I always knew him to be eccentric," said the Kev. Alexander, " but I never before took him to be quite a foo ." Here the plains-poken divine had the grace to pause, and takingan immense snuff-box out of his pocket, gave it a hard rap on the lid, and politely presented it to the lady. " Snuff ? " he inquired, sententiously/ ' Madame Toru-ood gavp it aside long glance of dis- gust. ^ \^ "Not any, thank you. You were surprised I l"PPose, when I sent fot^^^faj^ afternoon to read - my husband's will ? " "I > \^ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 13 ' nini ^'flf ^:- ^^^^'•^^'^ r-Pii^d. alf4aughing way of saying tfiinp,fEir^ gr, Stuart, that puzzled you, and left you in doubt vWftther he was in jest or earnest. His smile, ifeSi&sX-. ..a. r i6 THE SISTERS OF TORWbOD. very genial and bright tbpugh it was, puzzled you too; you could not tell whether he was laughing with or at you. He did not lo©k like his mother, and he was none the worse for thtit, the Eev. Mr McPher- son thought, except that he %as tall like her, broad- shouldered, full-ehested, and .deep voiced. His hair was li^ht, his eyes-very handsome S^iT^ythe way —blue, bright, piercing, j^et what are called laugh- ing eyes withal. His face Ws not handsome, and he wore neither beard nor mustache, but intellect sat en- throned on the broad, white brow, and refinement around the clear-eut mouth. Dr. Stuart was sarcastic, pei»haps,a little cynical, but by no me^ns out of tune with the world, fastid- ious, keen-sighted in reading character, and clever in dissimulation. Lavater could haVe told all that but for the rest he knew best what he knew himself whether mercenary or generous, subtle, dr wearing his heart on his sleeve, faithless or constant, pleasuir^ ' lovmg or of hermi^like continence. Standing in the doorway, still watching the sandy-hairpd minister with the same doubtful smile, he looked a fine, health, ful specimen of manhood^a lord of creation in every sense of the >vord. , > ' ^\^^^'^\ '"''^^ ^"''^ ^'^^'^ ^^- McPherson pulled ont his silver watch and consulted it again. "Ten minutes, and a luilf slow," he said, sol- emnly; "I must be going. Good-night, ma'am, good-niglt, doctor. The first time you visit the town giTe me a call-shall.be happy to see you in my hum- ble wigwam," " , -With which Taledictory the woi-thy clfsyman ~ who, strange to say, when he invited any body° reaUy J >« THE SISTER OF TORWOOD. ^^ meant it, wefnt off slouchinglj down the pi^a stairs, mounted his shambling pony, and rode away in the misty moonlight over the hillsito Tdrwoodtown, leav- ing mother an*l son alone together. 'fWho is that odd-looking customer ?» was thfi young man's first question. " Oh, a Presbyterian minister," said the lady with an expressive shrug ; "a well-meaning man, I believe, but such a bear, such Or^right." " One of those men, I fancy like singed-cats— bet- ter than they look," and he laughed his pleasant yet half-cynical laugh. "Well, mother mine, and how do you like Torwood Towers ? " The lady took his arm, and began walking him up and down the piazza. " I detest it. 1 should die of ennui here in a ,^onth. It is like being buried alive." "It is a fine old place, nevertheless," " Yes, for the rats, the dogs, and those filthy blacks. Il^is like a barn, damp and cold and dreary— it makes me think of ' Marianne in the Moated Grange ' T hate it?" . , "6 • x " You will not live^ere, then ? " " I would be sorry to live here. No, indeed, I will leave it as soon as I can, and go to Washington, Baltimore, or New York." " And that will be— how soon ? " " As soon as you are married." ' Oh l"8aid Dr. Stuart; and then there wasalonff pause. ° . ^ " Mr. McPherson ha s just been^ readiag tfee witi^ was Madame Torwood's next seemingly not verV apposite remark. ^ .''l/'.-Xi ^Sfli'i^:-^ /.. m^ '.*?,; .^*: ^^ i8 THE SISTERS- OF TORWOOD. "Has he?" ^^.^^ , " Yes " ' ■ ^h ^f •%' " And what d# h^UinK 6f it ? " " "AllsQTts^f ^office ; that it is unjust, absurd, ridicul^Sj^M|^o on.'* , ' * *". " I agr'^^^imh him.'' '^Paul?" ^ • - ■ " My dear mother, you are talking to Vour son, your heir, your darting, your only-one. Bo natural ; speak your mind and say you think ' so your- self." ;" " Paul, don't be absurd'; I am certain that the judge never did a wiser act i^ his lif.e than in the manner in which he has provided for his daughter.',' ' The doctor laughed. " For one of them, mother— I can't marry them all. It was his own act, of course. I am certain my dear mamma had no hand in it" " Paul, what a detestable way you have of talking. No one can ever tell whether you are serious of in yest.", .. , / "In jest! Nothing of the kind. I never was ^ore dismally serious in my life. I am positive exerci^^i^o inflai^ce over him in favor of your Very little. I may have suggested, the idea, but nothing more," ' " He never saw me, yet he provides for me better ^ than he does for his own daughters-J-all withotfft: being prompted. Thank you. Judge Tor wood;" and he raised his hat politely. =,^"Bah! -youll never talk sease^ Ha^ve y^a any 6b- jections to this will ? " u... ■i..?> k I shall . THE SiSXiCKS OK *>Rwdob. •'None at all. irow could I ? " " How, indeed. Some pe(,ple are l^orn with a sil- ver spoon in their mouth, and value it *<. more than If It were lead. How long ai, I to be kept a prisoner here 'i " " That dep^ds upon yoiwolf, midaiii." " No such thing, sir » it (depends on yoit stay here until you make your choice." " Oh ! '^"said the doctor again^ and ||en there was another pause. ; * |||§, " Wdli" inquired Madame Torwc 1 after it had lasted nearly ten minutes. " Weir? » reiterate ♦ ''-^^l. THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 21 Miss De Juponville, explaining all, telling her to pack up the young lady and her belongings, and . send them on hero without delay." "Did you say the name of the directress was Madame De Juponville?" asked Dr. Paul, with sudden interest. " Yes, that is the name." " And th^semihary is in Street ? " " Yes, have you been there ? " The doctor laughed his very doubtful laugh, and his blue eyfes looked knowing. "Oh, I have been there. Florence Torwood — hum-m-m. Do you know what Florence looks like ? " "No; why?" ^^ " Nothing ; perhaps I have^spn her there, that is all. Do you not find this night breeze chilly — shall we go in ? " , "I prefer staying here. Now, Paul, my dear boy, you understand how matters are, and I am sure you will do your best and not disappoint, your mother." " Which, translated, means, I suppose, i am to o^ -> good, and mar " « He stopped short, for through the open doorway he saw a young lady crossing the hall and coming toward them. A slender figure, with pale gol^den hair, drcissed very simply in black, and dangling a bunch of housekeeping keys in one hand. Madame Torwood saw her too, and spoke. "Mias Tor wood — Lucy — come here one moment, ^his^ iwmy son, Br.~Stuart,— Pairl, Miss Torwood:**^ "I am happy to make Miss Tor wood's acquaint- ance," the doctor said, while the young lady dropped i\t " ) p't!', M^.l.VU. ^j»JJB*iail t«5^1 22 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. " A fine old place her eyes and bowed in silence, this ancestral home of yours," He had been taking a cool survey, not of the old place, but of the young lady while he spoke, and before he had finished his short speech, had formed his opinion. Wjiat it was he knew best, but "cer- tainly one of ^{Conclusions must have been that she was pretty. . The pale gold hair, worn in a simple knot behind, was abundant and glossy ; the brow it shaded both broad and high ; the features small, delicate, and regular; the complexion fair, with just enough rose tint in the cheeks to save her being called pale. It was a gentle face, placid and calm, and Miss Lucy was a fireside fairy, as you know already,, shining, not in the glare of society, with very Uttle to say, and saying that little very modestly, in a very low and sweet tone. Some youthful scions of the female aristocracy of Tor- woodtown stigmatized her as " that insipid thing;" but all the world knows how the dear angels talk of each other behind backs ; and Miss Lucy, though she heard it, never retaliated, but smiled upon them as gently and as kindly the next time they met as ever. Did Dr. Paul Stuart, clever man of the world, sick of fashionable flirts and gaudy ball-room butterflies, like quiet little household angels, soft of step, silvery of voice, and deft of hand ? If so, Lucy Torwood iimst have suited him to the finest fiber of his being, for in her, at tn^e glance, he read all of these. "A fi n e old pE i ^." tbe^deetef r ep eated , faig eyes — turning at last fro^ the pretty quiet face to the prospect before him ; « a place to be proud of," i <'AwuAji(iMir$m ■ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 23 "Yes;" Lucy said, simply, but her eycfe shone and her still face lighted as she said it. You could see she was proud of it, and in lierown silent way loved every tree, and shrub, and stone about it. Very fair it looked in the moonlight— all that was rough and harsh toned, down and refined ; the sea, flooded with the silvery light, surging in with a gentle wash on the shore, and the distant boats looking like fairy barks on a fairy sea. " Where is your sister ? " Madame Torwood sud denly asked. She had been gazing steadfastly on the water, watching a light skjff that was rapidly nearing the shore, the rope of its one wliite sail held by a young girl who lay in the stern singing at the top of a pair of powerful lungs some wild sea chorus. " Madge is out somewhere — she is alway^ out." " Who is that girl coming ashore in the boat ? " Luc3''s eyes followed the lady's index finger. "That is Madge," she said, in a matter-of-fact tone ; " she's been out sailing, I suppose." Madame Torwood's brow contracted. "May I ask, ^Miss Torwood,, if it is your sister's custom to go sailing all alone ? " " Yes, madam." "Is she — are you — not afraiu she will be drowned ? " "Who? Madge! Why, there is not a fisher- man in Torwoodtown can manage a boat better thaiishe?" " A r ar e aocomplishmcnt for a youn g lady. Pray, how many more of these fantastic tricks before high heaven does she j)lay ? " Nf. 24 THE SISTERS 6f TORWOOD. " Madam ? " inquired Lucy," looking puzzled. Dr. Stuart laughed, and good-naturedly came to the rescue. " Never mind, mother. ' What's the odds so long she's happy,' as our friend Punch says. By Jove! she does it well." The heroine of the skrff had run her boat deftly up on the sands in a little cove, had sprung lightlv ashore, nuide it fast, slung the light oars over her shoulder, nnd, still sirjging, began tripping in a jaunty, springing stop ijj) the beach. A dog— a huge Livonian wolf-hound th'at had beeh crouching in the bottom of the boat— followed her, and both made a very pretty tableau in the moonlight." ^ " Una and her lion," said the doctor. '" Your sister is of the Di Vernon style of young ladies, I see, Miss Torwood." Miss Torwood smiled. " Madge never heard of Di Yernon in her life." " She never reads then ? " " Oh, yes ; but not the ' ^averley Novels.' She tried once to read the * Bride bf Lammerraoor,' I re. member; but gave it up at the third chapter, and told me it was— let me see— no end of a hum- The doctor laughed again, and Madame Torwood'^sj haughty brow contracted still more at the sound q^' the slang. The phrase sounded very odd from Lucrf^ pretty lips, but she repeated it with so much sirr^ plicity that it had provoked the doctor's last laugh. Una and her lion were now near, and they couhi ^«ar distincttjr the spirited Words of the oldlonphe mng. K \ \M- in a !• THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 25 """Some love to roam O'er the dark sea foam, Where the shrill winds whistle free ; But a chosen band In a mountain land, - And a home in the woods for me ! " " A home in the woods? " mustered Madame Tor- wood. " Yes, I should think so. Among bears and wild Indians would suit you best." All unconscious of the criticism, Madge Torwood was up the grass-grown foot-path, with her oars on her shoulder, her dog at her heels, up the piazza stairs, with her tune stiU on her lips, and flushed and, breath- less, was in their midst the next moment. She ( , ■ ' IreT '■■ i and lum- ' ►od^ d Q^' J A. Sim- // i i i • \ ■1 JUld // \- ~i f 7 "" « 26 THE SISTERS OF TORVVOOD. 5> CHAPTER III. MADGE. -egnlar and not ., „„ p,ett.v ; shin gthii tr and hands brown and Jiird\J,fh '^'"te teeth, -n and.,„d a„<. not al;;:!,:'* ^^-Tr";: %j:;: was Madge Tonrood as she stood o„ ,1, ■ • the twilight. A black straw haTtith ^ '"T ? feather sat jauntily on one side of h h^?"! ^1 on the wing, or a trout in the tvafer wfth hT. i !! My^mms[m^J^„'E.J^- . A youngs ^ady^4pp,j^-^-;„--,^_^ ./- \ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. . 27 thr/1"! '';°r"'""y ■^""dontheshoulderwhen they (1 Kl deeds she approved ; called them " fellows " and ordeml them about as if she bad been thdr grandmother; ,vho read the sporting papers taS s^ang, sang all the comic songs of the da/and taew more about prize-fights than her prayer^ Miss Madge was all this and more ; not hi the least pretty either, yet half the you„g'me„ fn the p ace were going wild for her. Whether it was her o talf r;,.'"'''''''""* "^''^'- ierspirite.1 way thetStBr'°r'"r'''"''''^''^'"»"°"'''«»' the witch, the bewildered youths never could tell • but certain it is, she had three times as many beaux' as any other girl in the town. Madge liki^ them aU^and treated all precisely alike, if she had any preference she sometimes said, when hard pusheT .twasfortheE.v. Alexa„derMcPhe«,n,onrou t of h,s never-to-be-sufficiently admired waV of always telingtheplain unvarnished trnthibut, oh! JZ^d he tell It through his nose ! I„ this last particular ^ was uncommonly like him hei^lf, always saying pi' cisely what she thought with terriblecandor, and C n consequence, the dread and detestation of all tto female element of theplace. "Tomboy," "bralen " "indelicate-'were their mildest adjectiv^whenSs Torwood the younger was under dissection and fhat poor dear Miss Torwood, theelder, whotriilharf si^hJS oTe^ """ '""^ ■=" ^^«"»"^' "- P'« »^ Lucy certainly had done her best with the wild girl, and ,^hersj«xesshad_notbeeii very gr^at L- ^as peater than any one else could have ^com " pli^hed; attd Madge had an outlandish se^rof *» -J. -^'^'l k¥^4t^vLi^AM^^M:SAsl.£'^iM'^ 28 THE SISTERS OP TORWOOD. gratitude of her own, and would sometimes come in a good and penitent mood, after some desperate freak, and put her arms round Lucy's neck and call herselj all sorts of hard names for grieving her promising repentance and amendment of life for the future. Not that these promises were ever kept, sincere as she doubtless was in making them, and half an hour after she was galloping over the coun- try, or sailing over the sea, risking her good-for- nothing neck as recklessly as ever. Nature had certainly made a great mist^e in not making her a boy, and Miss Madge thought so too, and took the matter particularly hard. " I was intended for a boy, and I ought to be a boy," was her indignant cry. "I had no business being a girl. I hate girls ! and I like boys beyond everything ! " . Among her other eccentricities, Madge professed no religion in particular, but patronized all. Some Sundays she went with Lucy, and stared the Rever- .. end Alexander out of countenance with her great solemn black eyes, and, coming home, would mount the kitchen table, tie a white napkin round her throat, and repeat to the tickled servants, word for word, the whole discourse, nasal drawl and all, to the unspeakable discomposure of Lucy. Sometimes she favored the Methodist chapel, where she sang the loudest and most shockingly out of tune. Sometimes she appeared among the Episcopal wor- shipers, and made eyfts at sundry young gentlemen of her acquaintance over her psalm book ; and sometimes she Mpped^fnainbHgTh^^^ wondered why they swung incense and lighted fiiiiVij.ia&ii^.iiv^Ji'? LJ-titi>. ^^ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 29 candles in daytime, and rang little bells ; and if the Sisters of Charit.^, who glided in like black shadows with bowed heads and lowered veils, were really tiie broken-hearted, romantic creatures novels made them out tobe. So in riding, and sailing, and scampering over the hills with her dogs, and doing pretty much as she hked m spite of everybody, Madge grew up to be a tall gir of sixteen. The little learning she had Lucy had imparted, for she never would go to school, and for accomplishments she could dance anything from a mazurka to a jig, piny the banjo to perfection, and draw caricatures of all her friends uith chalk and charcoal. She had read all ]V[ar- ryatts novels Lev.r's, Lover's, and all of the Claude Duval " stamp she could lay her hands on. And nojv she is standing there in the moonlight while her photograph is being taken, staring at the doptor out of her great, black, dauntless eyes. My sister Madge, Dr. Stuart," Lucy said, for sHenr^ '''*' "^"^^^^ ^"'^ displeased, was The doctor bowed, but Miss Madge frankly held out her brown hand for him to shake « How do you do, Dr. Stuart ? I heard you were here, anfl hurried home on that account." " I am honored. Do the birds of the air carrv you messages, Miss Madge ? I only arrived half an hour ago." « Mr. McPherson told me, and if he is a bird of VOUnff ladv ffllrinn. «ff 1,^« „i l.^ X! young lady, taking off her straw hat, and swinginir It coquettishly by the strings. Ver^ much like I , k- ii*.^ ^ , } W4i • 30. THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. / sauby boy she looked,, with her shibrt-cropped hair; and speaking what she had to/ say in a voice decidedly ^ore shrill thain sweet./ "^tlge," gently reprimanded her sister. ^J^g yoiir pardon, Lucy," she said, with dancini? eyesi « I forgot you were present. The Reverend ^|^:!^*^cPhers()n is an'^excellent man, and I admire ^im'lsver so mucli ; but he ia exceedingly like an owl, Nevertheless. Sancho, go down to your kennel, sir ! it's time all honest clogs were in bed." The well-trained hound got up slowly, shook him- " self, and gravely dWended the stairs. liladame, Torwood looked at. him and then at his mistress with her cold, dark eyes. ■>:> "You have taught your dog what I fearyou%ave failed to learn yourself, my dear— obedience." "Oh," said Madge, carelessly, "there is no one ,, alive to whom I owe any obedience but sister Lucy, and I always obey her when she orders nothing 1 dislike. Don't I, Lucy ?" Lucy smiled, and put her arm lovingly around the young girl's shoulder. The half sisters resembled each other very little— the one so fair, so gentle, so placid, the other so dark, so fiery, so restless ; but they served admirably as foils, and made quite a pretty picture standing together. . "Let us go in," said Madame Torwood; "the night air is chilly. Have you had supper, Paul ?— it is time to ask." " No, but it is of no consequence." " It i9 of consequence ! Lucy, ray dear, will you attend tolt?" " " I be^ — - " be^an the doctor, but Lucy had you r THE SISTERS OF TOI^WOOD. 31 flitted away already, and Madame Torvvood led the , way into the house. ^The hall was long qjfiH^dark, with flooring ^nd wainscoting of black shining walnut, very antique and romantic no doubt to everybody but the house- maids, who, twice a year at house-cleaning timcj^^hact to scrub it with soap, and water, and furniture oil, until every bone in their bodies ached. A. great brass lamp, qilaint and carved, swinging from the- ceiling'by a brass, chin, served to light it,^ but the moonlight only; lighted it now and the doctor saw there were two dot)rs on either side, and, at the farther end, a winding staircasfe, up fVtrieh you might have driven a coach (ind four. There was one oriel window at this end too, commanding a view of the grounds in front, with the misty hills rising away in the foreground, end there his observations ended, for his lady mother had opened the nearest door to the left, and they were ^n the drawing-room of , Torwood Towers.' V '^ It was a large room, but every room in the house was that ; and although the niouth was June and . the night warm, a/wood fire burned on the tiled hearth, and was very pfeasant in its chilly vasth!es^ The furniture was modern enough, tc^o modern for the oak paneling and carved cejling^ndrnwllioQed- windows ; and the Brussels carpet} and ^lt-frariie4 , mirrors, and chairs and sofa and fauteuils, uphoIi< i stered in green velvet, and the inlaid tables, and freiShly painted pictures by modern arti^s looked ^ther out olkeeping with its somber gloom. -Thei^ ■^4h \: '■ Was a grand piano in one corner, with a music rack well filled beside it ; a lamp in another, and a banjo '*t * 'J i /" i-..i!^¥-**L, v.. -5. -ft jr^.. \ 32 THE §ISTERS OF TOR WOOD. lying on a lounge; there were flowers in vases/ canaries in gilded ciigos, books and engravings scat- tered prdfuseiy on the tal)les, and some swinging shelves filled with expensively bound volumes. Madame Torwood, with a shiver, drew up a luxu- riantly cushioned rocker to the fire. "' .* " It is like a vault, this huge room ! I exjiect to be * laid up with rheumatic fever before I am here a month ! " "A pleasant prosj)oct. l.uckily 3.our son is an M. D., and nothing will afTord him greater happiness than prescribing fpr you." "I am obliged to you ! Oh, 'here is your suiv per!" * \ . ^ A mulatto boy entered, jbearinW a waiter laden with toast, cake, cold chicken, and fegrant tea. At the sight Dr. Stuart remembered lie, was hungrv^'^ and took his place before it at once.\ ' ' " Miss Torwood must be a mode^ hous^fekeeper I admire despatch of all things, particularly where my eating is concerned. J^fiss Madge, won't you fa\sor me with some music meanwhile, as an aid to digestion ? One cannot eat and talk, and I am cer- ^ tain you play like another St. Cecilia. " Madge, who had been standing whistling softly to the canaries; faced round. " Did St. Cecilia play the banjo and Jewsharp ? be- cause they are the only instruments I understand.'' "I admire the ban jo, of all things. Won't you Ivor us ?" ' , " If Madame Torwood can stand anything so bar- mmsj I shall be most happy. " — — ^ — — ^= Madame Tor wood, nestling back luxuriously in ■js&i I vases^ ;;;s scat- kvinging mes. a luxu- Ot to 1)0 here a ti is an ppiness ur SH])- f laden la. ^t iungPA% keeper, where 't you aid to iin cer- ^ ftly to p ? be- tand.'^ 't you lo bai*- THE SISTERS OF TOR WOOD. 33 isly in the mcker, with half closed eyes, glanced drowsily ypi,^™'' ■"'"'' "'"'"""' ''"'^'' '■' "'»"' "^hes to hear "Prepare to be enchantwl then," cried Madee «.-ng her pretty bartjo, and going off inio one that ««,encbant.ng inasnuill «av. The girl plav«I Dr. btuart s fastMlious eai- was delighted. There I" she crie-""^'>-" Jiviri'ti^tSha^:"!!^^.''"?--- hearing you aJread3\ " ^ "To bo sure I sing. Do'^ catcher's Daughter J'"' " I am afraid not." " I do then ; and here it is " ^^h?. sweir'M ?" ™'°5 """"■ """ '''Sh, if not partionlarly • sweet, Madge set up " The IJatcatcher's Daughter " ,|run,m,„g a lively aecompanimont on h" ban » - «»^tcr m the lamphgbt even than in the moon's "Oh, Mad^ how could you sintr th«r#» v,.o ♦ bad I could do no more / Come ! it's your turn now.' ' ' - \. 'i^^^ /I'll 34 THE SISTERS OK TORWOOD. "By all means, Miss Torwood," said the doctor ,rS5,"P "^^^ ^'''^- "" I - passionately fond' baclf "^ I play so very little ! " Lucy said, shrinking " Nonsense ! you play and sing ^be/iutif ully, Lucv. bhe does, upon my word, Dr. Stuart." Tor' o^."" '' '' '"I "^ P^^""^ ^'^ >-"' Mi- " Ves Lucy, let us hear you ! "said madam, conde- scendingly from her throne in the ingle nook : " sinff somethmg for us-that is, if your songs are not in the same line as ' The Ratcatcher's Dau-liter ' " " I kneu^ou wouldn't like it," said M^dge, coolly ; "but that's not my fault. I didn't compose iU Ljy, sing 'AVhistle and I'll come to you, my Lucy lifted her shy eyes to the doctor's, bendincr over her. » " I can scarcely sing anything but old songs ! I am very unfashionable and countrified. Doctor " "I delight in old songs ; sing your sister's 'favorite ■ and I will join you." . ' So they sang the spirited old Scotch ballad to fhoru's' '' ^" ^'"^ •''''"'"^ immediately in the "I hope it will be a match," said Madame Tor- wood, looking complacently on from behind her fan d oc t o r, w ho luul uu excellenrFgfoTce^ ,^g^ German student's song : and Lucy, coming ouf of h^ ii'^MMlM-:^-.. 9 the THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. Shyness sane:, ,in her sweet, low voice, "Annie Laurie" at his request. She might lr.y, been Annie wie herself and so the doctor thought listening tn H sUvery tones of the soft voice,\nd ooS at he' drooping blue eyes. . ° ^ " Her face it is the fairest That e'er the sun shone on : " he repeated, as tile fafnt note died away. « I think I oan see Annie Uurie non- f » "^ " I" Lucy's eyes J " asked Madge, flashinea sanrv glance oat of her own black ones; "are you tal^LI hor photograph in your mind's ey'e, Doctor"'' ""^ wvia,^.h^ryo^„Ts■'-"^'-*a To:itf:^u":or;r"'''"'''""'°"'"'''''"^'^-'' 8uZt""7" ^';'f''l8«''""' gravity befitting the subject, "I went to hear the Rev Al»v.„j ir "Bah I" was madam's disffusted rpf^r.f u jerked out her watch. " Elevro^ock ^'^^ Z bell, Paul— I want Fifine." ^ ^ th«^n ^T^ ''^''^';'' '""^ ^^^"^' ^^^ Frenoh maid ' with the black eyes an. "Yes, dear." \ . " .. ' " What o'clock is\it ? Are you going to sit there all night ? What arp you about ? " Lucy got up then, threw off the shawl, and, stoo> mg, kissed the already closing black eyes. "Nothing," she said; "you have, been dreaming with your eyes shut, my dear, and I have been dreaming with mine open— that is all." V •U»!.,,«L.i' t% 40 " A- THE SISTERS OP TORWOOD. CHAPTER IV. coming events, etc. "Lucy!" "At it again, dear? What now ? " " How long have you been up ? " " Half an hour." " What time did y,ou come to bed last night ? " " I did not go to bed at all last night." " What ! " ' i- *" Certainly not— it was two this morning." "My stars! And what on earth were vou up to?" , " ^ " Nothing^ I did not feel sleepy, and so preferred sitting by the, window and watching the moonljght to tossing restlessly in bed. Do you mean to be there all day % It is after six." It was a pleasant scene and hour— just the thing for an artist, had any eyes so sacrilegious been looking on. The morning sunlight ^came brightly through the open bo#- window, and lay in great golden squares on the carpet— with it floated the odor of the lilac trees— purple and white— the scent of sweet brier^ and the matin hymn of numberless birds. I Lucy Torwood, looking pretty and fresh in pkle blue muslin, ^ith the daintiest of linen collars and r cuffs, her fair! hair combed smooth, and a bright morning flush | on her delicate cheeks, stood before •kW ■'A^ %^ I 1. ..J ^M*ifA. tS £ 1 i^ THE SISTERS OP TORWOOD. 41 :kmt^' the mirror putting the finishing touches to her toilet. Madge was still nestling among the pillows, her arms clasped over her head, and her black eyes opening and shining like two sable stars. " It is after six," Lucy repeated, pulling out her watch; "have you been bewitched? When did six o'clock ever find our Madge in bed before ? " " Echo answers, When ? " said Madge, rolling lazily out of bed on the floor, and beginning with the greatest deliberation to dress. " Perhaps there is a loadstone in the house. I fell in love last night, didn't I?" " You are the best judge of that yourself, my dear." " Well, I don't know— I fall in and out so often— it's a way I have. Look here, Lucy, how long is Dr. Stuart going to stay ? " « I don't know." ' - " What brought him h6re, I wonder ? " " What a question ! To see his mother^ of course." " I don't believe it. When I ;net McPher— beg pardon, Lucy— when I met the Rev. Alexander McPherson last evening in Torwoodtown, he looked uncommonly knowing when he spoke of our visitor, and hinted something about papa's will making some one of his four daughters over to the doctor. The creature wouldn't speak out plainly, but took snuif, and waddled off on that horrid spavined, ring- boned, rheumatic pony of his. What brought hii^ to Torwood yesterday, anyway ? " — **^Madarae Tor wood senTtor fiim."^ — " "What for? She does not know him from Adam." »-/ -\^l 42 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. " No ; she sent for him to riJtid pa])a's will." " What business had he ^ reading it ? What'-S in tiie will?" -^ <«► "I don't know." /i ' . " I should think you had a better right to know than old Solemnity. Hook my dress, will vou^ W liy didn't you ask him whjvt was in it ? He would tell you anything." "Nonsense I I can't fasten y^r dr^ss if you k6ep_jerking about so— be still." \ Madge seized the hair-brush, having no hair worth speaking of to comb, and smoothed down her short locks. • ' " It's, so provoking about that will. Are we never going to hear it ? " " Of course we are , when the proper time comes " " And when will that be— doomsday ? " "Not quite so far off I hope-when Edith and J^ lorence come." ^ " Apd you have no idea what the Rev. and so on meant?" Something like a flush rose-and faded on Lucy's face-soraethmg like a conscious smile lighted and oc^d on her lips. • " I have an idea, but never mind it. Don't trouble your dear silly Jittle head with such solemn thin^ as wills ; you will hear it all time enough." "I hate waiting," said Madge, testily, "and I'm sure you know if you only like to tell. I Avonder if papa has divided his money equally between us four sisters. You ought to get the largest share, Lucy • tbey-«a^4t war srow^mothersfortune^^^^ rich." \ as ■.t^i'ne, though, I'm such a dear little tiding every way/ I don't see how ho can help it", . Lucy laughed. "Little thing, antJ she as tall as a Mavpo^e, ^Seven o'clock positively ! I should h^ve been clown.-?,tftirV> / half an hour ago." «, Giving Madge's short tresses 1 playful pull in passing, Miss Torwood tripped away " on hospitable ' thoughts intent." And Madge, clapping her jaunty straw hat very much on the side of her head and sticking her hands, man-fashion, in the pockets of her ' short sacque, ran down-stairs, three at a time, whis- tling shrilly one of her favorite airs, " The Fisher's Hornpipe." The great front door was wide open, and, crouching on the upper step, awaiting hei" 9omir^g, was her large hound, Sancho Panza. Zif^dge kooped down^nd gave him a caressing pat ori the head. " Good-morning, old fellow ; how do you find your- #f to-day ? All ready for your constitutional, eh ? Come on then." If early to bed and early to rise have the good eflFect that that solemn and stupid old gentleman, , poor Richard; says, Miss Madge Torwood should have been the healthiest, wealthiest, and wisest young lady in Maryland, for that early bird, the lark, was generally rout ed out of his cozy nest at some g ra y and dismal hour ofthe early morning, by her spring- ing from rock to rock, singing at the top of a paiy ^WPpPWr /'" ■47^^^ ^i^'u ,w.*J^^-^^*^av^*? =r^ s. v/ z*^ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 45 of powerful lungs, and Sancho at her heels.' Healthy, she certainly was ; no one knew her to be ill a day in her life ; wealth was rather more doubtful— it de- pended altogether on thaf* mysterious will of papa's —and wise, was most doubtful of all; her Avorst enemy could not accuse her of wisdom. Over the rocky hillsides she flew now, springing from jag to jag like a young deer, Avith the tune still on her lips. As the clock in the Episcopal Church in Torwood- town struck the hour of eight, and the calls of hunger began to bo clamorous, she turned to retrace her steps in the same bounding style, loudly (Ranting the fag-end of some old Scotch ballad. J, " Laud's tlie larrdck's note and lang, Lilting wildly up the ^len, But still to ftie it sings ae sang, _ „^ - Will ye no conie back again." " Yeg, here I^m ! " a voice answered, and spring- ing up from the long grass on which he had been • stretched, book in hand. Dr. Stuart confronted her. "Law ! " said Madge, " you here ? Who'd havo^ thought it ? " " Any one with common sense. Do you suppose no one but Miss Madge Torwt od knows the benefit of early rising ? " " I don't pretend to have common sense ; it's a thing I des]|ise ; but if I did pthe lights and shadows going mad on the bay ; look at these rosy clouds of laurel *. --, ■V -■^*^L C,- M 46 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. :'^- climbing, up the rocks. Oh, that I, were un artist I I couW paint a picture this morning that would set the world on fire, or write a poem which would make me famous for life." " What, on me ? » hungry i If not I am, and 1 am going home to Dr. Stuart sprang up, laughing. "'Oh, Avhat a fall was there, my countrymen!' SHiT.r^^-S"^ ''""^ ^'''y '« '""«^"« and coffee, ^til the difference IS not so great, after all, for those ic eal fellows, poets, painters, authors, and artists of all sorts, are quite as sensible of the blessings of muffins and coffee, and the other creature comforts land » ^' "'"''^ ^''°'''''' chaw-bacon in M»iy. "Precious fools they would be if they weren't . My belief IS that the best part of one's life is what they spend in sleeping and eating. The world's no trouble to one, then." ^" » no "Trouble! I should think all you knew of trouble IS that It 18 a word of two syllables." "That shows how easily even the wisest of men rj,^%n ''''''" '"^^ ^"^^"' ^^**«' «" '^^ «™eshe had tteen talking, was bounding lightly from rock to rock, while the tall doctor measure^ off the ground with tremendous sweep of limb. « IVe had the heaviest sort of miseries in my time-silent sor rows and all that sort of thing-till I have pined. 1 fiffi-irthm as a sheet of paper." v^ ^i,.iS^?r_i,-^i^.-. ^Oi^ THK SISTERS OF loRWOOD. 47 " So you are-almost transparent ! Mav I n.V , how so sad a state of things came about V^' ""' 3„.J::!?Xz;::t;— irl^^^^^^^^^^ w-ofK ^^^*^"' calls me a vessel nf qnentlv won't wriio .. * ' *''° conse- good ^f IX o'T T """•"> """-but Where's the world is all » fll . ^ <=onclusiorS*iat this «eooid thoZt "if th m ""' ^"""S ^•^y "P^" gay S.™:"! '„d eS:rLr„"ch'° t"'^ L*'"^« instead „, black stuff ^a -3 j d™'"t ^T'*' there's anv relimnn ■•„ ."""»• ^ don't believe and there is Lucv «f ^hJ7- ^^^ V>*^>at the house, t feel vor::ituf ;l!',! ^"'.!-'-°T -'■<'°»'' and THSaer, body and i^n^'"^" ^'^ *^ate^aBar "Tongh piokh,g," laughsd Dr. Stuart, following *■ ■ 48 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. I a" the spirited speaker of this tirade up the wide stairs to the dinmg-roorti. I,ucy turned from the window as the pair came in. « Good-morning, Dr. Stuart ; I thought you and Madge had run away together. It is half-past nme. * « Sorry to have kept you waiting, Miss Torwood • but I assure you we let no grass grow under our ' reet. Ig my mother not down ? " "Madame Torwoo^^..Lueytoeome.Ires,;etr:;;;^b:gtr'tr ti^en'^Lat^T", 7""", '" ""■■■'' <"• Be off then -t„.ere'Z it'llTnet^^ f» I'lUiT ^ ^fave the hoy around in a tnoe." ' ^" n ever t ook ^tep^of the outer stal™, her ri^^gXt'tlr" ^^v3^V-J?xV-^ ^ 1 50 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. fn'on^h''^^^'' ^'' ^°°^ riding-skirt gathered up n one hand, her whip flourishing in the other, while V th a critK^al eye she watched the sable groom leading up the horse. ^ hni'l^''"'' ?uK "^^ ^'- ^*"^^^' ^^'^^" ail ^vas ready, holding out his hand, « mount." ^' Madge laid her exquisitely-booted foot in his ex- tended palm, and sprang lightly into the saddle. Mount yourself, now," she said, tajdpg up the mns. "Be quiet, Rozinante! Go^ifcYucT If we are not back in a fortnight w^HBe » " Lucy, standing in the doorn-l^flauo-hed and -a tched them galloping off, and when they were quite out of sight, returned to her domestic "^uTes if any regret at losing the glorious summer day ngered m her breast, her placid face did not show I. and Madame Torwood, coming down-stairs at lulf-past welve, found her sitting at the drawin^- basket full of gray cotton before her "Good morning, my dear," she said, casting a curious eye at the unattractive work. " kow indu^ trious you are. What is it all about « " litUeTlu'sf ""' ^ '"""^^ ^'^ '''' "^^^^-^' -^ a "Plain clothes for some poor children in Tor woodtown. I cannot do fancy work, and I like to be busy at something." "Oh!" said madam, rather coi^temptuously. Where are the rest?" ^ f j. "l)r Stuart and Madge have gone oui riding and win hardly be. bade before dinner^ ^' lucys eyes bending over her work, did not J] h ,^-iti,*i..l :4, J- .y ?;. :Mi': THE SISTERS OP TORWOOD jj notice t.,0 fro,™ that .otUed darWy ovor the lad^s much better pleaL w v "''' ''"™ •"""• morning." ^ "'' ^°" «""" »»' rito nothing, ^nly she lifted her b[^eevosr ^1 surprise, and when she lowered them Z .? ">""' tinge on her cheek was d~ed ™ '''" '"" P'"" retts,tTiX'Sh::.i:t:tr^"'^'^'''- . hor twin cheeks flnshi he' r'"^"'''"""' Whole spirited face eLtl'nd' gW^g rith"l; '" ^tood,hatiShS,ir[hrrw:r''"^'''^^"'-"' out LTwL'j'Ct'rr';','"' """'"''• p""-^ I gl™ .ontth ter fniLtt d'^L^Xr "I ""'sCrn' r?' "'™' «■" »«'^t noX .." " ^'"' ''''''"'°™'' '» '^ , 0.7 6 jM^y. She dropped her work, but still hesitated A dozing head was Hfted from a distant drm^hair, and ' a gracious voice struck in : "Certainly, my dear, go out for 0walk. The evening is fine, and it will do you good.*^ Lucy.aro^ instantly, took her hat, which hung in the h1ill, and, followed by the doctor, went into the hazir summer evening. They took the road leading • * doWn to the water, and watched, as tljCy' walked J^> ^"4 <^oyn, the children playing iatbe^ ^ and the waves crawling up with a duU, low roar. The old l^ouse and everythjjig around it loolced I,, vffe;#*. ■;.".: '^ - ..^ -if . L \V N 54 THE SISrURs'op TORWOOl). ieepingwith its J VJtf''^". l"^' '^'"^ *» »» T T^^' m y" °"« With perfect trntl, . a ii *»a. iy fseSt-aj--* ^. t^ 4 is v.i.u^ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. A He broke sljort off •,„,! l.i ^^ he work of .,es Ju,,;™ , ^ '" --"«!; -vai.l.i^g look up when I.e s,w,i„ ' "'v- We did „ot c^n ' t-ov's face ,v„s unS" '^'"T ""' '"'^ ''S'" ■" nJZr: "'"'""'• M-^Se « a ^unette K which is a- ^^"r'LlX.r^riJi'^t''^^^ -'• I mother's name." ^ ^'"' Cristas, thtir "Edith, then, is dark?" T^iz'^SieVrerr"'-"-^-" it always was there when hf ,°"'"'' f'":<'^gam ; bed of cinnamon ts^,:",^:r''''^°™« A donbtfm smile stillT m'""","'"^- ^''^ ">«» blown bud and handTit't": IZl'" "'""«' » '"'"■ he ask^tok;'™ ""' ""■^"^^ "f «— * •' ^e^lifratTi^^^^^^^^^^^ "- I-ucy «„„. 4,CtCl •. nTtrfrpT^ '-T^- «>« »>•"■•.- green rines,with her do^l^J";; '"'« ■^» and action, the blush t,^ afd a r^.r'"' ^'"' ^"^ ""e into song: ' ^ * '''"" ™ie« broke out ^h fair in the face. I ■*l!l;f !■ «» k"i«ing tall Of the Wind in the tree-tops. The flowers in the glen, ^-i^P*&. „nJa^'\iJ> s. J ^ ^i^JiK, 56 %.. THfi SISTERS OF TORWOOD. The birgis, the brown robin, *- The \»>^oo(l-dove, the wren ; They talked, but their thoughts Were of three little men. The sea lay before them, With ships going by. Behind them the hills shone, ' So grand and so high, ' And above them blue, beautiful ' Patches of sky I " , • Dr. Stuart laughed. •• They talked, but their thoughts Were of three little men, " he quoted. « How much more human nature, feLaFe human nature, there is in that line." " Madge is alwap absurd," Lucy said, swinging her rose carelessly in her finger-tips. « It is getting late ; suppose we go in." "On one condition, that you will sing for me agam these pleasant old ballads of yours." "They are not worth listening to; but'if you wish , It, with pleasure." Another pair of eyes watched them comin«r to- gether to the house, and Madame Torwood, stan^dinrr at the wmdow, smiled complacently te herself " I shall succeed; after all," she said, confidently to herself and the window curtains. « Paul will n Jt find it so hard to comply with Judge Norwood's last will and testament, I think, and my son will be master here." The evening was genial and homelike. Lucy at the piano, sang ; Dr. St uart turned the leav es of her -musie; Madg« was absorbed ma new novel, and ~ jM Jfe.!iavt*ii ,Hk,.^-..i^i ting ■^ THE SISTERS OP TORWOOD. 57^ Madame Tor;^ood dozed with one eye open,and drew her own conclusions. -^ 1 ^ *uurew " Yes » she said to her pillow that night, « she is an ,ns,p.d little nobody, with no mind ; but she has a pretty face and Paul is onlj^ mortal, «o I think it . wiU bo a match alter all." naFe me I'ish to- ing » itly not ast be at ler- / A nd 'jfc-:v:*^-i!S. Ui^^A^>!ki'f^jJ, I t i . , i 58 THE SISTERS OF toRVvoOD. CHAPTER y. II - EDITH. :vt; :tra:^r frr-^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ .■.Jtfr'^ tad derived its ambitious name from tae late Judge Torwood, who, coming tl.ere wheH .ttle fishmg village after, himself; and as the ^ l.ab.ta„ts had never taken the pains to rtchriln it" and wandering map-makers passed it o,^ in <^„h' *or aU the wandermg map-makers' contemnt » .^^flfflri^ng littte-pbi, witlrt^^^^i= ^Sr grocery shops-stores even their a/S^ y^-u S...^H»' ^iiffi^liS^^I^^M 4.'ilBto< . r/ , -..ji,»\^ML ^w .v^nK !!•. I- V i i THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 59 , Proprieto.^ dared not «ame them-its post-office, Its schoo -bouse, its lecture-hall, its hotel, and its chSs ' '''''"'^''' ^"'' 1^-sbyterian This last establishment, under the ghostly care tJ:^n^\ ^^T"^''' McPhersQn. stood id wa^ down the stragghng street, and was a dreary look- ing ^yooden edifice, painted outside a dismal and t^Zu^'^'l' ''"^'''' ^"^'^^ ^ ^•'•^^^^ Sahara of empty benches, with a pulpit like an overgrown wine-glass. An equally dreary and dingy structure was the house adjoining, with prim poplars in the garden, and green paper blinds on the sulky win- dows, and an.inhospitable front door that never stood open to the summer air Entering this front doOr you were in a long grim hal that ended abruptly in a steep aidrcas^e,^ li^ the hall, carpetless. Some absurd people have a ridiculous fancy for adorning their entrance haH ^mh pictures and statues. This particular one was adorned with rows of wooden pegs, ^ from whlh hung overcoats, caps, hats, and umbrdlas, and sun dry ot^er useful articles of wearing apparel m«l" .ng the pjace serve for wardrobe an^d 3^^^; A brown door with a brass knob was on eithefhand O ^ning the one to th9 left, you precipitated your- self with exquisite unexpectedness into a not over • clean and very hot kitchen, where there was an odor of onions and dinner all day long. Opening '!lrJ:^^' ", "g^^' y-^ ^^^^e in thf parior rf ^ epti o nr oo m^tliiivving-room dining-room and T brary o the mansion, for it was all in o;e The uncarpeted floor was painted a jaundiced ;^ellow m- ;!<&( ^ <^ •.. F « '^ij^' 'I 'IT- ' ""i^^fm^^^wf^'' wpwimp ^ 60 THE SISTEKS OF TORWOOD. \ the cane-seated chairs siv in «»«,i st'ffly against th « Jf »^»"^ber, were ranged ;; since they were chairs "^ ^*^ ®^®'" tl.e,„_bo,.ks on lo„R ro " !f '?'','«'' "T'^'' ■"^■ • shelves. " ""•'" '*l^i"g on their /.w <.iseo,!j'gSrtrrj:^/';;*^»teu„ ■S^^t-ngton ,„ a highly colomi comote^S^ ' «««^ig. uniform, and a big «i„ ^te^XT' uose, deeply absorbed in fLT"'' '1^^^*««'«« on > :,Thegentlemap was near-sighted an,^H- « ^ , and the^type were almc«rt^tftee?in7'so 1 jL"''! notice the approaeh of a visitor ufk a th.^''' po^n,anXT*trtat-tat, o-iven with thl ""f^f^^ mess out of his ph«,v tj.*„__ , "oiseana lenness oqt of his chair. JJefo^ he couJd ^jo tg m S'. .i"'-lJitt' \ t I ■r^r.V the; sisters of torwood. " 6i the door it w«» opened, «„d a slight g#lish figure black hat set on one si,le of its head, the short back hajr streaming i„ disorder, the round, bori h orehead the black eyes sparkling, the thi^Xk f ce Ium„,„„s and glowing, stood in the doir^v like a picture m a frame. " . " Oood inornifli Mr. Mm ! » the nel comer saiher- iSrtifaed himsMf with that refreshment when he encountered the youngest Miss Torwood. " Your lunch, of course." l' I never take lunch." 'Don't you? that's a pity. What do you take len ; I suj)pose you don't fast all day ? " "1 take dinner." * . f~e r' ' """^ ^"'''"^ ^^ "^"^^ '^' P^- " Two o'clock." . /' "And it wants a quarter of two now" said Madg^ looMng. at her wateh ; '* and here' comes r:;?/' ?'-L '^ i^^ *^« ^'-^' That's beautll ^d%*8^0rantt^How^syour^eSiS5tisnr 11 ^i »■ r , '. -v.) ^1P^'^P«sekeeper dropped a cpurtesy. 'lUik~, !v,iJ3^'i^»-^'. 62 THE SISTERS OF TOR WOOD. "" It's pretty bad, Miss Madge, thanky. How's > your pretty sister ? " " Oh, she's jolly ! And that's what's been tor- menting, me so, Mr McPherson ; for the last day or two she's been a great deal too jolly ; and if you don't come and look after her shortly', you're dished." "^ Mr. McPherson took snuff again. "I don't think I quite understand what beino- dished means. Will you be kind enough to explain" Miss Madge?" or, « Why, it's as clear as mud. It means' your cake's dough; that you're being cut out: in short that our dear step-brother, Dr. Stuart, is going in to win." ^ • o & " Humph ! " said Mr. McPherson, with infinite composure ; " that reminds me, Miss Madge— how do you like your new step-bro^ier ? " '' Dying about him. I am, 'pon ray word. He's all my fancy painted him, you know; he's lovely he's divine ; but his heart it is Miss Torwood's, and It nerver can be mine. That is, I'm dreadfully afraid It ean't ; though what anybody can see in her when I'm to the fore is more than 1 can imagine. Lucy's as gfcod a little soul as ever lived ;/but, then she's as weak as dishwater." ^ * ' " A^d so Dr. Stuart is attentive to her? Draw in your chair. Miss Madge, and partake of my hum- ble meal." "Taken the greatest shine to her ever you saw," ^^.^ad^ drawings in her ch air promptly ^^ Uplpmg hei^elT; "gives her rosebuds and all that sort of tlyn^; and when it «orae8 to that a man's '^J A' '1 1 W''/ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 63 pretty far gone. You see, I've had no end of ex- J^ence with the creatures," " And your step-mother look>B|8^r^th& la.d v mourning and closely veiled. Madge uttered clamatiou as she saw them : tBPB^ ^ M OF TORWOOD. Ijieclafe^if it's not the pair I saw leav- '"'"'-' I say, Lucy, J'U 't \lm^ the stag« in Tomtiodtown. " "^«t 350i|^anythi|^^it'9piith.» ^ .i.ucvV h«^r fiad faded away, and s^e was ■■'*% -^^-^m- V f^*^"^^^ ^^ ^^^ watched the new .^^^^'^iiakit must'be," she saidp%)ut who is the gentleman*? " .*^I never heard. that Edith was married," said adge ; « but she appears to be on mighty free and sy terms with his gentleman. See how confid- ,J^f^^ ^^^"^ '''' his^arm, and what a black-look- ii%,whiskerando he is, with as much hair about his fa<^ as if he were a Chimpanzee monkey."' V > % veiled lady certainly did lean confidingly on Jier companion's arm, from fatigue, perhaps, for she ^/toile^ rather wearily up the steps. Madame Tor- / wood, very stately, in black satin, gold chain, and diamond bVooch advanced with the air of a dow- ager auchess, and the dark gentleman took oflF his hat and addressed her. "Madame Torwoo"'^ '■^'^ «"«-. was h,. patient V h. ^^ ' ^^""eS'ng her shoulders im- .SK?:^rhr;ei"'""»r''-'"«'i:e • in hanA ^ ' '""'"'^ "'■ ""« *f?* ^fanger, hat voLtrs;t^:3:;rt:t^,,^;i.r^». "<■''-' , H«.an<. with a s^rongt^ ;,' T ^li't'S"" '"'- a charm of its own tole?ery wo^ ' ^""^ ■ k.ugH^pJ"'"'' """"''"S the stranger's equaUy " My^ber and his werp fi.^f ^^ • had not n,et since their youtt" T"'' "^ . di is wStog ■" '^'"' """ ^'^y '^'^"'"O with us ; drew himself haughtily™- T''", "a^k stranger Edith,, (e'leadr';:^: ^^Zj^'^"- ■ ^^ the gr^f^s • two ^^ . *^f ^.^;?f^ 3ame & ay eyes , two retJPspots, like hot jets of 1: \f :^ • THE SISTERS;,OP t6rwooD, yj bo thought Madge, vnttch J her " lowed t^fee dining-room, and the restU ,j., " You will dine with us Fdhh " t ^ ■ 1 f she came in last. ^1 ' I ^""^ '°^^^^ ''^'^^ ' "No;.idineattheMI Bp iJin^ ' , . t,,e™sho. „eto „,.^.^:XT*rS Vou are ver,«B|| ^he simply said « u n ■ were a 'stud! IZdanT'^ '^^ '■°'""' "■« ""-'e ^ootorXsoL-rS^SrtTMl^"^^^ ■^ proud as p^ :T-^z:;^t^z^^:^ ■ '•»..\ ..f ■■^' 75 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. (Where Madge ever got her similes was the constant wonder of all who heard her.) - Did you ever see *%any,body as |igly as this new. ^istor of ouk^octor ? '* Dr. Stuart laughed^ fj "Mydei^r Madge, %ron says no man till thirty should know there is an irgly woman, and I am onlv twenty-fiv^. I have no doubt, when we come to know her, ishe will turn out to be what her sisters are— an angel ! " ' ^ Though he spoke to Madgelie was looking at Luc v whose color rose ^d whose eves fell. Madame Tor- wood resentf u'Hy strucl^ in •. " ^^li ^^'^^' Toru-^l, or that youn^ man im- ^ agmed tlf as going to ulUum to stop Jere, they were very much mistakenm don't believe infilling with young men a house wher%iere^regirls-I don't consider it delicate; and .Jfever 4ofty hotions iVliss Edithi|orwood may possess, a|akwinfind I am mistress here." M| Lucy looked distressed, the doctor grave, and Madge carved her chicken in savage silence. It was rather an ommous beginning, and Misi? Edith's dSnt had been anything but a suqcess. , . . % Gopig up to bed that night as the clock struck elevep, Lu^ TotwojkI stopped at Edith's door, and 'softly tqgribd the-fiandle. It was not locked, for tiie very good reason, perhaps, that it had no lock, and Lucy went in. It was a pretty roorii^ll pink silk -and the bed, m a shadowy corner, wa« draped with rosfe silk and white lace curtains. l On it lay Edith lay fast asleep ; her pale face looked ■__M ai neyaa^ thc-^bad«d l»i fipi^t,^6qr^^ long— eyelashes glistened with bright drops, and herabun ^ »/AV«iJ«J_ "l^!^ THE SISTERS OP TO^\yOOD. ' 73 dance of glossy dapk brown hair, and the pillow on which her cheek rested, were drenche,d with tears. feel after all. If she but knew what destiny lies. in store for her at Torwood Towers, she might well weep. X- M^ > ^^.^IMllkiLu.-- Cltnb^ tJl..„ r '^dl^,^ St.^.k , ,^ ^ ja£^<«.* "^--^ 74 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. CHAPTER VL AT THE GATE. Dr. PaulStuaet, being a medical man, understood the benefits of early rising, and as six chimed sonro- ously from the old hall clock, he was leaning against a huge cock down ont|,o shore, smoking hismeer- scljaum, and enjoying the beauties of nature. The sun had risen in the bluest of summer skies, piled with bill6ws of translucent white; the sea lay as smooth as a great blue-burnished mirror, and boats danced over it like fairy barks on a fairy sea. The birds were chanting their matin hymns in the woods behind hnn,the waves crept up to his feet with a low musical plash, and the grim' old house, with all Its eastern windows glittering like sheets of gold ay as peaceful a;id still as the Enchanted Castle of the Sleeping Beauty. " And that castle contains three sleeping beauties " was Dr. Stuart's thought as he eyed the blue smoke from his pipe contemplatively. « Lucy the gentle Edith the proud, Madge the hoiden ; but Florence' the last, the brightest, the best, when will you shine^^ out m-your brightness and eclipse them all « " I Alone as he was, he laughed to himself, and the laugh was echoed by some one behind him Mt Edith Torwooa, the Creole,%oming down, thj m- I' 1 '..V THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 75 sloping walk, with her sister's great dog, Sancho gambohng furiously around hor. It was at his clumsy antics she wu^ laughing-she had not seen Dr^tuart at all. In the fresh morning air and sup- shir^ she looked far brighter and better than she had the evening before ; certainly she looked elegant jnd refined, a lady to hter finger tips. Her dress was black silk, full and flowing, a crimson sacnue that contrasted well with her dark face and hair, and .on her head a black Spanish hat of velvet, with a Ion- sable plume drooping over it, tipped with vivid scar- let. Around her neck she wore^ slender chainlet of gold, to which was attached a jet cross encircled by rubies. AH black and scarlet, evervthing about heV dark and rich, she looked like some tropical bird alighted down there by mistake, on that Maryland shore. , " Keep off, sir," she was saying, in her sweet, for- eign accented voice, laughing, as she shook the huge paws off her dres^. " Get down, I tell you ! See hoV you are soiling my skirt with your dirty paws. Ith ashamed of you." ' '* Where is the haughty little i)rincess we had last night, I wonder?" thought Dr. Stuart, still placidly smoking, and looking on, " not this bright-robed laughing Aurora, who rises with the dawn and romps with dogs. I'll speak to her, I think ; she does not look over formidable, and I flatter myself I am quite as conversable a companion as Sancho. Good-morn- ing, Miss Torwood." , . ° • =S©staFted«p,^0wing easily as thedki^ gray eye§~~ fell on him at last. Miss Torwood ceased pitting Sancho's rough head suddenly, her kughing face %^ 'i V / ^ 76 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. darkened at once into gravity, and the bow was re turned very distantly and eol4 indeed. BuTil'' Stuart was not to be diseouragev^,^. wt^ 'Mki.. >»• ' V^^f.^^, '^^p^ffj^ V .^ ««' ■■■*MilMinWitMtlMt,yj«MM»W|^[]|)ga| ' , , the; sisters of TORWOOD. ' 77' , mocking^ of his, so roguish and so knowing Play.?g round his lips, sometimes with brow Zk ernng and contracted,- But whether smiLgo unt LT^'^f ",^"""' ™'^"*'"'«"'- «'»' ™»«^ bLk w .T' ^'''* ""'' '■'^ "eure coming slowly . back ov ^ 41 <* r^. 78 THE SISTERS, OF TORWOOD. Oi-all the horrid about being unavoidably detained men I ever saw " A grimace finished the sentence, for tbegray eyes were flashing angrily. " Be good enougli to spar^ your criticisms before rae," she said, haughtily, - ^n/oyr cousin as well as mine." " Well, I don't know that he is any 'the better for that, said Madge, who took rebuffs as coolly as compliments. " He's more like a banished prince or one of those Italian chaps you see in pictures! with cocfeed hats, and cut-away cloaks, and hidden daggers, and scowling brows, than an every-day ( hristian. But perhaps it's the fashion to be black and dismal in Cuba-e very body that I ever knew from that blessed little i^l made it a point of conscience to be sb." ,/>* "How many have yife- known from there?" Ldith asked in her cold, constrained tones. " Only two— :>[iss Edith and Mr. An«n.s Tor wood." , -- " "Miss Edith and^ Mr. Angus are, e^xceedingly obliged to yon." * ■ ' ' ^ " They ought to be-perhaps thev doirt hear the truth every(hiy," said Madge, compWsedlv, and Dr. Stuart, half-laughing, came to the rescue : "It is of no use being angry wifh^ Ma meal was ^ver, and that young ])erson standing at one of the twndows, humming to herself her favorite ditty of " The Three Little Women," two bands fell liglitly , ^ her shoulders, and a sweet foreign accented voice spoke close to her oar. " And spy^u don't like Cousin Angus or me, little sister? " , ' ** Madge looked carelessly around. A smile, half- sad, half-amused, lingered round tlie proud lips, and with the blunt franknessHhat was at once her best and most terrible trait, answered - ■^ " "No." ; ^ " And why nof, pray ? What.have we donp? " tt T _ i ~ ir-7-r .- E B-I : — — T ■ TLols ortTungsT Tou are both as proud as Luci- fer,\nd as sulky as bears, with sore heatls. ^ Nobody */««* a .r:j4.*- 4;».i>-y ;-■ ) 80 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. dare handle either of you without kid gloves, and I hate all such folks like poison." ' . " Then you hate me V Madge's answer- was a shrug, and the strong gray eyes searched her fa .^.Jum^k£»4M»i^a'j'' rX: / 82 thej|stp:rs of torwood. And the chief of the gf eat Highland clan from whom we are descended. \The Tor woods were great peo- ple in those daj's." Though she laughed, her eyes had lighted proudly ; H% Madge only stared et the picture uncoricefn- edly. " W^re they^? Who'd ever ^hink it ! I suppose Sir Angti was Jike^'lis namesake^ another Black- browed, brigandish-looking chap, so savagely stuck ^ nobody dare look at him. But look here, where, did you get all these pretty things ? I thought our - Creole aunt was desperately poor ? " " She was once, but she married a rich planter. Come and help me to unpack my dresses. I doh't know where I shall put half my things." Unpacking and talking, the sisters were so busy that the morning hours passed unheeded, and both were astonished when Lucy's smiling face looked in, and Lucy's sweet voice told them it was luncheon hour. " Who'd have thought it," said Madge ; " I don't knotv where the morning has gone to. I declare, Editl\,- you're not half so disagreeable as you look." " Madge ! " Lucy cried, reprovingly, but Edith only smiled, and the three passed together jnto the dining-room. * Madame Jor wood was there, very digniiied and stately, in satin and crape and jet ornaments, and at sight of her and her frigid bow, Edith turned from life to marble again. Dr. Btuart still sat where they had left him in the iiioi'iiiiig, as If lie fiiUl itever risen ; SpTTe^dae now^ m^ took his placiB with the rest, -^ V t I. r THE SISTERS OF TOR\yOOD. 83 "Dr. Stuart wishes us to go driving tljk after- noon," said Lucy, " what do you say, Edith '^ you have not seen much of ^orwoodtown." ^ Edith's petrified face and cempr^sed lips said '• no," but Madge struck in coaxingly : " She says yes-don't you, Edith? TorVood- town's splendid, and Doctor Stuart's driving is something sublime. Say you'll come."" " I second your petition," Dr. Stuart struc^k in • say yes. Miss Edith ; nobody ever refuses Madge " " And I never rebel against rightful authoritv— so yes, with pleasure." ^ Immediately after dinner the young ladies hurried ' off to dress, and the doctor gave orders to have the old-fashioned f^ily chariot brouglit round Lucv looking pretty and graceful in her slight mournino^' dress of crape, and a white little bonnet with black adorning, took the front seat with. Dr. Stuart, at liis particular request, and Madge and Edith took the other and, with madam's critical eyes upon them the whole party drove oif . The mistress of Torwood' turned away from the window with a self-satisfied little smile. "I think it tHtt-^je all right," she said to hers«lf with the summer s^nbyms playing at her feet! He chose Lucy ; Madg4 is a romp, and Edith is a compound of pride an|l insolence; what will the fourth be like, I wondeif?" The last crimson ray of sunset had faded out, and the round white moon, and her handmaidens, tie R tnra, w o n oui ia (, ht>ir silverrlreaury beTore the party returned. Lucy and Dr. Stuart still occupied the front seat, 'but in the back, between th6 two . n I* • 84 \' <; THfcr SISTERS OF NORWOOD. girls Mr. AngUs Tor wood was sitting very much^t his ease. ^Madame Torwood was out on the front piazza enjdying the moonlight and odor of the sleep- ing flowers as they all came up the stairs together. " How late you are; it is eight o'clock. Good- - evening, Mr. Torwood. Have ypu dined, young ladies?" " We had aii impromptu dinner at the hotel," said her son, '' and enjoyed it amazingly— didn't we, Madge?" ,- 1^ ' , "Speak for yourself," said Madge, resentfully. "I know the nyitton was raw, and the chicken aa tough a^if they had come out of the a(rk, and the pudding tbey gave us like so much leaid.^ I never -^expect to get over the effects of it— ther^ ! " " Lucy, chil{^"„ said madam, suavely, '"your dress is thin, and you W4II catch cold in the night air. ' pome in all of you." " ^ A Avood fire flickered on the hearth, the lamp burned brightly on the table, the ^ curtains were drawn, and the drawing-room at Torwood Towers looked ^ very/^leashpt place just then. The young ladies went ijway to take off their things, and when \they came back Dr. Stuart ahd Mr. Arjgus Torwood I were deep in a game of chess. Edith caiie and leaned over her cousin's shoi^r, Madge too^ her station at the Doctor's e|W>W, while Lucy $,nd Madame Torwood looked on"- with interest from the opposite side. With s^o many bright ^yes urto\ji them, no , wonder the young men did their b^t, with knit brows and u4smiling faces. , • •vT " A dflawnnSattTeT^^^Etirth said, gayly.*, « which is to be the conqueror ? " ** conqueror -*•, ^ \ ■n. THE SISTERS OP TORWOOD. 85 move " I am," the > - V i ■ « S 1 • • " • ' ■\ ■■: ' > V , |J '.' • ' 'iP' ." - : ' • V .0. ' ■« l# 1 '■■■ ft - ,-, CT >.':' - ft • ■ ■«'-■ ♦ .*■■ i - . - ■ ' . - ■r v' 1 \ m 1 t ■.. . -. ■■■■ '.- ^^^^^^ - HUM Wjk ,<^^ 14- e.. «>^' ^ r Vj?^ , .^•r ; 1- "^ . 4VV y IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) €^ 1.0 I.I i^y^ 12.5 [ 50 ■^" M^S «i ... B^O 1.25 U 11.6 6" »- // :a // ^ .V t.V ^J^^^'^^^,^ :/. [/. % Sciences Corporatipn 23 WEST MAIN STMET WEBSTER. N.Y. 14580 (716)%73-4S03 .i.JSu^i'ij ,:-%kii /.:.mt.iA-k,i i^- -i 88 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. j ^"^ I am very glad of it, for a more impel tment piece of pride T never saw in my life '^"^ Are you not a little severe? Here, take a seat ■m m 90 . THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. ^^iSf!!"?,""' ^""'^ '^""^y '^''"^'^ ^ ^«t ^^^v<^ her if I "Bedause," still more confidentially, " I think she IS m love with her cousin." " Oh " said Dr. St,uart, and he laughed that pecu- liar and most doubtful laugh of Ills'; . "WelL" said his mother, irritated by the sound and w^at are you laughing at ? " * - have^"'' f ''*^^'"°~''^'^'^ »"^°^l n^e ! Only a notio« J r Whdt is it t Doja't you agr^e with me ? » "Not Exactly." ; " Do y^u mean to say you think I am mistaken « " If yoh will permit me to say so." " Paulj are you blind or stupid ? I tell you I am right." ( ^ I u "Perhaps so; I merely fancied y^^versed the ^1 y|Mfrv .1 case. "How?" " WhyXthought L was in lovf Vith her, instead * of the w^y you ^afcip' " It is jihe samib th^'ng."-. "Indeed ! I 4d not know that. So you think I stand no chance a^ajtist cousin Angus ?" " Paul I detesi the tone you talk in. One cannot >o sure whether ton are in jest or earnest, and you know thi* is^io liughing matter." " Very-Tar f ro4i it. It is growing to be the most desperately seritiis matter of my life." " I don't unde^tand." " No, I suppo^ not. Never mind, though ; I dare say you will soirip dny." "Edith being out of the question, then Lucy?only r'. THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 91 remains; for, of course, that overgrown child and rfide romp, Madge, is not for a moment to be thought ^ of." 9 ** As a wife for me— no. I think not, for many reasons— first and chief among tiiem being, that slie wouldn't have me." " I dare say she is enough of a simpleton to refuse gold for pitiful tinsel. Lucy then only remains." "Ah! f thought there was another-^-what is this you called her ? Florence, wasn't it ? " "To be sure! Yes, L quite forgot Florence! and they say she is very pretty, jtoo!" ' ^p The doubtful smile, roguish and knowing, was on t^fi doctor's^face again— perhaps at his mother's deeply thoughtful and musing tone. "And young men are all slaves of their eyes. Well, i don't know her, of course, but she ought to be here to-day, and th^n— but, Paul, do tell me, you may tell your mother, you know— what do you think of Lucy ? " " I think her," said the doctor, lounging more com- fortably on the bench, "a most estimable young lady, very nice looking, et cetera, and the best housekeeper in existence." " Bah !. I don't mean that. - In plain English, will you marry her ? " Dr. Stuart made a slight grimace, but ended in a laugh. ' - " Really, Madame Torwood, you are the most ter- rible inquisitor I ever met with. You hit the nail on the head at once." " Paul, will you marry her ? " Pr. Paul started up. '■■'■/■ 1 I 92 THK SJSTERS OF TORWOOD. "Be easy good Mother, and I will tell vou a secret -If ever I do marry, my wife will be one of Judge ' lorwood s daughters, rest assured of that " " Will it be Lucy ? " ' There was a clatter of horse's hoofs, the low bark- ing of a dog, a shrill treble voice shouting good-bv to some one else, and then^fadge TorwoodMne dash! ing down the a^nue, mounted on Rozinante, ^Vith SanchoPanza at his heels. Madge al ways look;d her boston horseback-she looked her best now her thin cheosm.sl.d, her black eyes blazing with hf^ 1' a si^rit,],er jaunty rub ng-hat perched saucily on one sidfe of her shingled head, her dark green ridin^ habit htting her tall slim figure to ,>erfoction. She lifted iier hat tike a jaunty little cavalier to the ladv as she passed. -^ doctor, from the novel he was reading. '' To Torwoodtown, and I am going to fetch spipe- body back to dinner." K ' "Who?" ^ i " Mr McPherson ; he has been too long away, and I want hun to come and look after a piece of his property he is in danger of losing. By-by Get along, Rozinante!" ^ ^ ^' ''^. MVhatdoes she mean?" madam asked, frown- ing " Quie7i sale ? " replied th^ doctor. « The Sphinx IS plam reading compared with that damsel. Have you anything more to say to me, mother, because f am going to smoke ? But don't hurry yourself on _my account, I beg." "^^cf while Madame Tonvood, takmg this delicate THE SISTERS OF TOKVVOOD. 93 hint, moved away with an expressive shrug, and ])r Stuart, lymg at full length on his bench, solaced' Jnuiself with cigar^ and fiction, Madge wasgallopin- OA^er the mountain road, Iw^tween the Towers and tl^etown. She had almost reached her destination Vap4 was uroing Rozinante, who, fr.mi some cause best known to himself, seemed disinclined for exer- tion that morning up hill, when the animal stumbled iind nearly fell, stopping short with a whinfeof pain " AVhy, llozinnnte, old fellow, what is the matter ? " exclaimed Madge, very much astonished at this un- usual behavior on the i)artof her gentlemanly steed. ' What the mischiefs wrong with you, I want to know ? " "Your horse has lamed himself, I think," said a quiet voice near hor ; and, looking round, the vonn.r lady saw a figure lying. on the grass, on whom tlij cares of life and a green shooting-jacket appeared to sit easily. A brown straw hat was pulled over his face, a gun and an empty game bag lay on one side ot him, and a shaggy Newfoundland crouched on the other. This latter got up with a deeply bass growl of sight of Sancho, who returned the growl with compound interest, and stared hard at the in- truder. "Make your dog let ifeine alone," ordered impe- rious Madge. « Sancho ! hold your tongue, sir." " Down, Faust ! " said the gentleman, still'without getting up. « You will have to dismount, youn- lad}-, I am afraid. Permit me to assist you."' '' „J^e sprang up at last, set Jiis hat properly, and^ heldljut his hand. Madge eyed him beforeshe took It, and set him down for about the best looking 9h THE SISTKKS OF TOKVVOOD. . specimen of. h,s agjc she had viewed for some time He might have bee'n three^and-twenty, certainly not more, slender and boyish of figure, with large.C handsoine brown eyes, a prof useness of most des rab e curling black .hair, a thick black mustache " perfection i„ its way, features regular and cl s enough for some old Grecian statue, hands and f^et like a lady s, and carrying a sort of easy, off-hand air about him that became him well. Though h"s seet?r'"'r'"' ''"™^" enough, you could see at a glance he was agentleman-his voice alone 1 tk anr^^^^^^ '"■''^ '^""^'^ those mod"- ^ a^ refined accents that can only come from As Madge continued to sit and stare at him he took off his hat and made her a courtly bow ' Mademoiselle eyes me gravely. I hope I meet lier approbation." ■ "Pe i meet power to discompose, "you started up from the earth so suddenly, that I was not sure^I ha^ not come face to face with a genie out of the * Arabian ^ ights,' and wanted to make sure. Are you certain you have not enchanted my hoi-se « " \ "Not to my knowledge! T would much rather encnant his charming rider— if I could " on^u^^H f^- ""^^ ^^ *^^^^ ^^^ ^^^»«e, because you Just look at Roz^ante's foot, will you, and see if he can carry me to Torwoodtown." The young gentleman obeyed this cool request ^^^—Jozina^^ J THE SISTERS OK TORVVOOD. 95 /i ^ ;."raear not; J,e has lamed liimself rather seri- ously. You had better dismount, and I will lead him lor you. ' h,ni'^^ T^'T'/- f "' ^^"^'^"' "^^"^ ^' proffered hand rather di^damfully, and springing lightly, out . of the saddle; " but I'll not trouble y Refreshing to listen to you. What dpes your serene'Whness wish me to say ? " 7^ " " Anything you please. I am sure all your re- marks will be delightful ! " " I'm obliged to you ! To begin, then, who are you ? " God^ ^''''^^'''"^° ^^ courtesy and the grace of "I should never suspect you had any of that last about you! You have a name, haven't you ? Wh-it " A very pretty one— St. Leon.". i m 96 ,THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. " Stuflf ! that sounds too much like the hero of a three-volume novel. Are you sure it's not Robin- son or Brown ? " " Thank goodness, yes ! " "And your name's really St. Leon?" " It really is, incredible as it sounds." ■" What else ? People generally have Uvo names." So they have! Tou won't faint when I tell you?" ., "I'll try not to." / It's Giaccomo, then." Madge whistled. - , , « Giaccoijio St. Leon !^ there's a nice name to talk about ! Are you a foreigner ? " ^ . -^ "Not to my Knowledge; not" if birth in a iew England village and of a New England mother does not make me so." ; " How did you have the misfortune to get such an outlandish name, then ? " "Because I chanced to f>ossess a foreign father who first opened his eyes on tbe bairks of the Gua- dalquiver, and closed them on those of the Connecti- cut." "Oh that's the. way, is it? You're a stranger here, of course ? " ^ ' '{Never set foot in Maryland until this morn- ing." " What brought you to Torwoodtown ? " " You never would guess." ^ *^^No, I'm not a Yankee. To eScape the sheriff perhaps." ' " Not exactly ! I'm in search of a wife." Indeed ! You have just come to the right^I^^ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD, 9; then I Young ladies-such nice ones; too t-are a« Plent,fu here as Wuckberri.^ in sea'son Forin^ st^anc^, there are three or f5ur over there ia-Vne theyT' '' "" ^''''^^'' "''' ^^^^ ^''"^^ ^'' ^^^^« «'-^ « Torwood's the name-four M is^^' Torwood." 1 have heard the name before, I think One came here recently, didn't si,,? A U dark giH- not bad looking ? " 4^^'Ixk giu— ;; Why, that's Edith ; did you know her^ » blightly," "Where?" ' * /' I met her in Cuba, I think." "Oh, it's the very same; she has just come\om Cul^a I suppose you mean to call aiid see her?" ' Do vo.Th iT? f ^,V ^""^''^ ""^"*^^"' wouldn't It? - Vo you think I had better ? " " Decidedly ! it would be bad manners to stav^ away ; and I hate bad manners. Call, by all meant^ ^y^f^ l"^ J/^" ^""y ' ^»t i« it not like entering a lion's den ? |»t not walking with one's eyes opef into a bottomlls^ gulf o^anger ? Four beautff u" young ladies-just think of it ! What is to becoihe of me among them all ? " "^^ome JZ^^u""^'. ^' '' ^ ^''^"^"^5 ^°d though you ^^i^A^ ^vlthstand the rest-on the same princfple that pigs^^t^rA^ fly, though they're unlikely birds- neverT' ''"'' """'^ '"* "^'^"'' '^' youngest- " Is she so^very nice, then ? " *Ni<»I That is a pretty wont to apply to^dSe Torwoo '""ke myself" C el „r","*' ■'"™' '""""gout a g«l„ hm,ti„:. ".tth and glancing at the hour;" l,„t fir,, ,i„ r .: 'hj;';:i.:i;!;r;';;'""- ' '-•« "- f'^i-i^ to :n,ake with a ,H>,ite little bol, " iXir'^^iu^^MiS;.' Ann hmith-everybody knows n,e ; John Sn, , • .you have heard of l;in,t_is ,„; f.,,,, " ^";, 'T morning, sir. When yon fall in L 'ft i m' 1 Tonvood, be kin.l enough to let n,e Low. ' """*'" N \ 1 ii V n m. " O" "" '^i- "i« Know." \ .,^»i-o»«g gentleman with' the foreign l^iiT- J 7^'T. N > ' T THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 99 - sprang lightly to'his feciCsnd, .lofflng his hat made , lirfa second flourishing bow snat,ma(Ie ■ i- s'hLr"*"'';'^ 'I""'- ■«°°"-"°">i"g. Miss smith. 1 ' ™'^"' "'" ^''"'"'tion- of this iour ^nl.l I see you agajn. Come, Faust.- ' *«'."t,i''"-^'''"'?"'' '''"^^If.-I''^ »-ter shoal. *rend, and with one or two scarlet gera- nium blossoms m velvet-green leaves reposing in tlie itZf i^'n^M T""''^' '"''^^^'^'^' picturesque, she ooked If not handsome; but in the broad serene brow the calm, earnest gray eyes, the thoughtful mouth, there was something that would long outlast all the pink-and-white wax-*//(f sparkle sometimes, when she looked in the glass, for instance ; the nose was perfect— no artist could have formed anything straighter, nicer, or more characterless, out of putty or clay ; the mouth was like a rosebud ; the chin dimpled like the plump hands ; and overall fell the shimmering curls of gold, down to the rounded waist. Ear-drops of coral and gold sparkled in her ears ; gold bracelets adorned the lovely arms ; a brooch of cluster diamonds clasped her corsage, and her jeweled lingers toyed with the daintiest of fans— all pearl and K wans 'down Yes, Florence Torwood was a beauty, and a co- ..Jt'i:.ib,-a THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 103 quette-selfish, and terribly insipid ; but beauty like chanty, covereth a multitude of sins, and look- ing like an angel, people generally, and voung men particularly, were very AviHing to take her for one and went raving mad about her at first sight. But the two young men who oame into her daz- zling presence now were not of the kind to go raving mad about anything at very short notice. Mr Mc- rherson would have taken snuff before her as 'rea(lil.y as he would before unlovely Madge, and Mv Torwood's taste did not at all lie in the pink- and-uhite, cream-candy, and wax-doll line. Some- thing not near so lovely to look at, a dark daughter ot the earth, stood at the window, with a bright smile of welcome on her hps, and Avas ever so much ■ more to Ins taste. Hut Lucy, smiling and radiant, was deep m the ceromonv of.introduction « Florence, here is-J^adge," gaitlLucy. "Would you know her?" * ' '"''v,. Miss Florence might have bee if"«^rin cess, so far us lymphatic ease of manner went ; no princess could have l>een more unaffectedly nonchalant than she A languid smile, a careless extension of the snowy hand, a faint kiss on one cheek, and a quiet stare- that was all. " How do you do ! " Avas her listless greeting You have grown as tall as a grenadier; but I think I should have known you." The violet eyes wandered away to the gentlemen • on Mr. McPherson they scarcely lingered a second! on Al r. Torwood theyj-e^ted with a faint show of in- =^Brt^, as Xucy, mmress ^SOhe ceremonfe^^^ over and formally presented him. The beauty gra- • L*.. 104 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD ciously bowed, and held out her taper fingers with an enchanting smile— a smile that had turned scores of heads before now, but which produced no such astounding motion on Cousin Angus, who was gone before it had faded, and was shaking hands with Edith at'the window. Mr. McPherson's recep- tion was hardly so genial ; a nod of the golden head, and a little sour glance of disdain from the violet eyes, rewarded his awkward genuflexion, and de- pressed him about as much as her cordiality had elated the other. He, too, retreated, and taking a seat near Madame Torwood, who sat enthroned in her easy-chair near thie fire, eying the proceedings ,, with frigid criticism, refreshed himself by a pro- longed dose from his snuff-box. Madge, leaning over the carved and gilded chair, dipped her fingers in the shining ripples of her new sister's hair, and began trying her hand at polite small talk. " "When did you come ? " she asked. " About two hours ago I think, " Florence an- swered, suppressing a yawn. « Alone ? " "Yes." " Do you like traveling? " " No, I detest it ; it's horrid ! " " Are you tired after your journey ? " " Dreadfully. " Here there was a blank, Madge's patience and small talk being exhausted together. Edith and Angus were chatting animatedly in a low tone, and in Spanish, at their win dow ; Mr. M cPh erson, with one leg over the other, was staring at all in turn; and madam sat grave and grim, and very awful in --?■ '\. THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 105 her stateliness, and wjttched the flickering wood fire. The hush that folio \v« Property th« my late Mena^Z]TJ^'Z 7JT"'"1 T'"' youno' woinm ■„,. . ^' " ™"'*'' »f these n.a„," ' ""' " """' ?<"""'■» a»d eccenWe «in^-„o™ ,,-,<„ some hi g "f ,:,''". T"'* romance tlian anvthinn. °f "° °"''' '^"•■"' '" " Judge To„v«,„ ,w fe,;:'„:s';7. --'— groun,ls, the market value „V v, ' , i ' * ""''' ,kno„, he left bank s^k.^o the v-1 !' "1 "''^"=">' thousand, olla... Knov^g",:';:": "'"'''"' his monfy b£ nlrXf, r-^^^^^^^^^^ fortunes, but aIs;''!lMr MeP, er,i*' '™"t'' "'"' ingly to take another p^J^Ztr, r""^>,'"°™''- ban.« apuseV The speater^,l«n.e,J7;^ 'h THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 109 bandana handkerchief, and blew a sonorous blast and Madge's black eyes flashed over on Dr. Stuart who sat with his eyes do^vncast dnd his lips reso luteb^ compressed, but with a smile of intense^amuse- ment lurking wickedly in both. "With a husband, did you say, Mr. Mac?" de- manded pert Madge. « Does thaVmean we are a 1 four to marry the same man ? » "Your patience one moment, Miss Madge. In se- lecting a husband for one of Ids daughters, and a master for Torwood Towers, it was quite 'natural his thoughts should turn to his wife's son I am tjot aware that he was personally acquainted-in- deed I am positive that he was not-but the younff man s excellent reputation as a^octor and a man » -here Dr Stuart made the minister a polite bow- bad doubtless, reached and influenced him He therefore, in his will has divided his bank stock into two equal parts, .and to whichever of his four daughters becomes the wife of Dr. Stuart, Torwood- Towers and fifty thousand dollars fall on her wed- ding day. The other fifty thousand is to be divided into four equal parts, one to go to his widow, the remammg three to his other three daughters. Such are the terins of the will." tb.^'i- Jf^P'ff^"/^''^^^^. and in the dead silence tl at to lowed, the faces in the room were a study. The red-hot spots on madam's cheek-bones burned l.ke fire ; the lurking roguish smile was deepening on Dr. Stuart's face, in spite of his most decorouf efforts ; Lucy's head was ayerted, but lier eyes Avere^ arooninir nnrf finr n^•,n.I^^r. — . i_i. -m * A^^r. ' -^ -"" " "" «* ^«» «Lu, uuL iier eyes w«re drooping and her cheeks scarlet ; Florence sat toyinc with her fan, her momentary confusion gone, and a no THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. ner na.ls had sunk deep i„ the rpBy pain, Her vo.ce, ,t was too, that first .broke the si ence -.s in " tone so changed that they hardly kno>vl ' H -v.thont turning round, she asked : ^ ' "And suppose none of Ju.fee Tonvood's fof,- '::itrtrr^ '° ^"™-« ^^« -"« »' s:^ «-" "then," said Mr. McPhccson, peerinff at the tall ^ark figure curiously over his s,;'ctacles! " t"' Towers goes unconditionallv to Dr Sf,,.,-/ l.e takes the name of Torwoo.l t ; H Z, "'"" .lolla,. go to Madame To wo«l' to be iuJ'T"" -ever she pleases at her death alultol: fiX th9u»and >s to be equally shared between yo„ ^ou^ youngwomen. It's rather an odd will, I Xw.tt Mr McPherson paused, and filled up the hiatu, hv mhahng the largest pinch of snuff that em- v^ drawn up human nostrils. ™^ Edith Torwooil suddenly turned round from the wT w ;: '"1 V""'"' "-^ cordd'Zc ; know It, her brow dark as night, her cheeks ..hu hereyes flashing flame. Tb^y ;ostL. fo"^"' second, on Dr. Stuart, with a glance so full of bHter scorn and hatred that, had I,«ks been li°htn nl -wouldhave blasted him in his seat. Then fhe fle> ^ •/ s ^t:»HE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. m gaze turned from^son to mpther, and ift-the same bitter, fierce, and unnaturld tone in which she had'. - spoken before, she said": *' My father is dead, and the dead shopW be re- spected ;.but I will say ndno but a fool or a madman . could ever have made such a will. My father I never knew, but I believe him to have boon neither; there- fore the will is a forgery, or waspc^mpted by some demon m human shape. *Judge Torwood nei^er wetrtr^ob his daughters for a stranger he never saw ! " . ' , Madame Torwood arose, fiery as her step-daughter and a wordy war seemed impending ; but Dr. Stuart,' with a grave dignity no one could assume better than he, interposed. < " Mother, restrain yourself; Miss Torwood certainly .^. cannot mean you by tl^e epithet she has used. If she can so far forget herself, your best answer will be - silence." " An out-and-out case of diajiond cut diamond " whispeped Madge to) Lucy, -ivh'o sat listening with 'a , rather pale an' • ^ \stu >.. li 112 T«K sistp:rs of tprwood. ,, • " Miss Tor\voo(l,'you have heard your (tertd father's last commands. Will you obey ?" Lucy's fiice grew painfully flushed one instant, and then whiter than before. " My father's dying words {>re sacred," she said a voice so low and tremulous that it couhl scardfely heard. " I will obey." *i ** Good ! And you, Miss Florence ? " in the same defiant tone. "I— I (Jon't know, I'm sure," said Florence, look- ing scared and helpless beyond everything. " You have no particular objection though ? " said, madam, rather qontemptuously. . ~ " NoM)," very faintly, though. > » ■ " Antl you^jPss Margaret, what have you to say to yoiir fathf^'s will ? '? "Only this," said Madge, who was silently per- forming a little dance of ecstasy with a chair for a partner, « that I'll take the fifty thousand dollars and your son to-morrow if you like ! " Miss Florence, flimsy as were her faculties, must have possessed some feeble sense of the ludicrous, for she tittered audibly at this^ and D^-. Stuart gave the speaker a sidelong ghmce i^P^is eyelashes, and the suppr;^ed smile c^me 1^ ^|^b£^ ., '^J: ' The mistress* of Norwood "turM^pHjpll to fflP"" tlark figure, all crimson and blffil^^he window. • " And now. Miss Edith torwood," she said, deri- sively, « we await ymir answer." Edith, for the last moment or two, ha^ been ^.ing out with strange intentness at a figure com- , r. apjhe avenue; doubt, surprise, recognition, de- " l'glit>^PM»f"g one after another vividly over her face ,<>'# V- Ait ,-f , -M # / , THE SISTEftS OF TORWOOD. I II3I Now slie turned round, her eyes like stars, Ker whole countL;n:ince bright with triumphant defiance. . : *'. You siiall have it I " she cried in a ringing voice I '; " wait one nionie^it." ■ She niiule them a sweeping courtesy, the same tri-^ umphant smile on ^her lips and in her blazing, eyes, ": and, with the light, elastic step peculiar to htr, i passed out of tho room. -%. \ ^ ■ " Oil, isn't si|e a brick ? " exfclaimcil Mad^Jto her i partner, tlie cliair, still in suppressecf ccstiisy, *, [ "Has ihc girl gone mad?" Madame Torwood asked, looking around. ^, • ' " There's method in her imidftess, I think," said the quiet voice of her son ! " ah-r.; ^ 1J4 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD." CIIAPTEK IX. THE HUT IN THE -WOODS. A swELTEKiNG Julj day, when a fieiy sun Ii;ul pulsated red and lurid in a lowering sky, and iiad deepened irffo an ominous twilight full of forebod- ings of a coming storm. The brassy sun had sunk out of sight in a west ftll black and blood-red ; an awful hush was in the air, as if earth held its breath in awe, in dread of the wrath to come. The sea- gulls whirled round and round in circles, dipping their glancing wings in the black and glassy sea, and screaming shrilly their note of preparation for the storm. " . Down dropped the night, and with it the storm. The bars of crimson and black streaking the west- ern sky turned to a pall of inky gloom— furid flashes of lightning, from what quarter of the heavens no man could tell, gleamed incessantly ; one great drop of rain, then another and another, faster, thicker, heavier, and, with a hissing rush, the tempest burst in it^might. But while the rain fell and the lightning fiashed, and the black night was dismal without, within Tor- wood Towers there were lights, and laughter, and music. Grim it looke d, lifting its weather-beaten ^eadiTTtothe^mrknoss, bnf tlie drawing-room and dming-room windows weie bright with illumina^ TffE Sisters of torwood. 115 tions, and tlio sound of tliO piano, touclied by fair fingei^, could be heard in the pauiHes of the storm. It was just the night to luxuriate in a pleasant room, with books, and music, and social chit-cliat— a night the sturdiest man would not have cared to venture out; and yet, just as the rain ceased, a win- dow opening on the piazza tliat ran around the sec- ond story was raised, and a slender figure, a female figure. Shrouded in a long dark mantle, ^yith the hood drawji far over its head, stepped out. For a moment or two it stood quite still, with one shrouded arm extended to feel if it sti}l rained, and then, as if satisfied, hastened along to'tiie piazza stairs, de- scended, and walked rapidl^^ down the shrubbery ^ toward the sea-shore. It w^s a strange ni|ht for • my one to-be out, particularly any one from Tor- wQod Tow'ers, whgre even the serpnts, gathered together, m the immense kitchefi, ^'cre enjoy- ing a banjo breakdown in defiance of wind and weather. An unspeakably miserable night it was still though the rain l^ad almost ceased, for the trees under wliich the hoode " She opened the door of the hut while speaking, and the gn-1 came in, crossed over to the fire, with a shiver, and sank down on a stool, wearily and in si- lence. The shrouding cloak dropped damp off her s ender shoulders on the floor, and the face on which the ifuddy firelight shone looked pale and fretted careworn and anxious. ' Iluldah bolted the door again, and, sitting on an- other stool opposite, looked at her with eyes in which Jove and solicitude shone. " What's gone wrong, hon(.y ? " she a*sked. '• Some- thing must, to fetch you here to-night. What is it ? " "Everything," the girl testily said; "nothing's going right I was here last night, but the place was all dark and shut up. Where were you ? » "Over in Torwoodtown, honey. There was a party there, and the fools wanted their future told llhmight vou was some of them coming to-meht — for it's always in the dark they do come If I'd' ^ Known you wanted me, I'd have gone to the house " / THE SISTERS OF TORVVOOD. 119 " No, ypu wouldn't,", said her visitor, peevishly ; " I don't want you to be coming to the house. Yob frightened me enough the other night, and I don't want you to come back again." " Lor', honey ! How did I frighten you ? " " You know well enoifgh — the night you were sit- ting at the gate. I cait't help showing in my face that I know you, and I don't wantyUJke him! "repeated the girl, Jn-tones^of shrill scorn, her (|yes flashing fiercer flames than the liot iirehght. -^ tell you I hate and desi,ise him more than any other creature on God's earth. If he had the spirit of a dog, much less that of a gentleman, do you thmk ho would take the property of four orphan giHs and keep it, base, sordid hound that he is be- cause, forsooth, tiiat his mother-nastlieir father's wife ahd could fool him as she pleased ? Like him ! » she' reiterated, her voice growing piercing in its angrv shrillness. "I tell frm, Iluldah Black, the ni^ht be- fore hist, when Iheard it first, I Q^uld have sprun- ut Jiis throat, as he sat there/smiling insolently, and - torn It out ! " ' "^ The mulatto woman looked at her, the latent fi-o in her own eyes beginning to blaze. The girl had been pale enough when she entered, but her cheeks now were rosy flame. She clenched her small hand and set her teeth involuntarily, as sl^e thought of the ^ num she hated, the fire in her angry eyes growin- more fiercely bright. '^ ° » " It is the greatest injustice that ever was done I do not believe any Christian court of law would rec ognize such a will; l^j^t law and justice are not al- ways the same-r know that; and this woman is deep-deep, designing, and crafty. I hate her as \vell as hermean, spiritless son. But in open warfare -f am no match for the piF oFtHem, so I must havT ,cour«« tn «f.o.o,,... I thought it all over yester- recourse to stratagem. ~'v^!»' J ■ V at ^■M^ J V THE SISTKRS OP TORWOOD.^ lii (lay, and laid my plans as I tell you. I f you hel]) me, I shall marry this Doctor Stuart, and reign mistress of Torwood ! " " You will marry the man you hate '{ " " Huldah, don't be a fool ! " Huldah's visitor p(^t- tishly cried. " What do you know tibout such things ? Every day, for money, girls marry men they hal^e. and why not I ? I want to be rich and honored. I want to travel and see the world. I want— oh, mil- lions of things that only money can procure ; and so you must help me in what I am going to do." " My darling," the nmlatto woman tenderly said, " you know I would die for you." " You are a good creature, Huldah," said the girl, softening, " and I am too cross with you ; but my dis- mal walk has upset me, and I grow wild every time • I think of that horrible will. When I am rich, you shall not be forgotten-— remember that." " Honey, what is it you want me to do? " " Oh, lots of things. I have been plotting and plot- ting, until my poor head is ready to split. It is not going to be an easy task, for I must work with a vel- vet mask on my face and kid gloves on my hands ; in other words I am acting a character not' my own every day, and I must keep it up. They don't sus- pect me. Of the four sisters of Torwood, I fancy I am the one least likely to be suspected ; I have taken good care of that. But plotting evil is new to me, and, Huldah, it tires me to death." She sighed heaVily, and looked at the fire again, with eyes from which air the flame and^ sparkle had "^ vanished. Huldah laid her hard brown hand with a tender ..vl-A.^V /. i^- 122 THE SISTERS OK TORWOOD. touch on the listless -little onc% folded wearily in the girl's lap. ' ' ^ -^ "Only tell me what you want me to do, child, and (Ion t look so pale. You know I love nbbody in the world but you." ; ' « Thank you, Huldah. I must tell you verv fast, , for I want to get back before I am missed, and it is a wretched night. Just see that lightning ' " . She shivered, and (h-ew closer to her companioti. Huldah patted the hand she held, soothingly, and still face ^^^' '^""^"^ """ ^^^ ^""""^ ^""^'^ P^'^ " How did you manage to get out without their knowing it, now, honey ? " "Oh, I pleaded a headache, and begged they would not disturb me for two or three hours, and they won't Ihey thmk I am sleeping the sleep of the iust at this present moment, and they are enjoying them- selves with three young men in the Virawin|-room. If they only knew wiuit I am about ! " She broke into a short laugh at the notion, but checked It instantly, and frowned at herself. " Bah ! tliis fooling won't do, and the hours are passing Half-past nine," she ^ai*^, jmlling out a toy of a watch, and I must be back at ten, lest any one Jf my three tender sisters sAoukltake it into her head Huldah P' '"^ '"''''"' '''"'^ '^^ ''^''"^ "^' ^""'^^ ^^'*^"' The two drew close together, and for about ten minutes talked in whispers, as if they feared the cat mhe fire might hear and tell. Then the girlarose ^d picked up hef^cloak. . ^^. ^ .^==*.=^ "Remember all I have said, Huldah, and"do as I I J THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 123 tell you and everything will go right. Lightning st.I ! How I hate the thought of going back over that dismal road ! Are you ready to come with me ? Make haste!" Iluldah seized a coarse blanket shawl lying on the bed, drew it around her tall form, and, opening the door, led the way out. The night was as drear and dismal as ever, the wind as raw, the lightning as vivid, and the hut as lonely It was no hour or place for conversation, and silently they went on, the girl clinging to her companion's shawl. As ten pealed from the Hall clock m Torwood Towers, the twain stood at the loot of the piazza steps. "How will you get in?" Huldah asked, looking at at the lights streaming from the kitchen, hall and drawing-room windows. ' " Through my chamber window ; it opens on the piazza Good-night, dear, kind, good Huldah. Only do as I tell you, and I shall be mistress here ' " "I will do everything you tell me, my darling'' the giantess said, kissing Ipvingly the little hand el temled to her. « You know I would die for you " The girl ran lightly up the stairs, flew along the piazza and paused at the window from which, two hours before she had issued. There was a flash of lightning. Huldah, standing below, like a tall black ghost, saw a white hand wave to her in its blue glare, and then the form at the window vanished. With It, went the blue light, and all was blackness again The very night seemed to feel that someT-^ thmg evil had passed. t^i-JidM.^ 124 THE SISTERS OF .TORWOOD. r CHAPTER X. STRICTLY CONFIDENTI^(LL. ■^> Once upon a time, when "gods and goddesses, without skirts or bodices," reigned in Olympus, there was a certain one of tkis ni|raber— Achilles, I think they called him— who, hajfe been dipped when an infant in tlie river Styx, w^s rendered thereby in- vulnerable forever .\fter, except in the heel by which his mother hadheld him wliile ducking him. Madame Torwood was sometliing like Achilles— in- vulnerable at all points but one, and that qne weak point did not lie in her heel but in her heart. That organ wfls iron^clad to all the worltj bjit one, that one her son Va\\\— there fin arrow could ehter, there was the one weak place in her strong masculine nature. Dr. Paul, leaning against the mantel one evening, the second after the arrivt^l of Florence, itnd looking down at his lady mother i^>lacidly crocheting in her arm-chair, startled her by suddenly saying— , "Mother, I wish you would give a dinner party." * Down went the crochet, wide open flew madam's eyes. " My dear Paul ! " " My dear mother ! " K V, Give a dingier party ? What nonsense ! Til do no such tiling ?|" iv THE SISTKRS OF TORWOQD. 125, "Oh, yes, you will ! to please me, you know-it's a whim I have." " I don't care about your whims ! I won^t do it Dmner party, indeed ! Who is to eat it ^ " ' n„^^ f 7' "^«»y poople-I have the list all. made out and all the ceme de la ereme of TorNvoodtown • so don t lool: so- shocked. What day will it be r ' ' .Stuff «nd nonsense! What put this notion 4n your head ? " "The 'Spirit of Hospitality.' This is Monday Let me see-suppose we say Thursday." - " Now Paul ! "— expostulatory. " " Ever^lnng can be ready In that time, new dresses for the young ladies included; if they want them My dear mamma, don't make that dismal face if you can help It-it entirely spoils your good looks, and Dr. Leach told me yesterday you were a line-look- • mg woman." ■< Madam relaxed into a smile-no such monster as a woman msensible to flattery ever yet existed. *u ■ wu '^ ^ simpleton, and Dr. Stuart is an- ' other What do you want this dinner party for, Paul -^It is something m9re than a mere whim, Pm sure." , ' "So it is. Well, Pll tell you. The good people of Torwoodtown, it appears, are dying to know what the new Miss Torwoods ^re like, and it is only ^-. a common Christian act to keep them from expiring of curiosity. Besides, the world will think you in tend keeping them shut up like nuns in celJs Oh ^fott must give the dinner party." '^ * — That must, like the fiat of a king, decided it In ' vitations Avere issued for the following Thursday to '^^ 1 .-■M4I* ^^iimisibi^^iSi^^SSk 126 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. the ino»t exclusive pf Torwoodtown fSlite, and the nioet exblusive 5f Torwdodtown elita were only too happy to accept. Mr. anUJtfrs. Lawyer Graves and the three Misses Graves sent a perfumed nqte of ac- ceptance f so did Pr< Leach, so did the Rev. Adonis Breeze, the Episcopal clergyman ; so did Mr. and Mrsl Emory, who lived in a lovely villa, and had a house in Baltimore for the winter, and who had more money than they knew wliat to do with ; so did young Mr. Moreen, whose father was a 'senator, and who came to Torwoodtown every season to fish, and shoot, and smoke cigars, and make eyes at the pretty girla^ so did thd Rev. Mr. HcPherson, so did Mr. Angus Torwood^ so did Mr. GiaccomoSt. Leon; and all who were not invited, and hoped to have been, were nearly frantic Avith jealousy. Somebody else was nearly frantic too-^old Aunt Chloe, the cook, who for thirty years and upward had never heard of a dinner party at Torwood Towers. But h'ere Lucy came to the rescue. "Never mind, auntie," she said, with. her good- natured little laugh, "you attendto yOnr hares, and turkeys, and thickens, and roast beef, and the rest of the heavy atillery, and I will devote myself to the jellies, and .custardg, and pastry, and blanc-mange. Don't fret^— betwefen us it Avill he a success, never fear." So pretty Lucy, down in the kitchen region, in a dainty calico wrapper, her sleeves rolled up over the (limpleil elbows, her pink cheeks flushed scarlet, beat eggs, ai\d Avliipped jel lies, anil made ice-cream, and^ was entirely invisible up-stairs. The three younger Misses Torwood were of very little use in tEese days X)f 'A iJtiv^. THE SISTEI^S OF- TORWOOD. 127 of preparution. Edith played Mendelssohn and Beethoven's grandest arias in a way that would have sent those composers themselves into ecstatic rapture could they have heard her. The parlor organ whereupon Judge Torwood's second wife used to play diiring the' few brief years she spent at the Towers, and which had lain in the library unused ever since, had been repaired, and occupied a corner of the drawing-i-oom now, and wonderful were the .melodies the Creole girl's fingers drew. from its old keys. Florence lounged in easy -chairs, or lolled oh sofas all day long, yawning over novels, or eating candies, of which she generally kept a peck or so about her.fordaily consumption, or lisping milk-and- water small talk to her nearest neighbor. And,* Madge rode over the country, ami sailed over the sea, and was here and there and ever^'where at once, making noise and commotion and banging doors wherever she went. There were visitors too, at the Towers— rAngus Torwood, (iiaccomo St. Leon, and the Rev. Alexan- der McPherson vied with each other in their fre- quency and lengtfftof their visits, and Dr. Stuart was bland as 6il with all three, and his mother frowned silent disapproval from her throne in the chimney comer. Between that dignified lady and her three yoimg ktep-daughters a sort of armed neu- trality existed, liable to break out into open warfare at any moment. For Lucy, whom nobody could by any possibility dislike, her feelings were half liking, 4iaIf^contempt ; for Edith^CTer since the reading of ^n the will and the startling explanation that wound it up, she had conceived an almost positive hatred*, \/ <,3i^' ■<(£ 128 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. FJorence she despised too much to hate ; and Madm, mad and boisterous, she shrank from l.itk scS horror and detestation. v^'MlT''' ^f'' "f "<>«'"'<'>««. she treated with a freezing c.vihty that was altogether thrown away on that eminently nonchalant yonng gentTe man who cared no more for her or her gfanT^> thanhed.dforthebarkingofhisgroatNewinndla^ luh\ ^u^ ''"' ™'"'' '"'™ '»'"' him outright, with good, honest, open hatred, as she did Edith only the young man happened to bo one of ttoe and yet he *rf please; you liked him without know! mg why, and laughed at his jokes, and let him IZ you round h,s finger without wishing to resTstal mostwrthout knowing you „... following hisLd' It might have been his handsome face-ffr a h 2 1 some a*e, on a man or woman, has a power 't never fails ; it might have been his very frLrnd-eas ' way of making himself at hon.e with evcrv one and ca Img people by their Christian name ton m.nute after being mtroduc«l % then,. Whatever i t w s the charm existed, subtle and irresistible • an 1 Madame Torwood, exacting and exclusive ll^^ upon one she felt it her boun.len duty to dSS She wa. by no means sorry E= 1 « oWd of g.lden.grainli mahorny'l der^i:^ silver, cut-glass, and along array of wine bott J was resplendent and dazzling t„ look at^ ' """ 'f«:;rrdrnr:?,.n-d::itheTef'' : cT'CamTT """r--^' tro^atz.- TnH n»„ !• ""^ "*'' ^'^"^ i" black velvet l^^nSftr^r.r^™^'" Parisian— -. There. ^^::^:i::^^ 130 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. last, very simply dressed in black silk, with soft quillings of luce round the throat, wide sleeves full and flowing, finished with undersleeves of misty illusion, with no ornaments but a brooch of gold and jet, not even a flower in the pale golden hair. Yet somehow she managed\to look elegant, ladylike, and pretty as a picture in Quakeress attire ; and madam had glanced at her withVi critical eye, and graciously said, " You look very wAll, indeed, my dear;" and her son had indorsed th^ sentiment by a look that made Lucy's color deepen preceptibly. There was Madge, too, in black barege, low-necked and short-sleeved, without adornment of any kind dancing in and out, her e^es like black stars, her ^cheeks rocy flame in her impatience for the coming of the guests. i # Dr. Stuarb»^as on the piazza with Sancho jfnd his meerschaum pipe, taking it all very easy, but with one eye and both ears aimed at the drawinJ-room nevertheless. ' Edith and Florence had not yet made their appear- ance ; the former was walking up and down her rooni listening for the gallop of a certain horse, the sound of a certain voice, that was to bring her downsLtairs • and Florence, in the next room, was under the hands of Madenioiselle Fifine, the French maid. It was transport, mademoiselle said, to have any- body so exceeding lovely as Miss Florence to dress ; and she curled the golden hair and twined it in and out with rosebuds and verbefta, and untied ribbons and cl asped bracelets j,ll_in an ecstasy of ad mi iiring "entliusiasm. 'No wonder, ten minutes after she ceased, a vision floated down to the drawing-room f SJ-' The SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 131 more bewildering than anything ever seen out of fairyland or a novel. A vision in translucent white, so filmy and floating that it waved round her like a cloud of mist ; pale oriental pearls glowing with dewy luster on the lovely uncovered.neck, on the round- ed snow-white arms, and clasping, like congealed moonrays, the flowers in her hair. Down over all fell the shimmoring curls, like an amber veil, to the round plump waist, clasped by a dainty black belt, flashing with seed pearls, and the blue eyes had never been so starry, nor the rose-bloom 'so deli- cately deep on the round cheeks before. The jeweled fingers toyed with a jeweled fan, and from the toe of her slippered foot to the crown of her golden head, the silver shining vision was dazzling to loolc at. Pretty girls were coming that day, but she would be among them a siin among stars. Lucy's (luiot prettiness paled and waned into nothingness the moment she appeared, and even madam's cohl eyes were betrayed into one flash of involuntary admiration. Dr. Stuart took tlie amber mouthpiece of his pipe from between his lips and gazed on her as on a iiicture. so lovely that you feared to breathe lest it vanish altogether. "Oh, isn't she splendid T' Madge whispered in his ear. '' She is beautiful enough to be put under a gla.ss-case and taken round the country for a show. How's your heart — stove in ? " , " Haven't the faintest shado^v of such a thing ^about me. I never saw anything so lovely in my "life." " I declare it's a shame ! " Madge resentfully broke out, struck with sudden indignation. " What busi- 132 The sisters of torwood. ness had she monopolizing beauty enough for a dozen, and Edith and Lucy, not to speak of myself the most deserving of all, to be stigmatized /t the I feel slighted by nature-I do so!'- ^ " My dear Madge, don't torment yourself f Yon ZS:^'' "" '"''"^'' '"' - ^ ^-^' """ . IIo stopped su■« ^foiled ,r !u fl ; ""'' "'•• ^"'•■"•' looked after them v,th that doubtful smile of his, that puzzled you for .ts meaumg. Looking down again, he found Madge's black ey^s staring at him with curious in tentness. ;; Wdl ? » he said, the smile deepeningon his face. What makes you look so?" demanded blunt Madge. « I hate that queer laugh of yours Ihen there's nothing in the world to |rin at"^ I ;ho:^," like to know what you see so funny about Jackeymo St. Leon and our :^dith " ^ - terma^nti tow do you know r was laughing at them ? " " i^now i . ^' Because I do 1 I can see as far into a miUsfone V li .^ 134 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. . as the man that made it! WhafS more, Dr. Paul Stuart,"^ with a flash of her black eyes that reminded . him of Edith, " I know what you are thinking of ! " "Paul and Madge Torwood are -among the prophets ! Out with it, my little Witch of Endor." Madge, with her great eyes fixed piercingly on his face, Ava-s wonderfully grave for her. '^ " Dr. Stuart, look here," she said abruptly, " you knew Florence before you saw her here " " Did I ? " ■ ' • " You know you did ! How was it ? " " Ask Florence.'" ■, " I have, do«ens of times." " And. what did shfe say ? » "said Dr. Stuart, with the smile Madge disliked in his face again. " Turned as red as a beet, and told lies— said slie never saw you or heard of you before the other day when the will was read. I hate people4hat won't 'tell the truth ! " " The truth should not always be told, mv dear '' he said. Madge gave him an atigry flash of the eye that reminded him more and'.^ore of her Creole sister; but he only laughed gk)d-naturedly, and ran down- stairs to meet Messrs. McPherson 'Jind Torwood. Madge, with some thoughts of her own not very pleasant shadowing her bright face, went into the drawing-room, \Vhere Edith was at the piano sing- ing some Spanish song St. Leon liked, as only Edith could sing ; where Lucy, in a window recess, never idle, was bending over, embroidery^ and where Flor- enee sat ^side St. Leon tm the sofo, and" looked ~ .languidly at a Ijook of prints he had brought to l^- ,.jb./- ■ ■^■•! THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 135 her. A strikingly handsome pair they made, and very well content they looked. The shade darkened more and more on Madge's face, and going over to the piano she stood beside Edith, and watched her while she sang. And now the other guests were coming, and Edith left the piano. St. Leon made room for her on the sofa, but she only smiled, and went over to Cousin Angus, while Mr. McPherson devoted him- self to Madge, and Dr. Stuart sought out Lucy in her Avindow,-and began taking private lessons in embroidery, and in something else, his mother hoped. One by ,one the carriages drove over the hill, aild Madame Torwood, stately and stiff, was welcoming her guests until the drawing-room was filled and all had arrived. The sisters of Tor- wood were playing the agreeable to the elite of Torwoodtown— Lucy, very sweetly; Edith, like a princess royal among her subjects ; Florence, with a flow of listless tittle-tattle, chiefly about the weather : and Madge, coming out of her crossness, had something to say to every one. On these oc- casiqns the half hour before dinner is generally fearfully stupid, and though all were doing their best to talk and be exceedingly at ease, no one was sorry when dinner was announced. Madame Torwood was led in "by the Rev. Adonis Breeze, who, like half the other young men pres- ent, was desperately smitten with Florence ; her fl on bor e on his arm M r s. La\yyer Graves. Mr. "TTawyer^raves took Miss Torwood; Edith leaned on the arm of Cousin Angus, Florence, followed with St. Leon, and Madge stepped along with 136 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. ok n^ young Mr. Moreen, whom she had fascinated in five minutes by her black eyes and spirited styJe of conversation. Of course the dinner was hke all other dinners-small talk and clattering knives and rattling forks, glassware clashing with the usual amount of laughing, whispering, and flirting. Madge, to whom it wag all new, was in a high state of rapturous excitement; butrwhile she kej)* one ear devoted to the service of Mr. Moreen, the other and both eyes were aimed at Giaccomo St Leon and Miss Florence. St. Leon was telling won- derful stories of hunting buflfalo' out West, of a trip he had made in a yacht up the Mediterranean, of a .winter spent in Constantinople, and of life among the dark-eyed senoritas of Havana ; but there were moments of intermission when he found time to lower his voice, and talk of other things to Flor- * ence. Some one else was on the alert, too— Dr. Stuart found time to look that way now and then, and ' exchange glances with Madge,that said plainly as words, « I see what is coming, aM so do you." .,PK>« ■-■' ff the piazza. Lnov. EHith pi J"™ngiaaies TIT tfie piazza. i.ucy, jMitli, Florence and'M j ' Ve«t down into the grounds amUleir St ? ^^ and Torw9od went with them. Br^^bWt " and the '- ^^Uic^^^^Vi;^ hi^*iLm** r,<.^ ^ 3 ^f*, ,4W I THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. Rev. Alexander McPherson walked up and down the piazza, arm and arm, the former inveterate smoker with a cigar in his lips, and the later looking at the group below, and taking thoughtful pinches of snuff. " Very pretty tableau," Dr. Stuart said, knocking off the ashes of his^ cigar with his little finger, "(^ood scenery, nice moonlight, lovely women, and brave men ! Would I were an artist ! '' • " What do you think of that good-looking young man Avith the foreign name?" Mr. McPherson asked. " I think with you, that he is a good-looking young man." " Nothing more ? " " Yes, that the second Miss Torwood is desperately, hopelessly, and irretrievably in love with him." Mr. McPherson looked meditative. " I tell you what, Stuart, she's a fine girl that — plucky and spirited, as girls ought to be. Nothing flat or insipid about her, as there is about — but com- parisons are odious ; I won't say it." " I'll say it for you, then — as there is about Lucy and Florence. Yes ; whoever nfdpries Miss Edith Avill find the gray marc in his stable the better horse. How she did fire up about that will, eh ? " " She had a right to." " And her entrance with our good-looking friend down there was quite theatrical ; no actress on the stage could have done it better. The scene couldn't have been better got up at any price." " Dr. Stuart," Mr. McPherson gravely said, " I "^on*t like your tone iri speaking M that young ikdyv" She's a fine girl, high mettled, and a trifle proud, but ■ r >- . ' 'Ma^^ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 139 ^ with the ring of the right sort about hen It's a great pity——" he stopped abruptly. " What's a pity ? " "That she should throw herself away on that foj down there, who isn't worthy to tie the latch of hei shoe." " My dear fellow," said Dr. Sluart, puffing away vigorously, « don't you know it is not always your fine girls that have lots of sense on these subjects. Women are quite as much slayes of their eyes as men, and what matters that fellow's empty head so long as it is fronted by a handsome fadex" " It's a great pity, a great pity^ she will never be happy with him. Miss Florence would suit him far . better." <* Dr. Stuart laughed. - j " His own opinion, precisely, my friend ! By the way, what a lovely creature she is--isn't she? '] " Very pretty, indeed, and just the wife foF Mr. St. Leon." " Ah ! I don't know about that ! I think I have a prior claim there." " You ? Humph ! that reminds me IqniteforgJ to aslf you where you ever met her before ? " * " " How do you know I have had thit pleasure ? " " For the simple reason that young ladies/do not generally blush scarlet at sight of an entire stranger You did not meet Miss Florence Torwood f(iur daj's ago for the first time. Don't tell me if ybu have the least objection ; but^on'tfell white lie-in deny- ing the fact." Some ludicrous recollection seemed to flash on the young doctor, for, raking his cigar betWeen his ,/r J >-- \ \ 140 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. finger and tliumb, he broke into an immoderate fit of laughter. Mr. McPherson eyed him stoically. ^" I thought so. Are you going to tell me about " Couldn't possibly ! " said Dr. Stuart, still laugh- ing ; "she mightn't like it. But, seriously now, my dear fellow, as I have to marry one of these bloom- ing sisters, why should I not select the most blooming of the lot ? I could not find a prettier wife on this hemisph^e than our belle blonde, Florence — why. should I not take hei^." " For three simple reasons," " Name them." " First, because she would not have you ! She likes the little finger of that handsome imbecile down there better than your whole body." " Good ! I don't set up for a beauty. What's the next?" " You wouldn't have her if she were ten times as beautiful, and hung with diamonds from head to foot." "My dear fellow—" half laughing, half expostu- latory, but Mr. McPherson, rapping the ground with his cane, cut- emphatically in : " I tell you you would not, and you know it. If ever you marry one of these sisters, Florence is not the one. Edith would suit you far better." " My dear McPherson, whal are you thinking of? Miss Edith would not touch me with a pair of tongs. Be^des, she's infatuated about St. Leon, adores the gr6und he walks on, et cetera! What, n. pity yon and I are not good-looking- laugh. -eh ? " Avith a careless THE SISTERS OFi TORWOOD. ' 141 "There's Lucy, then," suggested the minister. " So she is — as sweet as maple sugar at that. But I thought you were a little tender there^ — had a prior claim, or something." " Never mind ; I'll forego my claim in your favor; or if she won't do, take Madga Capital girl is Madge, though rather given to bounce." "Yes, and I don't like bouncing wives. It's going to be a hard matter to choose, and /i have only six months to work in. I think I'll insult Cousin Angus on the subject." " I don't thiuk you will, unless it'is on the subjecf of privately assassinating Mr. St. Leon. He would assist you to do that, with the greatest pleasure." " My dear McPherson, w^hat a penetrating fellow yo« mte\ Jealousy is a green-eyed lobster, as I heard Madge say the other day ; and Cousin Angus lik€« Cousin Edith a trifle too well to have much love left for her betrothed." "A fact of which she is entirely ignorant! Wheels within wheels ; and business is getting ccwn- plicated," said Mr. McPherson. / " The skein has run smoothly hitherto, but the tangle is at hand, and when it comes won't there be an uproar ! " " When what comes ? " " Never mind ; I flatter myself I have a knack of looking into futurity — ^ " * Tis the evening of life gives me mystical lore, And coming events cast their shadows before.' Tfa^riAadowfrai^ lengtfaeningiast-^^tfae^ events ^are" close at hand." *ll ■-'il^* «d^.- % % •^ ■«*ptiMi 142 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. " I don't understand," "I can't- help that. Suppose we go down and joiii them. I begin to feel jealous." "lam going to join my pony and go home. Good night, doctor. When you make up your mind which to marry let me know." He went down the piazza stairs in his usual slouching fashion, and joined the*group on the lawn. Dr. Stuart, leaning over the railing, watcljedthem— watched the four sisters, fair Lucy, dark Madge, fickle Florence, and haughty Edith, and the old doubtful smile was bdck on his face again. "Yes," was his thought, " if I ever marry it shall be one of the sisters of Torwood, and I think— I think I know whii|i one it will be." J 4/.^ ^ §^ ^' I, I i AiJj.l^A^'ts-.^tiisr.Ui^ .^ ctot'aif. Jjf^ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. H3 CHAPTER XII. ^ " MY8TEKY. The July sun glimmered redly across the broad taceof the bay as it set in the threatening skv where black sullen clouds lower&i, ominous of eommg storm. Not a breath of airltirred the long rank grass, in the lonely arid raeado^v, where the dull cows grazed all day ; not the faintest breeze stirred the honeysuckle, or scarlet runner, that lifted , jts blood-red stars into the window at which Edith iTorwood sat, her thoughtful face resting on her hand, her eyes wandering dreamilv over the wide yea. It was m her own pretty room she sat, with Its pictures, and its books, and its little cottage piano in a shady corner ; ^ts birds, its flowers, and a thou- sand-and-one daily, useless, charming trifles a woman loves to gather round her. The window was wide open to catch the breeze that came not, and Edith, watching the sun go down red and lurid in a sullen and angry sky, was think^ mg of the hfe she had left behind in sunny Cuba of her present life among those at once strangers and relatives, and of the life to come, not beyond the gra ve, but as the bride of St. Leon^, How long t.h» ^ ^cek8sneMn^s[)ehtatTorU'<5d Towers L^ ed, and how few friends .she had made. One would have thought she and Lucy, gentle, loving Luc^ 7/ 144 THE SISTERS OF TOKWOOD. would have been bosom friends and confidantes ; but things never turn out in this world as one might reasonably expect, but, strange to sa}', Edith had taken a violent and most causeless prejudice against her elder sister, as she had also against Dr. Stuart, and was like a block of marble to both. One might likewise think that Madge, who personally resembled her most of all, and whose frank, open nature made hpr universally liked, would have been her pet and favorite, but here again reasonable expecta- tion was at fault.; Florence— fair, fickle, selfish shallow, inane Florence— she had taken for her dar- ling, the only inmate of Torwood Towers she more than tolerated. In no one single respect, mentally morally, or physically were they alike; but ex- tremes meet, and perhaps for that very reason, Edith half idolized her. Iler beauty, too, might . have had something to do with it. The hot blooded Creole adored beauty, and would sit for hours dip- ping her fingersvin the golden rings of hair, or play ing lady's maid to tlie fair Florence. All this suited the third Miss Torwood very well, and she liked to be with Edith, and share her room and her jewelry, and the contents of her confection box. Florence was a rank gourmand, any one could reach her heart through her palate; but whether she had any real affection for the sister who loved her so, was quite another question. For the rest, Madge she disliked excessively, Madame Torwood she dreaded, Dr. Stuart she shrank from visibly, Lucy, and the cook s^Q ^'l^^'^l very well, and tha t w as ' almut the extent _ of it. There was enough rosy flesh and bounding blodd in Florence Torwood, but very little heart. ^!*. ■-•*y&.* J •' , THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 145 The crimson sunset was still flaring itself out in the sky, when Edith rose with a long-drawn breath, as if from a trance, and seated herself at the open piano. Something in the dark glory of the evening must have been in her heart, for she struck into Mendelssohn's liymn of praise. "Let all that has life and breath sing to the Lord." Grandly, glori- ||ously, the sublime words and sublimer music floated % out through the still halls and- passages, dying away at last in a faint, sweet sigh. As her inspired fingers dropped from thekevs, the door opened unceremoniously, and Miss Florence came in with a lovely bouquet of snow-white roses and glowing carnations in her hand, looking pretty as a picture in her white muslin dress, her hair hang- ing damp and half uncurled over her bare shoulders. She stared .in transient amaze at Edith, who wel- comed her with a glad smile. " You here, Edith ! I thought you were over in Torwoodtown. " " So I was, ma heUe, but I am back. What lovely roses ! Where did you get them ? " Florence bent over the flowers, and touched their cool petals with her lips. Was it the shade of the carnations, or had the ever-ready blood risen red to her face, when she answered : " I got them from Mr. St. Leon. He brought them for you, I suppose, and as he could not see you, he gave them to me." , " Giaccomo here ! » exclaimed Edith, In a tone of ^xation^r "and I wanted fa seeTTm^articularly." Why did he not come in ? " " Lucy said you were over in Torwoodtown. 10 He .■M;}... / 146 thI: sisters of torwood. only went ten minutes ago. Mr. Torwood was here too." . , ' " Too bad ! Lucy might have looked, I think, be- fore being so positive. I came home half an hour ago. Did he say he brought these flowers for me ? ^' "No; but of course he did. I wasn't speaking to him five minutes, for just then that horrid Dr. Stuart came along, and I ran away." • Edith laughed. " How frightened you, are of that terrible doctor, my dear ! What has he ever done to a^ou « " ^ " Oh, nothin^^' ... "Why do you blush, then, every time you catch his eye ? and what is the meaning of that odd smile of his when he looks at you ? " Florence jerked herself uneasily in her chair and pouted. " You knew him before you came fi^e ? Confess, ray 4arling," Edith said, bending halKlauo-hinirly over her. \ " ^ -^ " Well, yes then ! if you will have it," eked Flor- ence impatiently, "and I hate the sight of him— I do." " I don't particularly love him myself," said Edith her scornful lips curling ; « tell me all about it. " " It is not much to tell, but such things me^ke me feei hoirid. It was at school. Mademoiselle De Juponville, stingy thing ! used to half starve us girls —they always do* at boarding-schools, you know. Now what are you laughing at ? " " Never mind, » said Edith, who was looking at her Bist er's plump proportion and round red cheeks; "you doHT look much like a half-starved subject that's all." •* ' IL V ■■^^■. *..^tA£fcA'AuL.Jtrt"i&.-' ^*»V-.t ■ A#l4^, nrfr^. .a/^Jri*-! 1- ' JfU^i^'tfAii.l -...._^„,V.,- ■^■a^iy^lrJfi^-iiilSrA ittr 'imil -i. ri ..''. j.jA^-, . - 1 /J -*^^^'^ # THE SISTERS OP TORWoOD; I47 "Well, no matter about that," said Florence testily ; «we were half starved-kei)t on transparent slices of bread and butter, and such tea! Well . whenever we got a chance, you know, We .used to make up for it by feasting on the sly. And what - CIO you think ? one night we ate so much pastry and , rich cake, we were all awfully sick next day. Made- nioiselle, who was scared pretty nearly into fits, ^ thought the cholera had broken loose in the school and sent in hot haste for a doctor. The (Jcictor ca«ne and who do you suppose l^e was ? " "Dr. Paul Stuart," laughed Edith. '* . " Yes, indeed, -and he kept questioning and flueg- tiomng-hateful, prying thing !-until Jane jGore • who ntiver could keep a secret, blurted'nhe'Vvhole thing out. I declare I was fit to die of shame! and the nasty thing made us each swallow an emetic or something that nearly killed us! ; Ihatethe sight of him ever since ! " ■" Edith laughed till the tears stood in her eyes ■ « I don't wonderi Did yoh never see him again until you met him here ? " "Ko, never. They say I blushed like anything 1 am sure it was no wonder." , ^ "Not the least; and that's the wonderf ufseQret ! Wbflt a dull story," and sh^laugh,ed again. " Oh, yes, its very funny, I da^e say," said Flor- ence, testily; ''but if^ou were, in Wy place, I guess you wouldn't see anything to laugh at. Every time he looks at me, especially at table, with that dis- ^^ ^ble smile of his, he a l ways semns ^ saying, Tn5on t eat too much, or I'll give you another emetie. I wish ho was in Jericho— I do ! " .\ mm mm 148 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. ^ "So do I ! Of all the mean creatures-but there I u'on t detract. Come, let us go out ; I have no .patience to stay in this house when J think of him and know it may be his some day. J Florence, don't you ever marry him,' almost fiercely, and with a terrible light Jn the gray eyes, «or I will never for- give you ! " ' .9- •> "Law!" lisped Florence, who had caught the word from Madge, "what an idea! I am sure 1 always feel like running a mile at sight of him. Besides, he's not a bit good-looking, and I wouldn't marry any but a handsome man for the world." • "My pretty'sister," Edith smiled, passing her arm round the other's waist, " you a^e lovely enough to marry a prince. What a close evening it is. Let us go out to the garden." <- The air was almost as oppressively close in the grounds as in the house-not a breeze stirred the leaves of the trees, rustled the tall, parched grass or moved the drooping and wilted flowers The sun had sunk, a scarlet and inflamed ball, in a lurid* sky alternately barred with black and rod, and the ominous warning of coming temi>est sounded in the smothered booming of the sea. The girls walked down the long, dark avenue leading to the shore a darker shadow than that cast by the gloomv trees on the face of one- Edith. People of sensitive, ner- vous temperaments feel storm and danger before it comes, and . vague presentiments were thrilling through the Creole girl's heart. Even Florence, al- bgit not Jif the sensitive kind, ^r e^ with la heiW"=^ with a. sort of shiver. ,>>ii&i^-, k'Svj^^tA'Mi-t THE SISTERS OF TORVVOOD. 149 Vel "Some one is walking over my grave! " she said. " " What a dismal place ! Do let us go back." "Not yet; I like this (larl>, lonely walk— I like ' this eerie and ghostly evening. It suits me," ;"You are easily suited then; it gives mo the horrors! A murder might be committed among these black trees, and no one be the wiser ! I do believe it is haunted." "^ ' ' " Are you' superstitious, too, Florence ? Do you Blivei in ghosts ?" \ Florence gave'a little scream, and clutched Edith's arm. \" How can you talk of such thin^ here ! You frighten me to death ! Do let us go away." ^dith turned reluctantly. As she said, the place guitWl her— she took a morbid pleasure m its dismal gloojn. The perpetual moan of the ceaseless sea, the unbroken loneliness and silence of the arid meadpws, the black cedar woods, and the mysterious murniurings of the tall trees around, had a weird and mystic charm for her. They suited this over- cast and ominous evenings too, heavy with forebod- ings, aijd with regret she turned to go. " Ever since I came here, my ])retty sister," she 'said, lovingly, holding Florence round the waist, " this pUoe has had a charm for me. I love to lie under the trees listening to the waves and the fisher- men's songs, and yetV- -" i " Yet Avjiat ? You're the greatest oddity, Edith/' Florence said, plaintively, sniffing at her flowers, * -Am J |i I-dare^ay ^ am^ but my oddity yms born with me. Do you know," she said, speaking put as if from a sudden impulse^ " I sometimes think le'.f.lu-a J;i, ' '''' ^^^- ^^.WjiLib3&;^i>'. THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. j^j " Suit ine! " resentfully exclaimed Florence. <( "but^sHuVl'^'^y VV '"^^'^^'^'^' looking r6und; ^Mlhke.t. It .not the placed you; i« I'JfV' "''k f ' P^^^^'^r any one in her senses. It IS nothing but an old tomb, smelling like a vault of must and rats. Even the boarding^schpoi;. s LI so much better than this." ' '"^''^ ^^^^ ;; What will you do when I go back to Cuba? " . I rton t know," drearily. « I shall die " f«»youwillnot; belle Florence, prettysister you shaU come with me when I go back Jo Cuba a bride " rou Avill never go back to Cuba a bride," a hol- low voice said. . > '^ "oi They hud reached the end of the avenue, and were near the shrubbery, a place dark and dense as the hear o a primeval forest, and from its wooded depths the hollow voice had come ««r^V Jr,' ''^""^ ^^ ^^"S^'^' Florence tqrned and sped oif bke a bolt from a bow; but Sh wUh every trace of col.or fading from^heekf ajd lips, stood like a stone. T "^ ""","?!?' V^ ^ ^^"^ *« C"ba a bride, Edith Torwoocl," the hollow voice repeated, and then there was a plungmg^d crashing within the shrubbery and something tall and black went rapidly by and Jisappeared JRlhe evening^oom. ^ ^ ^^ ^°^ ii-dith stood like a statue, as white cold as death and ne arly as A. < ^PP*^MPlttl>MHi 152 THE SlSTERS OF TORWOOD. / ^ A voice at her elb6\v ar6used her. " Miss Edith, what is the matter ? Are you ill ? " She turned slowly, and at the sight of Dr. Stuart's anxious face, momentariW suspended consciousness ' came slowly back. " No," she said, turning to go ; but he followed her. " I met Floreh'ce just now, running for her life, and screaming appallingly, and I find you standing like a galvanized corpse. Will you not tell me what has frightened you ?" "No," she reiterated, coldly; and passing him witli a bow his mother could not have surpassed in*' freezing hauteur, she went up the piazza steps to the house. In the doorway she Avas confronted by the pale and startled face of Lucy. -^ , " Edith, what is this Florence tells me ? Ifou are as pale as a ghost." _ ? " It is nothing. Some one has been playing a practical joke ; that is all. Where is Madge ? " " Out sailing ; it is no joke of hers." " Some of the negroes then. You need not wear that frightened face. I tell you it is nothing." " But you look so dreadful." " Do I ? I am foolish and nervous, and it startled me at first. I am going to my room now, and will not be down again this evening." ' f ■ " But Mr. St. Leon and Mr. Torwood left word they were going to call." s^ " Make my excuses then. I am not fit to appear. This Tidiculous atfaif~haff linstrung my^erves, Where is Florence?" ,&. J him sed in"" to the \ ;rHE SISTERS OF ToRWoob. 153 " Up in your rooni, nearly out of her wits with fright. Can I do anything for you ? " " Thank you. Teli Mr. St. Leon to come again to- morrow. Gootl-night.'^x " Good-night," Lucy said, looking anxiously after her, as -she toiled'-^vearily up-stairs. " I Wonder what it could have been." - "So do I," said Dr. Stuart, making his appear- ance ; "have they not told yoii, either ? " " I^lotence says they saw a ghost in the shrubbery, and Edith says some one has been playing a practi- cal joke, and both seem half scared to death." " I think Miss Edith's version is apt to be nearer the truth. How dark that sky is ; we will have a storm to-morrow." / " There come Mr. St. Leon and Mr^ Torwoodl If they stay late they will be caught in the storm\ going home," said Lucy, entering the house to have, all the doors and shutters and windows made fast, in expectation of the coming tempest. , • Florence, notwithstanding her terrors, and palpi- tations, and hysterics, managed to make her appear- ance in the drawing-room in a most bewitching toilet, but Edith was miserable all evening. The visitors were disappointed, of course, but they managed to stay until ne^y eleven, nevertheless. , ' . The coming storm was still mute in tile troubled' sky, and Dr. Stuart, lighting a cigar, walked up and down the piazza for nearly an hour.. It was a dark, sultry night, not made for sleep, "^ witb^-a-Wateryj sickly moott^glii t mie rli ig pale ly- through banks of clouds, and a phosphorescent light in the stagnant air. The sounds of silence, the chirp -.-a • •■'.Hi. '■■^, 154 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. of a bird in its nqst, the slipping of a snake in the woods, the cracking of a dry branch, the ticking of acockm the hall, all were strangely loud in the midnight gloom. Twelve pealed sharply from the clock in the hair^ Or. Stuart flung away his smoked out cigar, and was turnmg to go in when an unexpected sight/caught h]s eye and arrested his step. ^ / A clianiber window . opening on the pia22a softly swung out. a figure, slender and girlish in spite of the shrpjiding mantle that draped it, stepped out and looked cautiously around. ' Tlie young doctor drew backhand leaned against a pillar; Its shade hid him compJet^v. The dark figure glided by, its garment^ii^sr^Uing hira, went down the piazza stairs,^^i|S4 straight for - the shrubbery. W'^^A- Another dark form rose up^ it^|jiroach, and tor half an hour and upward the two stMWether two black shadows among the other black shadows around. And then they parted-bne vanishing among the trees, the other returning to the house Once again her dress brushed thedoctor in passing' and he watched her glide in'through the open win- dow, heard it softly close^ andthen he stepped out •• and took off his hat to let the gale, rising now, fan his hot brow. The watery moon, breaking from behind a black cloud, shone for a moment on a face white as ashes. . " Can it be," was his thought, « that all my worst Jmm m^ Mm J ri mlAs oBe^a^-tbese^stei^spos^— sessed of a demon ? " ^'tsiaafe. , . < , '„w- -. liSfe i ^J%. -. Nj:(*i> «*. h^ ^i ■^^^uk&i V .I THE SISTERS OF TOKWOOE .9"^ 155 CHAPTER XIII. ONE OP Edith's angels. J "Fetch along the line, Jinks, aWjI m} cigar^ase You ar^ sure Faust had his dinner, eh ? » v^, i^ Quite sure, sir." ; ,#. - ^fs tight ; and, Jiiiks, if a^y one oalls for mo tfell Inm I have gone to Silver StreaJ for trout. Come, Faust." With his wide-awake hat on one side Jf %is head a fishmg^od over his should^nd Fajist jogging along by his side, Mr. St. I^went oft whisf Lg Jinks the hostler of the TorwciodtoU Hotel, looked after him, and so did some half d(^zen loafer^ lounging before the entrance. H ;; Who's that swell ? » one of th^jn asiced. ' A foreigner, I guess," replied Mr.ginks; -least- ways he's got an aU-fired foreign hame. Uncom- mon nice young gent as ever wa« he is too, and free of his spondulicks as a prince." "I wish he had stood treat," said another loafer ; he did yesterday for all liands. They say, Jinks t'oTCeT ^'^ ^' ''^" y-^<^ at Tor! '•*-.^ ^n^t know/' said Mr. Jinjks; « he never said nothing to me about it: but he goes there I reckon, 'long with that other black-visaged chap that sto^ •4-, A ^ o 156 here, self." THE SISTERS OP TORWOOD. He'« good enough for a queen, 1 think ray- «» Unconscious of Mr. Jinks' eulogy, Mr. St. Leon was walking serenely along toward Silver Stream, whistling still, stopping now and then to pat the children hemet on the head, and throw them cop- pers. Short as his stay had been in the town, he had managed in that magical way of his to win golden opinions from all sorts of people. From the rosy giris, who fell in love with his handsome face ; from the young men, with whom he was hail fellow well met ; from the children, whom he patted and to whom he threw the coppers ; from their mammas, as a matter of course ; and from the loafers, for whom he Avas always willing to stand drinks all round. " The world and Mr. St. Leon went remarkably well with each other, and whistling all the time, he reached Silver Stream in half an hour, and threw himself lazily on the bank, lighted a cigar, and began staring reflectively at vacancy. Evidently he was not a very enthusiastic disciple of Iz«ac Walton, for his cigar wa» smoked out, the stump thrown away, and his fishing-rod lay unused still. Faust looked up at him wRh sleepy eyes, and the young man patted him on the head. -> " It's a bad business, old boy," he said, « and hanging, drawing, and quartering would be a great deal too good for me ; but I'll do it, nevertheless. It's fate, I suj^se— we'll say so, at least." Iledrew from his pocket a note-book and ti ny inkg|^iKl.^FpoTir%etweeirthe lefTes of th^ fdfmer " he dreyrj, dainty sheet of note paper— tinted, per- the THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 157^ fumed gilt-^ged-and, using the note-book for a ^ desk began to write. The lett(g was in French and began « Angel of my Drefms," and in ten minutes three sides were full, and it was ended. Deliberately he re-read, folded, i)ut it in an envelope and was just about to write the address, when a sudden voice at his elbow caused him to look up " So absorbed had he been, that a man's footstep coming through the grass had not reached him, and Dr. btuart was standing by his side, eveinghini with composure. . " "Don't let me intrude," he said; finish your' manuscript by all means." " As if I would let a third party glance at my love-letters!" said Leon, co|blly, puting the docu- ment and note-book in his pocket. Where did vou drop f rom^ pray ? " "I went to your hotel and they told me you were here, replied Dr: Stuart, stretching himself on the bank. « How are you, Faust, old fellow? Do you know you ^^e expected at the Towers this after- noon ? " ^ " I have a hazy remembrance of promising to make my appearance tTiere to-day, a'hd thought to do so to better advantagp by fetching a string of silvery and savory trout; but somehow I don't pcoffress very fast." ^ 10, " I should think not, indeed ! Hand me the line " Mr. St. Leon lazily did so, and took a more com- fortable position on the grass. ,^" And Mg. a re they ^ eve^ t^iere^^ lie ask et t - "your lady mother and her four ' Uuughters," fA. pretty step- 158 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. " Tolerable— that is, excepting Miss Edith, who has to grief somehow lately, it seems to me." "Has she? It's ages since I saw her. What's gone wrong?" . "A ghost has been cuttrhg capers in the shrub- bery, it appears," said Dr. Stuart, gravel}-, « and has frightened her and 'Florence out of a year's growth." .\ "Indeed! a live ghosf, I suppose— probably that very fast young person, Madge." " I think not ; but I know nothing about it, only that both got a rarei fright. Have you your cigar- case about you ? " ♦ Mr. St. Leon iianded it to him, and then helped himself. " It is not easy frightening Edith either," he re- marked, watching the blue snioko curl upward • '* she was born like Mrs. Partington, before nerves came m fashion. Ilns the ghost caused all the head- aches that have rendere^l her invisible? " ^'I fancy so! You are dejected, I suspect, not having seen her for eight^and-forty hours. Look at that fellow, how he pij^ks ! " " He'll break the hook if you'r^ not careful. No by Jove, you have him ! What an anglb- you are' Stuart ! Dejected-of course I am," and also is an- other friend of yours," \ " Mr. Angus Torwo<5d, our interesting and exces- sively brigandish cousin ? " « The same. The fellow's Jjerfectly infatuated in that quartei*:" ":3^ fo"L^^ to got the st^am i]p.fiQ higk abiMtt- §■- THE SISTERS OF TOlfVOOD. 159 excuse giy saying it, lie #onl(l suit Miss Edith Tor- wood far better than j-ou." . "Miss Idith Torwood does not think so," said St Leon, smoking con>j.kicently on, "and" her opinion's ot some weight in tiio migter, I take it." "How long have you been engaged to her? But pardon me; I an» growing impertinent" " IVIyjdear fellow," said Mr. St. Leon, stifling a yawn, "make no. apologies, I beg. Ask as many (juestions as you please, and I'll answer. Miss Edith 1 orwood has been Jia„c>^e to your humble servant, let me see, u^-ard of thre.e nionths." " Is that all ? " Dr. Stuart said, watching thought- fully a nibbling trout ; "and of all four she is the one least suited to you. Florence, now," I should think, Would do ev'^er s<> much better." " All a matter of choice, my dear Id low," drawled St. Leon; "perLa^)syou prefer blonde beauties, and perhaps I d(m't. Every man to his taste. There, you have anpther— wha|^4i wHojiper ! " " Capital stream, this f ]\[adge and I have spent whole days here. By the way, what do vou think ofMadgfc?" *" " That she is a very nice young lady, with whom I m tend to have nothing wi^atever to do." " You are hard to please. I tliink you had better resign Edith, and take Madge— she would make a better Mrs. St. Leon." " I'll take four-and-twenty hours to consider the matter. What confounded cigars ! I'll bring an -ttctiottagaiiret those swmdlersal the hotel f^^^^ ing society with such execrable weeds— I swear I will!" ■ V i» «««i'iiiniifii[|iiiii|| IMM i6o THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. " I have smoked better in ray time. Where is Cousin Angus to-day ? " ' ,■'. -. " As if I knew ! Over at your place, very likely." " Making eyes at Edith ! Are you not a little , jealous?" " Not the Iteast. I'm a philosopher, I flatter my- self, and a fatalist, and all that sort of thing, and then you know the old rhyme : " ' So long as she's content, ^ ^ So long I'll i)rovQ^true, And tlien if slie changes, Why, so can I, too.' " ( " I wish she heard you ! " ' ' " She might ! I would say it all the sanle ! " " You would be a discarded suitor in five minutes, then ! The girl is proud as Lucifer." Mr. St. Leon made ar slight grimace. " Don't I know that ! But, then, to counterbalance the fact, she really is very fond of yours truly." '^ I know it," Dr. Stuart quietly said ; " more*s the pity!" Mr. St. Leon looked at him in calm inquiry. " My good friend, when I resign Edith, am I to resign her to the future lord of Torwood Towers ? " " If you mean me by that title, no." " Oh," said his companion, lighting another of the execrable cigars, " you seem to take such an interest in the matter, I did not know whether vou were not getting into the same lamentable state of mind with Mr. Torwowl. Wise men have turned fools before to^ay," Dr. Stuart laughed, 3C: I ' .t V 18 ily." ittle my- and tes, nee tlie [to ?" the rest not ind )(3lS- 7X. THE SISTERS OP TORWOOD. .161 " There is a commandment which says ' Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods,' and I always keep the commandments. Besides, it strikes me I should like a handsome Avife. I think I'll marry Florence." " She would not ffiive you ! " " No ? Not even with fifty thousand dollars and Tor wood Towers throwttin ? " " " The bribe is heavy — but no — you will never marry Florence!" " Unhappy wretch that 1 am ! I had been flatter- ing myself that lovely face wonld comfort me three hundred and sixty-five times a year across the break- fast table, and here are all my high hopes dashed to the earth at one fell blow. Is it that I'm not good- looking enough ? " That for one thing, and besides " " Besides wtat ? " " I thought Lucy, the fair, the gentle, the sweet, was to be the happy one." ^^ " Very true— I forgot Lucy ! ^^ would you li^ehii^Wsdfr' ,. " I never had mud* fancy for ci:eam candy ; it doesn't agree^'With me ; but that's- no reason why, it should disagre^Hth others." " Quit^ right ! And Lucy i^|^y pretty — nex: Florence, the best Ipoking of trnflot." " What a lucky fellow yoii are, Stuart, to come for all that tin, and a pretty wife besides. That mother of yours is a clever woman." Sly St. Leon ! Looking under his eyelashes, he sa^v the doctor wince, and en joyed j t^ miazingly^ f " There's another ! What superb fish the^ are !, Shall we go ? It is dodging on for five o'clock." II s ipH-^ *'f PI'S % Tcllpn.:^^ J^o.^^aJra^ iXtffSr at tbe hota*Jt will. inhalf<--an;.jhour.'' '- A m ;■- .^ij ' . .f^aS^' ?■ ^fae f wo ^^nteredftcf '^t^^lL^IS |s. took Uis place ijitheirafSl^s^yS r««ml at a 2.40 ra*le, ttiat^my brought ^^rr destination. .. ° 'Sprang/romthelighfe.w^gonthe eyesc»f >*f t sight of a white mttslin skirt glancing . m a^d put among the trees near^^fti hand. Dr. Stuart }^ked at his compamon wit| one of his queer .^ The woman in White," he sail "and not Wilkie Collins . herome either. It is soii^thing new for Miss Florence to take a constitutional before dinner I wonder .-t. ± exercise .not being much in her We If she >aw us. Oh, here she comesj go^andT^y your ^i^espects, while 'I convey the, trout to £ •Fair as'apdet's vision, in. translucent white, with pale bluj nbbons floating about her, powers iL her h^T^ fT; ^""^ ^ ^^"^ ^"^^ S:okl bo<^ of poems in her hand, FloreAq^e came out from the trees, and Mr. St. Leon, nothing loth, -went up and joined her. Dr ^tuart gave one backward glartce, and sauntered on to the drawing-room, that doubtful smile of his br^ht^onlnsface. In the hall. ejg^ Edith coming « " Mr. St. Leon is in Ihe grounds beijjg^aiting for you." IBBbowed low and swept . gl^Wd after the tall, straiJ fflg^ a fe Hi: — ^ • ■ - mg^st^ \ K M; "I think in silence. Ho fi gure, smil- TT"^ t V* » > ^ jT^ THE SISTERS OP tUwoOD. 163 "Dr. Johnson liked a good hater," he thought- Vhutapityhedidnotknoivyoui-" ■ ^ ' Edith went down the pia,^a stairs, and ouC into the grounds. Two figures .tood under a spreading chestnut, one m floating ^vhite, the other, St. Leon she knew; but what could St. Leon have to say so very earnestly to Florence. Neither saw o, heard her, as she stepped ligh^y over the Vielding sward and W.S ,t fancy or did she really see him hand her something like a letter. In another instant she was • near enough to catch fiis last Wijrds. • ,"^^ ^.'*" ''''^•^'' '^ addlnner I shall take it for a token pf assent, and A'> He stopped shoi^^or Wrence had sprung away ' with a suppressed startlei^cry, her whole face turn mg scarlet ^dith was besides him, looking at them both out of her, powerful gray eyes. Anvthincr more guilty than Florence loWed could hardly' exist"- but Mr. St Leon, whom an\earthquake cauld not ruffle, turned to greet her wiih constitutional cool- ness. \ ". '^,? f «" «li<^* ^ith the sliiers of silence, made- moiselle you have startled Ihis nervous younS- lady half out of her wits." , ° Edith Iphed good naturedlj-no shadow of sus- piitfion;»Tf»fier mmd. " Don't bluHi so furiously, m^ pretty sister ; it is not high treason to b^ caught tJlking to Giaccomo Comedown witl^ us' to the she ^Sh^'ould have passed herarih girl hgr waist, but Florence, he!« fact still e for a walk." •fajshion irnin. round igth ^ye^^erfred,8hf^way^ m theiold of her dress, and thali something white «f ; |! t*& ' lu i jiii.' i ft>j't" i)» a^ 164 THE SISTERS OP TORWOOD. Edjth had seen St. Leon giva.her was tightly crushed therein. / "WLatt* the matter with you?" Edith cried wonderingly ; " won't you come ? " '• No," said PTo'rence, turning away, ^' I want to go to the house. I don't carq for waUcing, I " ' She did not finish the sentence but walked away, and Edith looked lifter her in the last degree aston- ished, St. Loon broke into a low laugh. /'Well," said Editli, turning to him, "and what .does it all mean V " That your sister is a ^ose, my dear. I was pay- ing her compliments, as in duty botiHd, when 3»ou came up and caught ns, and behold the result ; I thought young ladies trained in fashiqjiable board- ing-schools linderstood these thing§ better !" " For shame, sir ! Florence is « *child, and you decerve to have your ears boxed. Come fqr a Avalk before diiiner." / "~N i 1 % W^ ' • ^^ ■ ' ■■ '\ - * ' :-^H . : \ . ». '. ■"• •■#■ •i fir \ s. - 4 al< ' \ \ *^ i' • v^ ■ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 165 CHArTER XIV. «^ i WHAT THE MOON SAW. They went down to the shore, and walked slowly up and down the sands, while Florence, up i^faer room, was reading a letter. The letter begaj " Angel of my dreams," and there was a ring iiL closed, and as she read she covered "her hot fa.^ with both hands, and laid it down on the table. It was the dinner bell that aroused her at last, and she went down, in a violent tremor still. All were as- sembled but Madge, and that young person flashed in, breezy and breathless as usual, just as they were taking their seats. Miss Madge was in a high st^te of excitement, and broke out in shrill tones afi- " Only guess who I met just now, Lucy, i{f coming from Tor wood town." " My dear Madge, don't talk so loudly. Ho'w can I guess ; you met a good many people, no doubt." " Pshaw ! You might try. I met old Iluldah, the fortune-teller." ' /'What!" said Lucy, looking interested, Huldah that used to live in the cedar woods." " That's her ! " said Madge, who was no way par- " tiGular about hw gi^mman ^«^M w^as^truttlng^ A^ along, as if she liad a pair of seven-league boots on ^ a^d invited me to stc|)^and |have my fortune told." ' not £■)■ I .>#';■< M' ^. ■"•(^ 166 ■m KS.Q^^ TOKWOOD. " And did you ? " *asked Dr, Stuart. " Catoh me ! I told her I was in a hurry for nil dinner, being sure of a blowing up^lf I were late and invited her to call up here some evening, and predict for us all in a lot. You see, Dr. Stuart, I'm worried to know which of us you are going 'to marry, and-Edith, what's the matter ? " She might well ask. Edith had turned Ihite^ even to her lk)s. v ■»' ' ^ "Nothing, she ariswered, seeing^m all stare,' 1 do not feel quite well, -but it is nothing. A glass of water please." ' "I thought HuldaU^had left here long ago," said Lucy, filling Edith 'sghiss. "JMy dear Edith," you look dre.^fully pale ; we will get Dr. 8^art to j.re- "Q^, she'^ come back again," cut in Madge, be- 're.^e doctor could speak. "Won't it be jolly, bough, if she takes me at jny word, and comes up n^tb tell fortunes ! *' • ^^ ^«^Who is thiaifuldah ? '%ked St. Leon. « I hope shg may come-Iavwft to^etalfy fJtuneJpMof all- things.". ^^gP\. # **^ P«^tlf-witte(\raulatro^' rfepljed Lucy. « A slave oncOpt Mee now, who goes wandering over #he*'countp||an young men from Torwoodtown rode leisurely over the hill-side to their hotel. l68 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD., Florence, pleading a headache, had gone up-stairs some t>yo hours previously, but when Edith entered her room she found it deserted. Lucy crossing the nail, l^mp in hand, explained : ''Florence is going to stay in her own room to- night. She told me to say her head ached so she could not sleep, and knew she would keep you, from sleeping also. Good-night ! » « Good-night ! » Edith ^id ; but instead of retir- ing, she went to Florence's door and rapped Flor- ence opened it, still in 'her dinner'dress, her cheeks yet hot, her eyes still humid. She shrank away as she had done in the grounds, at sight of Etlith ' "Don't ask me to stay with you to-night/' she said hastily ; - 1 always ^vant to be alone when mv head aches." . *^ "Poor child," Edith said, tenderly, -you are in a high fever. Can I do anything for you ? " "Nothing; Lucy did all sh« could. I will be better to-morrow." " Don't sit up then ; good-night." She turned away, and heard Florence close and lock her door. She did not go to sleep though • the moon, looking in through the curtains, saw what she was doing; but the moon, though a female, can keep secrets, and no one was likely to be the wiser What a solemn midnight nioon ! It shone on Giaccomo St. Leon sleeping the sleep of the just - his head on his arm, his handsome" face smiling in ms drea.iis ; it shone on Lucy and Madge slumber- ing side by side, .in the peaceful repose of youth and -healtb.f4fc-shog^.0H- Di v- Siuapt, on the s hadouT— piazza, watching a dark figure prowling about the It t,..*,|i;V^5i m:t-'' .':^ THE SISTERS OP TORWOOD. 169 grounds, a figure not seen for the. first time • it shone on Edith walking up and doAvn her room meditatively ; and it shone on FlQ^ence; "innocent as a child," sitting reading and re-reading the letter beginning " Ang^l of my dreams." vl . •,^1- .•■/Hm • I'M ii^j-^»tr^ „*^-a«u . ■*' r' ^ i7t» THE SISTERS OF: TORWOOD. \ v., :i CHAPTER XV. RESPECTFULLY DElt^INED. It Avas a miserable morning in Torwoodtown. *It had rained all night ; it was raining strJl , a miserable, sulky drizzle-drizzle, that })enelratod through every- thing, and was as much Avorse than an honest, hearty downpoHr, as moping and silence is Vorse than a hot and hearty outburst of temper. The slcy was^, of lead, witliout one bright break in its uniform dul-*"' .; ness to give promise of fairer weather.- Tlio sea*"' f was of leaden gray, t6o, and boomed on the shorA. In long, hoarse Ifoars. The trees Avere dripping ancf^'"*' 'sodden ; pools of water filk^d the straggling street ; ^ the houses tiad pat bla^and dismal, and comfort- less appearance houses«Srays Avear on rainy days; the sea wind vras chill rfml raw, and the fcsw pedes- .trians hhrrying nnder lirnp umbrylhis, to and fro, looked bhH! and cross, and miserable. . A'\vpe^l>^ bo hd There could have been nothing crabbed or cross in the 1»ngelic""t^mperament of Mr. Giacconio St. Leon, forbn this dreary and dismal morning he sat ip the sniokijig-room of the Torwoodtovvn Hotel, hi^ boots elevated on the window-sill, his ihair tipped back, putting the apartment to itsh'^ilimate use, and smoMng one after another of the execrable cigars, until he \v*as quite lost to view in clouds of blue sm6ke. He had asked for something to read, but the library of the establishment 'boasted of but four volumes— a Bible of tryingly small type, "Eobinson Crusoe," with the beginning and end torn oiit, an old English grammar, and a dictionary. None of tliese works proving of very exciting in- tei'est, JVfr. St. E^on ,tiad no rosourco biit smoking and tiiinking, and he ha^l been doing the former for the hist *hour with an. energy worthy of a better cause. As he "was lighting lu< ninth cigar the door opened, and the landlwd^Jooking like an over grown leach in a long sbinoy n\aokiut\>sh ami glazed cap, stuck his head through tV aperture. " I'm going to the ^AtotHce, sir ; shall I ask for " I don't expect any tiling." m^\ Mr. St. Leon ;» buto^ you may ask all the sam«' \V here's JVtr. Torwooahj ?' V Writing in his own room. Jle^vo me thi^g letter to pflfet." 4 Mr. St. Leon glanced at the letter— a most offi- cial-looking dOcumQi^t, wi^h an immense steal. . |Ie, stared Its he read tiie atRlresat > » ' ' *^To t h e.Tron()rab le-4i- , v he'rht^fkod ^.itT1 )^(^ l f g ud ^- ^ % • ■ * £--~-r: »V*\.,'^ -N ^.y . ^ deftly. "'Np\y, what fctjc deutfe kas^ Torwood t6 do .- , ^; with the 'W^D'epiirtm^$t at Washington ? "y, ; '^l* ■,» 172 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. y Tlie landlord went off, and the 3'oung gentlematt sat smoking and staring at the steahied and bl Wed window, and revolving the last .question over in hi^. mind. Before he could objtain any satisfactory ^2^^r swer tp; it, mine host vsras back w*^th two le^tersr6ne Rearing a foreign topstraark, bordered ^nd sea|ed with black ; the otiier a tiny aflFair, superscribed ^i^n a dainty schoolgirl hand. \ " Blessed are- they who shall expect nothing, foV thej shall not be disappointed," saad St. Leon ; " are either of these for me? " "This little one is— a love-letter, I expect, by the , look of it," said Boniface, handing it over ; " this 1 'ere other one is for Mr. Torwood, and comes from foreign parts. Some of his folk«, I expect, is dead." "Postmarked Cuba," said St. Leon, looking at it. '^ \ wonder But it's no affair pf mine. Who is this small epistle from, I should like to know ? " "It doesn't come as far as Mr. Torwood's,'* said the landlord, knowingly ; " it's postmarked in the town." " You had "better send Mr. Torwood his letter, my friend," remarked Mr. St. Leon quietly, and as the man went off he looked at the delicate writing again. " ' Giaccomo St. Leonj Esquire, Torwood^ town Hotels' — that'sall right ; but who is the writer '( Not Edith ; h^ fine, decided chirography is noth- ing like J^his fairy-like tracery. Can it be— by Jove! I've hit it!" ^ It was a very unconfhion sightijjj^hold the usu- ally phlegmatic QiaccPmo St. Leo^afeited, but for onre-Trr iiw hTe lre^isniie"vef3r near it now. • His handsome face flushed, and he tore off the envelope, t( I S( fc y V ■ ',f- ■/ DWiC" .♦.», «*• si w .« ._ .» . ^ ^K "^ V THE SISTERS, OK TOKWOOD. 175 Step ana hekl out her hand ^o her cousin, Avith a breath of rehef. . V, l',^> f"fr •' ^'^^^^ «*^^*^ I ^"^ t« «ee your I am nalt (leatl ol loneliness tiiis dismal (Uiy •» " ' He just touched tl.o frankly^.xtended ha*d, and stood beside her in dark .siloncf looking out .^t the ncutr^''''' ''"^ trees and gloomy sky, and seeing Slie looked at him with u'Jst/ul eves. " What is It, Angus ? IIas,anytliing gone wrong r' "Yes.'' t ■ ' ,. Still that wistful g;uo ; hut still looking at the pale blank of wet\and mist,>e seemed no way in- clmed to speak, and she would not ask further Sh^ turned her eyes from his darkly gloomy face to the windpw vjiith a lo w sigh. • Jj^ , r„wTl . ^' '' all is here. -Oh., my beautiful Cuba that any one should leave yoii"for this cold, ., bleak land ? " • ' She drew a scarlet, shawl she ^Vor'e closer around , her with a shiter. Lucy's song ilied out like a sigh and Angus Torwood looked at his .conipanion Jo; the first time. <>"" • ^ " You .would like to go back to Cuba, then ? » "Like It ! "^she repeated. " ()li . ^^^ ^^^^^ she stopped, but her face finished the sentence "Jure you not happy i '•' V," flow -pan I he-in.the^amo house with that woman and lier son ?" "But your ^si^s,- with a grim smile: - y nu ^r^lTfrt lifi ti l l m v 9vtv j^j i t ♦■ T I * wn ' ••• ■■, ■ ■ ■■■-.■ — ■ ■ —— ...2 — — .- ^ . ^ sA. ~ $ /.f fciiuuld b« happy with theln." Sboshruggdd lier sboujders in her foreign waVs ,: J3ah! we a?e strangers to each other, and muH ^ U 'i , 'm: i:^ «W'» .* . *i ■'jsS ! / 176 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 4^ always be so. Even Florence, whom I could love — but never mind. Oh, for ni v Cuban home, where I was always loved and happy ! " ..- ^ « %hen did vou hear fTolkCuba ? " " Not yet ; I expect a letter every day." " From your aunt ? " W "Yes; d€ar, dea/aimt! I wondef if she misses me much ?" "No, Edith." He spoke so solemnly that she looked up in sur- prise. ■ I " What did you say, Angus ? " " Your aunt does not miss you — she never will miss any one again in this world ! " She grew white, and looked at him with startled eyes, but still she did not comprehend. " Angus, what are you saying ? What do you mean ? " lie drew^ a letter from his pocket, edged and »QSirled with black. " The letter you expected has come, Edith ! Here it is!" She looked at it fearfully, but made no effort to take it. Her startled eyes were still fixed on his ominous face, her own turning whiter and whiter kill. " Angijs, I don't understand. I am afraid to un derstand ! Tell me tht>* all are well at Eden Lawn," " I cannot. Tak<* your letter." " Angus ! " He laid the let^ter on tho window-srll, folded his ariv.B, i'.nd atood #yi , odily ,r .it lookiiij^ out. T fee^ whole truth oam6 // her at '/^;e like a flash **. '» f THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 177 " Angus ! " she cried put, " som^ one is dead ! " "Yes!" She sniitched u'p the letter'; there was no ipore hesitation uo\\\ and tlie next moment she knew what she had lost, l^nowing how she had loved her dear .aunt. Angus Tor wood stood bracing himself for a scene. lie might have known, his cousin "^ith, better. Neither word, nor cry,"nor teai* followed— ' she stood as if turned to stone. White as a spirit, ,she leaned against the window, with a look in her eyes that frightened him.. "I should have prepared you for this," he ex- claimed ; " the shock has been too much £^r you ! Edith, you are going to faint." {le really thought she was, she had become ao ' deadly pale, but she answered quietly : ,/ ' ,• " No." " You see you have no home in Cuba now." "I understand." lie looked at her. Something had gone out of her face, not color, for she was always pale, but all its -' brightness had faded, and a sort of gray shadftw had fallen in its place. There were no tears in thelafgt dark eyes, but something far sadder than any reliev- ing, tears could have been. Edith Torwixxl was onV of those unfortunate women who cannot weep, wh( sit like a stone until the pain at their heart wear itself out. " Edith," he said, " you will die here ! Come with ipe, and let me make you a home where you will be iJi. She looked at him, not understanding. " Ymiy Angus ! " ^178 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. "Asiny wife, Edith !^ It was out then ! UM a bullet struck Her, she could not have started more violently, or sprang away more quickly. One glance at his 'face and she rea,d what iiad been plain to others so long. "Oh, Angus!" she -cried, in a voice full of re- proach. " AYcU," he sai(l, bitterly, "is it a crime? /im I ' to consider that look of horror as my dismissjtl ? " "Angus, I did not expect this from ymi-yoii whom I have loved as a brother ! " \ ' "Tou are very kind ! But T want no brotherly love ! Out wif h the answert-yes or no ? " " ^o, then ! " she said, coldly, turning away. ^ His face turned dark red, and then nearly li\-i^. " And is it for that little popinjay— that perfumed - dandy," ho said, setting his teeth "hard, " that I am'' refused! For that miserable, brainless fop, whom I could lay low in tlie kennel any day if I pleased ! " ^ " Angus," she said, facing him, wifih the look ^ a ^ tigress m lier eyes, " are you ^oing tiTad ? f " I^r that false and cowardly villain," he went on, not heeding her, "' who cares so little for hei' that he leaves her for the pink and white face of that fjU simpleton in there, she refuses me." . "Angus Torwood, what are you daring to say?" " The truth, my fair colisin ! " he answered, with bitter scorji. *' I Wive the .pleasure of announcing that this pretty little^pollo of yours has cast you off, jilted you—how do you like the word ? -for that ' great inanity in white muslin and yellow curls!" ^fi- lo ^ 'kff^l .at JUim ia^ilenc^;. ^mwiW- ten-ibl V "-" riiUo „„,! 4.1. „ x- • ,,,",.,?..*= . -^ , *• \ ■ h( white, and the tigori^h look still glaring in her \ THK SISTERS OK TORVVOOD. iji) eyes. But her vojcc ube.i she spoke ^vus steady " and calm. ., -^ " It is -false ! " she said, still watcl.in- him ^« f did not think a Torwood could stoop to lie !" ~ ''Werevoua man yoii^i)evef>oul(l repeat that word ; as it is-" JJe drew out a crumple.! pink note from h.s pocket, and spreadino. it out, pointed to the last pa^je. ." Read that ! " She looked. "My own dear Florence," were the words she saw, and th^nher eyes were once again riveted to his face. ' *= "" ■ ^ "Well?" was all she said. , " '7if"L^r"^ r^ P'"'"''^'' -^'"^ ^^^' Miss, Torwood. , • .,• . r 'l''Oj>ped this pretty little missive, end- ing, Wholly tlvinc, Floi^e,' this morning, arid 1 brought It here to convi^ you of his perfidy and , ^ the treachery of the .sister \ou love. Take it and re|d It to tiie end, and see if any 'doubt remains." ' No," she said, drawing back with cold contempt; moregalhngbyfar than anything, else could have been ; " I leave acts like that' for Angus Torwood I am not in the habit of purloi„i„^^other ^eopleV letters and reading them by stealth." His swurth face ^<•as white as death, bis feyes burn- ' mg like black flame. -^ • „ ■ . "And this is all yQu hSe to say*?" he askecl hoarsely. c , ' » "All ! Except that of all creatures on God's earth I despise Angus^ Torwood most." ^ She swept past hn^^atheringuji her flowing skirts, as if to toud^^pwere^ Oojitamination', and passed into- tlm tTr^** ^ " '— — ~ oath, only half supp , •* Wilh a terrible" he strode down-stairs, <^ \ f\{ 1 80 THE SISTERS OF TOR WOOD. .^-c^' and live minutes afterward was dashing back tc> Tor- woodtown, as if he and his horse had both gone mad. Edith, entering the (h-awing-room, looked for Florence ; but Florence was not there. Lucy turned her face from the piano in surprise. "Has Mr. Tor wood really gone, Edith? What makes you look so pale ? " " Mr. Torwood has gone," was the quiet answer. " Where is Florence ? '' " I don't know ; down-stairs somewhere, I think." Edith turned and went cjown-stairs, and in the glance Dr. Stuart cast after her there was half amusement, half pity. On her way she met Madge. " Have you see Florence ? " she asked. " Yes, La ! how pale you are ! " " Where is she ? " " Not three miles from the pantry. What ails you ? You look like a ghost ! " But Edith was gone, making straight for the house-keeper's room, or what had been the house- keeper's r, " And Mr.' St. Leon was here last night. Does he bear the mark of Angus Torwood's blow ? " " Yes," said Lucy, coloring deeply, « there is a livid welt across his forehead. Madge asked him in her free,.way what he had been doing to himself, and he told her he had run his head against the tele- graph wires as he came along." " "Who else in the house knows of this duel ? " " I^r. Stuart— no one else. I overheard," said Lucy, who seemed to have a knack of overhearint^ " them talking about it as coolly as if it were tiie niost matter of course occurrence in the world. ' I could have sent the bullet through his heart as easily as through his arm,' Mr. St. Leon said ; ' but Tor- wood is too fine a fellow to kill, so I just winged 4urn!I had to do' that in self-defense, or he would have sHdlrmeLas^ad as a herring." " Another questibn^^'^said Edith, keeping that in- tense gaze on Lucy's feke&^^Boes Dr. Stuart— do - you— know the cause of all this ? '* ""^ . Lucy hesitated, and colored agaiti. " * ../: / i88 THE SISTKRS OF TORWOOD. " Yes, Edith — yoii are the cause." " Have you anything' else to tell nio V ' " Nothinij more ! Have I'done right in telling you this?" " Quite right. I am much obliged to you. And now be good enough to leave me." » " Will you come down to breakfast, or shall I send it up ? " "Thank you! I shall go dp wn." Lucy could linger.no longer. She left the room, haunted by one dark figure, sitting with brooding eyes fixed steadily on the wide sea, and never seeing it. Lucy doubted much her coming down to break- fast, but corafe she did. It was a mere- matter of forn! though'} she ate nothing, but was listening all the time to a question her heart was asking: "Is there no one in all the world one can trust?" Angus, her brother Angus, unworthy ; Florence, the sister beloved so well, treacherous ; Giaccomo, bound to her by strongest vows and promises, false — all alike deceitful. She was just learning the lesson of life, you see, this haughty Edith, and found the alphabet, as we all find it, verv bitter. She looked across the table at Florence. How pretty she was, with that skin like pink and white wax, those delicate features, that shower of spark- ling curls, tliose dark, soft eyes, like violet velvet, that little rS'sebud mouth, just showing the pearl whity teeth. She was a beauty born, an empress of hearts frorh- Her cradle, and Avhat were all Edith's talents, and clever rtess, and pride, compared with that pink and white face and those vellow curls. /s ;..^- ,j^ THE SISTERS OI- TQRWOOD. 1 80 ^ There was a mirror over the mantel opposite— she i , looked at herself, and started to see a sunken-cheeke " About you,* my dear. Torwood'^ an odd sort of genius always, but. I never toolj. him to be quite cracked until yesterday. I say, Stuart, we will have to postpone our fishing excursion to-day, won'tL'ji wef Confound the weather. " ^ Dr. Stuart did not reply ^ he only lifted his hat to Edith, and walked away. "What did he do yesterday? Attend to me if you please, Mr. St. Leon, and never mind Dr. Stuart." " Beg your M^^^) Edith. He was here yester- day morning, i^s he not ? ^ \ * "Yes." '*^ - \ " Well, his visit did not tend to sweeten his tern-"' per, however you all treated him here. He returned in a most ferocious mood, began calling me a select litany of ^ard names, accused me of failsehood ancfe^ tfeachery and making love to your pretty sister, Flor- ence, and of perpetrating all sorts of horrors, in short; and iindiri^ he could not irritate me for T" flatter myself I have too much sense to get up 192 THE SjSTiiKS Of' TOKVVOOD. Steam to such a lugh prossurQ about anything in ' this huniHlruni worHf, ended by giving mo a blow with his wliip." Of coursj3, after that there wiis but one way of acting; we took it; fired across 'the table ; he got his arm shattertjd ; I escaped unhurt, -' nnd am here to tell the, tale: and so, my- dear — , ftiis.'''' AH the time ho was talking Edith was watching him. No, there was no trace of guilt ia^^^hat hand- some, cardess face, in that, composed voice, in that . serene Planner. Her heart smote her \s)ith re- morse for the injustice she had done him, and she ; held out her hand to him with a little penitent cry. " Oil, Giaccomo ! hovf I have hc^n wronging' you, and hpw misei*able I have been ! -Can you eVer for- give me?" < " For what, my dear ? " " I thought— they made me beliey^ you — you — oh, I am ashamed to tell you!— that you were false, ' that you cared for Florence, and ndt for me." " Pooh I how could you be such *a goose, Edith !■ Florence, indeed ! 1 1 is some of Mr. Angvis Tor\^ood's handiwork, I suppose." _ "' " Do you forgive jne ? '' * ♦' To be sure, and him too. He was iealous, po,or fellow, and a jealous man is equal to anything, - l^|orence is a very fine girl, an extensive armful of beauty, rather oh the Dutch scale,, perhaps, but " "" a shrug and a slight lift of the eyebrows finished the •^7 sentence. " Come into the drawing-room, and let tis have some music. The '•Queen of Sheba is nO^ p===down-stairs yet, I hope?" ....^..:-,...=^^ ' "Who?" J N / K ^s N (THE SIStEKS lOP TORVVOOD. 10^ ' r -^ r 5" , f '? ' • t t < • J^ 1 ■/■; a f ''Oh, Madame Toi-wood ! that .most awful of Womankind! Come, Jam dying to hqar ' La d dnretn / ' '\ ' Florence only was in the drawing-room and >ho tufned crimson at their entrance. Edith pitied her. 'Ule is so hjindsome," she thought, "ahcr Florence ^s only a child— I -iinderstand it all now." Mr. St. Leon merely-^ved to the younger sister, and stood devotedly at the piano while Edith played and sang 'fikg even" Edith never played and san'g'ibefore. It charmed Madame Torwood down from her room, it charmed Luoy from her housekeejiing, Madge from her dogs' and. horse, and Dr. Stuart from his-bo»k aud moi'ning ccaistitutional. Once again Edith .was hapi)y ; but in Dr. Stuart's blue eyes, genial Snd kindly, tt^loot of i)jty was deeper than ever. ; Before nopn the weatjier cleared, and the gentle- men discovered they couhl go on their fishing excur- sion after all— anjljvent. - Edith followed them tp the piazza, the chill feeling of presentiment returning 'Strangely again. '''You will be back to-morrow ?".. she sajd, wist- fully holding out her hand. He lifted it to his lips. " Could I stay away if I triea ? Adieu, and 'au revoir /" She stood on the piazza and \yatched th^pi out of sight, then 'Strolled into the grounds for a walk. Aimlessly she turneH into the dark shrubbery, and as she neared its darkest and loneliest part, she heard voices among the trees. ^To-raorri^, then," -said a Rw'Vdice she"'dia^ not recognize. . ,^ • . ; , , 194 -■i THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. " Yes, to-morrow ; and, oh, dear me I I j^eel so nervous about it," said a second voice, the voice of Florence. J There was a ruijtling of bushes as she spoki, and out from among the trees Florence herself came, and stood face to face with Edith. There was nothino- very startling, one would think, in such an encounter*'- certamly she. was not parting with Mr. St. Leonlliis time ; but^f ever any one showed guilt in everv JFeat- ure, that one was Florence. From scarlet she turned white, and then scarlet again, shrinking away in such visible affright that Edith looked at her in ut- most wonder. " What is the matter with you ? " she asked " You-you stji^tled meso," was the confused replv and, without looking up, she turned and walked rapidly away. ' Who could her companion have been ? " thouo-ht Edith. « This is all rather mysterious. It certainly was not the voice of a mUn." She parted the bushes and looked in, but no one was visible. The flutter of a black skirt on the distant beach caught her eye, but it xvas only Madffe singing one of her odd snatches of song : / 4 " Bind the sea to slumber stilly, Bind its o And so she wandered up and down for over an hour, trying to think she was happy and satisfied, and her mutinous heart giving her the lie all the time. What was Florence going to do tqynorrow ? ^to whom had she been talking? and why that guilty look ? Edith went back to the house without find- ing an answer to her own questions, and dressed for dinner, ^j, - As she descended to the dining-room, Madge came behmd her, singing again, this time the fag-end of an old French balladW " to-day for me, ) To-morrow for thee, But will that to-morrow ever be I " "To-morrow! to-morrow!" repeated Edith, men- tally; "w^hy does that word haunt me so?,, Who knows what to-morrow may bring forth j " Who, indeetl ? Well for her she did not know,^as her appetite for dinner would have been as poor as at breakfast. It haunted her all the evening, haunt- ed her to her room, haunted her at her prayers haunted her to her pillow. ' "To-morrow! to-morrow!" she kept inwardly reiterating, and with that momentous little word stdl m her heart and on her lips, Edith fell asleep. \ 1 t » wiiit)iit> . V 196 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. CHAPTER XVII. WHAT CAME. In the staid and prim parlor of that staid and prim house adjoining that staid and prim building, the Presbyterian meeting-house, the Rev. Alexander McPherson sat at dinner. The reverend gentleman kept early hours, asyo\i know, and though the hands of the town clock had not yet touched ten, Mr. Mc- Pherson's appetite wds six hours old, and in excel- lent order. He had just sat down, gone through a brief grace, spread his napkin, and was seizing vig- orously the carving-knife and fork, when an authori- tative knock sounded at the hall door. Mr. McPherson paused, with the carving knife brandished over the smoking joint, and presently the old housekeeper made her appearance ushering in a visitor. The minister, from the loudness of the knock, had been expecting Miss Madge Tor wood ; but it was a gentleman this time, a tall, young, and gracious gentleman. "Oh, it's only you!" exclaimed the clergyman, looking relieved, and beginning to carve. "I ex- pected a lady. Find a chair, will you, and draw it ovei:— my old lady will find an other plate a nd knife lui(If5rK." . . " Thank you," said Dr. Stuart, who chanced to be ] ] i I s I a T^ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 197 ' the visitor, removing his gloves. « So you have ladies to visit you, do you ? Young er old ? " "Both. Madge Torwood comes sometimes. What brings Dr. Stuart to town this morning ? » « You never would guess what ! I am trying my hand as an amateur detective, and am on the trail of two certain people. I missed what I came for though." • ' " What was that ? " " A wedding ! I'll tell you all about it by and by I am too hungry to talk at present. It's luncheon hour over at the Towers, and ' ray lady ' and pretty Mistress Lucy, not to speak of the other angels, re- siding there, will wonder what has become of me." " It won't take away their appetite, I hope. Is it any harm to ask how you are progressino- ^ " " In what way ? " * ' " Have you proposed for aay of the Misses Tor- wood yet ? " * "Not yet. 1 am afrafel I am bashful. Proposing is an awful piece of busmess to a timid fellow like myself." , The laughing face and ro^ni^h blue eyes confront- ing the divine certainly shou^>1itUe evidence of bashfulness. Mr. McPherson gruntecrexpt^sively : "Time IS on the wing, young man, and'bther suitors may not be so dilatory. There's that St Leon-he is going fo carry off one; here am I bent on carrying off another ; so only two will be left, lou U put your foot in it, my young friend, if you are not careful." " And lose that grand fortune the late Judge Tor Vrood-rest his soul I-Ieft me. That would never 198 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. p. (do. 1 must screw my courage to the sticking fpojnt somehow before long. It's a fearful t&L ! tlKpugh." - . f And \yhat does Lucy Torwood say ? " " Lots of things. The fact is, she is getting tired |Of saying and is beginning to give me up in despair. Uh It 8 of no use ; I must beup and doing ! I think I shall begin at the eldest, and go through the four ivith the same question ; surely, one out of so many jwill accept." ^ \ " You had better not ask Lucy. I have a prior ^claim, remember." ? "Should be happy to oblige you, mv dear sir, l,ut V^ m this matter you |(>u.«rt; excuse me. Lucy is so much at homo in Torwood Towers it would be a mtv to take her out of it." ' '^Look here, Stuart," said Mr. McPherson, chan j " I was." " You are very great friends, I suppose ? " " Very— thick as pickpockets." '.^- "Might one venture to ask your opinion of the young gentleman ? " •*Te^ and take your answer in two words— un- ^^itigated scomfdref.** "Help yo.;rseIf to potatoes An unmitigated 1 ■ i f THE SISTERS OF TORVVOOD. 199 -«^Dear.elareyou„otalittl.:seve.^ « Giaccomo St. Leon is an unmitigated ioundrel," Dr. Stuart repeated, " and he knows it l^mself, and knows that I know it !" ' " And jet you are friends ?" riZr^'^ 7^\ ^ '?^ ^"^'^ ^''''^ ^^^"-'^ "« yesterday dve our hooks and lines. * I know I am acting like a vd am, for whom hanging wouhl be a thousand time^ too good," owned Mr. St. Loon, withcharmin.. frankness ; but it is my destiny, and I must go on/ lou see the fe ow is a fatalist, and he believes that what ]s to be wdl be." ''And you ? Are you a fatalist, too ? " Dr. Stuart's face deepened in its gravity " I am aChristian, Mr. McPherson, as I hope you know ; and believe in Providence, not in fate " There was silence for a moment.both looked seri- ous, and Dr Stuart had dropped for once his mock- ing tone and doubtful smile. "Knowing all this," said Mr. McPherson, " L do ' not see how you can reconcile it with vour con ' science to be his friend." " "My dear sir, I never said J was his friend It was yourself. I should be sorry to be a friend of " You are often with him, then." " Oh to be sure ! He interests me as something new and piq^uxnt, and I have been before now in tbf society of the most notorious blacklegs of New - — — "" ""t,uiiuiis uiacKiegs of JNew fr ; ^''ff'^y^t"^ »"««»^mw^lbw taste, r am afraid, for such vulgar studies from nature " Dr. Paul Stuart," said Mr. McPherson, laying 200 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. down his knife and fork with emphasis," you are not a good man you are not a conscientious man, or vou never would let Edith Torwood become his ;ife » My very dear sir," said the doctbr, a smile breaking the stern gravity of his face, " how could I I' You could tell her what you have told me." She would not listen ; she would not believe." ;-\ ^^ bbe might ; she is a sensible girl." ^ "Fearfully so. on every point, but this." . It 1.^ your duty to try." '" And be lauglied at for my pains." ;'Be it so ; a laugh will not hurt you, and you will have done your duty." "But Mr. St Leon told me in confidence that he was a villam, said the young doctor, looking amused ; " would it.be honorable? " "Honor among thieves ! I have only one thinxr to say to you, Dr. Stnart-you ai^e as great a villain as he. If you do not try your best to prevent this marriage." "My good friend," said Dr. Stuart, rising from the table, " be easy ; this marriage will never take place!" " No ? and why ? " '' " For the very best reason in the woild^^-J*^ "What is it?" .^ " Will you promise not to faint if I tell yoni" " I'll do my best — go on ! " " Then Giaccomo St. Leon will not marry Edith Torwood, because he is maJ-ried already." "Z^tj" cried the ministeis in shrill consternjr— Ml. tion. /! 1 THE SISTERS OF T0RW<5oD. 201-* " There you go ! I told you tq. keep cool ! Yes, sir, Mr. St. Leon was married this morning, in the Episcopal Church, and by the Episcopal clei-gyman of Torwoodtown." "To whom?" Mr. McPhersou was just able to gasp. " To Florence Torwood, third daughter of the late Judge Torwood, of Torwood Towers.^' "Mr. McPherson did not speak; h'e could not; he sat perfectly dumb, only staring in hopeless con- sternation at the composed speakerx'^ cs Dr. Stuart laughed at his horror-struck face. " Don't look so Utterly dazed, my dear sir ! Did you never before hear of a gentleman being engaged to one lady and marrying another? Besides, you might have foreseen this." Mr. McPherson, finding breath at last, took out his snuflF box, drew up about twice the usual supply, and fortified by its pungency, was able to si)eak once more. " And how many know of this ? " he demanded. " Let me see," said the doctor, beginning to reckon on his fingers, " one, two, three, four, five, six. Six people, I believe." " Is Edith Torwood one of the six ? " " N^o indeed. Mr. and Mrs. St. Leon make two (or did before they were made one), I am three, you are four, and the clergyman five, and one other per- / son, six ! " " Don't be mysterious. Who is the other person ? " ^* Never mind," said Dr. Stuart, thedoubtfulsmile=- dawning on his face again ; " perhaps you may learn that one day. But, you see, Miss Edith is^never ^ i 202 THE SISTERS ^F TORWOOD. .••:i likely to be St. Leon's wife, since he has taken to bis bosom the fair, the fat, the fascinating Florence.'! The minister took snuff a second time. ^ "Bless my soul! I never was ^o amazed. And wiiat a scene there will be when that h^t-blooded Jidith hears it." " No, I think not. Edith Torwood might make a scene about other things, not about this She is by far too proud to wear her heart.on her sleeve for daws to peck at." ," ' ^' You begin to admire her^a little, I tMnJc," . '* I admire her more than a little. "^'^ " It has lately come to you, then." ' ' " "By no means. I admired her from the Urst, but did not quite understand her." " You understand her now ? " . " I think so. She is what you said she was one evening at the Towers— a fine girl." "Dr. Stuart ! " exclaimed Mr. McPherson, ^'you have made your choice among the sisters ! " •' I have," replied Dr. Stuart, sferenely. ' " And it is not Lucy ? " ' . "No; it is Edith." Mr. McPherson leaned back in his chair, and took snuff for the third time. " The very last one of all," he murmured, help- lessly, " I should have suspected." \ 4' Of course. We ahyays do marrv the very last person our friends would have expected." " But she won't have you ! " cried Mr. McPher- son, triumphantly. _ " mn't she ? Iloa't be too sure of that. Time-- works/wonders." )ne -^ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 203 That shows how little you know of human reCnd."''"^'^' "'^ '^"^' ^^^ ^^ '^^ ^^^'^^ - ^he " I have not deceived her." "Yes, you have. You knew of St. Leon's false- hood, and yet kept it secret " "She.will thank me for it some day when she awakes from he. delusions, and comesi herri^ht - " Tliat is, when she is Mrs S ' " Leon ! Besides, my dear fellow, what good would come of my telling? It would have%revlnted nothing that has occurred. I helped nothing on- eou'T''^ ''"' ''"'' '^' ''' ^-'^^^ t-ke^heir Jlf^u "" '?^^ ''''"'''^ ^^'^y ^-'^^^ ^^^^^- What is to be the next move in the game ? " J\^^ "!:? "''''^^ """'^ ^^ ^^^ Norwood Towers " r a^lML's!' r""^r' '^^ watch ;.« that ;f ulate » '''" ^''^'^^^^^ '^^ ^« ^N"^^ "And Florence forfeits her share of Jier father's money. That will be a loss." i^cners " It might be to common mortals, but they will never thmk of it, you know. The^ will live on J5Ye. and all that sort of thingfr' " ~^J^^ "Humph! we have a proverb in Scotland: 'A kiss and a drmk of water make but a poor breat J ^ « f^'teWiiisAlfeBtV A 204 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOO, fast 1 ' Love is very unsubstantial diet— Florence will get thin on it, I am afraid." ' Dr. Stuart laughed, and put on his hat. "Wh^sn are we to see your reverence at the Towers?" ^ ' " Not until the gale blows over, I think. Tor- wood Towers will be a home of discord only for awhile, I dare say." " To one, perhaps. Well, good-morning." " One parting question," said Mr. McPherson, pro- ducing his snuff-box for the fourth time ; " when«lo you propose for Edith ? " Dr. Stuart had his hand on the door-knob, but he turned round again. " Did you see the new moon last night ? " was his seemingly irrelevant question. " I don't know. Was there a new moon ? " " Yes ; and before that new moon wanes Edith Torwood either shall say yes or no. Good-morning, sir." After which Dr. Stuart rode home, his conscience relieved by an open confession. As he rode up the front avenue, he overtook ah equestrienne riding even more slowly than himself. Not Madge— Madge never rode a white horse— never rode any horse black or white, at thai funeral pace, and did not affect bright blue riding-habits. The equestrienne turned round, and under the brim of a white gtraw hat, shaded by/ plumes of white and azurej he s^w a lovely young face, fresh, rosy, and blooming as an- other Hebe's ; all the tinseled gold ringlets, braided, ^nd twisted, and knotted back, seeing that cimIbT under a riding-hal^ was an abomination; tffe V ^tHC SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 205 plump, rounded for^ set off W the blue Babit, the pretty hands adorned with blTff gauntlets~a picture - altogether bright as a "poet's vision. Dr. Stuart lifted his liat, and bent to his saddle'bow "Gc,od-,norning, Miss Florence-it is something -new to hnd you on horseback. Been to town?" " ^^?'" ^'"'^ Florence, and up to her temples rose , • the guilty blood agiiin; f "A delightful morning for *such a canter. Per- mit nieTb assist you." V ' He lifted her from the saddle, and, only too glad ^ to escape, Florence ran up the piazza steps. There another disagreeable encounter awaited her. Edith stood on the piazza, in dinner costume, a book in her hand, waitmg-waitingfor one Who would not come \-who never would come again. But Florence did ^Ot wait to be addressed^ she scarcely looked at her as she hurried by and entered the house. Dr Stuart ^ ^ might have been more polite, but Edith's eves ^ droppedon her bookat hisapproacl,, and never lifted, as she b(^t heit^ead jt his greeting. Rather dis- ■^ ■ couragmg, perhaps, for a man who Iiad announced his intention of marrying her; but, Dr. Stuart was not easily discouiliged, and went Into the dining room whistling a tune. '' ^ All the rest of the afternoon tho doctor covertly watched Edith, and Edith watched openly for some one who did not come. LamjUight hour came, and - Edith was at the piano, her restless fingers'wander , ing aimlessly over the keys, a feverish fire of expecta- Jion burnii^ in her eyes and cheeks. ^ Fforenc^-was^ -r ! / 7»,« I CTT- 7 «"«eKff. riDPence-wFU there, too, holding a book in which shi seemed utter- ly absorbed, quite unconscious of the fact that she r "V- A-'rii 206 TjHE srSTERS OK TORV/OOD. n- *: was liolding It upsiae down. So, while Etlith played, and Flprenco read, and Dr. Stuart watched, all were thinlving of the same individual, who probably at that very time was serenely smoking his cheroots, and wondering what his destiny had in store for hhn next. , ,_ , Eleven struck from the hall clock. Susie, the^.,^ ored clianibermaid, cujiie in with a tray of bed-room candlesticks, good-night was said, and the familv at Tor wood Towers separated for the night. - Twelve struck', and all Avere, or should have been, in bed ; but in one room a girl was walking up and down, up and down, with a wild, strange fire burn- ing in her dark eyes; in another room a fairer girl shawled and hopded, sat, watch in hand, counting the mmutes; ^e a third figure, not at all girlish was out on tlie piazza, AVatching the stars, and wait- ing for what was to come. The night was clear, and still, and bright; the sounds of silence— the slipping of a snake, the crack- ing of a dry branch, the chirping of the birds in their nests, the dull, regular splash. of the waves, on th^ shore, the slow murmur of the night an )in the trees, the ticking of the old hall clock— «« were distinctly audible to the figure standing in yi|g|iyQJ^ of the piazza pillars— ^j^iting—waiUHg. ^ M S Bfcr ^ ^ir o'clock, and then his vigil was o^|^p|^l heard something— the sound-o| wheels; he had seen some- thing— a shawled and hooded figure flit Tike a guilty ghost out of the front door, down the stairs, and .disappear into the night, and then he came in ,<> '^ Ml lamp shone for a moment on a pale -l»,lp with.yratching in |he night air, perhaps ; .f THK SIliTEKS OF TOKWOOU. 207 ,.>* but ho was half-smiJing, half talking to himself for ^ all. . "So the second act of the drama is over/' ho was soliloquiziny- " hrst, i.mrriago-thon elopement. Ih^ third, the last, the groat denouement, is to come yet. W«n't ther(^ be the dickens to pay to-morrow morning?" Three, four, live, six! The old clock, witir its" sonorous voice,/toll6(l tlui liours, as it had totted them for fifty years, and a now day had dawned on the worl(|. ,-^ ' Dr. Stuart was up with the sun, scarcely. wearing so fresh arid florid a complexion as that luminary, , though, As he paced up ancf down the courtyard,' he. cast occasional glances up at the windows of the sleeping chambers occupied by ^th^ young ladies./, Ihe blmds wore down in the mpn^of :fc;ditft tod Florence, but while Ire looked Lucy's wiiftlow opened, and Lucy's pretty face smiled, good-morning. Five mmutes after there was a merry shout on the piazza and Madge came bounding down, with Sancho,-a8 usual, gamboling furiously around her. " Where now. Donna QHixote ? " ho asked " Everywhere. I think I'll run over to Torwool. town, and blow up Mr. Jaokeymo St. Leon for not bemg here yesterday. Anybody could see- Edith was hdgetmg ta 4eath about it. Oh, what a nice SS""""'* ^^ ^^^^ "' ^''''''' ^^"^^ ''^'^"^' Madge was out of sight directly,.but she did not JfojyUJ L ftv vity to Torw^jedtowa, for she was bacr= at the breakfast hour, with her spirits and appetite ' greatly improyed-neitber for that matter, stamlipc ^i*^.* •*. "^ *' "L , ' Iff * ^ ~ ^y -"* 208 I^HE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. much in need'of improvement. The doctor escorted her to the dming-room, where Edith sat alone; and a moment, after Lucy entered, with a servant behind her, bearmg coffee-and toast. "Have^ny of you good peoi)le seen Florence this mormng?" she asked. "She is not in the house, and It IS the first time since Jier return she has been out of it before breakfast I have been to her room and she is not there." ; ' . " Did you look in the pantry, Lucy ? "demanded pert Madge, and the doctor smiled at her character- istic remark. "For shame, Madge! Did she sleep with vou last night Edith ? " ^ " No." "It's very odd! Well, Susie, what do you want ? " "^ "Please, Miss Lucy," said the chambermaid, pre- senting a letter, « Miss Floy gave me this yer last night, and told me to give it to you this morning at oreaKiast. Was it some presentiment of what it contained that made Lucy turn suddenly white ? Madge and Edith stared, and the doctor drew a long breath as if bracing himself for the scene to come. ' " Gave you this last night ? " faltered Lucy « At what tijTie ? What did she say ? " "After all you was to bed!! Miss Floy she rung ' her bell, and I went up, and then she gave me this letter, and told me I was to hand ii to you, Miss Lucy, at breakfast, and then slie shut he r dooV afid TrtoTTt know nothm' more 'tall about it " " "^ "Open it, Lucy! %n it!" cried Madge, quite ■.^j^ THE SISTERS OP TORWOOD. 209 curiously. « Clear out, Susio ! What on earth has Florenc'o been uj) to now ? " Lucy (lid open the letter, but her hands shook while doing it. Two minutes after it had dropped on the floor and with a shrill scream her hands fiew up and covered her white face. " La ! " cried Madge, her black eyes starting to that degree in her astonishment that there seemed some danger, of their dropping out on the carpet. " What is the matter ? May I read this, Lucy ? " But Lucy did not, seemingly could not, speak, so great was the first shock. She had sunk into a chair, her face still hidden in her hands, and Madge, tak- ing silence for assent picked up the fallen document. It was short, sharp, ard decisive, a model of sensi- ble composifeon. "My Deab LtJOY :— « I address you, being the elder, and the only one under the circumstances I can very well address. I was married yesterday to Mr. St. Leon, and will leave here with him to-night to avoid a fuss. I, beg you will not make a time about this, and Edith may as well take it quietly, because being angry and scolding will do no good now. I could not help being prettier than she is, and having Mr. St. Leon like me better, and so you may tell her. Of course I jnust leave my trunks and things behind for the present, but when Giaccomo and 1 get settled I will send you my address and you can forward them. Don't let Madge get at my dresses or she will spoil them, she is so rough ; and tell Dr. Stuart that I hope he will not be mean enough to keep my share of the le gacy because I could iiol marry him. I declare Tarn real glad to get away from Torwood Towers, for it's the most dismal old place I ever saw. Good-by, my dear H iil *■#!» ■ 210 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. Lucy ; I will write to you again as soon as DOsaihlp and be.su^ you send me every thir.g ^ ^^^' " Your affectionate sister, " Floken-ce St. Leon. ■\\^' ^-7"^^ "ot the name ])rettv ? T entrmf vr.n Madge read the letter over twice-at first in - credulously, then with a horrible sense of its tru V^^^ - Before she came to the end the second time 1^ rage. Of all her presentiments of imi endin.. danger, sfie had dreamed of nothing so bad as this" and she crumpled the missive up if her hL, and glared vindictively around her. "If I only had a hold of her ! " said Madge claw I?e? vt:LT"'T f hherotherhand, ^^^^'ti :; her whether I spoiled everything I laid my hands on ! The mean, treacherous, vindow her hands tightly locked together in her lap, and the letter clasped between them, her face turned to thesea . Lucy could not see it, and not daring to speak, she stole out agaih, and left the lonel v watcher to keep her vigil undisturbed. Next morning, in passing from her own chamber down-stairs, Lucy ventured to look in again. The pale s^iadow in black sat by the window stiU, as if she had never once moved -as if she had sat there through the livelong night. t Once up to t the even look kIow, , and ed to \g to tcher nber The as if here THE SISTERS OF TOKWOOD. 213 CHAPTER XVIII. THE INVALID. Dr. Paul ^hjaut, according to custom, standing on the piazza before breakfast that morning, fek himself touched ligluly on tire arm, and lookinstiiirs, with an unusually gorgeous bouquet of hot-house flowers, Edith, lying wearily on a lounge, rose upon her elbow, her dull eyes sparkling with some of their old luster. " How beautiful ! how fragrant ! I was just wish- ing for violets ! Madge," impetuously, " where do all these lovely flowers come from ? " , Madge placed them in a porcelain vase with care, and stepped back to see the effect. * "Brom my castle in Spain; there's a patch, of ground at the back of the castle where such trifles grow of themselves. Perfectly mag, ain't they ?"- £hat being^hOrt for magnificent. ,"]Madge7l half suspect, but I want to b6 sure— who sent them ? " '^Wouldn't tell for a kingdom! Promised him, on the honor of a Torwood, I wouldn't." That little tell-tale pronoun ! Edith's eyes turned resolutely away from the flowers, and her brows contracted a little as she rose up. Madge had flashed out as she had floated in, and Edith went slowly down-stairs, through the hall, and out on the piazza. As she stood there, the person of whom she was thinking, Dj-. Stuart himself, came up, and made her in passing a courtly bow. " Are you better this afternoon. Miss Edith ? you hardly look as well as yesterday, I think." There was something so genial and kindly in his -«>ice, such real solicitude in his face, so much that was good in his frank blue eyes, that Edith could not repel him. The mocking smile and derisive y v.. 220 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. glunco wercnp Itnigtfr there, were nev^r there when he spbko to her, and Eclitli was renieiiilk'ring all he had dohe, for her^, so delicately and unol^tiusively of late." - ^ '' ' ^ ' *"I do not feel any better," she said, " and I '' — thank you for your flowers, she wanted to say, but sBe could not-somehow, and stopped short. "I am very sorry,"' and he looked as though he meant it. " Thp afternoon is lovely, and a walk on the beach would do you good, 1 think. Or, if jou feel too weak, and woiild ride or sail ■ with Madge and me -" " Thank you, I am' quite strong enough to walk." " I saw Father Peterson in Torwoodtown just now, and he bade rie tell you he would call to see you to-morrow, and fet<;h you the book you wanted." She bent her head only, and Dr. Stuart went in, ajid Edith's memory was haunted by a hundred little kind things he had done for her comfort of late, majiing up in number what they wanted in weight, all in such a retiring, secret way, too. " I don't want to like that ma V she said, speak- ing uncbnscioiisly alone ; " and yet- '* " And yet oiip can't help it," said a voice behind her ; " my case exactly." It was Matlge, of course. Edith only smiled, and turned to go dcAvn the piazzji steps. " What are you going to do ? " Madge asked. The faint smile was still on Edith's lips. " To obey Dr. Stuart, my dear. He has pre- scrbed a walk on the beach, and I am going to ta^e Tt:^ - - -- ; - - - .: .^■ " Shall I go with you ? " ^ ■m^K.'- tftttJkAA i.a iT^ai %■ -'••'i^^i W^"^ ■ / - \ ■^ 4_ *. 1-:'" - • . ' -. ' .44- THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 221 " You had better not. I walk so very slowly I would tire you to death." " All righty" said Madge, throwingup iMirhatand catching it dextrously ; " I despise slow walkingbe- yond everything, and, besides, I find my constitu- tion l-equires a sail ; so good-by tp you." s ^■i^s^^ .•<*« 222 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. ^. CHAPTER XIX. AS THE SHADOWS FELL. w Ji^^'Ll l"'^^^"* ""^^ *^^ P^«« ««^ ^hich Edith walked through the tangled shrubbery toward the shore; but slow as it was, she was completely ex- , hausted by the time it was reached. Under the cool shadow of a large willow a rustic chair of boughs had been erected for her accommodation, by Dr. Stuart, and she sank down within its green arms her h^art palpitating in great surges against her side.' She was lying back, with panting lips and closed eyes when a step behind her mar. Stuart again, this time with two bunches of USCI0U8 green and purple grapes, wrapped in vine leaves, and which the next instant Nvere lying in her thl^tZ^""" ^«en telling ml of the feverish thirst that has tormented you all day, and in my medicil trudin?"'^ ^ ^''""'' ^'""P"'- ^"^"«^ "^« for in- He wa^ turning away again, but she called hi,n back. Feverishly thirsty, even then she had been wishing for something to allay it, and his gift was most welcome indeed. With an impulsive frankness that came to her sometimes, she held out her hand -I"!.^ ^ » ^""^^" f"'^"<^j^qess to him, -Dr. Stuart,'^ she said, something like color flqsh- *ik. e THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. ^ 223 ing for a socond into her colorless face, " 3'ou are very kind, and it is tim'e for me to thank vou at least." " I require no thanks," he said hastily, just touch- ing the poor wan hand, and dropping it again. " If my humble offerings havT* given you a moment's pleasure I am more than repaid." Edith lookt^d at him wistfully, hut his eyes were averted, and his face strangely grave. "Perhaps I have wronged you," Slie said ; " I don't know. If I have thought more hardly of you than I should, I beg your pardon." "Edith— Miss Torwood— "^ " Oh,.say Edith— I like h best from my friends." She smiled a little at herself to think she was say- ing such a thing to this abhorred young doctor; hut no answering smile moved the dark gravity of his earnest face. " You have not thought more hardly of me than I deserved— than I seem to deserve, at least. How could you do otherwise than despise one who could seemingly agree to rob four ori)han girls of their birthright?" Her face clouded and she sat silent. Why did he remind her of that when she was trying to think well of him, trying to see him at his best ? " Perhaps I am not really so bad, so despicable as I have appeared ; but that involves a long explana- tion, and you may not be equal to it now— are you?" ^i^^^sh^sddy wearily^ 'Vl^ffl feeble thi s ev e n- mg. To-morrow, some other time, I will listeh to what you have to say," i^A "/T' -y^ / JH THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. "I have many things to say, and when you have heard and answered I shall leave TorwoodTowe^ perhaps for a time, perhaps— '' a pause and a little tremor of the steady voice, " forever » *• Forever ! " Edith echoed faintly. " Yes ; it all depends on. you ! And now, ffood- evenmg. Eat your grapes, and do not stay outff^r t|e dew begms to fall." ^ ^Breaking into a grave smile for the first time at her wondermg look, Dr. Stuart walked away EcH 1 t'fo t; T ^- --^-<-'y fo'- a mLen^t two but she was too weak and listless, even to al.t le child eatmghergrapesandwatchingdreamilv the boats sadmg by over the sunny waves ^ _ A ship far outlay at anchor, and the sailors were kept time to the^r music, and the July breeze mur mured mysticalfy among tlie leaves and brancheTof the golden willow over her head. In the dr^arnv of birds and waves and wind, Edith's eyes grew heaw, her, pale finge,^ ceased to lift the LpS to from which people wake aTicI spring „p U of un defined horror of-the,v know nit „lat.'' Edith ^l' co„scK,„, in her distetnpered vision of some hTX and shatmloss monster, with eyes and tongne of do- Tipon and^ devour her} while afar off, fookin g on, r^c- THE SISTERS' OF TORWOOD. - 225 Stood liei- treacherous sister and false lover, mock- ing her with their deriding eyes: With a start she awoke, and sat up in a violent tremor and faintness, awoke to find the evenino- shadows dark around hev, and the chill eveninrr wmd coming raw from the sea; awoke to find U not all a dream, for a shape stood beside her, loomin.^^ up gigantic in t!.e dim light-a shape that clasped her suddenly in its shrouded arms, and muffled her head in a great shawl. Then for an instant of time all Edith's strenrrth came back-frantically she struggled-with one des- perate wrench she tore off the sliawl, and one long, wild, shrill shriek awoke the lonely echoes of sho?e ' and wood. There was a fierce imprecation, a rough hand grasped her throat, a horrible sense of strangulation came over Edith, stars came dancing in a blood-red mist before her eyes, a roaring sound as of many waters filled her ears, and thus, with one long con- vulsive quiver life was gone, and her assailant bore away a stark and rigid burden 15 M fill \'t X 226 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD: CHAPTER XX. IN THE HOSPITAL. Off with the,„ to sea, like i3o;7„r ^ ::^„r":o' tha t.t ,vou ,1 do a„y man's heart good to "2 it " ins fi«4 a ,L 1" r'"'' Sreat-coats, and blaz- poli^'st /',?" r'T'" ""1""'^'™^ "•""I"' could tranipin.r with CZ, ^ '''"'* wayfare.^s clutched inT^hK ,'^""'' ""'' '""■' frantically- enjo^menr ""''' '"* * '"»'»„» sense of Three men were walking together dnw„ P ^ > ten m nutt Wore n ^ "'""""' '"" ''^»'" '™.v " "ot «ade them glad" meet T"'""'"" "f sympathy _ woodtown-T,,^, P°u'„ ■■ '.."'": "" ^ '" ^°'- - MoPherson »n7^ "twsou, tire- Rev. Alexander ^''' '"<' ^""''g Mr. Moreen, who used t6 . ■^ JHE SISTERS OF TORWOOU. 227 tZ.Vr° "^°,'" """ "'"■'""« ''"'" '<»™ to kill tunc hshmg ana gunning, and who at tl.o first clash of war bad gone «•!,„,.„ glory led Inn,, and so o„ that .s to Siiy, had taken to soldiering, to kill that mvme,ble enen.y of his, Tin,e. Yonng JFr. Cree, >vas yonng L.entenant Moreen now ;°but of wh , value were all his bright buttons an, J si o,d, tr knots s,nee Madge Torwoo,rs black c^L w ," no near to ook on an.I ap|>,.„ve. Mure lo„., ilZe Tonvood sa,d " No" one ,lay to a very ten ler pro! stuck to t ; so Mr. Moreen went to the ,var desolated feohng that he woul.l rather be shot than o herwise smce the only blessing life had for hi,,,,>oside pi' ale and cga,., was ,lenie,l hi,n. The Southern bub le , How by h,n, harn.lessly, however, wh.ie tl„.v ..,,1 low n,any a better ,nan ; an,l Lieuh-nant Moi^e,; "und a„,l „„„,ai,ne,l, is walkiag along the wind v treots, busy ,n conversation, an,l frantic atten,, u t" keep h,s „„|itary cap on. Sai,l cap being se ev c ss.vely on one side of his l„,,d, and the gale beint of the h.ghest, ,s .-athcr dillicnlt to be kept f,.,,,! %.ng ,„,o the regions of space an,l at length a nncomn,„„ly obstrepoi-ous gu.t, howling pahfnllv long, makes a grab .at it, ami whi,.U it t, °„, ,p|iantl v ^, ..s other folks have changed, perhapst ;;«; terecf tl" fi - r''' T"'^ ^"^'^"^^ ^^^"-^' -« "-^^ tered the f^rst ward, where, in. long rows of U^s the sick soldiers lay. ^ ^ ' Passing do^n the^ lon^aisl^ i^tween TBT ^5^ the young colonel paused there to speak tc^e poor /* " ;■ • . • . . * - THE SISTERS Of" TORWOOD. 233 fellows, whose eyes brightened, and whose pale faces lit gkidly at the sight of their commander. Here and there the black-robed sisters were Hitting about, noiseless ministering angels, shod with the shoos of silence, ami with touch and voice tenderly mod- ulated to si^t suflFering ears. Reaching one bed near the end of the row, the colonel came k/a halt. A man, whoso swarthy face, whitened bv^^ss of blood, and looking still more white c(^n>^asted witfi his jetty hair and mustache, recline«tliing. Once in the keen outer air, #10 young officer took off his cai>, and let the cold^wind lift his fair hair, with a long, long breath, Inxloi/ig §o he caught the minister's^eye^ and^a Will it cry if 7 hurt St, or scold if I kiss? ' , Is it made with its beauty of wax or of wood ? . , . Is it worth while to guess at all thi&?." ', ,/ ' , * ' • ' " No, indeed," said Mrs. Gruride, as the poet paused ; "it is made of wax and insipidity — nothing else. Do you kpow," leaning forward, confidentialiy, " I have found out something about her." * !■ . " No ! " cried the poet, yividly interested. "What?" " " Who she is I Her maiden name is Tor\yood — Miss Florence Torwood, third daughter of a certain Maryland judge, now dead ; and she eloped nearly a year ago with this St. Leon slje is maVried Ib.i He ri&a Cuban, I Jjeliove, an44here=ea« ^e a&4oubt ha^ is that Captain St.- Leon ^ho behii^ed so traitor- ouslv." ' 16 4fe t!i\ "\. H2 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. " f fo w did you find all this out ? » "From my niece, Avho was a scl.oolmute o^ hers . at Mademoiselle De Juponville's seminary, hL in ^evv lork. Madame Toru-ood, l.erstepmJtherl took •her from school and brought h or to Tor uood Tower the name of their place down in Maryland, arid two' o three weeks after she eloped with this StJLeon, , nl o, by tlie tvay, Beatrice says, was engage, to an elder sister of hers a^the time." / " St. Leon's a lucky fellow to have the iLttiest wife in America, I can understand his dbsertin^o- his country, but I confess I cannot understand hfs desertion of la belle Florence." / JJ^^- rf ''"^•^'/' temporary desertion, and besides, . a er eight months of matrimony he may not be so badly m love with her as you are. I confess he has more faith m her than I would hav6 ; foi- a woman who elopes once will ." tlJ'fliT ''l^'^-'^^'y true," said a deep voice at ' the lady s elbow ; ami looking round she saw a tall man m the dress of a hermit, with his long white hair and beard, to which his straight, stalwlrt pro- portmns and piercing bright eyes gave the lie* Mrs.Grunde looked at him keenly, but failed to recognize an acquaintance in the disguise "I am not aware, sir," she said, superciliously, tUdt 1. was addressi ng my remarks to you ' " "Very true, and I beg a thousand pardons for the interruption ; but the truth and good sense of J^our remarks hiy^ palpably on thii^urface that i— T?; f!i^''''"'^^^°°- ^^3^IaskifMrs.St.Leoa nas left the room ? " * -f THE SISTERS OF TORVVOOD. 243 She Juis, sir," said the poet, failing as well as his fair friend to recognize the speaker. " Siie passed • into yonder conservatory not two minutes a<.-o " "Alone?" ' - * ■ " Quite alone." , " Tliank vou." The hermit strode past, made his wav thron-h the crowd, while many an eye followed" hin imposing Mto^ ''''"'''''^^' ^""^ disappeared within the conser Mrs. Grund'e looked at the poet curiously " Who on earth is that ? " feet " ^^''^'''^ *^' *"°''^''^ ''^'''' ^^'' '^^'^'^"'^ '' P^r- " AVhat can he want with Mrs. St. Leon ? What » cried Mrs. Grunde, excitedly, -what if'it'should be her husband ? " * ^' My dear madam, what an idea ! " i "He looks like a soUlier, in spite of his disguise I am certain he is no one I know, and I am equaUy certain I am acquainted with every one Mrs. St Leon has invited. I tell you I believe it is her husband " He must be a bold fellow if it is ; but I fancy you are mistaken. Oh, excuse me; there is vour n^ece. Miss Beatrice, going to sing, ami I must join^ , T-^f Pl'f , '^^"<^ «^^er to the piano,- where a tall styhsh girl had just taken her seat, and Mrs. Grunde' possessed of the new id^oa which had seized her, made her way to^y|lrd thq c^viservatory. The air there ^^^^ 1 ^ ' ''""'•"'""'J' J^JJ« air mere was^ifflost overpowering from the odoToT ricF exT otics, and the place was dimly lighted by tiny colored! lamps, sparkling like stars or fire-flies among the i ") / 244 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. plants. Sofaintwas the light thatat first she c6uld no be certain wliether the rooTns were empty or not- but at last, m a distant recess, amid a wilderness of flowers, her eye caught the shimmer of a filmy white a U^7 '""n ^ ^^V'^^'P'^^"'^"^'- ^^ ^^"'•^^ «« great a lady could not bf gj^lty of the small vice of eaves- , dropping; but her duty to her country required her to isten If ,t should really be St. Leon.^ Keeping m the shadow of some tall orange trees, she Lw nearer, and, hidden herself, had I full view of thi tableau before her. ^ What was it she saw ? The stately hermit in the act of removing his false hair and beard, of throwing lamtlt"^ ««rge cloak, and standing revealed in thS amphght, a youn^ and distinguished-looking man, A ^v.Tt""" ""^ '" "^^^"^^ «^ t'^« F«^eral Army court .r, ^"- '•'• ^'^"' *'^ "^^' '^' b--tif"l, th"^ ' courted, the irresistible, was cowering on a sofa her face buried m the cushions, all her lovely golden nnglets falling in the wildest disorder abou^t her !n a position of crouching, abject terror, crving ii a bitter voice of supplication : ? . s " a "Oh I never meant it! I never meant it ! I never meantitl Oh, Dr. Stuart, how cruel you are ! " : Confess ! " said the man's deep voice, in a tone ptilessasdoom,«orneitheryouryouth,yourbeaUty ' nor your wealth shallsave you. 'Justice thougS heavens fall ' shall be my stern motto to the end I • know a great deal, and what I ^. not know I shall never rest until I find out-your share jn it as we mtjie rest ! Speak I"—— ^ as weu ^ weving lower and lower among the pillows, the N ./ HW wiirtaiii'fti*!iliiip*iii>i>j|#i^^ m / THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 245 fn^ttened little beauty did speak, but it was only to efy, amid broken sobs : / " Oh, what have I done ! what have I done ! what have I done!" . y, "What you never can repair, though you lived a <.^^ thousand years, and spent every one. of them in the eflfort ; but till the atonement in your power shall bp " wrung from you, whether you will or not. Youir" - beauty has no power over me, for I know you' madam, and I tell you h^e, Mrs. St. Leon, the'law shall force you to §peak W But still she only spoke to sob and wail : " Ob, what shall I do ! what shall I do !.. Oh Dr Stuart, have you no pity ! " ' ' " None for you. What pity had vou for your murdered sister in the days gone by. The same meas- ure you measured out shall be returned to you' Rise madam; it is growing late, and I am in no mood for lingering here ! Will you confess, or shall I startle this gay assembly of your aristocratic friends by bringing a. couple of policemen into their midst? For the last time, Florence St. Leon, wiU vou speak?" ^ And Florence St. Leon, the fascinating, about whom half the young aristocrats of New York wore --^ going wild, whom poets sang, and artists painted, dropped down on her knees at the stern soldier's , feet, her golden hair falling oflF a face ghastly with mental terror, and held up her jeweled hands iix frantic appeal. ^ill spealctjiwm speak! Oh, Drrstuart be merciful, and I will confess all I " ^i:» 246 THE SISlWs OF TORVVOOD. / ^ CHAPTER XXII. HUNTKD boWN Mrs St. Leon's grand reunion was' over. In the cold gray light of a chili spring morning, car- r> mge after carriage had rolled away from her stately portals freighted with loads of sleepy loveliness SOI ed kids, and crumbled satins. When the round red mormng sun ^h.s rising over the citv, and all tiio common folks of this world who a"re vulvar ^ .^1. dame St. Leon's guests were going to bed, iaded and worn out, after the night's dancing and cham- .U^\T, ?""■ •^"'''^ "PP"** chamber of a fashion- able hotel, fronting on Broadway, a gentleman was pacing up and down, his eyes fixed on the carpet his face indicative of deep thought. An odd-looking robe of coarse gray serge lay on the back of a chair and something like a smile brok(3 over the dark gravity of his face whenever ho chanced to glance that way Pens, ink, and paper lay scattered about on ^n inlaid table near, and sitting down after a whde he began to write a letter. uiur T^ * ^^^ ^^^^y ^arch 29. pose I am fn fn'"'-.^*' ^i'"^" letter-writing, I lu^ pose 1 am in for it, and must fulfil my promise. ^ ^ THE SISTERS OF f OKWOOD. 247 . Til , car- f~v' ately ness, ouncl i all ilgar ^ li ft, -• ided lam- There nevei» was such luck as mine ; everytHing is turning out beautifully, and I am beginning to think Fouche himself was a poor detective compared with me." ^ " Now for particulars ; I roachod here yesterday afternoon, made certain inquiries, found out Mrs. St. Leon was to give a tea splash of unrivaled magnificence — I mean a fancy-dress party — in tlie evening, and determined to go. Nothing like strik- ing while the iron is hot, you know ; but the diffi- culty was to get admitted, for Madame St. Leon js decidedly select and exclusive on these occasions. However, in the vocabulary of great men, you. are aware there is no such word as fail. "I carao, I maneuvered, I succeeded. I went! It was the luckiest thing in the world it chanced to be a fancy-dress party, for my own mother wOuld not have known me in my disguisd My good fenius stood by me all through the evening. Mrs. t. Lepn sought a moment's solitude and repose in the quiet of a deserted conservatory— I followed her. The plants in vases, three feet high, formed a sort of primeval forest on a small scale, the lights were dim, the dance music subdued by distance, and with scenery, and footlights, and with everything charmmgly suitable, I stood before her with tragic suddenne^, threw off my disguise, struck an atti- tude, and stared ! She stared, too, \x)ov little golden- haired sinner ; much as Macbeth does at the ghost of Banquo, in speechless horror. Her first impulse, woman-like, was to scream. ^ " I checked that— bur play wanted no spectators. We both found our tongues after we got tired mak- ing eyes at eachjother, and a tolerable good use I ma(|e of mine. " If ever pretty Mistr e ss Flo rence w as scared out o \ rayear*s growtfi, cm bojpTwas last night. N"ero7 Herod, Henry the Eighth, were angels of kindness and clemency compared with me— tears, sobs, -•frtk*^ ili^flSti H / h 248 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. fulTS ^f,*^''^^f' wringing of hands, all thepower- tul train of female artillery, was like blank shot ' my heart was iron-clad-I was merciless ! 1 1 w^^ he only way to fetch everything out, and every hmg did come out at last ; but I t^lyou/rorwooj t gave me a very odd feeling to sel ti.t'giH Ce ! ing at n.y fee , crymcr for mercy like a child an 1 sill be relentless! f don't know which of us was the more rejoiced when the interview ended and the play ^yas played out. I dismissed her ^^"1 t:&^^i: ,l^£.^ ''■'"' -- ^- -= «fnl?^{ Tif ""^'"^ '^''" ^^ f«r TorSvoodtown. I start in half an hour, and don't I anticipate a «rpno unmasking the little traitress there ^EverytS was as I anticipated-Florence was kt th7ca?s" paw-justico has not overtaken the 'monkey yet bu soon will now, and * justice, though the he^a/ens faU ' has been my merciless motto -In^his search. . As for you, I have olily to repeat tov last warn ing-be careful 1 betray nothijS tifS^ th« h^^^ comes. I know you will fiSW ^ i hnr^^ , my dear fellow, ^ut thereTsllisKr it How't should like to have seen McPhffii^ you told him^all.! Didn't he empty his snuff-SW^ ^°^'^ anh^^l^'^i^^"^^^^'^ start inl^arter of I . / ' " Ever yourg, ' / . . ■ " PaiJl Stuabt." Military men understand dispatch. Half an hour after writing the list word the letter addressed 4o Captam Angus Torwood, Washihgton, was on its way to Its destinfition, arfd the writer, seated in tlie ^rs, was w^he/w^TolEis, WmTaTst^lould^^ bear him. Looking thoughtfully out of the windovy y> M „.- '•^. THE SISTERS OF TORWOOm 2^ at tlie ever-changing panorama of nature, Colonel Stuart mused over the great change in liis life that ha, when at his mother's summons, he liad left New York ^otthe very place he was going to now, amused ^^ J#ffljw^'prwood's eccentric will, and cur- ^^"^ ^^ ^^SPPlfe sisters. IIpw all things had changed ^|iB^ft He had lived a romanfee him-^ self in t^.^^'^^l^pise, f^s startling as any he had ever ready'appK heAvpj;eturning to finish me last chapter of " Retribi^ton." He was no expected visitor ; no one at Torwood Towers ever looked to' see him again — for his pur})ose so much the better. There had been a stormy scene one morning i)et ween its mistress and himself, in which he was very quiet, but hard as iron, obdurate as death ; and in which ^jie'hml wept and pleaded, and humbled hei^self as -iro, orie Avoufd have believed IVfadame Torwood could have done. Then, for the first time, she had learned which of her stepdaughters her darling Paul had chosen, and mother and son had parted, never ex- pecting to meet again at Torj^tod Towers. " How they will open thU^^yes ! " the young colonel mused, smiling to himself. " My poor mother, she will be glad to see me too, for I really believe she thinks me as near perfection as it is pos- sible for any one to be, and lire. I was a little too hard, I fear, in that last interview—but that was a long time ago, and I know she is as ready to forget and forgive as myself. As for that other — but suffi- cient ante^tb«-dagMs=tb©^^K^eretrf+^' In the dusky haze of a June twilight. Dr. Stuart had first come to Torwoodtown— in the dusky haze n «4^. {'> 250 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. Of a cold, spring day, he landed in Torwoodtown again Very quiet th» little town looked, with its lew dim street-lamps winking feebly in the gloom the raw sea-wind blowing in your face, and the black .. waves cannonading dully on the shore. A leaden sky hung over all, and the sloppy unpaved street was ankle dfeep in spring mire. All dreary enouoh but the heart makes its own sunshine, and Colonel btuart whistled a tune as he splashed throu-h it and strode up to the Torwoodtown Hotel. Mr Jinks' the hostler lounging on the piazza with a select few of his friends, smoking clay pipes, opened his eyes at the gentleman's approach. " I'm blest if here ain't the young doctor as was here last summer, back again ! I heard he 'listed and got made a major gineral, or suthin' about the size o that. What's he back after, I should like to know ? " Colonel Stuart being on foot, and Mr. Jinks' service not being required, he did not seem likely to know ; but he and the loungers saw him stroll into And," said Colonel Stuart, lying buck in an easy position to r^d, " I shall want a fast horse immedi- ately aftgj You need not prepare a room for me. I shall nofsleep here to-nio-ht." » It was quite dark before the colonel got throucrh ^ with his supper, and throwing a largd riding-cloak • over his shoulders, he mounted the horse Mr Jinks was holding in readiness. Pitcli^dark, and a wintry ^mghi^without moon oi^stars,jindji^miserable dri7-__ zie, th^t=was Tialf-snow and hjilf-rm»» «;^«^,-„^ »u„_„ ~ r f< zfe,^was1iaIf:snow and half-rain, piercing sharp throg^h everything. 4. ^ # ^ '/. THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 251, J " A heavenly gallop I am likely to have of it," he muttered, gathering up the reins. " Lucky for iiTtj I know the confounileil road so well. gThere, my good fellow, give him his head— thafwilldo, thank you." Horse and rider sped away through the darkness like specters, on over the black, forsaken road, ^vith the black and lonesome sea booming like distant thunder, the black and ghastly woods around him, and the black and wrathful night sky lowering over all. A lonely night ride, in Avhicii any chance passer-by might have taken him for the Black Horseman of the Ilartz Mountains— a dismal ride, cold and comfortless, his horse stumbling over rocks ,and slipping in the greasy mire ; but the youno- officer thought neither of rain, nor cold, nor lonelf- ness. The purpose that brought him filled his mind, to the exclusion of all things else. Looming up, a black and goblin shape in the gloom, Tor wood Towers rose before him at last. Walking his horse into the courtyard, he dismounted, and -led him toward the stable himself. No one was Visible— no sound of life came from the lonely old house. The three lights that always burned, illumi- nated it— one in the entrance hall, one from the great kitchen, and the third from the drawing-room window. He smiled a grave smile as he watched this last. " What are they^doing, I wonder ? " he thought, " my lady, Mis&^ucy, and wild Madge. How irttle they think theii*- Ibving son and step-brother is hero .4opay ys r^peefcs, Sfeep4n peaee-toTi^^ Torwood ; to-morrow night you may not find it so easy, for the hour of retribution has come ! " 252 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. ' lie did not enter the house. Having, seen his horse all ri^ht, he started off with his long strides < through the dark and dismal shrubbery, striking into the lonely meadow that brought him to the cedar Avoods. Along that forsaken path, in the black heart of the woods, another figure had flitted one July night to the solitary . hut of the fortune-teller. To that very hut Colonel Stuart was walking now, and its red beacon light flamed out across his path- way, at last. Like tlie other visitor, he paused at the broken window to reconnoiter ; like her he saw the wretched interior, illuminated by a roaring wood fire, the overgrown cat blinking in one chimney corner, and the dark sibyl onV low stool in the other, her hands clasping her ktiees, her shining bhick eyes brooding on the fire. An authoritative knock at the door brought her front her musings. " Who is there ? " she demandetf, approaching. "A friend." ,, " What do you want ? '■ "A little fortune-telling. Open the door, will you ? " Iluldah, used to nocturnal callers, threw' back the door, and a tall man, in a long cloak, came in, and shook the mud and rain off his boots. " A delightful night for pedestrians, Huldah, is it not? I shall nmddy your floor ; but you'll excuse ine, won't you? " lie crosseil over, toolc a seat, and stretched out hi;s splashed boots to the drying influence of the blaze. Huldah stooj^ looking athira without a word. **Tt'sa lucRy thing Tor you, Hiildah, wodO ls^5~ plentiful here, or you would wake up some morning 'M - •rfi&'. 0- THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 253 and find yourself as stiff as Lot's wif(^ but perhaps you never heard of the lady ? Won't ^u be seated ? and don't sy,re so ; it is not polite." " What brings Dr. Stuart here '<" Huldah asked * in her deep Hones, approaching the fire as she spoke. " I told you before, did I got ? A little fortune- telling. I have great faith in you, Iluldali; and have taken a journe^from New York on purpose to see you.'^ k " From New York ! I thought " " You tho|ight," her visitor struck in, as she came to a full stop, ^' I was down South in Dixie, fighting for glory, and s5^on. Oh, no; I've been in New York, and while there called on a pretty little friend of ours. You know her— Mrs. St. Leon. Do sit down ; it makes me uncomfortable to see vou standing up there likd a grenadier on guard." Huldah's stool was behind her; she drew it up, and sat down, keeping her shining black eyes fixed on her visitor, as if fascinated, h«r dark, gipsy face looking weird g^nd uncannyj^nough in the lurid fire- light. "That's right. -Now we can talk comfortably, and 1 have U great deal to say fbyou, Huldah. Can ' you guess what it is about ? " " I don't want to guess." ^ ' . , " No, I should thinknot. Well, I am going to be very frank, and save you the trouble. I told you, as T said, I wanted a little fortune-telling; but I am goi n g to reverseihejYay^y oa usually .iio that-sorfc =^ ^ 'i- - of thing, and instead of you telling me mine, I in- tend to tell ^'ou yours " \v 254 THE SISTERS OF [•^^■Yamv OOD. llifi^dah ssit iiiiniovable, her specl:ral black eyes intdMl^^ fi^ed on his face. Colonel Stuart leaned tdjvards her, and lowered his voice : . . > "I can predict your whole future in two words — a halter!" '•'• '' "^' " liuldah n^vcr moved a muscle, "If, the lialtfer had its duo, my good liuldah, you ' know I shouUl have no companion in this hut. Do you understand jne ? Do you know that they hang . peopl©. for MiKDKii in these United States ? You fn may as well speak, liuldah ; I shall lind means to ' make you presently." • ' " AVhat is the use of speakigg?" exclaimed the - mulatto woman hnpationtly, " when I don't know what you are talking about." / "Bah! I undoi-stand all that! Every crimjnal ^ ])l^ads not guilty when placed in the dock ; but murders are committed, and men, and women, some- times, liuldah, are hung fur tluin. You don't un- tlerstand me, eh? Nejrher could I understand at first why you murdered E. stand — ALL ! The stone face was changeless in its calm. l^ to V SISTERS THE SISTERS OF TORVVOOD. 255. " I know everything from first to fast— the whole dark and shameful story. Not one event that hap- pened from the night Lucy Torwood, your foster child, sought you out, in spite of storm and dark- ness, until that July evening when the atrocious deed was done,.-is hidden from nfe. What do you think of that T' 0. ^ She neither moved nor spoke. The black eyes stiU glared upon him ; the brown face was of cast- iron. "~ . " Still dumb ! Well, I can go further back yet- back to the time before the murdered girl ever canro here, Avhen Lucy TorWood, your nursling, sent you to Cuba to see what she was like beforehand. You performed your mission well — you are a clever woman. Iluldah, you dogged her night and day ; you haunted her like an evil shadow everywhere; you frightened her so that she was glad to leave her island home and come here, sinjply to escape you. She did not escape ; the evening after her arrival you started up before her at the gate of Torwood Towers. I did not know then why :i|||^shrieked and nearl^/ig,inted at tjie sight ; she haJ^eason to," had ^he nof ? " Only that gorgpn-like start for an answer. Colo- nel Stuart, returniflM^ it with compound interest, -^^ kept on. J ;• i& . -V " It was not very wise of you aHf Miss 'Lucy to trust Florence with your secrets and motives ; but perhaps you could hot help it. It was quite a well- laid plan, ^ mttst^ low, and you pk ty ed ghost wt< 3 ont-^ moTTly well in the shrubbery, too. There was a grea^tragic actress lost in you, Iluldah." / ^ ,.v. ,X. ! '%i THE SISTERS OP^ TO [e patiied to stjoke"; the .bli %he cat'3- mistress ^.tiOj^k an^Wsier stool, andlti^ed stQP^tly oii^.^ "You j^^youp hBft^ihg laid your-vpj^ns cleverl^r enough ;th(]^t night On fw^Mi -shgi ^sotight |ff ** ..fjhe: -•■'■- . .1 . .- ^^j , but thcJiuft was iliSc(||ch^et ,^,. , with a great deal |ff ^^*^ppe l^j^hirt^ h, that^,the best Wd s(l^em%'9| :!p^ andtoeii*' ;ley.' It was all laid out bejiutifully ; Wcy understood the haughty nature of jthe susceptible one ot^ Florence, and the 'KttMeilKih carelessness of Madg^, and .were sure of success. Miss Lucy knew the \t^ of her father as pa|i as her prayers, and had raa *' ■Tyou—are yx)i - stern eyesj -A . . «.¥•'' y THE SISTERS OK TORWOOD, 257 " No, . I did not. Edith'^orwood is not murdered, and you' know it ! " ■ ' "Where is she, then?" ' " " You need not ask ; you know better than I " You own the truth of all I have said ? " " I own nothing but this — that if you have come all the way from New York, thinking to frighten *me, you have made the greatest mistake of your life. Edith Torwood is not murdered, and you know it well. If you have finished what you have to say you had better go home." "Very hospitable of you; but I have not quite finished yet. The evening oa which Edith Torwood , was last seen alive you came bMiind her as she sat on the beach. Oh, yoti need not speak-irl know it all; you" lifted heij^i[^ your strong arms, stifled her, cries in a shawl, and bore her off. Since that time nothing has b^en heard of her, and I have come to you to-night todemand a full account of what fol- lowed." " Demand away ! I shall tell you nothing," the mulatto woman said, with grim suUenness." ^ " You may as well — I shall surely leara it before another sun sets.'* "How?" "From Lucy Torwood! You 'may be made of granite, l^ut she is not. I go tliere now, and I shall t(e a^JM^it^less with her as she was with her sister. The pity you .both showed Edith Torwood shall be -shown" to you, sa look k> yom-selves.^*^^ He rose as he spoke, drew his cloak closely around |iiin-drew«his hat down oveuhis brbws, and prepared •fifiifilliiiif "\ THE SI3TERS OF TORWOOD. (^58 to fa(?e, the raw and rainy night, Huklah sitting "all the \ykile like a grim figure of stone. \Once again," he said,. pausing at the door, " will you «peak ? " " I have nothing to say." .^ > "Lucy'TorwoJd will have, then! Good-night to you and pleasant! dreams ! " \ |[e was gone, lost to view in the blackness, the \mo1fi^nt the door closed, Through the forest path, through the meadows, through the shrubbery, back again at Tor wood Towers in an incredibly short spafce of"ti;ue. The 'window of his i-oom opened on the ])iazza, like the rest; he could gtiin admittance that^ way without disturbing any one. Passing to- ward it, he went by another chamber window from which a light shone— a win^iow from which he had more than once watched a girlish figure prowling in* the grounds, A grim smile broke over his face as he watched ihut glimmering star of light.v " Hunted down, Lucy," he was me^t^ally saying, ^ as he went on to his own room. " ^eep to-night, my dear girl, youi' time comes to-morrow." f V \ V -t'- ■» THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD, ; 259 CHAPTER XXIIl. ff in* / UNMASKED, The first morning sunbeams, glancing through the eastern windows of Torwootl Towers, shone on Lucy Torwood, standing before tlie antique mirror in her chamber, smootliing her pretty flaxen hair. Perhaps it was the deep mourning she wore, perhaps it was the altered cxpresbTon of face, but she seemed to have grown ten years older in scarcely that nuin^r-^ •of months. The delicate rose-bloom that had mane her so fresh and pretty, had all departed witli the winter's sun ; the oval cheeks had two ddep hollows,v there were conspicuous lines^eaming the once satiur smooth forehead and the delicate mouth,, But the eyes — those pretty soft blue eyes — had changed more than all. Not in color, of course ; the spring sky, in which the sun shone so brilliantly this genial morning, was not clearer nor bluer ; but all their gentle quietude, all their peaceful tranquillity^was gone. AVild, startled, restless, they flitted froi ject to object with a strange, fluttering glaiice^o affright, never resting longanywhere, always watch- ful, always waiting, always on the alert. Her black dress fitting her slight figure to perfection, her spot- is collar and cuffs, her hair shining like pale gold^ looked very good and pretty still, but not as lUcy Torwood used to look. Something had t .Vx:' '^ m JL HE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. ^ changed her, and not for the better. People said her sister's dreadful and mysterious disappearance . had broken her^ I]^j}^i;^^n d what everybody savs, you know, np^jijiW^W^* <^. >; - On the bed, her shorfe black hair all tossed and disordered, her cheeks flushed with youth and health- ful sleep, her gipsy face resting on her arm, lay Madge, fast asleep. As Lucy finished her toilet and turned to leave the room, she stood for an instant by the bedside, ' looking down at the sleeping face. Startlirigly like ^ her lost sister's in its ropoke, that wild, dark fatee was ; too restless and cha%eful, in her taking hours, for the rlsemblajAce to strike jagi ; but in sleep, save for the bright bloom of col(^^ou might - have fancied Edith, lay before you. \ "' II<^w like ! how likd ! " Lucy said, low, to her- self, her lips trembling ;N and she grows more like her every day. Mad^^e's face haunts me dike the ghost of liie^ead now ! " • Madge, as if conscious^ even in slumber, of her iffl^r's,f^ady gaze, m6ved* uneasily, and murmured sOTtething as she turned on. her pillow and slowly , opened her black ej'^es. I '. ^^ » <|$^^ you ther^ Lucy ? '^e asfead, raising her- self 'Sh her elbo yv, vAth ar^awn. " "W^aat'^he Hiorn- ins: hke 2 " ji«b;. * a*;* -^^ But Lucy, JTaif^gone" down-stairs and into the drawing-roqMM|th^wing^ open windows and doors to^h§ fresh^MTbipze. E very thin^in tha t r oom was unc ii j i &h a nged ^jibe old. o1*gan kept its place still, though the fingers that had onc(3 evoked such melody from its yellow keys (I • M in THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 261 were perhaps tnoldering into dust ; the canaries sang in their cages, and the flower-stands filled the windows ; Madge's straw hat lay in one corner, her mantle in another; the piano stood open, as she had left it last night ; Madame Torwood's chair stood in state in its place in the " ingle nook," and Judge Tbrwood, grini and awful in his judicial ermine, stared j)n all from above the mantle. Lucy, standing beside the piano, looking out at the shining sea, let her fingers stray over the keys, and began, very softly, and half-unconsciously, to " And the stately Bhips go on , ; To the haven under the hill ; * And, oh, for the touch of a vanished hand, sedry as if they had only^parted nine^ hours instead of nine months before. - " I have startled you, I am afraid." >mmii'' 262 THE SISTERS OP TORWOOD. He might well say so. She was standing, holding by the piano with her left hand, while her right was pressed over her heart. Her parted lip^ told how it was throbbing ; her face, pale before, had become perfectly (Colorless ; and her eyes, those startled eyes,^ had dilated to twice their natural size. " I haA^e come upon you too suddenly," he said, advancing, and really a little alarmed. " You look ill ; had you not better sit down ? " She took him at his word, sinking into a chair be- side the window, her hand still , over her trobbing heart. " It is nothing. I am very foolish ; but I have grown so nervous of late, the least thing startles me. And you — you appeared so suddenly so- " She stopped, looking at him, with the same strange glance of affright. " So unexpectedly," said Colonel Stuart, advanc- ing into the room ; " yes, I know I am an unlooked for, very likely t^n unwelcome, guest. But 1 shall not trouble Torwood Towers long with my presence. I le^ive at noon in the stfeamer." "So soon! It was scarcely worth your while to come at all." " I have come on business, not for pleasure. Very disagreeable business, Miss Torwood; very painful tome, very painful to others, but unavoidable. That business is with you.'^ " With me ! " the pale lips faltered. " With you, Miss Torwood," Colonel Stuart reiter- ated, fixing his strong bkre^yes with a powerfui^ glance on the shrinking face ; " and I think you di- vine beforehand to what it relates.'' € I. ■■■'.■ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 263 She tried to look him in the face, and deny, but she could not. The blue eyes, that could be so kindly and genial, were terribly stern and relentless now. She dared not lie iii this truthful, searching light, "and the shrinking face turned to the window, and the frightened eyes averted themselves steadily from that moment^ i (\ He drew a chair up near to where she sat, and leaned forward, speaking pow, and noypr taking his eyes off her, though he l, and the young- est and eldest sister remained at fcome. "The judge in the fullness df time, took u thinl wife and went abroad with ht ) Abn»a4 lus died, leaving a singular will, ^vy wonl of which was prompted, I have no doi4)t, by the third wife, under whoso influence he was as plafttio as wax. It |nv queathed the larger half of irr.s \\jealth and the famij^ homestead to whichever of his four daughtci-ashui*! become the Brido of this thirtl wife's son. Very ro- / fk t '4^ TnanttiErp r Komelliti • ' .» 1%. r> unfair, da you not thiT)k *),^Miss Torwood?'* ' lie might as well have*fepoke$to the wihdoWjOuf^^' "« f .•*• . s 7 4 ,4 «/ / 0-^"' 266 THE SISTERS OF* TORWOOD, of which she was looking, for all the Signs she made of hearing him. " Your namesake, the Lucy Ispeakof,thdughtso, at all events ; and mojjt bitterly resented the wrong that had been done her. She Avas ratiier a strange girl, this Lucy — outwardly the quietest and gentlest of creatures, inwardly crafty, designing, ambitious,' longing for wealth, and the power wealth give^^fl-n* I quite unscrujHilous what means she took to gain he» ends,\;o that these means Avere not found out. By stealth she discovered and read the will, or rather a C9py of it forwarded by her father's widow from Italy ,*iand from that time her mind Was made up to be tfie f(^rtHnate sister, and inherit her father's wealth. Iler sisters Florence and Madge, as rivals, she did not particularly fear, but of Edith she knew nothing: "* In order to find out what kind of a persori Edith was, sjie sent Iluldah, the mulatto I spoke of. Miss Tofwood, all the Wiiy to Cuba, with full directions to discover her sister. Iluldah fulfilled her mission well, and returned with full particulars about the ' time the widow also came. Her son hnd the two absent ^isters were sent for, and the lirst act of the play began." Colonel Stuart stopped. There had been a gasp, a fluttering movement of one hand, a partial turn- ing of the head, and he thought she was going to speak. She did not, however, and he resumed : *' Iluldah and her fqs^er child met one dark night -iii4iioJiut-4Jx-thfr-vv:QQd^ -amUtogetber eoaeeetett- .y ^ ^^^ ■■".'■ "-„$ 1 t t ) t Jp " 1 (i ■ i 1 f . V t " r - w plot, a darff and shameful plot, Misd TorwootP though it broke her sistei's heart. MJSS "r THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. ?67 made htso, ^rong •aoge itlest tious, .■^- • By her a from ap to rher's ivals, mew Cdith Miss tions Bsion r- J the two f the ?alp, ,. turn- 's to ^ light * "Edith was engaged, as they beth knem^to 3KsTh£ a ' y gentleman more remarkable for his good loo^s^an his steadfast principles or feelings of honor. Flor- ence was a beauty and a flirt, and it was settled they jfievQ to be brought together in every possible way arid married. That would be one sister out of the way— Edith, imperious and high-minded, detested her step-mother's son ; therefore was not likely . to be his wife— Madge would never suit him— Lucy was, perfection, or made the world believe she was —what more natural than that the lucky man should grnsp at such an angel bride, with so many dollars thrown in. " Tli^v could calculate shrewdly, Miss Torwood, but tliey reckoned without their host after all. When we see a day too sunshiny we suspect it will % end in storm ; anything too sweet, it is well known, is never wholesome; had Lucy been a little less angelic she might have suit^ better, but like many ptiier actresses, overplayed thejnirt. From the first he suspected her, and suspicion* joon became certain- ty— there were nocturnal meetings in the grounds Avith mysterious personages, and^^nocturnal interviews ' " "seldom are ^ for any good ; tk're were plots and in- ' trigues enough for d tljrec-volame nbvel, and he, at whom she was aiming saw through, and understood it all. It pleased him, howev^pr, to play the uncon- scious for a time, ami the pretty actress flattered herself that he, as well as the rest of the world, took the tinsel for gold. . " All hor Bchcnica aeem n d to lie succeeding to h e r 1 rood. heart's content— the match she had made ended' in every way to. her conteutment— the only rivai^^shd < .1 > Mmca /^.T^^^j/tr" "--^^^f^ 268 THE SISTERS OP TORVi^OOD. dreaded Avas out of the lists, the field seemed clear to herself, Avhen lo ! i» the very hour of triumph, a rival seemed rising in the sister she had feared least ' I suppose It made her desperate to see the ffold- en prize, for which she had plotted and schemed so t.Jong, shppin- through her fingers just as it seemed brer own, and a desperate woman will stoop to des- perate deeds. " Mysteriously Edith disapp_eared-.lisappeared as suddenly and unaccountal>ly as if the ground had opened and swallowed her. All search since has been in vain, but I fiave never despaired of find- ing out what beaa^ie of her. To you, Lucy Tor- wood, I now comfe-the play in which you acted so cleverly is played out-you may'drop the mask you have used so long and tell the truth! Lucy Tor- wood, what have you done with your sister ? " She did not speak. For sometime before her face had dropped on the arm resting on the window and she had never moved since. ' " Miss Torwood," he reiterated, still more sternlf X command you to speak. Is your sister E P^^ Jl^J y from the time her h eud lifid £vM %» > E P a .. , S( 4 • S ir t< a I IP- 1 her arm" In considerable consternation he went out .to the haH ii^- search of he>p, and encountered ^ w^ l» I ■« l.> . ■pf>t* > »■ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 269 Rosie, the housemaid, armed with Isroom atid dust- pan. At sight of the gentleman she dropped both and jumped back as if she had seen a ghost, her soream of surprise ringing through the hall. " Don't make such a row Rosie ; it's only I. Go get some cold water and sal volatile, and fetch them in here. Miss Lucy has fainted." " Good Lord sir ! fainted!" "Yes ; get the things I tell you at once, and. attend to her. Where is Madame TorwoocU " " In her room sir. Shall I- " No, never mind !^ Attend to Miss Lucy first, and when she is restored .you m<7,y tell your mistress I am here, and wish to se6 her as sfieedily as possible. The cold water will bring Miss Lucy to, I thijik." U to .. ' \' * ^ i he . ' * ^ . V 'm .. •■ " >. aiw . , i 1 ,. ' . \ ihe s ■■ ^ * } ,.- /i « " ' " ■ \ • 1 i, lot ' ■• 1 y -,. /■ *■ • nt ed . if . ^ '* ^1 ' * ^'1 • . -I • "'-• P - ■ - 9 ^. . ft ', i M « . 1 /^ f \ 4 i^. I ..^.'. ' , ^ ■ , -;1 mJ > •*•' ".' * - ' 1,- •'•'.*.;>. -...:.„-'i»s^ n't;," .. 270 , THE SISTERS OF TORWOOp. v« / CHAPTER XXIV. A CONFESSION. '^^' Colonel -Stuart went out on tlie piazza, and leaned over the railing to e.^ch the fresh morning breeze. The hoarse barking of dogs came to his ear from tlie shrubbery, and surmising who was there he went down. Two ugly little bull-dogs were fight- - mg furiously, and Madge, in a black straw hat, stood near, urgmg them on. " Go it. Lion ! At him. Tiger ! That's the boy » Good old Tiger ! You'll beat him yet ! I knew vou would." . ,. •' ," Good-morning, Madge," said Colonel Stuart shouting to be heard over the uproar. « Charminc^ employment I find you at this heavenly morning"'' Madge faced round and at sight of the speaker her eyes opened to twice their usual size. " Gracious me ! My stars ! Whoever would have thought it !^' " That's a nice welcome, isn't it, to one you have not seen for nearly a year ? Will you shake hands and say you are glad to see me ? " Madge held out her brvwn digits in greeting. " Of course F m glad t<:> see von . T'd he gls, d tn ooq _ my worst enemy now f^t I have not seen a new face tor the last three moittim, md I declare I'm fit to t .- \ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 271 £ee= die of the blues. Where in the worid did you, of all people, drop from ? " " From New York, the last place." ' " When did you 'conic ? " « Last night. ■ I got in without' disturbing any- body, through the window.". • " l3id you see any of the folks yet— Lucy or your mother?" X^j * " I haye just left Miss Norwood. She has grown "as thin as -a shadow since I saw her last. What is the cause?" Madge looked at him with gravely surprised eyes. " Do you need to ask ? I think we have had enough trouble of late to make the whole of us shadows. 1 have no doubt I would be one myself, only, you see, I have such a powerful appetite. What were you doing in New York. f " I went to New York to make a genteel call on a fair friend of mine— Mrs. Florence, St: Le(^, by name." Madge's eyes flew open again. " What ! call oh Florence ! I don't believe it." . " Disbelieve ijj then." " Did you reaJly, though ? " ^ "I really did. Would you have rae be impolite enough to give her the cut direct ! " ^ ""^-^^ " I should ^1 tempted to give her a cut ^yith ia^ horsewhip if she were oear enough," said Madge/ savagely. " Lion ! Tiger ! be still, you noisy brutesA What had you to say to Mrs. St. Leon i "^ ( " Ob, acvcml thiugb, that I didn't think-sbo onrvA r about hearing. She is just as pretty as ever, and very popular in New York." ^I'i' ' THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. " Is she ? Ah ! " cried Madge, cjawing the air vi- - ciously with her fingers, "hpw I wish she were with- in reach of my nails ; wouldn't I lacerate her beauty for her! Where's he?" , " Captain St. Leon ? Down South m Dixie. I live in the hope of raeetini him some day, and spoil- mg his beauty for him. I say, Madge ! why don't you ask after Lieutenant Moreen ? He's quite well though, at least as well as the poor fellow is ever likely to be in this world ! There, don't blush • he told me all about it." , ' " Bother ! ' Wh^e's Angus Torwood ? " " At Washington, in the hospital- wounded, but not badly. Mr. McPherson was there, too, when I . left." , - . ' , * ' " I know it ; everybody's left Torwoodtown ; and of all the dismal holes-^-'' a despairing gesture finished the sentence. "My poor Madge ! And how do you managa\to exist in it at all ? " ° \ _ " Echo answers, how ? for lam sure I don't know. < One dreary day drags on after another, and I gape from morning till ni^ht, and I am at this present , moment on the verge of melancholy ,madn4s. "if ^ you see a paragraph in the papers- befqre loner headeck 'Melancoly Suicide ^^ High Life ! ''you may know that it refers, to me without reading it. Ti^er, if you don't stop that noise this minute, you'll come m for the best thrashing you have haH in a month of .Sundays ! " *• " Madge ! " cried Colonel Stuart, sp e aking frnm a /T /* r sudden impulse «y<)a want a changed (^ome with me to Washington." ' ^ ^ "^ • n- ith- Mty . I >oil- 3n't -ell, ver he but n I 4 J re ilo pe int tf %y ne th A= ^ r /" ^ ''^iS THE SISTERS OE^rOUWOOD. 273' " What to do there ? ' n " Anything you like. Nurse the sick in the hos- pital. Lots of young ladies do it." " I should like it of all things, but, la! what's the i use of talking ? I won't be let ! " ^ \ " Who'll hinder r' ' - ' ■' ^^■ " Why, Lucy and your mother. * It wouldn't be proper, and it wouldn't be this, that, and the other thing.' Oh, I know!" T^^ " You shall coincif you WMit it, and neither Lucy nor my mother will object. It depends on yourself — yes or nof" "Yes, to be surG. I'd go to Greenland for a chang^."^ ' " ' \ " But I leave at noon in the steamer. Can you be j-eady in four or five hours r' " In half th4 time, sir. I'ni not a young lady of furbelows and flounces, I'd have you know. Well, Rosie, what do you want |^ " A letter for you, sir,",^sie said, handing one to - Colonel Stuart, "from Miss Lucy." jMadge stared. " Never mind, Madge," said he, leisurely opening it ; " it's no affair of yours,^my dear ; so run off afid begin packing." \ ' \ j v i 3Iadge, not quite sure that it was Aot all a .delightr^ ful dream, darted off, and Colonel Stuart broke the seal of the letter. Lucy Torwood's delicate tracery was not quite so steady a^suai, and the epigtle be-, gan abruptly enoughs '^ . ' I th *^ If Colonel Stuart has any pity, can feel any com- passion for so Ipst and fallen a V retch as I am, he i8 -■\ fm... Wf^ ^ , • i.. 274 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. Will depart from Toru'ood Towers Avithout forcing me to see him again. For the last nine months f hav-e been waitmg for what has cometoday I am *U1 that you say, a base intriguer, a miserable hVr cnte ; you cannot loathe ancfdespise me more tC I loathe and despise myself ; but 1 am no murderess I was mad ; I know it now ; but as Heaven he?rs and wfl judge me, the worst I intended was to take Jo wfe.^^^"^ ^^^' -^ ^-- ^- ^-k t^ Cut: "Her abduction was no work of mine I knpw nothing whatever of it ; I never dreamed'of s ch a thing -It was all the work of Huldah. I do not at tempt to ceny that I had plottedwithHuk lah kit never tor timt-never, nevir ! 1 cannot deny eite J that froin the first moment her loss Avas(liS^ered I knew who her abductor was ; but I dared not spetk I .knew she was not murdered ^ ' "Huldah confessed all to me the next time we met ,und owned she had planned it all out lont before ,, hand with the secret craftiness of the paniall/[n' sane. Some friends of hers-negroes, of VourSv' ?S ofTortoiir' ^" '''' ''f^'^^ ^^^ o t." ner, ami thither Huldah conveved her in i flnnL'n,r cart, that July ni^Wit we missedLr. The low "ev^ burning in her veins before she left chanJed in the wi:%e^ dlTt^f '-^"^"^ n^^-«' and^vMle vt uZl searching for her over the country, she Was lying there delirious. Heaven alone knows how I felt ; but I had gone too far to recede. Mv cowml heart WQuld notlet me speak. I feared JoJcn}nnl\ Stuart, and the first tim'e Idared breShrf eSv w^, when you left the Towers. It Edith lived, my Yn en dS Then'' \T ^''' T'^y^^ b^^k to Cuba^ Tf she ^hf^i : i^^ ^^^'*^*^ "^"s* ever remain untold =buis niorning. Itju Icnow sTie recovered and ~~~ escaped. Ho,v she did it, <,r where she v^^ttofw -),^.. THK SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 275 what has become of her, I know not ; but I am cer- tain you do. " Colonel Stuart, I have spoken the trutli at hist, Edith lives ; and if so lost a creature as I am dared thank God for anything, it^Hmld be for that. If 3'ou have any mercy, you will jmre mo the ])ain of a second interview^ Some ilPTor .,, perhaps, 1 may kneel before Edith and ask IflPTorgiveness, and her good-nature is so great she will grant it, I know. I have sinned, but I have also suffered. Even you Colonel Stuart, might feel for me a little, if you, knew how." It ended as abruptly as it had begun. Colonel Stuart, refolding it with a very grave face, caught sight of Rosie, lingering still. " Ohf T thought 3'ou had gone, Rosie. Do you Avant anything? " he asked. " Yes, sir ; misses is awake now, and says would you please walk up to her room at once ? " Colonel Stuart nodded, p«,^i^cy's letter in his pocket, and walked slowly^ack to the house. *' So far, so well," he said to himself. " Poor Lucy ! even old Nick is not as black as he's painted, Tve heard, and I believe Lucy really tells the truth at last. There's Madge at the window, all ready, I see ; sp now for a parting interview with my lady mother." , , / .«>»^ ' / - /• 1 « . ■ - ! * . ' ( , ■H ( \ 1 --''" J . i- i * i- .' * - ■ > ^- - i * ' # # J 1 ."»v . , • • . a^^^-ii^.V. ..,■.. .,,,v,, . ' , . I i % -*. «. \ .&, \ % X- /- < ( IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT.3) s 1.0 I.I S Si Hi uo 2.0 IL25 II 1.4 tuft I 1.6 % ^Sdmces. .CorporaliGn '^$\^ 4!^ <«^*^ ^ 23 WIST MAIN STRKT WI1STM,N.Y. USM (7l6)t7a-4S03 ■- - <" *> jm% :\^i^s< ■;#*3^»'afc.' \:^' 276 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 7-r 8ISTEB MABIE. vv„t 77°"^ day ending i„ aeet ana snow, though it was hte m spnng, was closing in even ng glf„„ over Washington City. The lamps in the ling dim msles of the hospital wards were ^lely glimmering on the restless sufferers, tossing dreiuy oHh^ fevensh beds. They glimmered on the docLs g5^ theirevenmg rounds, and on the blaek-tobTflgu.^ of the Sisters of Charity, flitting from coneh to couch ministermg to the sick soldier, lying theln Restless on his hot bed, listening to thetvailingof the raw night wind, to the sleet lashing the wi^ o«s, and to the moans of his sick commdes, a sd- dier lay near the end of the ward. Tossing first to one side and then to the other, in 'the impatient wav pecuhar to sick men, he looked at the fLble lam™ overhead, at the passing physicians and nur^s "rift Jidpty impatience, and at last hailed on# of the latter going by. " Sister Marie I " A nun slender of figure, youthful of face, turned at the call. Youthful of face, but startlingly color- less in the lamp-light, and lighted bya paifot luml-" nous d a rk . y«, Wonderfnl ^yes thV We, fiiir^ - -"* ^j'^13 i/uov were, lujjor Strange power and intensity, solemn, mystic, and % VS^tl i ■<= - r THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 277 laniltjdy. ^very face, it is said, is either a his- tdh or a prophecy — liers was a history— a history of siifferinfij and endurance ; of conquered pride and re- bellious spirit ; of patience and waiting, calm wait- ing for the end. She turned now at the sound of her name, with her large, dark, mournful eyes fixed expectantly on the patient's face. " "Doyou want anything. Captain Torwood?" she asked, in a low, sweet voice, rendered most musical by a slight foreign accent. " I want to know if there are no letters for me. It is time there wer*." " There can be none, or you would have received it before now. YoU must learn to wait a little more patiently, or you will work yourself into a fever." " How's a fellow to help it ? " grumbled Angus, "stretched here like an overgrown baby from week's end to week's end, with nothing more exciting to happen than being stared at by visitors, or the com- ing of your gruel and beef-tea ! I'll go mad if I'm kept here much longer." A faint, moonlight sort of smile dawned on the pale face of Sister Marie. " pjfcience, patience, Captain Torwood ! You must learn, as well as the rest of the world, the great lesson of life — endurance. You are only in the alphabet now." '* J never want to get beyond it, then ! Confound the coloneH why doesn't he write? I beg your par don, si ster — but he ought to write ! " # " Is Colonel Stuart your military correspondent T'* " y^. You see, Sister Marie," Angus said, ear- 278 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. mtly, "he has gone on most important bnsiness- muXf' '"" " "* "''''"^'"' '^ -nost mysterious at prXtt,.''"^''' ''"""^ echoed, recoiling " A most mysterious anil shocking murder If you ever road ibe papers you must have seen it. Xhe victm was a cousin of mine, Edith Tonvood S buTT'-r" 1 ""* "°'"'-'^' "•°"- "■»' -■-■ ave her ^, ,% "'' ■^°''"' "<"• S<>°1"e^s could save her. She fell a victim to the iealousv an,l avanceofadcHon in femMe form-ber own^Sl He broke off suddenly. Sister Marie, standin.. with averted face, bad made a sudden and passion" ate gesture with one band passion- suImwL'""':''',''"*! ."°~' «"" y»» tell me of such thi»g8! she said m a Voice so agitato THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 281 ^he turned from him to the mother, her hands clasped, her lips parted. " Oh, mother " " Go in, dear child," the elder lady said, looking at her with smiling eyes ; " fear nothing. No one but your friends ^will come here." " Is it — tell me, is it — " Sister Marie began, hur- ried and agitated, but the colonel interfered. " I have promised not to tell you anything. The young lady I bri^g knows how to speak for herself. Come!" He turned into the parlor. Sister Marie made no motion to follow him until the mother, still sniiling encouragingly, took her by the hand and led Ijer forward. In the blaze of the chandeliers sat a girl dressed in deep black, youthful and slender, Avith a pair of great black eyes flashing back the gas-light, and a jocky hat set on a profusion of black braids — for Miss Madge Torwood's locks had grown of late. The moment Sister Marie entered she sprang up from her seat, made an impetuous rush at her, And caught her in her arms with a shrill scream of "Edith!" • A t •A ♦ 282 THE SISTERS OF TOKWOOD. CHAPTER XXYI. resubgamI esa sea for her wmding-sheet, but sitting here in the amp-hght, w,th Madgo clinging to her, crying and auglung, and talkihg, all together, w th^hoC be ween. Pale and shadowy, certainly, the dlrl? thm face wasted by^ sifkness and suffering the old hanghty look gone, the old hanghty step' and btanng altered, bnt the gr.at, darkf solemn^je uncbanged, the old rare smile that was wont to light Yes-Krr '".^"SMy, bright as ever still. 1 es, Edith, nsen again. It was all over, the first agitated meeting Questions had been asked and answered, no end of kissing and ecstatic hugging on Madge's part, and nov Edith was sitting down, white Itnd agitkted, but trying hard to be calm ; and Madge ^vaf kneei: ing before her, her arms round her waist, her black eyes intently gazing at the Creole face, asking a shower of breathless questions. Colonel Stuart stood, as he had been standing ever since their en- trance, by the window, his baclr to them, absorbed seemingly m looking at the black, blind night, and listening to the wild spring storm. Thfy 'were ^ne together, for the mother had gone.^ "" " And so you are not de^d in spite of everybody Y • THE. SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 283 "-uayiflg so, and not a nun, though you wear their dress? Well, I ne<^er! " Madge was exclaiming for the dozenth time. "I do dechire it's the most wonderful affair I ever heard of — beats the ' Castle of Otranto,' and the ' Mysteries of the Forest,' all to sticks. You might have knocked me down with a feather when Colonel Stuart told me about it first. Begin af the beginning, like the author of the 'House that Jack built,' and tell us all about it." Edith smiled — the imperative tones reminded her so of the authoritative Madge of other days. " What do you mean by * all about it„' i^a ehere ? Do you not know all already ? " " No, nor half ! I know Huldajj /carried you off that night in a donkey cart to some old hut out- side of Torwopdtowri, and that you were there crazy with brain feveti While' we were going-distriicted and raising the country generally in search of you. I tell you >vhat, Edith, the war in Maryland was a small circumstance about that time compared with the hunt we Jiad for your melancholy remains and assassinators ! How long were you with Iluldah anyway ? " - - f'Over two, nearly three m'bnths. That I re- covered from that dreadful fever is in itself almost a miracle. The old negress that owned that hut was doctor and nurse herself — I never saw another creature whilp there, except Iluldah. She was kind enough to me, too, after a fashion of her own, but I fancy, was heartily tired of her charge long before she was rid of me." — _ — „ " What did they intend doing with you after you got well ? " if <^ 284 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. f « Of^iw^? '"^^'^^"'^ lengthened. . Ut allthe l.ypocrites-but then. I'd raf horn. f mention her, for fear 1 might get exci ed DM h you ,vant to get back to cSba f " ^'^"^ "Sister mine," said Editli, sorrowfnllv « f .u sJiould I have nono ? Ar,. «wtuJly, to whom -^;,.a.ti&.^-J-- ^. Madge administered a few consoling hugs and ;; Poor, dear Edith! So you ran away ? " ■ 1 did when I was strong enough " said Fdif], smihn Hiiicn ^\as not for manv a wearv J.,,/ 1 knew where T u-.c t 1 ^veaiy uay. plan, and quieM, l.ic,:"";; "''ne,"'"™'^^ ""^ "- Stuart, turning l.is crave fneJf ' ., '^°''""'' among tl,e rest hou- terribly Lir v^T 7 ' would be at your loss " ^"^ *'™"''^ ily'fo'hi? L":"""^"^ '"'' ■'"-' ""--'- stead- Tnrw/ w""''' ' *''"''™'' ^"■•»'«'<' hated me • Luev Madge. soW;.p,S Cr^jid^rtXt™ f THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. •>8'^ less romp, with no love or care for anytliing eurthlv^ but lier dogs and horses. Who were my friends at Torwood Towers?" " Now, if there ever was heard s(j ungrateful a speech ! " slirilly broke out Madge. " Weren't -^ve on the verge of killing you with kindness that time before you disappeared, when you went difwdling about, day in and day out, neitlier sick nor well, but just as aggravating as ever you could be^ ^ A " Didn't Madame Torwood call you 'my dearj''"" three distinct times in my own hearing i .didn't Lucy l)repare oceans of beef-tea, and chicken broth, and calves' feet jelly, which you woukln'teat^ and didn't > I make a martyr of myself every day of my life[ devouring them for you, r " Didn't Dr. Stuart launch into the wildest exn travagance in the Avay of books and muigazinos, andl spend all his spare change buying you flowers and fruit, and various, things of that sort ? Then, as for Florence, you owe her more than anybody else, for; if ever you came to luck in your life, Edith Tor- wood, it was getting rid of that niean little danf dified Jackeymo St. Le^^ Friends indeed- i that just shows how much SStitude there is in this world ! " T ' )it^ -Madge's eloquence, when it broke forth, was like a mountain torrent, resistless. Both Edith and Colonel Stuart broke into a smile. " I am not so ungrateful as you thiqk. Miss Madge," Edith said, 43aressing the indignant face. " I remem- ber well how kind you all were in those days ; but nothing could have templed. infebacTc to Torwood ~^ Towers. I knew I w^s thought to be dead, I knew . ! < 'I /T '"^ '286 THE SISTEJ?S OF TORWOOD. clilJIJent search was being made for rtie,1>ut my whole thought was how to evade -it, to escape from you " Tn the dead of nigTi|, #hen my l^lack nurse lay ^ hm led in c ecpest sleep, I made my escape, found my .>y mto the town, and next^uorning at dayii^.t . was nngmg tl>e bell at-the convent door. The xrood i T'^, ^T^ ""'' welV^ort as my st^iy.had beSi^t ^ Tonvbod Towers; with them I knew I was safe- with them I felt sure of alvelcome ahd tf j^ome ' I need not speak of the shock, the amazement, almost consternation, of the sisterhood at seeing the dead alive. I explainecUs much as was Necessary to al except the mother^to her alone I told all, ami asked for secrecy and shelter, for the present at least. I scarcely knew what I meant te do-go to' the city and try to ol)tain, under an assumed pame a situation as governess, or something like that T Avished to take the veil, but our kind mother would not let me act on impiilse. ' Wait, dear child,' she and If, after half a year, you find you really have a • . vocation, no one will be happier than I to receive you among us.' So, Ma "I should have known, and in that case would -have aiipcared ; but no one was. J In-ed on with ; f h ." -i t \ THE SISTERS\^PK TOmVoOD. ^ »87 the sisters, ami, liavipg no^ dresses of my /<>\vn, as. j^suraed a habit simil^ir to theirs, to avoid exciting re- iTjarks by peculiarity of costumi;. I dropped my first -.nkhie of Edith, and took my secoml, ]\I;i,rie, so that 1 . wear this reclUse robfe, a^id am called/Sister Marie, without bciiiij in the least a nun." " For which, thanksgiving I *^Vilat's more, I don't - \ beli eve yoiyiev'er will b'ea nun," sidd Madge, her" eyes twinlang. " And so. when the j-est of-tlio sisters came here to h)ok afte^^fne wounded soldiers, Sister Marie came with. them?" .^-^ . " She did, very glad to get anywhere out of for- woodtown, and here she has been since." " And so we have gdt to the end of the story, by a somewhat circumbendibus route, at last," said Madge, drawing a long breath. " AncLnow, what's the next thing that'^ to ^happen, I should like to knowl" ^ ^ , " "Should you f" said Colonel iStuart, advancing.- -"^ Don't bo too impatient, myjdear Madge, and you shall hear all about it. Sisteir' Marie— Mir,s T^orwood ^ By the way, mademois^le, how are we to address you J^" " Oh, sav Edith : the other two are misnomers." " ' Say Edith ! ' ". mimicked Madge. " Tliere was a time when Dr. Stuart scarcely dared to look at Miss Edith Torwood, much less pronounce her august name. But then, he's q, colonel now, and time and military button^ do work wonders." Th(B old wicked light sparkled in the laughing ^lue eyes. Colonel Stuart turned on Edith, and Edith's pallor lapsed for a moment into' "celestial ros^red," \ "..•,.- \ ,1 . ^ I •L- l,\» .-> 288 THE SISTERS OF TOgWOOD. ft' There was a time, little sister, when I did not know my friends from my enemies," Edith said, her sweet voice trembling a little ; " but that time is past, and forever. I know Colonel Stuart far better than I ever did Dr. Stuart." ^, "And like him a little better, I hope," saidUt- , spoken Madge; "he -is not so utterly depraved after all. Even Old Harry, they say, is not L black as he is painted." ' Colonel Stuart n-tfide Madge a bow. _ "I appreciate tiie compliment, mademoiselle Do you remember," turning to Edith, « the morninir after your arrival here ? " ^" When I encountered you, and Angus, and Mr. McPherson ? " she said, looking amused. «Is it likely I shall forget it ? "i* "Talk of galvanic shocks," said the colonel • « I never was so completely electrified in all my 'life I was confident you were living, but I had no more Idea of meeting you here than I would of meetiuL' Madge in the wilds of Kamschatka. I frightened Angus out of a year's growth, I believe, too." " What a mercy-you did not swoon in somebody's arms," said Madge, turning up the whites of her eyes. « How did you scare Mr. Torwood ? » ^ " ^y whispering in his ear one little phrase, ' Edith ' ^shere!^ The cry he gave at the announcement brought up Mr. McPherson, and Angus afterward told him all. Did you really think you were unrec- ognized, Edith?" "I really did. I knew my illness Jiad altered me • =ftml then there was my ffl^pise— my nun^rdress"^^ An^s sometimes gave me reason to" think he sus^ V THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 289 '*-rr pected ; but you were all very discreet, Colonel Stuart." " Why didn't you let Edith know you recognized her ? " Avas Madge's sensible question, and Colonel Stuart laughed. " One (5i my whims, I suppose. I had a fancy for "finding out the whole thing first, by myself — the pretense being to know for certain whether or not she really were a Sister of Charily." " That was nothing to you, I should think," said Madge. gj^ " Wasn't it ? " replied Colonerafuart, with a queer look. " 1 found out my way from Mother Frances, and thus set out for New York, where Florence was, and is, flourishing like a queen, to begin my investi- gation., A rare fright I gave Mrs. St. Loon, and in her terror she made an open cojifession of all, I had long ago suspected Lucy ; but my suspicions became certainty then. I returned to Torwood, had an interview with Huldah, who proved obdurate as a rock, and ; would reveal nothing. It mattered little, however. I knew I could force a confession of guilt from Lucy herself, and did so, before I saw you next morning, Madge." " It seems to me you took a great deal of trouble for nothing," was Madge's comment. " You saw somebody else before you left, too." " My motjiftp.— ji^fis ; and that reminds me she will be here to-morrow to take charge of you again. Miss Madge, and to — to welcome you, Edith, back to life." — "^eis very kind," Editli said, shrinking a Uttte^ however, at the idea of meeting her frigid step- mother. 19 290 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. Colonel Stuart saw it. " I '-assure you," he said^ earnestly, « you will find glad to see you. Her m,h Was that you should ;:wi^!^;,^^^--^-^^^^''-vhiLh^ shall remain here. Madge, of course, will stay with her ; but this is my home." ^ ;; Until you return to Torwood Towers you mean " «I am not sure that I shall ever return there Colonel Stuart-never, at least " ' She stopijed ; but he understood her ' ."While Lucy is there. Can Sister Marie not for give and forget ? " . ^ ^^^' " I have forgiven long ago-forgotten is quite an other matter. Lucy would no mo^e wish to see me" there than I should wish to go " ^ ^vill not object to seeing her, Edith?" ' Certainly not, Colonel Stuart." " C'an't I see Angus to-night ? " asked Madge " I I r 1 1 J f ^r^t^ then^MiTTOloIonl, taking u hat. I shall see you both early to-morrow." his hat. up ;i. J 1!V«,.„»1jO , «- *£iit - vJL^;''!' THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 291 Edith looked at him wistfully. " I have not thanked you yet, Coloilel Stuart, and I owe you a great deal. How am I to prove. I am not, as Madge says, ungrateful ? " He turned round with the old bright smile she remembered so well. , " By granting me a boon I am going to ask before long." She looked puzzled. " What is it ? I don't understand." " Madge is listening, and might be scandalized," he said, laughing. " I can't explain now. You shall have a chance to prove your gratitude, though, Miss Edith, before long ; and so, good night." or •+i-/j^ i f'^te.rt**''' 292 . THE sVsTERS OP TORWOOD. CHAPTER XXVII. I POSSIBILITIES. " Man proposes," so do young latlies occasionaU^ and uuth the same result. Eolith had made up h^^ mind to stay in the hospital ; but wW-MadaiS^' Torwood came there in state, in ajflnd barouche, her graceful form enveloped /a stylish velvet '"? .' 3^^^"^ ^"""''^« ^^dole"t of perfume, her cobm,b t^nakerehfef moist with penitent teai^and desceiAJing gracefully into th:eTalIcy of Humilia- tion, implored forgiveness for the past, and friend- ship for the future, Edith could not/refuse. I^either could she, when implored, as a pro/)f of that forgive- ness, decline visiting madame id her hotel f so half-yielding, half-reluctant, the/great lady carried her point and her Creole stepnl^ughter back with her, and, what was more, had kept her ever since Marvelous was the change that had come over the spirit of madam's dream. Edith wa^ in a fair way of being killed with kindness in her step-mother's extreme solicitude to atone for the past ; and Edith ( being a good Christian as you all know, could do no less than smoke the pipe of peace, and submit to being called "my love," and kissed every night and morning, with a good grace, fe^Tiretty ^tting-room, rooking out on a lon^ street, a young lady sat in a low rocking-chai^ THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 293 swaying to and fro, and alternately watching the stream of restless life below and reading the morn- ing paper. ^ young lady, tall and slender, black- eyed and curly-haired, whose rosy cheeks and crim- son Zouave jacket were of much the same shade, and xvhose restless foot beat somebody's tattoo on tite carpet impatiently while she rocked. It was Miss Madge Torwood, of course, who un- able to scour the country as of yore, the moment she was out of dreamland, was sitting thus arrayed for the day at eight in the morning, waiting for somebody to come and call her to breakfast. Meanwhile, by way of sharpening her appetite for that meal, she was devouring the latest news from the seat of war. A skirmish had taken ]>lace somewhere, with no decisive results on either side, and Madge was deep in the dismal details, when the door opened, and somebody came in. Down went the paper, and up jumped the youngest Miss Tor- wood. ' " Is breakfast read . Wh}^, good gracious me ! Angus Torwood ! you never mean to say this is you ? " '^ For instead of Filine, madam's maid, who had come with her from Torwood, a pale, hollow- cheeked, sunken-eyed vision, in the blue and gold of Uncle Sam's service, stood before her, chapeau in hand. " It's all that's left of me," said Captain Tor- wood. " How do you do this morning, Madge ? Rea ding the new s?" _^^___ Madge, with her black eyes very wide open in her astonishment, pushed a chair toward him. .4.M-»^ i ' ^'^ 294 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. " Sit down ! Who on earth would ever think of seeing you at this hour of the day ? Has the hos pital taken fire, and have they turned you out on the charity of the world, to cool yourself? I de Clare yoii lock as if you had been dead a week and somebody had dug you up.*' ' , ^" Thank you. Miss Torwood ! you always were more candid than polite. I suppose the rest of the good folks are not up yet ? " "Up yet ! " reiterated Madge, in tones of piercing shrillness; "if folks will sit up to three or four o clock in the morning, they Wt be expected to get out of bed at day-dawn. \ say it's a downright scandal burning gas and candles and savino- the sun tlie way people do in this house, and I mean to she , Edith a piece of my mind ^bout it just as soon as she makes her appearance." " Fhat kept Edith up to three or four in the raormng?" inquired Captain Torwood, hooking a stool toward him with the .head of his cane and resting his feet thereon. •l^nT ^^^^^'^^^^ ^ Settling the affairs of State with Colonel Stuart and his mamma. I went down this mbrnmg just to see, and, if you'll believe me the candles, six long wax candles, lighted for the hrst time at half-past eight last night, were bnriie.1 clear down before these three left the parlor^kst . "Is it possible ? » said Angus, smiling at Madge's indignant solemnity ; " and why didn't Madge make one of the party ? " ^ "^For the very best of reasons, they^otildn^ let^^ me! Oh, no! it would never do for me to hear THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 295 their secrets, so I was politely turned out. But the next time they do it," cried Madge, glaring at va- cancy, "I'll listen at the keyhole, I \yill, sahelp nie ! The Torwoods are getting mean enough for anything— there's Lucy turned out a sinner and a reprobate on the face of the earth ; there's Flor- ence running away with another girl's property ; there's yourself getting bullets in your system, all in pursuit of glory ; there's Edith going Vo marry Paul Stuart, after pretending to hate tiie ^ery ground he walked'on. I don't kno%v what things are coming to, but I do know this world is allXHeol- ing show, as Mr. Moore remarks, and nobody in 'it can be trusted as far as you can see him or her, and I'll listen at the keyhole if they won't let me in— you see if I don't, that's all ! " ~ " How do you know Edith is going to be married to Colonel Stuart ? " Angus asked. "How do I know!" retorted Madge, in high tones of scorn. " How do I know the sun is shinning up in the sky there! Because I see it. Dgn't 1 know he is going to buy Torwood Towers from his mother— it's hers now, it seems— buy it at wliatever Mr. McPherson and a lot of others may value it at ; and don't I know he refused to have anything to do with that will, and that we four girls are to get our equal share of papa's money, as if the will had never been made ; and I know that Lucy and Ma- dame Torwood are going off to Europe together ; and I know what's worst of all, that I'm to be sent , to school, as if I wasn't learnetl enough for every=-- thing now, and to a convent at that ! I wish the convent joy that gets me, anyhow ; they'll be just 296 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. as sorry for having me there as I "am to go, or my name's not Madge ! " "And how have you found out all this, pray? At the keyhole ?" inquired Angus. Madge nodded, mysteriously. " Never you mind. Captain Torwood. i've found it out, and that's enough. Will you go to Edith'4 wedding ? " ^ / " If I am asked — ^certahilv." / " Oh, you will ! There was a time— but no mat- ter— you might blush if I allude to it. I suppose you'll be off, going to the war again, and getting a few raprCbullets into you now that you're able to be about ? " " Would you be sorry, Madge ? " "Sorry for what?" " If I were shot." " Yes, I would," said Madge, snappishly. '« Who do you suppose wants to wear bombazine and black crape now that the hot weather's coming on? If it was the fall now it would be different, but I dare say you'll go and get killed the first thing, just for contrariness ; it would be exactly like you men to do it ! " / ! THE SISTERS 01- TOKVVUOD. 3r my, pray? founcj dith'i i^at- ppose ing a )le to Who alack ? If dare It for 3n to CHAPTER XXVIII. A NEW FRIEND. " My dear Madge," said Angus, " it seems to me you're cross this morning, aren't you ? Is it for want of your breakfast, or " A tap at the door interrupted him. It was Editli, dressed in black, still her favorite hue, but with knots of purple ribbon relieving its somberness, and with bows of purple in her shining dark hair. She was looking infinitely better than on the night of Madge's arrival. Edith must have found some elixir of life in those few days, for she looked a new being, tier astonishment at seeing her cousin almost equaled that of Madge. / " Why, Angus," she said, coming forward with outstretched hand, " is it possible ! Who would have expected to see you here I " Angus laughed. " Madge says I look as if I had been dead and dug up ; but she can't say the same of you. You are ys blooming as a rose, Edith.'' " Oh, to be sure," said Madge, " sitting up to the small hours and sleeping until noon is enough to make a howling wilderness bloom." (Madge's similes were always rather wild, if you remember.) "I hope you three settled the Avhole thing for good last night." '^^^.^ 298 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. "Settled what?". "• Your wediling, of course, if you must have it in plain English ! When is it to be? " . " Madge ! " " That's no answer to my question. If you won't tull me, 1 mean' to ask Colonel Stuart, when'he comes, and not we^r myself to skin and bone with suspense as I am doing. Who's this ? Come in ? " Another tap at the door.; this time Madame Tor-' wood sailed in, in a vast white wrapper, holding a letter in her hand. As a matter of course, she, too was surprised at sight of Angus at such an hour] particularly as it was his first time out. "Dear me, Cai)tain Tor wood ! What an un- expected pleasure ! ■ When did you come ? " " Half an hour ago. I had a presentiment Madge might be out of humor, and stepped in to soothe her." " Very polite of you, I am sure. Edith, I have a letter for you." " For me ! " exclaimed Edith ; " from whom ? " " You. never would guess ! From Lucy ! " She held out a tiny note, superscribed in the deli- bate chirography of Lucy Torwootf, Madge whistled Angus looked grave, and Edith's face flushed as she tore It open. Very short it was-only two lines, but tears sprang to Editl^'s eyes as she read them. "MvSistek:— I am very sorry for what 1 have done. Forgive me— I shall never forgive myself. ;.' ^ '_ ' ;: , , " iaic Y . »" 1. " Has she told you she is going away, Edith ? 1 V, :!^&iiiaA:'^&i r_ ^3i.^^i!ii---f ? ■. THE SISTERS OK TORWOOD. 299 asked madmiv as^ith stood silejkt with the note in her hand. ^^ "No, madam." , r ^ ', ,^' Where is she going to ? " asked fierce Madge. " Mr. and Mrs. Emory, are ^ing to Baltimore this week, and have invited her to accompany "them. Slie will go, she sajs, and stay until -I call for hei^' So, Edith, my dear, there will be nothing to prevent' y4> and Paul from going to Torwood Towers im- meduitely after the ceremony ! " m. "After what ceremony?" inquired l»Madg^ with an innocent faeer*s ^'My dear Madge, little girls -should be seen an^ not heard. Captain Torwood, you will stay and breakfast with us. Come along, it is wait- ing.'' " Oh, be joyful ! " cried Madge, springing up. " Captain Torwood, permit me to offer you my arm to the b^^eak'fast parlor. You don't look fit for such a journey unaided. We'll give you something bet- ter than -the gruels and (\vy toast ' Sister Marie ' used to dose you Avith in the hospital ! " As they all toojc their T)laces) round 4lie "table, and Madame Torwood was mttering away among the cu'|)s and saucers, Fifine put in her head all stream- ing with pink ribbons. •* ^ "Colonel Stuart is below, nlS,dam, and )vants to see you." . ," So early ! Tell him to come up." Colonel Stuart came hastily up-stairs, and m^de Jiis appearance in the breakfast roomi- /' Good morning, all ! I thought I should find you here, Torwood. Have you heard the news ? " >>4, i',fi,.-» £#w Ki 300 • THP SISTER^ OF TORWOOD. -^ : ' , "What /lews?" asked- his mother. "Will you take a cup of tea ? " " Thank you. You iiaven't heard it, then ? You know there caifiQ a lot of wounded late last ni^^ht to the hospital?" ° " Yes," said Angus, to whom he spoke. "Well, sir," said'Golonel Stuart, stirring his tea " this morning I went the rounds, and whom do you' supi)ose I saw in the very bed you so lately vacated^ " " I couhhi't guess." " Captain Giaccomo St. Leon." , ' There was a general exclamation, and Madge's tea, in her surprise, went the wrong way, and nearly choked her. The diversion caused by this was some time in subsiiling, and by the time it was over, so was the first shock of the announcement. " Nobody else," said Colonel Stuart, « and with his right arm off, pooifplow. It was he knew me ' first— a saber cut across the face, received long ago has altered him so, 1 should never have recognized him. He bears his misfortune like a man f must say, and seemed only too glad to have fallen into my hands." They were all silent for a few minutes. Madge . looked cunningly at Edith, but Edith's face )vas thoughtful and serious, nothing more. St^ Icon was to her as an utter stranger now. " Does the saber cut s^l his good looki asked, a little disappointed at her sister's "More's the pity— yes. St. Leon.. can never set up for a lady-killer again." gfc-jj* I should think it wouid wDHxMm^om bly— T aa^ it would me if I lost mine ! " ^- ,<^ ll ,1^' THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 301 " My dear Madge, what are you talking about \ You have none 19 lose ! " I Madge dropped her knife and fork with an omi- iSJDUs clatter, but; madam interfered, ji Madge, be quiet. Paul, you ought to know bet- , •! He bears his afflictions with fortitude, then— Who would qver "think he Avas such a Christian ? " " He bears thej» like a ^philosopher, not like a Cbristian. What is to be will be, is his rpotto still. Besides," and Colonel Stuart's eyes looked roguish. " he is married, and wha^odds about a married man's looks ! " ' ' Edith smile(\, Jbut her face lookefl serious still. " Does he speak of his wife ? " a^ked Angus. " Yes, he wants t6 see her very much, and I tele- graphed to New York before I camcf here. She ought to be with hina l)y the end of the week.". " Do you think she will come ? " " I am sure - of it ; Florence will not disregard fi letter from me^ she stands in wholesome awe of me of late. Edith, don't look so solemn— what are you thinking about ? " " Captain St. Leon, of course," said Madge's pver pert tongue. " Yes," said Edith, lifting her dark eyes quietly ; "of course the loss of his arm ends his soldiering. What are he and Florence to do ^yhen he recovers ? " " He is going to his friends in Connecticut, if. he can manage to get there ; be.is a prisoner of war, you • know, no\y.- Then there is Florence's dowry— they'll manage, I dare say." "WhatTarehrs friends In Connecticut?'' "~ « Farmers, I believe," answered Edith ; " they a^Bii ir^f ■f 02 THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. mil hardly suit Florence after her gay life in New rork. I am very sorry for Captain St. Leon." " I mean to go to see him," said Madge, « and be a mmistermg angel, and all that sort of thing to him, until Florence comes. May I, Colonel Stuart ^ " 1 11 speAk to St. Leon about it, my dear Will you go, Edith ? » " If he would like to see me— certainly " " Won't it be a meeting^ ? '' said Madge, bounding up and coming down in hfer chair in little ecstatic si>Vings "and when Mrs. St; Leon comes, Barnum's happy family will be nothing to it. Lucy ought to be here to clap the climax." " "Madge, I am ashamed of you ! " said Angus table 'forget and forgive ; there is nothing like it " Its lately you found it out then. When you tried to blow St. Leon's brains out in Torwoodto vn you did not think so." ' *' As you are strong, be merciful, Madge. I have 4earned more than that lately-among the rest, that you are growing exactly lilcq Edith." "Only ever so much better-looking, you might have manners to add ; but manners and vou might be marrred, for you are no rehi^ions." * ' "Relationsget married sometimes ; there are such things as dispensations. Are you off again, Colonel ? " 1 believe so; you need not hurry, though I have something to attend to, and must. Good-by Madge he said^ speaking low, - 1 don't believe we wiH let you go to school, after all. I h ave another tT7 ™y^^™^i"™ you all aboutit next ^ time 1 come." THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. 303 CIIAPTEE XXIX. FLORENCE ANT I) HER ItlSBAND. ^ A PAIR of handsome liorses, glittering in silver- ^ plated harness, and drawing an elegant barouche, "eameprancing through one of the principal streets "of AVashington. It was a sunny afternoon, one week after that imperative telegram had gbne from that imperative gentleman, Colonel Stuart, to a certain beautiful lady in New York, and the prancing horses and elegant barouche drew up with a floims^ in front of the stylish hotel where Colonel Stuart's mother at present resided. A lady, young and fair as a vision, lying back languidly among* the velvM^ cushions, her dress of silver-gray silk falling arou'iid her, her long velvet mantle hanging in cos'tly folds from her sloping shoulders, her bonnet the perfec- tion of millinery art, her filmy lace veil and little l)ink parasol protecting he^ous I.;;:;;.-:; envy. With a bitter sigh, she listened to her ^-^unger sister's glowing account, and wished with all her heart she had been less in a hurry to run off with Giaccomo St. Leon. ^ ^ "Here weare,'l exclaimed Madge, flino in n- onen . door, and sa,lin^.-mo a large roomf iith I^r^;;.!: ; M / ^T '""^^ ^^"tlemen, Mrs. St. Leon -" ^^ Madame Torwood Angus Torwood, Edith Tor wood, and Colonel Stuart, all were there and .1 arose. There was an awlcward little pa'^w^/ o e s!,rr"' 'r "' ^^^^^^^^^^^ - ' ^he^ cot sTnllingre """ ""'' '"'''' ^'^^^"'^^ ^-' -^ J1\T\ T/ ^^^"^ ^^ '^^ >^^"' ^^^'«- 'St. Leon- we are ./ g^ad o see you ! Have you just come" " les, J^lorence said falterino-lv o„,i Ar i Torwoo,. swept „p to shake ,.!'' ' . UoJ^Z ~ndel^%„d^asci.:"m^s?vl?V''''^V "'^''-elsof Augusta Evans? Her.r • Macaria, $1.75 Inez, $1.75 Beiilah, $1 75 Infelice, $2.00 a'; ?J™?; *' °°. Vashti, $,.00 At the Mercy of Tiberius, |'.oo(New). MARION HARLAND'S SPLENDID NOVELS. •"">"•• Miriam tj. • t A. 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It" R'fle Ranger,. The Wood Rangers. 1 he Rangers and Regulators Jh^JuXr-'^ Price It.so per Vol. Th'e'Wt'n?-— . The White Chii? Wild Life. '■ The White Gauntlet. '"* '*' West SBd street, New York! 'ELS. •only well written, dcTM popular and more popuS; Maids. Bud. The Widower. Lucjr. LS. Ibert Rom and those et » vice he does it with an aiic instincts are .trong" An Orieinal Sinner. UutofVedloclc. Love Gone A stray. His Foster Sister; Irit >RKS. lassedamonffthcBBST 'een the States was ?he oseofthewarthefor- UnT" *"? ?'" •'A "itlramaticinteresi.'* Beatrice Hallam. ■Mohun. n. Robert E. Lee. ELS. every year, and they riten are foixotten.'* (New;. >RK8. •scinating character, posses, a permanent >onovelofiheday." ^''d Huntress. '.b'te Chief. .ife. i^hite Gauntlet. vUns by )ll8her8y •ow York. '^m ,#