AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 A ROMANCE OF THE SIEERAS. 
 
 BY 
 
 A. P. REEDER. 
 
 Love rules the whole wide world; though lone and far 
 Men thread the piney wastes or scale the bare 
 
 And sharp Sierra summits, like the star 
 Of e veiling, bright aud pure, they flud him there. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO: 
 
 SAMUEL CARSON AND COMPANY, 
 BOSTON: CUPPLES AND KURD. 
 
 1888. 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1888, BY 
 SAMUEL PARSON AND COMPANY* 
 
TO 
 
 THE SHARER IN ITS SUCCESSES AND MISFORTUNES, 
 THIS BOOK 
 
 IS G R A T K FULLY DEDICATED BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. PAGB 
 
 I. A STRANGER IN TOWN ...... 9 
 
 II. A STAGE ROAD IN THE SIERBAS .... 23 
 
 III. A STOP AT ROBINSON S ...... 37 
 
 IV. A GLIMPSE OF THE DOCTOR . . . . 49 
 V. LOVE S LATE BLOSSOMING .61 
 
 VI. UNSEEN OBSERVERS . .... 73 
 
 VII. A CITY GIRL S ADVENTURE ..... 91 
 
 VIII. AN AFIERNOON AT LOCUSTVILLE . . . 107 
 
 IX. EDWARD S HOME 120 
 
 X. SUPERINTENDENT SEVENOAKES OF THE LUCKY STREAK 136 
 
 XI. IN THE GLOAMING 144 
 
 XII. SUMMER SCHEMES 154 
 
 XIII. TRIFLING 167 
 
 XIV. THE TUNNEL AT THE GOLDEN DEEP . . . 181 
 XV. THE ESTRANGEMENT 196 
 
 XVI. THE STRIKE 208 
 
 XVII. THE GHOST IN THE ROSE ARBOR .... 226 
 
 XVIII. ONE NIGHT AROUND THE MILL .... 241 
 
 XIX. THE DOCTOR S SUMMER DREAMS 256 
 
 XX. THE FINAL RECKONING 268 
 
 XXI. THE FADING DREAM " .276 
 
 XXII. THE FIRE 290 
 
 XXIII. AFTER THE FIRE . 305 
 
8 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XIV. SAD MEMORIES . . 317 
 
 XXV. THE PARTING 326 
 
 XXVI. MEMORIES OF THE SAN JOAQUIN .... 347 
 
 XXVH. Lois AT HOME 369 
 
 XXVIII. THE CONFESSION 393 
 
 XXIX. THE DRIVE UP THE LEAFY GRADE ... 414 
 
 XXX. EDWARD DENNETT S FORTUNES .... 442 
 
 XXXI. MABEL S JOURNEY 469 
 
 XXXII. THE FULFILMENT 475 
 
 XXXIII. THE MILLENNIUM OF THE HEART 484 
 
 
AEOOTD THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A STRANGER IN TOWN. 
 
 Ye sentinels of sleep, it is in vain ye keep 
 Your drowsy watch before the Ivory Gate, 
 
 Though closed the portal seems, the airy feet of dreams 
 Ye cannot thus in walls incarcerate. 
 
 LONGFELLOW. 
 
 SCHOOL was out at the little red school-house, and 
 the wild-voiced children went noisily down the village 
 street, stopping here and there to note the new sights 
 about town since their confinement in school, or to 
 chat in little groups before separating to go home. 
 But the neat little school-mistress sat at her desk 
 with her hands folded, just as she did when the last 
 careless footstep sounded down the stairs, motionless 
 still, and thinking, with a sad, dreamy look in her 
 eyes. Home ! what would it be to her to go home ! 
 to sit cosily again with Aunt Robinson and the girls, 
 and John too; to see the old house with its rough, 
 weather-stained walls, its one bright patch of white 
 wash gleaming through the green trees, she won 
 dered if even that were there yet; and then the cows, 
 and the lazy old horses, Tip the dog, and even that 
 
20 AKOT7ND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 pretty nest of warm, helpless liitle kittens, which 
 must have developed into a host of great ungainly 
 cats since she left home five years ago. The tears 
 started to her eyes as she thought of it, up among 
 the hills green with the mantle of spring, and in the 
 pine groves where the breezes made weird songs among 
 the swaying plumes; where the streams were clsar 
 and deep and cold, rushing from their snow fountains 
 down dark rocky channels to the rivers; and where 
 the heavy, hright-painted stages, and the dusty, slow 
 mule-teams made daily trips up and down the rod 
 winding roads, bringing news and a breath of excite 
 ment with each arrival. Now vacation was coming, 
 and there was still work for her to do; but she felt a 
 longing to see the old home and the familiar faces 
 again. She almost decided to go, anyway, to leave 
 her busy round of cares for just one little season of 
 relaxation; to be home and free once more, and forget 
 all about the dark, noisy world shut away by her own 
 high hills, and the fair blue skies bending tenderly 
 around, as if to keep out all jar and discord, and hold 
 within the wild sweet solitude and the old primeval 
 glory of the mountains. 
 
 She rose excitedly; the dingy wrJln had changed to 
 flower-starred slopes, the wind whistling at the win 
 dows to trilling lark-songs, and even the white misty 
 cobwebs up around the ceiling to flecks of snowy cloud 
 in a warm bright sky. The breath of the pines was 
 in the air, and the strange inspiration of the old home 
 life all around her, as she walked dreamily out, me 
 chanically locked the door, and wended her way down 
 the shady streets of the village. 
 
A STRANGER IN TOWN. 11 
 
 Coming up through the locust-trees, on a slow jog, 
 was an odd little two-wheeled cart, shiny and black, 
 and a smart-looking, cream-white horse that felt the 
 importance of its energetic appearance, and so could 
 afford to step high if not far, thus making little 
 progress over the ground. A gentleman lounging on 
 the high, wide seat seemed to be not half so much 
 the proprietor of the rig as the sharp-looking, lazy 
 horse; for he sat at ease, gazing meditatively out on 
 one side, with the lines slack in his left hand, the 
 other resting on a huge, long whip that looked like a 
 fishing-rod, and was always getting into trouble with 
 the trees bending over the road. He was stout, with 
 a florid face and gray hair, and wore long yellow 
 gauntlets and a closely buttoned coat. Drawing near 
 er, he caught sight of the school-mistress, and as he 
 pulled up the reins, the white horse came to a dead 
 halt. His countenance fairly beamed, and a good- 
 natured smile broadened out almost into a laugh. 
 
 "Well, well, hello!" he said. "Long way from 
 home, Nettie; did n t expect to see you here. Jump in 
 and take a spin now. Jump right in here, plenty of 
 room, and let me see you, ah-h!" He had a deep, 
 slow voice, hesitating- and half breathless, and finished 
 with a long-drawn "ah-h!" as if he meant to say more 
 but decided not to, and turned his hesitation into a 
 vocal clearing of his throat. He sat for a moment 
 and stared at her, standing wonder-struck and large- 
 eyed under the trees; then a confused expression 
 gradually neutralized the smile and his flushed face 
 grew redder, he gave the reins a spasmodic jerk, said 
 hurriedly, "Beg pardon, pardon, mn am; I m mis- 
 
12 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 taken," and was off down the road, urging the high- 
 stepping horse into a faster trot, the fish-rod whip 
 sailing majestically through the air, and the flush on 
 his face extending even around to the back of his neck. 
 The school-mistress turned to look after him, and burst 
 into a little peal of laughter. It had all happened in 
 a moment, the picture of the stout man riding up in 
 the cart, the sudden stop, his face illumined with pleas 
 ure, the blank stare, and the sudden departure, when 
 the slow horse affected to be in very much of a hurry, 
 though in reality taking her time. She watched till 
 a bend in the road showed the side view of the cart and 
 horse, winding in and out, and the last glimpse sho 
 caught was of the yellow gauntlets gleaming rich and 
 bright through the green foliage of the locusts. 
 
 Farewell now, charmed visions of home and hills, 
 and the dreamy atmosphere of long ago! It was in 
 vain she sought to revive her pleasant reverie; the 
 quaint scene she had just passed through rose up irre 
 sistibly before her, and would not be banished. 
 
 All the way home she thought of it, and in the even 
 ing when she sat down to write to Aunt Robinson 
 and the girls, to tell them how she had been hoping 
 for a quiet rest with them during the long, hot vaca 
 tion, she could not resist putting in a brief account of 
 the affair, and excused it by saying she supposed he 
 was thinking, like herself, of some one far away. Bet 
 ter had she left it out; for*writing of it only fastened it 
 more firmly in her mind, and all night long, instead of 
 dreaming of incorrigible youth planning mischief and 
 making a noise, she saw lazy white horses hitched to 
 high-wheeled gigs, and yellow gloves, appearing by 
 
A STRANGER IN TOWN. 13 
 
 dozens, weaving and spinning around, this way and 
 that, among the locust groves; and they all came up to 
 her and stopped, and sometimes the stout man laughed 
 and threw a kiss to her; and sometimes he was think 
 ing deeply, and only saw her just before he passed, and 
 then would stop and smile faintly; and yet again he 
 seemed in a great hurry, but was sadly delayed by his 
 big whip getting caught in all the tree branches, and 
 when opposite her under the tall tree he had to stop 
 short, so she helped him by pushing the boughs aside 
 with her parasol; until finally he came up with brighter 
 gloves, and looked handsome and young and spirited, 
 and she climbed into the gig and rode away; and after 
 that she saw herself in all the gigs, and they all had 
 much brighter wheels, and rolled a great deal faster, 
 and they never stopped any more, but kept right on, 
 winding here and there among the trees that suddenly 
 burst forth into creamy showers of blossoms, and hung 
 down long fragrant garlands into the path, forming an 
 avenue walled and canopied with swinging festoons of 
 odorous flowers through which the golden sunshine 
 sifted in glinting floods of light. 
 
 Next day she forgot it, almost, busied with the well- 
 worn pages of her books, and the chattering little flock 
 of children gathered for her care and instruction; so 
 that when the time came to go home, she only gave it a 
 fleeting thought as she passed under the great tree where 
 the scene had transpired. But when she reached the 
 house where she lived, great sight of sights! it 
 stood there, the gig of yesterday, the gig of her dreams, 
 and the plump, bright-eyed horse hitched to the post 
 in front of the gate. She paused and looked at it, al- 
 
14 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 most afraid to enter, while her whole existence seemed 
 shaped into one great interrogation point asking the 
 meaning of this strange vehicle haunting her by day 
 and night; hut presently she caught sight of the gen 
 tleman who had ridden it, standing among the trees 
 that grew in front of the house. He had been walking 
 listlessly back and forth, the yellow*gloved hands folded 
 behind him, and absorbed in deep thought, as he was 
 the day before when she first saw him. As she came 
 through the gate he advanced to meet her, and said po 
 litely, " Miss Lois Warren, I believe? " at the same time 
 presenting his card, which read, " Franklyn Knapp, 
 M. D." 
 
 " I called to sec you to-day," he said, " and Mrs. 
 Mills informing me that you were still at school, I in 
 vited myself out into the garden to wait for you, find 
 ing it much cooler and pleasanter than the house." 
 
 "0, certainly," she replied; "will you take a seat 
 here under the trees ? " 
 
 His preoccupied manner had changed to one some 
 what more nervous and excited, and he sat down, pull 
 ing off his gauntlets and smoothing them out carefully 
 on his knee. 
 
 " I understand, Miss Warren, that you are the teacher 
 of the school of our village, a pleasant vocation; and 
 I, perhaps, will be the doctor, that is, if all things 
 con 10 out agreeably. I presume you all know my 
 brother, Dr. Mc/lville Knapp, who has practised here 
 for twenty years or thereabout, is going away, to 
 the East, in fact, circumstances making it neces 
 sary; and I have been appointed to his place in the 
 hospital of our neighboring town, and his successor in 
 
A STRANGER IN TOWN. 15 
 
 practice generally, perchance. I am quite delighted 
 with this little place, its pleasant homes and locust- 
 lined streets, and I find, so far, the people are not be 
 hind the town in agrceablencss. They have received 
 me very warmly, and have promised co-operation in all 
 my plans. But I have been told to apply to you for a 
 little assistance, ah-h!" growing more flushed and 
 slightly agitated, " since you are recommended as a 
 young lady always interested in schemes for the public 
 benefit, or willing to help a good cause; and knowing 
 that a young person has more time, if not always the 
 inclination, to devote outside of home, I thought it 
 possible you would assist me, ah-h I " 
 
 " Most willingly," Lois replied, heartily, "if it lies in 
 my power." 
 
 " 0, yes, I guess so, I think so," said the Doctor; 
 " almost any lady could do what I wish done. It is 
 for the benefit of my patients in the hospital. I main 
 tain, Miss Warren, that an unhappy state of the mind 
 can and often does produce illness. Still more so, in 
 protracted or chronic cases of sickness, the mind be 
 comes almost diseased from brooding over physical 
 suffering; consequently the spirits are depressed, the 
 action of the heart weakened, the circulation of the 
 blood lessened, and then of course the whole system in 
 jured; and not the least of the evils, in an impaired 
 physical condition, is this deranged action of the mind, 
 because an unhealthy brain acting through the sym 
 pathetic system of nerves, does double damage to the 
 poor, weak body. But catch the spark of interest that 
 is not absorbed in the miseries of illness, and cultivate 
 without wearying it, give it a change, a variety, and 
 
16 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 we have toned the mind and rested the body more than 
 half a dozen prescriptions could do. And day by day, 
 as the hour comes for a little change from the long, 
 wearing uneasiness of lying and aimlessly waiting from 
 sleepless night to agonizing day, the pleasure of antici 
 pation helps our good labor, and relieves the monotony 
 quite as well as what we do to interest the mind. Na 
 ture is man s best physician. She herself must build 
 up and make things strong and secure again. It is 
 only when active poisons are at work that drugs do 
 good, to counteract and neutralize the damaging cause. 
 And when evil effects result from perverted functions, 
 the physician s work lies in doing something to restrain 
 their action; or in an accident, to soothe and ease pain, 
 and assist nature somewhat, this way and that, remove 
 foreign substances, sew up wounds, place fractured bones 
 in position, and the like; but that is as nothing com 
 pared with what nature herself must do. It is as if 
 the whole machinery of life were reversed, its wheels 
 turned backward ; and we can sometimes stop their 
 false movement and set them straight, but we never 
 can make them work in the right direction again: that 
 is nature s duty, nature s work ; and when she is help 
 less to aid us, when she is powerless and worn out, the 
 machinery that cannot move forward stops, and we call 
 it death. And so if we are not able to prevent damage 
 done by body to mind, we must strive to hinder the 
 mind from retaliating upon the poor, irresponsible 
 body, by doing a like wrong in return. That is helping 
 nature, you see, in her perfect action; for a strong body 
 strengthens the brain, and a well-balanced, active, right- 
 working brain is about the only thing that can keep the 
 
A STRANGER IN TOWN. 17 
 
 body in good repair. And thus, of course, the reverse 
 in illness: both do damage instead of good, and will 
 often keep it up, too, unless we stop it, for nature has 
 to move, if not right, then wrong. 
 
 "But, Miss Warren, I fear I am giving you a medical 
 lecture. However, I feel it not inopportune to explain 
 unmistakably the use of what I shall ask you to do for 
 me. In your work, an excellent good fortune places in 
 your way and under your notice the. best thoughts of 
 our best authors; you know where to find choice light 
 reading: not always books, seldom books; but little 
 pictures drawn in brief sketches, short stories, pleas 
 ant thoughts about pleasant subjects, they must all 
 be very cheerful, which you might collect. They 
 should be printed in large type: sick people often 
 have weak eyes, or if not, they ought to, because 
 when they do not, it is a perversion of the sense of 
 sight that should not be cultivated in its unnatural 
 state; besides, effort in vision reacts on the general 
 system, and thus militates against steady progress 
 toward recovery; and hence our reading-matter had 
 best be given out in small instalments from day to 
 day, to keep up interest. And then sketches or pic 
 tures for the weaker patients, bright ones, but small 
 and light, so they can be easily handled and seen; and 
 for the very ill, or for a variety, flowers in fresh little 
 bunches, fragrant ones are best, but those without a 
 strong perfume, and those that do not readily wither. 
 And last, once in a while to prepare me a few dishes 
 that I will describe to you; I like them done under my 
 express direction, \,ith ingredients strictly measured 
 and always of the best; so I must have it done where 
 I can be sure of that. 
 
18 AROUND TIIE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 "And now, for your services, which will of course 
 take up some of your leisure time, I will make you any 
 compensation you ask; for your assistance will be in 
 dispensable." 
 
 While he was speaking, the pleasant face of the little 
 school-mistress had lighted up with enthusiasm. She 
 was a helpful, busy girl, and in her natural sphere 
 when carrying out some plan of this nature, so she 
 said quickly, 
 
 " Compensation, certainly not , sir. The work itself 
 would be such a pleasure I could ask no other reward. 
 I enter into it with the heartiest approval. Let me 
 commence soon, too, if you will; I am even anxious to 
 begin." 
 
 "Good! "said the Doctor, "very good. You are 
 just the best young lady I could find, for you are both 
 sympathetic and energetic, two very fine qualities, 
 very helpful qualities. Indeed, I was told," growing 
 red again, and drawing on his gloves hurriedly, 
 "it was mentioned that you would be more interested 
 in such a scheme than any other person; because in 
 clination is a necessary thing, Miss Warren, an in 
 valuable thing, ah-h! And about the compensation, 
 we must consider it later if you will not hear of it now. 
 I will call the day after to-morrow for your first contri 
 bution to my patients, which I feel assured will be a first- 
 quality one, a well-selected one. I visit the hospital at 
 least three times a week, and if you will prepare some 
 thing for each regular trip, I should like it well. I am 
 very happy to have found you, Miss Warren, to have 
 met you," he said, rising and bowing; "it is a most 
 fortunate thing for me as well as for my patients, I am 
 
A STRANGER IN TOWN. 19 
 
 sure; so allow me to offer my most sincere thanks. 
 Good day." 
 
 Then he was off down the garden path, hastily un 
 tying his horse, and preparing for departure, all of 
 which took up a great deal of time, notwithstanding 
 his apparent hurry; and as he rode away, he looked 
 around and caught a glimpse of Lois under the trees, 
 which caused him to smile good-naturedly, and raise 
 his hat with an air of great deference. Vanishing down 
 the road she saw the shiny gig and its cream-white 
 horse raising the dust in little clouds, as if moving 
 rapidly, but it was in sight for a long while, and so she 
 had ample time to take another good view of it from her 
 seat in the garden. 
 
 This little school-mistress was not of an uncommon 
 stamp, in many particulars; she was quick and lively, 
 ambitious and fond of work, pleasant to others, and 
 cheerful herself; but she possessed one rare virtue, a 
 warm, generous heart, and power to execute its dictates. 
 Left an orphan, she had been adopted when quite 
 young by a family named Robinson, and had grown up 
 strong and sweet-tempered and natural, among the 
 quiet hills; and being of a studious disposition, she had 
 remained at school longer than the other children of 
 the family, and so became a teacher. It was not a 
 lack of love for her home and the early scenes of her 
 life that made her thus aspire to leave them, but rather 
 a desire for a greater independence, and a broader field 
 of action; her surplus strength created a desire to use 
 it, and so she was ambitious for herself and for all 
 those around her. She had a neat, charming way of 
 doing little favors, just at the right time and in the 
 
20 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 quickest and best mode, which made friends for her; 
 yet she was so gentle and sunny, lacking showy sparkle 
 and personal brilliancy, that she excited little envy by 
 the good-will she had won. Every one liked her: and 
 why should they not? when she was agreeable and 
 helpful and kind, always planning and doing, and using 
 every moment. 
 
 Let us skip one period in the life of the school-mis 
 tress; it was a happy, joyous time, that would surely 
 have brought out all her native charity and usefulness; 
 but when she lost the crowning happiness, and a great. 
 Borrow entered into her life, her disappointment no less 
 surely called them out in plans and work for others. 
 She was not a girl to give up to mourning and sadness; 
 she buried her love, the one true, earnest love that 
 Bhe had known, and took up the busy thread of 
 work cheerfully and steadfastly. Friends looked on 
 and sympathized, and after a while forgot it, thinking 
 she too had forgotten; though deep down in her heart 
 she held it sacred and unchangeable. 
 
 No wonder, then, that Lois Warren took a deep in 
 terest in the Doctor s scheme. It was the work to 
 which she had dedicated her life, a life not burdened 
 by a living woe, but one even happy in its subdued 
 joys, and unhindered in its generous outpourings of 
 kindness. 
 
 She sat thinking of it, and of the Doctor too, under 
 the trees where he had talked with her, and presently a 
 wild freak of imagination pictured her dream over 
 again, in thousands of tiny gigs and horses climbing 
 up a glossy grape-vine near her; she could even sec 
 the yellow gloves and the high wheels; and some of 
 
A STRANGER IN TOWN. 21 
 
 the gigs got into difficulties passing over the leaves, 
 and many fell partly down the vine and had to work 
 their way up again; and the little white horses were 
 lazy, just like the big white one the Doctor had, and 
 so they moved very slowly, and often got tangled 
 together. But finally one gig, which looked smaller 
 than the rest, started up a leaf and made itself con 
 spicuous by having an immense whip twice as long as 
 the horse itself, and reminded her of an ant carrying a 
 long straw. It had an uncomfortable time, and was 
 stopped on several occasions, until at last the great 
 whip struck a tendril just above it, the horse lost its 
 balance, and the whole thing fell to the ground, mak 
 ing a loud rustle in the grass. Lois started and opened 
 her eyes, feeling as if she had been far away, while 
 near her she caught sight of little Jimmie Mills creep 
 ing through the grass and throwing a marble toward 
 her. 
 
 " Nonsense! " she said to herself as she rose and 
 brushed the leaves from her dress. "Absurdity the 
 second! What do I mean by allowing that everlasting 
 cart to make such an impression on busy, matter-of- 
 fact me ? Begone, visions ! I wonder how long I ve 
 been here wasting time, worse than wasting it," 
 emphatically, "when work awaits me." 
 
 " Please, Miss Warren," said Jimmie, coming toward 
 her, " ma sent me to call you in to dinner." 
 
 " Dinner, Jimmie! is it time for that?" 
 
 " Yes, of course. Ma thought you stayed out hero 
 awful long with that feller what comes in the gig. It s 
 plumb dinner-time now." 
 
 " I must have been asleep," thought Lois. " And oh! 
 
22 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 the awful vehicle haunting me right here in broad 
 daylight! I ll not think of it any more; I ll not 
 even look at it again," she said, with prompt decision, 
 and turned to go into the house; but her attention was 
 arrested by a dull, buzzing sound out in the road, and 
 Jimmie saying very loudly, "O, just look there, Miss 
 Warren." She looked, and with one despairing struggle 
 renounced her resolution; for just out beyond the garden 
 fence she saw the Doctor passing, smiling and taking 
 off his hat again to her; he was returning from a ride 
 in the country, whither he had gone when she watched 
 him disappear from sight, and now was driving slowly 
 homeward, looking out on one side, just as he was doing 
 when she first saw him in his horrible, dream-haunting, 
 never-to-be-forgotten gig. 
 
A STAGE ROAD IN THE SIERRAS. 23 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A STAGE ROAD IN THE SIERRAS. 
 
 They journeyed o er a piney mountain waste, 
 
 And through the vales of deep, luxuriant grass, 
 And reached a river s tides, that purl and haste 
 Through walls of rock with gold veins interlaced, 
 And down the rugged gorges foaming pass. 
 
 "An, the mountains of snow!" and the speaker 
 leaned out of the window of the rumbling stage to 
 catch a fuller view, through the piney sweeps of hills 
 broken by a curving river, of the snow chain, white 
 and pure and cool, shining serrated and clear against 
 the pale rose setting of the eastern sky. His face 
 lighted up with a smile of inspiration, and his grave 
 mood gave way to a spirit of enthusiasm while he 
 looked; then turning to his companion he said, more 
 pleasantly than he had yet spoken in all the course of 
 their rough journey, " Come, look through the moun 
 tain pass at the glorious glimpse of Paradise opening 
 before us." The lady seated beside him locked up 
 with a supercilious little smile, and leaned forward to 
 gaze out also at this first surprising glimpse of the 
 Sierras; but her attention was more closely riveted upon 
 her companion, whom she watched constantly, to read, 
 if she could, his inmost soul. She was of an interesting 
 and peculiar type, a blending of the indolent and the 
 cat-like creature, ever on the watch, even in. her most 
 dreamy moments. Tall and slender, and willowy of 
 
24 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 motion, there was still a charming roundness to her 
 figure, suggestive of lily stocks; her eyes were bluish 
 gray, her hair bright auburn, wound artistically about 
 a well-formed head, her features regular, but not beau 
 tiful, and her skin pure white. Sometimes, when her 
 long dark lashes swept her cheek, and her face wore an 
 expression of calm repose, on a closer observance one 
 could detect a sly, quick glance upward from beneath 
 those silken fringes, and a slight change of expression, 
 not the most ethereal that could be imagined. Now 
 she sat demurely looking out upon the landscape, the 
 bright glow of the departing day casting a radiance 
 over her fair face, framed by her dark mourning vail 
 thrown backward, and over her neat black dress; but 
 quickly now and then she stole a glance at the man 
 beside her, who was too enrapt with the wild beauty of 
 the mountains to take note of aught else around, except 
 to call others to enjoy it also. Finally she quietly 
 leaned back and made his face her only study. 
 
 The stage had reached the top of a long grade, where 
 the hills below fell abruptly in unbroken lines to the 
 soft belts of shining white sand along the river margin, 
 while an opening through the solid rock-walls seemed 
 like the everlasting gates of the hills thrown open to 
 reveal, beyond the long stretches of mountain waste, 
 miles and miles of a storm-tossed sea of dark green, 
 fragrant pine reaching upward to where the snow peaks 
 pierced the soft bending sky with a hundred gleaming 
 summits. It was spring. The full glory of April s 
 beauty lay over the hills in embroideries of gold and 
 azure, the scarlet tongues of the laurel flamed forth 
 from ferny bank and jutting crag, and the thorny 
 
A STAGE ROAD IN THE SIERRAS. 25 
 
 masses of chaparral breathed out a strange, drowsy per 
 fume from their creamy snow-fall of blossoms. Twi 
 light was coming. Only here and there on the distant 
 summits the dark fir points caught a ray of red sun 
 light streaming through the hills, and down in the 
 shadowy gulches the crickets set up a weird little chirp 
 that echoed shrilly along the rocky banks till lost in 
 the dull, deep roar of the river. 
 
 At last, when a bend of the road brought them into 
 a tunnel-like hollow, the high walls of which shut out, 
 with fragrant, cool masses of madrono and manzanita, 
 and dewy, climbing vines, the glorious panorama of 
 snow, the man sank back as if reluctant to leave its 
 sublime beauties for the monotonies of the journey, and 
 still longed to keep the memory of it while yet its wild 
 grandeur held a spell over him; but he caught sight 
 of the lady s steady glance, and instantly a change 
 passed across his features, a look of disappointment 
 that she had not enjoyed the charm of his bright 
 mountain picture, and of surprise that she should 
 thus be reading his face in an unguarded moment; so 
 he quietly gave vent to only one little word, "Ah!" 
 and relapsed into silence. She started slightly, and 
 colored with a faint flush, so delicate that it could 
 almost be mistaken for a reflection of the rose-tirited 
 east; but these were the only signs she gave of discom 
 fiture at being caught without her mask; and compos 
 ing herself by drawing her wrap more closely about 
 her, she looked up to him calmly, and said, "Well?" 
 
 " You do not enjoy wild scenery, Miss Nellie," he re 
 plied. " I think the view we have just passed superbly 
 grand, but I noticed you did not care to look. If I 
 
26 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 should make this journey a hundred times a year I 
 would cheerfully bear all the fatigues of the travel with 
 the hope of that scene before me." 
 
 Now was her chance, a good one for this sly, scheming 
 girl, to excuse herself with a winning card. So with 
 a gentle little smile she returned sweetly, " You see the 
 sublimity without, while I admire more the sublimity 
 within." 
 
 " Thank you," he said, and looked down upon her 
 with a quiet, half-amused expression, and yet for a face 
 so kindly it became dangerously near being one of pity 
 and disdain. She saw her mistake; the awkwardness 
 of the moment had robbed her manner and words of 
 the artistic fitness she could so easily summon to her 
 aid, and she knew that her slight discomposure a mo 
 ment before when he caught her in her study had done 
 the mischief. Though it had troubled her but slightly 
 at the time, it now threatened a greater evil; for it had 
 so overthrown her self-control that she had made her 
 self almost ridiculous with an overdrawn and ineffective 
 nnswcr. His "Thank you," and his half-pitying look, 
 disturbed her greatly, and she resolved to try again, 
 to do or say something, anything so long as she acted 
 out the role she meant to play, and fortified the posi 
 tion she had assumed. She looked grieved, and said 
 in a subdued tone, as if he had made light of her most 
 earnest foolings, "You do me injustice to laugh at me, 
 because I have unfortunately said something that 
 sounded out of place. I felt what I said, though I did 
 not say it at all elegantly. What I really meant to 
 say is this: To you who have nothing better, it is beau 
 tiful; but I, who love mountains maybe as well as you, 
 
A STAGE ROAD IN THE SIERRAS. 27 
 
 can forego the pleasure that may be mine at any time 
 when I make this journey, for one that is far better to 
 me, and which may never be mine again, the look of 
 undisguised admiration on your face, Edward; you are 
 so grave and reserved to me that I seldom see you in 
 your natural moods, though I would be only too happy 
 if I could inspire you with only one half of the confi 
 dence you awaken in me. But I have always vainly 
 tried to impress you with what I really do feel. Come, 
 let us be friends, good friends, I mean"; and she 
 held out her hand in such a graceful way, with a look 
 so winning, that her words did not sound ill-timed or 
 bold, but seemed to reveal a glimpse of a soul as inno 
 cent and lovely as a child s. It had the desired effect. 
 Edward Dennett s indifferent expression melted away 
 into one of pleasure, and he turned and gave his hand 
 in a hearty, cordial way that seemed almost a revela 
 tion to this girl, so accustomed to win and deceive that 
 she could play with the dearest feelings of earnest 
 hearts without even a flutter in her own. But now a 
 new thrill came over her, a faint realization of what it 
 is to be true and noble, and it brought a real joy, with 
 a vague, undefined resolve to deserve, at least in this 
 one instance, the kind friendship she had at length suc 
 ceeded in calling out. 
 
 Friends! of course; and good friends we will be, 
 too, Miss Nellie, if you care. Forgive me if I misunder 
 stood you. It was careless of me not to have seen your 
 seriousness at first, but I thought you spoke rather 
 lightly." This was too much for the feline-natured 
 girl. She bent her head and managed to coax out a 
 tear, which rolled down her round white cheek and fell 
 
28 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 upon Her hand. She meant to be good, to be true; but 
 what matter if she did little things like this for effect, 
 even if she did not wholly feel them? He saw it, and 
 his conscience smote him for his harsh judgment. Yet 
 he was not naturally hard-tempered, nor accustomed to 
 overlook the good gifts of those around him. Even a 
 glance at his face would give an insight into his char 
 acter, so gentle, so earnest, so kind, it seemed. He 
 was of the Saxon type, large and fair, broad-shouldered, 
 and manly in form. Light curling hair arid a handsome 
 mustache added greatly to his finely cut, expressive fea 
 tures, and dark, searching eyes of blue looked frankly 
 and openly upon those around him, as if his own char 
 acter were so steadfast and upright that he could afford 
 to open these windows of the soul to the gaze of all the 
 world. 
 
 TheyTvere travelling to a mountain camp situated 
 high up in the forest-covered foothills of California, 
 where a successful mine had called forth an army of 
 toilers to unearth the treasures of the soil. Excitement 
 had run high at the news of the first rich pockets, and 
 a thriving little camp had sprung up like magic. A 
 company formed of several capitalists had placed a 
 valuable plant upon the mine, and pushed operations 
 steadily forward until they had begun to realize some 
 thing in return for their expenditure. They had sent 
 ji superintendent to the place, who in turn was to ap 
 point a manager, and the choice had fallen upon Ed 
 ward Dennett, as the best of the enterprising actors 
 who lia<l first taken part in the proceedings. Although 
 young, he was remarkably quick and clour-headed, 
 understood machinery, and was by far the best man 
 
A STAGE ROAD IN THE SIERRAS. 29 
 
 for the place, though old miners stood by with years 
 of experience in the work. At first the surface work 
 ings had proved a sufficient guide, but with deeper 
 mining and more complicated ores, it had become 
 necessary to engage a chemist and assayer to assist 
 further operations, and Edward Dennett had just been 
 to the city on this business, and also to employ a fresh 
 force of miners. 
 
 His stay there had been short, but long enough for 
 him to meet his mother s old-time friend, Mrs. Minton, 
 and her daughter. They had seen misfortunes come 
 to him in past years, so that a steady rise of prosperity 
 had somewhat lifted them out of his sphere in worldly 
 gains; although designing Nellie Minton saw in him 
 her heart s ideal, even the prospect of fortune in the 
 future, and she decided that he was a far better catch 
 than most young men who moved in her circle at home. 
 In fact, she was in love with him, so far as her vanity 
 and desire for power and money allowed her to be in 
 love with anybody. For even in their childhood, if her 
 heart was ever moved to do a generous, kindly act 
 toward any of her school-mates, it was for his sake, or 
 inspired by him. Yet this love, mere fancy at first, 
 had slowly grown, until, when the falling years had 
 given her the full crown of womanhood, and she had 
 long been separated from her early love, she still held 
 it in a sort of reverence, as the only true passion her 
 heart had ever felt. And though it had not become a 
 ruling motive in her life, though her joys and ambi 
 tions were far removed and wholly inconsistent with 
 this love, she still clung to it in a wavering, unsatisfied 
 way for want of a stronger feeling. 
 
30 ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 But when they met and she saw Edward Dennett, 
 manly and strong and noble, a grand fulfilment of the 
 promise of his early youth, her love, her ambition for 
 power, her vanity, knew no bounds. Anything every 
 thing now for this one end. But she had wholly 
 failed to impress him, how deeply it stung her! 
 and she knew that he would never seek her except for 
 the sake of old friendship, so she resolved to put herself 
 in his way. His conversation of the camp, its mines, 
 its forests, its mountains, and his mention of their fine 
 new hotel, already visited by tourists, suggested an 
 idea. Notwithstanding her mother s indifference, Nellie 
 resolved to organize a little party of her friends to 
 spend their summer among the mountains, in the clear, 
 bracing air. 
 
 It is not always easy to persuade friends to under 
 take something wholly untried when an opportunity for 
 certain enjoyment that has never failed remains open, 
 so she was not altogether successful. But at last she 
 suggested it to Mabel Willis, a lovely, bright-spirited 
 girl; and her descriptions of the fine, rare scenery and 
 the new delightful mode of life were so fascinating, 
 that immediately she had one firm adherent to the 
 plan. Mabel lived with her aunt, a childless widow, 
 prim and old-fashioned, and staid in her ideas, a veri 
 table terror to all young people s enjoyments; so that 
 though Mabel had had the strictest training and the 
 highest principles instilled into her mind, she yet had 
 seen very few of the merry joy-days of life s spring 
 time. She was a gentle, affectionate girl, bright and 
 happy- tempered, true and generous, and so her life had 
 not been deprived of its best and fullest development. 
 
A STAGE ROAD IN THE SIERRAS. 31 
 
 She was rapturously fond of nature, and some of the 
 brightest pictures of her remembrance were of quiet, 
 dreamy hours spent on the rocky beach of some little 
 inlet, whither she and her aunt had gone to spend an 
 out-door day, watching the long plane of blue-green 
 water, with its snowy flutes and frills of foam, moving 
 with a slow, swaying motion toward the shore, to break 
 into diamond-covered, angry little breakers on the beach; 
 or of the evening star in a cold white sky, shining just 
 above the line where the limitless ocean of waters 
 seemed to frown dark and treacherous along the hori 
 zon s rim; or still again in the flying train where they 
 moved along some steep, vine-tangled hillside, while 
 far below flowed the bright thread of a deep, noisy 
 stream, sending its clear splash and steady roar up 
 through the thick line of trees that bordered its banks, 
 and through the gorges, till its dull thunderings echoed 
 for miles along its course. What a vision rose before 
 her of the pine belt in the mountains, sweeping miles 
 and miles along next the pearly shafts of snow ! She 
 must go. Aunt Willie was generally as firm as ada 
 mant; but the proposition seemed to take her fancy 
 somewhat this time, for Mabel was twenty now, and it 
 was high time her clamoring friends were appeased in 
 their desire to take her for a summer at some fashion 
 able resort. Indeed, this was an excellent and sure 
 escape; so though outwardly reluctant, Aunt Willis 
 privately received the idea with rejoicing, and resolved 
 to go. Nellie Minton was anxious to start. Early 
 spring was marvellously beautiful in the mountains, 
 she said. The summer might be too warm for comfort, 
 and then they might not be so pleased as they antici- 
 
32 ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 patcd, so they would not have wasted all their summer 
 ing there, this in advance, for fear she might wish to 
 change her tactics. Besides, she thought of the choice 
 opportunity she would have to make the journey with 
 Edward Dennett, and to do what she could to further 
 her plans. But she dreaded in secret Mabel s pretty 
 face and girlish, innocent manner, lest they should 
 eclipse her. Then she thought of a way out of it, to 
 send word to her friends that they would start the day 
 after the one which Edward Dennett had set for the 
 trip, and thus delay them slightly, while she would be 
 ready, and make it appear impossible to turn back. 
 
 It all happened just as she had hoped, so she wrote 
 a note to Mrs. Willis, regretting deeply the unfortunate 
 occurrence, but saying that she would try not to be 
 very lonesome on the journey, and would expect them 
 the day after her arrival, when she would have all 
 things in readiness for them, so that they would not 
 be greatly inconvenienced, taking things altogether. 
 She had taken a bold step, but it troubled her little; 
 and so she set out in the best of moods. 
 
 But she was disappointed. In vain were all her arts, 
 her merry little ways, her charming, helpless indolence, 
 they failed even to interest her companion. He was 
 polite and thoughtful for her comfort, and that was all. 
 
 The daring attempt she had made, when she offered 
 her friendship to him so appealingly, was a last resort. 
 And now she glittered forth brilliantly, and the tear 
 she had shed was really only an extra sparkle of her 
 joyous spirits. 
 
 "I am so glad oh, so glad! you have promised 
 me that Edward," hesitatingly. " Because we 
 
A STAGE ROAD IN THE SIERRAS. 33 
 
 should be the best of friends, should we not, when we 
 have known each other so long? There are no friends 
 like the old friends, you know, to me at least. And 
 then this summer we shall see each other often, too. 
 And I shall want a friend to confide in, and help me out 
 of my naughty little tricks, when I need one. Ah, Mr. 
 Dennett! you are always so kind, I m sure even your 
 presence will be a protection to me"; and she finished 
 with a little sigh. 
 
 " You may feel assured that I shall make your visit 
 as pleasant to you and your friends as it is possible for 
 me to do," he replied. "But where the world is beau 
 tiful, and care is absent, then pleasure is sure to come 
 in the mere act of living." 
 
 "0 no, not always. The world is often beautiful 
 when our lives have lost every ray of sunshine." 
 
 " But I said when care is absent, Miss Nellie, as it 
 should be with you." 
 
 u Alas! I am always caring for something that is far 
 above me"; then quickly, for fear of being misunder 
 stood, "I mean far removed from my reach, as I thought 
 your friendship was a moment ago, Mr. Dennett; and 
 so you see I am not always happy amid beautiful sur 
 roundings, even though as lovely as your snowy picture." 
 
 By this time they had reached the ferry. The stage 
 stopped suddenly, and the ferry-man called to the pas 
 sengers to get out. There was only one other, the as- 
 sayer, who had a seat outside with the driver. They 
 stood in a little group while the boat slowly drifted 
 from one shore to the other, Nellie standing near Ed 
 ward Dennett, and the stranger a little aside from the 
 rest, leaning over the rail and looking into the water. 
 
34 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 He had scarcely seen them yet during their journey, 
 keeping himself apart to smoke and enjoy the trip un 
 molested, and seemed to feel very little curiosity about 
 his fellow-travellers. On reaching the farther shore a 
 sudden lurch of the hoat nearly threw them off their 
 feet, Nellie just escaping a fall by the stranger swiftly 
 springing forward and catching her gallantly in his 
 arms. Thinking it Edward who had caught her, and 
 true to her instincts, she gave herself up to his protect 
 ing clasp for a moment longer than was necessary, and 
 looked up into his eyes. The man started. "As I live! 
 Nellie Minton!" he said rather excitedly, and glanced 
 at Edward. 
 
 She recovered herself instantly, stood up in pert 
 fashion, and replied, " To be sure. And you are George 
 Brooklyn, as / live!" 
 
 He did not feel exactly comfortable nor pleased with 
 her presence, yet to make himself agreeable he asked, 
 "And what are you doing up here, Miss Minton, cross 
 ing a ferry in the twilight far from the haunts of civili 
 zation, and on the direct road to the mines?" 
 
 " The same thing that you are doing, I presume," 
 she answered, "going there, of course." 
 
 " Well, by Jove! that s a surprise. I scarcely looked 
 at you before, reserving to myself that pleasure when I 
 arrived at my destination, where I know pleasant things 
 will be scarce. How long do you stay ? " He had a 
 neat way of excusing himself for indifference and in 
 attention; he was seldom guilty of open impoliteness. 
 
 " That depends, of course, on my friends who are 
 coming to-morrow. They were delayed, and I had to 
 come with my friend here, Mr. Dennett," herself feel- 
 
A STAGE ROAD IN THE SIERRAS. 35 
 
 ing not the most comfortable that he had caught her 
 travelling alone with Mr. Dennett, when she would 
 much rather he had not. He noticed it instantly, and 
 resolved to use it. 
 
 They were now on the other side. The driver was 
 preparing the lights and watering the horses, and Ed 
 ward busied himself inside the stage getting out their 
 wraps and robes to keep off the chill of the evening air, 
 so George Brooklyn took advantage of his absence for a 
 word with Nellie. " Come and look at this branch of 
 snow-plant sailing down the river," he called from the 
 water s edge, and she could do nothing else but join 
 him. 
 
 " Nellie," he said quickly, when she reached his side, 
 " will you do me a little favor ? " 
 
 " Certainly, a little one." 
 
 " Well, then, a moderately sized one; we have always 
 been on pretty good terms, have we not? And I know 
 you quite as well as you know me." 
 
 " Yes, but suppose you do? lam perfectly willing. 
 I take good care usually, Mr. Brooklyn, and I m sel 
 dom caught, even if there might be a chance, once in 
 a great while, to expose some of my naughty little de 
 signs or fibs, ha! ha! " 
 
 " Yes, you are sharp. It beats the old fellow him 
 self the way you crawl out sometimes. But time is 
 short, and I will tell you now what I meant to say. It 
 is this: let us not refer a great deal, during our meet 
 ings in the future, to our past associations, or the 
 friends of long ago. What say you?" 
 
 "That s a beautiful thing to ask me to promise, 
 and what for, pray? " 
 
 "Do you need to ask?" 
 
36 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 "0 no; but I thought I would, to kill time. How 
 ever, my word for this much: unless you conduct your 
 self to offend me, I am on your side and you on mine, 
 everlasting, or no, during our stay, I mean. Not a 
 word that the whole world might not hear." 
 
 " Thank you." 
 
 She had an advantage, but she also recognized the 
 slight power he had, so she was willing to make a com 
 promise so long as she had nothing to gain by not 
 making it, and her promise was one easily broken also. 
 
 " Her word to the deuce, where it came from," he 
 muttered, as she walked away. "I m tied up now with 
 that deceitful minx to please for the sake of a mere 
 existence. Confound it all." 
 
 " All aboard," rang out clear above the roar of the 
 waters, and the passengers took their places for the 
 long ride up a rocky grade that wound over the hills 
 broken by the wearing river. The lights shone out 
 dim and yellow in the late twilight, the driver s whip 
 cracked, and away they went up the winding road. 
 Nellie, inside with Mr. Dennett, settled down cosily by 
 him, and conversed pleasantly, finally drifting into one 
 of her charming little humorous stories for his amuse 
 ment; while he exerted himself to make her comfort 
 able by tucking a wrap snugly about her, and placing 
 a cushion for her to lean against. 
 
 Night deepened, and hid the hills in a mystery of 
 darkness, the golden sickle of the new moon gleamed 
 out from the west, and the firs hanging close over the 
 road brushed their blunt needles against the stage in 
 noisy little showers of sound; while without, the driver 
 talked and shouted to his horses, and George Brooklyn 
 smoked away his uneasiness and wrath. 
 
37 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Her eye had a glow like the sun of her clime, 
 Which waked every feeling at onco into flower. 
 
 MOORE. 
 
 long and loud the cry arose, and the 
 watcher, having done his duty, started back toward the 
 house from his lookout on the brow of the hill, while 
 the waiting hostler led out his six shining horses, 
 ready harnessed, and the cook in the kitchen, who also 
 heard the call, began dishing up the soup and pease, 
 and hurrying about here and there to have all things 
 in readiness. Up through the late dim twilight shone 
 two twinkling lights, and at length a dull, rumbling 
 noise came nearer and nearer, until at last the dark 
 forms of the horses rose to view, and the stage itself 
 showed distinctly against the white glow over the hori 
 zon, coming closer and sounding louder; and then with 
 a rush, and a great deal of creaking and hissing of 
 brakes, the ponderous conveyance rolled up and stopped. 
 "Robinson s," announced the driver; "half-past seven 
 now; we start in thirty minutes"; and then went off to 
 get a match of the hostler, with which to light his pipe. 
 " Three," reported the dining-room girl to the dis 
 gusted cook, returning from her place by a front win 
 dow, where she could see the passengers alight; and 
 consequently several plates of soup were emptied back 
 into the kettle, and there was much less haste in the 
 
38 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 big hot kitchen. " Splendid business we re doing these 
 days," said the cook, sarcastically, who took more inter 
 est than people in her position usually do, because she 
 was one of the daughters of the family who kept the 
 house. 
 
 " Only three, did you say, Lill ? Are you sure ? 
 There might have been two or three more inside who 
 did n t get out." 
 
 " Only three, I said," replied Lill. " I would have 
 seen them if there d been more, two gentlemen and 
 one lady." 
 
 " And the lady and one of the gentlemen husband 
 and wife, of course; and likely as not they won t eat, 
 but will wait till they get up to the Royal Kegina," said 
 Lettie, the cook. 
 
 " No, I say not. For one gentleman who rode out 
 side does n t say much to the rest, and the other man 
 with the lady is Ned Dennett of the Lucky Streak. 
 They re coming in, but the other fellow said he was 
 dizzy, and thought he d walk up and down the porch 
 to feel better." 
 
 " Why, tell John to invite him in, and we 11 do some 
 thing for him, Lill. You can have Milcie give him a 
 dose of the bitters to tone him up. Likely he s got cold 
 riding so far in the chill night breeze," directed Lettie; 
 and Lill flew away to tell John. 
 
 "Thanks," said George Brooklyn on receiving the 
 invitation; "I shall be glad of the opportunity, for I 
 am rather tired "; and he followed John into the large 
 square parlor, where a knot of pine blazing in the fire 
 place warmed the air, and a lounge with a soft pillow 
 upon it looked very comfortable and inviting. Milcie, 
 
A STOP AT ROBINSON S. 39 
 
 a plump, pleasant-looking girl, came bustling in, and 
 had him compose himself on the couch already pre 
 pared, offered the bitters, which he declined, and the 
 "smelling balm," which he accepted, and at last sug 
 gested burnt brandy in hot milk, which would " most 
 likely cheer him up." She got a deep yellow bowl 
 with brandy in it, set it afire, and seated herself on a 
 low stool near him, telling him it would do him good 
 to inhale it while burning, and with a long spoon 
 poured back and forth the liquid covered with dim 
 blue and yellow and purple flames. 
 
 " Going up to the Lucky Streak, I suppose ? " she 
 asked. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Big diggings nowadays, we hear. To-morrow, we 
 have word, the stage is chartered for a big force of 
 miners going up, though they ve got a powerful crowd 
 on now. Every one up here is glad of it, just the same; 
 it makes business, and travel lately has been getting 
 scarce. Do you know anybody up there? " 
 
 " Only a few," replied George, growing uncomfort 
 able. 
 
 " From the city, I judge." 
 
 " Er-r yes." George Brooklyn was not a man to 
 remain quiet and be closely questioned. In fact, he 
 was expert at dodging, and this series of interrogatories 
 seemed to suggest that he might not care to answer 
 everything asked him in such a point-blank manner, 
 so he reversed matters and began asking questions 
 himself. u I suppose Mr. Robinson keeps this stopping- 
 place, the driver called it Robinson s." 
 
 "Yes, my father. My sisters and I do the work; 
 
40 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 but there s enough of us, five girls, not counting my 
 adopted sister. She don t live here, but teaches down 
 in the valley." George smiled at this. He remem 
 bered some one who taught in the valley too. " When 
 summer sets in we 11 be rushed, I tell you; it ll take all 
 five of us, and my brother John besides, to keep things 
 looking smart. How long do you expect But her 
 question was broken abruptly by some one rushing 
 toward the door and hastily opening it, and a young 
 girl stood on the threshold looking confused and half 
 dazzled by the glare of the pine-wood fire. She was 
 very pretty. George Brooklyn noticed instantly her 
 large dark eyes full of warmth and expression, her 
 black hair curling in heavy masses about her face, and 
 the brilliant pomegranate color burning on her cheeks 
 and lips. Her surprise at seeing him had completely 
 embarrassed her, and she stood glancing half wildly 
 around the room, not knowing what to do. She was 
 quickly relieved by Milcic, who said cordially, " Come 
 right in, Nita, and take a chair. This gentleman here s 
 been threatened with a fainting-spell, or something, and 
 I m only burning a little spirits for him, that s all. 
 Going up with the stage, I suppose." 
 
 The girl advanced and seated herself near Milcie. 
 She had a crimson shawl over her head, which she al 
 lowed to drop about her shoulders and reveal the abun 
 dance of her glossy dark hair; then she sat motionless, 
 the color on her cheeks burning brighter, and looking 
 earnestly and half pityingly toward George. He was 
 pleased with her. He could see strong feeling and 
 sensitiveness in her face, and he liked her dashing 
 Spanish beauty, as well as her shy awkwardness. 
 
A STOP AT ROBINSON S. 41 
 
 " Did you see your father, Nita? " asked Milcie. 
 
 " Yes," bashfully. 
 
 " I thought you d catch him. Too bad they sent him 
 after that fellow they discharged, because a whole 
 load s coming through to-morrow for the mine; and 
 they won t be hard up for hands then, I judge. Did 
 your father see him?" 
 
 "No; he had word about the new force, so he came 
 back with me." 
 
 "Pshaw! I thought he d go his eight miles for 
 nothing when I heard of it. Is he going to let you 
 start up to Quartz Hill to-morrow?" 
 
 " I don t know. He said, since he was coming back 
 with me, we need n t settle that till we got home." 
 
 "It would be rough on you to be riding round the 
 country for tlje sake of asking him, and then not get 
 to go after all." 
 
 During this conversation Nita looked steadily into 
 the fire, except when she flashed a bright, admiring 
 glance toward George, and caught him looking at her, 
 which compelled her to return again to her apparent 
 study of the glowing coals. When Milcie left the room 
 for milk with which to prepare the brandy, George was 
 anxious to attract her attention, but she sat immovable 
 as stone, without raising her eyes. Here was promise 
 of amusement for him for the moment, and if she lived 
 near Lucky Streak, more in the future most certainly. 
 Besides, he felt slightly piqued, mistaking her shyness 
 for indifference. 
 
 She was seated near him, so from his lounge he 
 reached out and gave her dress a little pull. She 
 turned indignantly upon him, but uttered not a word. 
 
42 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 "You are distant to strangers, I see," ventured 
 George. 
 
 " You are guilty of queer proceedings,, for even a 
 stranger," she replied haughtily. "I m not a fool, 
 sir." 
 
 " Aha," thought he, " she s wiser than I judged. I 11 
 try another mode." Then aloud, "You might notice 
 me, though, when you see I am ill, and feel lonesome 
 here without friends." 
 
 This partly v/on her, for she said, more pleasantly, 
 yet with a touch of sarcasm, " I am sorry. Can I do 
 anything?" 
 
 " I ve just been asking you, rather suggesting that 
 you be more sociable. It is cheering to have a pleas 
 ant word." 
 
 Nita was equal to the emergency when she thought 
 him rude to her, but now her bashfulness returned. 
 She could think of nothing to say, though her expressive 
 face spoke for her, told him she could not fathom his 
 behavior, and that she mistrusted him. He was ready 
 for it, but Milcie returning with the milk and brandy, 
 prevented further conversation. "You d better drink 
 it now," she said, " the stage s about off." He drank 
 it without saying more, and while Milcie helped him 
 with his overcoat and gave him a flask of the drink she 
 had prepared, for his use on the way, Nita slipped out 
 quietly and waited in the porch for her father to bring 
 around their horses. 
 
 "Who is that girl?" asked George, when she was gone. 
 
 u Nita Logan. She lives up near Lucky Streak, and 
 her father works in the mine; he s Irish, and her 
 mother Spanish, a queer mixture perhaps; but Nita s 
 
A STOP AT ROBINSON S. 43 
 
 good-looking, you see. I guess you are smitten your 
 self." 
 
 George laughed, and Milcie continued: " Most all the 
 young men coming up this way are more or less sweet 
 on her, because she s pretty, / think; but Lottie, my 
 sister, says it s because she don t notice them. She 
 don t care for em maybe; and maybe she does and 
 never betrays it; anyhow, she s awful backward. She 
 never speaks to one of em, unless they say something 
 to her; I guess she don t care a whit, that s my idea 
 of that part." George was pleased to hear this. He 
 loved a conquest. 
 
 "Where is she going? Up to Lucky Streak in the 
 stage ? " 
 
 "No; she and her father are a-horseback; they ll 
 ride along in company with it, I suppose. It s uncom 
 fortable going through the pine woods alone in the 
 night." 
 
 "Thanks for your kindness. Where do I go to 
 settle?" 
 
 " Nowhere. I ve done nothing to be paid for. You re 
 welcome." 
 
 George bowed politely, thanked her again, and 
 passed out into the porch, where Nita was waiting. It 
 is very easy to talk in the dark, especially if something 
 is to be said that might reveal embarrassment on the 
 speaker s part; so even George and not wholly for 
 his sake chose a moment of darkness to speak, that 
 Nita s surprise might not betray itself in her face, and 
 thus doubly embarrass her, and also because, since 
 truth loves the light and error hides in darkness, he 
 felt it more consistent on his own part to work in his 
 
44 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 appointed time. Nita stood on the end of the porch, 
 looking out upon the pines that grew close to the house 
 in dark, gloomy masses, and idly stirring a spray of 
 honeysuckle that dipped into the cool, dripping waters 
 of the tank beside the porch. George crossed over 
 lightly to where she was, and laid his hand upon her 
 arm. She started as if she had not heard him, shak 
 ing the vine into a shower of glistening diamonds over 
 them both, and stepped backward into a little stream 
 of light that poured forth from one of the windows, 
 revealing the quick anger in her dark face. 
 
 "I came for that sympathy you promised," said 
 George, shrinking into the darkness, that she might 
 not see the smile he could not repress. She made no 
 answer, but stood half trembling, yet indignantly de 
 fiant. Then he came closer and bent over her kindly 
 and reassuringly, and said: "Believe me, I am in 
 earnest. I have found my maid of the mountains in 
 you, for you are a sweet Spanish beauty." 
 
 Still no word, but she did not move away from him. 
 So with this slight shadow of encouragement, George 
 put his hand caressingly against her cheek, and was 
 about to whisper something close to her face, when she 
 dashed herself violently away and stood before him, 
 trembling with rage and indignation that she could not 
 express. " Go away!" she cried, so loud that George 
 turned anxiously to see if any one had overheard her. 
 The hostler and driver were standing near the horses 
 talking, and did not seem to notice, but Edward Den 
 nett and Miss Minton were just passing out through the 
 other end of the porch, for the warning cry had been 
 given to the passengers to be ready to start, so George 
 
45 
 
 realized that he too must go, else all attention would 
 soon be centred on him. 
 
 "Well, good by; I must go now," he said. "You 
 are unkind to me when I have chosen you to be my 
 lovely mountain nymph. I will see you again, though; 
 I could not resist seeking one so pretty as you. So 
 good by again." And then he left her, after linger 
 ing a moment for the answer that did not come; 
 and when he had climbed to his seat on the stage, and 
 comfortably composed himself, while the driver was 
 drawing up his lines and taking off the brakes and the 
 blocks were being removed from behind the wheels, he 
 glanced back and saw Nita waiting just as she was be 
 fore he disturbed her, yet he knew that she had not 
 been indifferent to him at least, for he could see her 
 excitedly breaking off little clusters of the vine and 
 throwing them impatiently into the brimming waters of 
 the tank. He laughed quietly to himself, and turned, 
 satisfied and forgetful of her, to watch the pine tops 
 gently tossing in the night wind far below him in the 
 canon as they rolled away. 
 
 It was eight miles to Lucky Streak mines, and up 
 hill a good part of the journey. The road led through 
 heavy pine forests and along rock-armored hillsides, so 
 that the ride was a dark one, and a rough one as well. 
 George thought no more of Nita, for she and her father 
 rode some distance behind the stage, and never came 
 in sight. Finally, as they neared the top of a long 
 grade, the cold grew so intense that George suffered 
 severely, and asked the driver in desperation to provide 
 him with some sort of scarf or blanket to wrap about 
 his ears and neck. The driver fumbled about fruit- 
 
46 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 lessly for a while, but being so accustomed himself to the 
 sharp night air in the mountains, he felt little sym 
 pathy, and so gave it up, telling George they would soon 
 be down in a caiion again, where it would be sheltered 
 and warmer. However, during one of their stops to 
 rest the horses on the hill, Nita and her father came 
 up to the stage, and a sudden thought seizing the 
 driver, he called out familiarly, u Say, Nita, ain t you 
 got an extra shawl or saddle-blanket along? A weak 
 chap aboard here s most froze, and wants something 
 to do up his neck in." Nita checked her horse s hurried 
 step just in the glow of the stage-lamps, that revealed 
 her, like a magic picture outlined against the dull red 
 bank walling in the road on one side, her dark eyes 
 glistening though half blinded by the sudden light, 
 seated proudly on her steaming horse. 
 
 " yes, I ve a shawl here behind my saddle that I 
 do not use," she said, and began to untie it. The 
 driver passed it to George when she handed it to him. 
 She remained for a moment irresolute, and then ad 
 dressing herself to the driver, said vehemently, as if 
 maddened at seeing George appropriate it to his own 
 comfort, "No, indeed! Not for him! Give me back 
 my shawl." 
 
 George illy failed to hide his surprise, for though 
 accustomed to acts equally ill-bred and cruel, he had 
 never seen them performed so openly, yet he folded it 
 with an humble air, and passed it back to her; still she 
 did not relent, and only looked half ashamed as she 
 took it. He tried to catch her eye, and show her by his 
 face that he did not resent her unkindness, but she 
 studiously avoided him, and when she had put the 
 
A STOP AT ROBINSON S. 47 
 
 shawl back again, said hurriedly, "Good night, Paul," 
 to the driver, and galloped away. 
 
 "Our young lady is saucy," remarked George, lightly, 
 to the driver. 
 
 "Yes," he answered. "She s been overdid. Telia 
 girl she s pretty onct, and seems like she never would 
 get over it. That s the trouble with Nita; but then 
 she s a toler ble good girl, too." 
 
 How far was either from the true state of things I 
 Little could they see that, though uncultured and un 
 learned, she had keen sensibilities that brooked no 
 rough handling, even though it was offered in the garb 
 of friendliness; and that only in a spirit of mild retalia 
 tion she had returned what she had been compelled to 
 receive, though she did it in a more objectionable form. 
 Yet there were ample .excuses for her, because she 
 knew no other way to repel what she felt to be an in- 
 Bult, and because she could not bear it in silence. 
 
 After she was out of sight a stillness settled over them, 
 and both men sat for a long time absorbed in thought, 
 George reflecting not the most pleasantly on his 
 crushed vanity, that had suffered at the hands of both 
 Miss Minton and Nita. The toiling stage creaked, the 
 horses stumbled over rocks that struck fire at every 
 step, and the thick pines met above the road, sometimes 
 letting through glimpses of the dark night sky lighted 
 with its nebulous splendors, whose pale light struggled 
 through the cold, clear air and reached them in slender 
 bars of diamond brightness. The sharp air finally pro 
 duced a feeling of drowsiness, and George dozed off into 
 a nap, sometimes waking suddenly as they went jar 
 ring over ruts, but quickly relapsing into unconscious- 
 
48 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 ness, until he was roused from a sound sleep by the 
 sudden cessation of all sound, and an oppressive silence 
 reigning, instead of the steady creak and clatter of the 
 moving stage. While he was rubbing his eyes and try 
 ing to move his stiffened muscles, he heard the loud ex 
 cited cry of "Lucky Streak Mines! " ringing through 
 the stillness, and saw a score or more of lights scattered 
 about on the hillsides, flashing warmly through the 
 gloom; so he climbed down from the s "age, feeling very 
 glad to follow Edward Dennett toward the great hotel, 
 where a blaze of light from the brilliantly glowing win 
 dows promised waiting hospitality to the chilled and 
 tired travellers. 
 
A GLIMPSE OF THE DOCTOR. 49 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 
 
 A GLIMPSE OF THE DOCTOB. 
 
 My soul was like a star, and dwelt apart. 
 
 LOUDON. 
 
 COME and let us look in at the Doctor a week or so 
 after his visit to Miss Warren, as he sits in his quiet, 
 cobwebbed office, situated out of the noise and excite 
 ment of the town, where the pink-and-white blossoms 
 of the sweet-pease twine about his smoke-dimmed win 
 dows, and the swaying green branches of the locusts 
 bend now and then to brush away in little streaks the 
 thick layer of dust that has settled outside. It is a 
 small room, but a bright one, with large windows look 
 ing out toward the east, that let in floods of sunshine, 
 lighting up the faded green carpet and the shining gilt 
 on the backs of his substantially bound books, ranged 
 in even rows along the walls, and seeming to rest more 
 tenderly than elsewhere on the Doctor s gray hair, 
 blending its golden-brown and silver locks into beauti 
 ful lights and shadows, as he sits at his long, paper- 
 strewn desk, his head resting on his hand, thinking 
 gravely. 
 
 The Doctor was a thoughtful man, a man who loved 
 solitude and quiet. All his life he had kept himself 
 apart from others, delving deep into the minutest re 
 cesses of study, trying experiments with his carefully 
 collected heaps of herbs and chemicals, or writing the 
 
50 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 results of his labors into lectures for delivery or publi 
 cation. Few people had ever known him intimately. 
 He had an aversion to strangers, notwithstanding his 
 profession brought him into daily contact with them. 
 To his friends he was warm-hearted and frank, but out 
 side the range of his friendships the Doctor was almost 
 an awkward man, often finding himself in uncomfort 
 able straits, from which he usually managed to retreat, 
 though not always in the most graceful manner. But 
 a stranger who impressed him favorably was cordially 
 welcomed to a place among his friends, and treated as 
 such, however premature such unreserved and familiar 
 behavior might appear. Indeed, the Doctor knew no 
 other way to treat people; it was either in his own can 
 did, sincere manner, or he made serious blunders in 
 trying to be ceremonious, and could only end in confu 
 sion or mortification. Thus people were his friends or 
 they knew him not. But he was so self-sacrificing that 
 he seldom asked a favor, and he was always so kind 
 and obliging that few ever remembered they could do 
 a service for him in return, and hence they received 
 not that full, free confidence which, with people like 
 the Doctor, is born of gratitude. 
 
 Into his inner life into that deep, secret place of 
 the heart where few may come, even to those who are 
 most open and free no one had ever entered. If he 
 had a sorrow, he bore its bitterest pangs alone; if he 
 had a joy, its best delight lay far below that exterior 
 which the world can see, imbuing his sensibilities with 
 such an unspeakable charm, such a subtile delight, that 
 he could never give it full expression without its seem 
 ing insipid to him compared to what he really felt. 
 
A GLIMPSE OF THE DOCTOR. 51 
 
 And the Doctor was never insipid, surely, although his 
 charity and his natural kindness often caused him to 
 notice little things which seemed insignificant and al 
 most absurd when compared to his own native dignity, 
 that could even permeate his comical little gig and his 
 highly inappropriate yellow gloves with an air of grave 
 importance because they belonged to him. Those who 
 knew him always recognized this dignity despite his 
 eccentricities; and others, though often disposed to 
 make light of his defects, learned speedily to respect 
 him. 
 
 But with regard to the Doctor s friend, his confiden 
 tial, dearly beloved and trusted friend, alas for him! 
 there had never been such a one. And still it was not 
 the Doctor s fault. There was only one way into that 
 holiest place of his heart, and he himself could not 
 point it out. To one who had lived such an unselfish 
 life as his, it was not strange that it should be his 
 mission to serve others, and hear and minister to their 
 misfortunes rather than to receive the loving care and 
 the appreciative ear that had been his life-long wants. 
 Who ever thought of sympathizing with the Doctor, 
 when he was so necessary to everybody else s comfort 
 that they could not spare him the time to brood over 
 his own woes? In fact, most of his friends thought he 
 never had any; for although unreserved in many re 
 spects, he was painfully timid with reference to himself. 
 
 And so it can readily be inferred that since the Doc 
 tor had never known an intimate friend, his love affairs 
 had not been surprisingly frequent. If his heart had 
 ever known a touch of the divine passion, it seldom 
 promised more than a remote fulfilment, in fact, he 
 
52 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 crushed it out if it threatened to lead him into any 
 outward demonstration. But he had never known the 
 sweetness of contented love, so no wonder he dreamed 
 dreams and indulged fancies of what his heart longed 
 for, and then banished them as sentimentally ridicu 
 lous, a creation of his own heart, and as something that 
 did not in reality exist. 
 
 But had the Doctor been less faint-hearted with re 
 spect to these things, he would not have been so easily 
 discouraged as to cherish in silence or hide as un 
 worthy of manly, practical strength his want of some 
 one to care for, or he would have at least experimented 
 with it, to satisfy himself so far as his own case was con 
 cerned. 
 
 That trite old saying about the sins of bachelors 
 could not be applied to him with the dimmest shadow 
 of truth; he was pure and noble, and true to himself so 
 far as his light could guide him, and that is all that 
 any of us can be. If- we err then, it is rather a defect 
 for which we are not responsible, or an accident for 
 which we should not be held accountable. 
 
 And hence he had lived his life, little knowing what 
 he missed, or how easily that obstacle in his path might 
 be removed if any one could ever find it out, and often 
 felt that after all, as many of us do, the world was not 
 altogether such a charming place as he had at first 
 imagined; yet he made the most of it for want of a 
 better one, since he still had the advantage of escaping 
 its deadliest sorrows, if he found not its most precious 
 happiness. He took up life s duties very cheerfully, 
 and even ambitiously, and much he had accomplished, 
 earning eminence in his profession, and confidence and 
 gratitude from many friends. 
 
A GLIMPSE OF THE DOCTOR. 53 
 
 He was always in a hurry, yet he did not work rap 
 idly, for he gave such careful attention to the minutest 
 detail, put himself out so often to help some one in need 
 of his assistance, and so frequently indulged his habit 
 of meditation, that he lost many minutes of what he 
 considered his limited time. Yet he had ample patience 
 with anybody who trespassed upon his valuable hours; 
 and as an instance of this leniency, let us cite the case 
 of his lazy white horse, that imposed on his benevolence 
 so much as to take her own time on all occasions, 
 though sometimes pretending to be in as much of a 
 hurry as he. He knew it in a measure, and bought his 
 big whip for her benefit, but he was too kind-hearted 
 ever to use it, even though his smart Lady Snowdrop 
 often took half a day to make a two hours trip. 
 
 And for an example of his meditative indulgencies, let 
 us think of him as we see him on this morning when we 
 uninvited intrude upon his unconscious hospitality and 
 read his thoughts as he sits in his office so absorbed in re 
 flection that he has forgotten half his morning has been 
 spent in this way, and that the fat white horse hitched 
 out under the locust grove is luxuriating in the fact that 
 she is two hours his debtor already, and that it is much 
 pleasanter there in the balmy, sun-dotted shadow than 
 dragging the gig away over the roads on the Doctor s 
 journeys. 
 
 He was taking all this time, which he would re 
 gret further on he knew, wondering whether Miss 
 Warren would be horrified should he invite her to drive 
 out to the hospital with him some day, and pay his 
 languishing patients a visit; not that he was the least 
 inclined to be attentive to her, but she was such a 
 
54 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 bright, cheerful girl, and appreciating woman s quick, 
 intuitive discernment in the sick-room, he felt certain 
 she would be able to make valuable suggestions which 
 would never occur to him. He had seen her often 
 since his first visit, and she had sometimes been fairly 
 enthusiastic over their plans. If she had been less 
 interested in the work she had undertaken, the Doctor 
 would never have dreamed of such a thing; but he 
 was now almost persuaded she would go if he ex 
 plained it to her, and yet he hesitated, fearing she 
 would misunderstand him in some way. She was so 
 very busy that she seldom availed herself of any little 
 pastime; and now that spring was on her way over 
 the low bright hills, with dainty early blossoms hiding 
 deep in the new fresh grass, and waxy clusters of but 
 tercups shining in the dewiest hollows, he hoped that 
 she would take as much pleasure in seeing them as he 
 would in showing them to her, and perhaps that would 
 be an extra inducement for her to go. 
 
 He took up almost reverently her offerings for his 
 patients, and noted how neat and fresh and sweet were 
 the well-chosen bunches of lilacs and roses, honey 
 suckles, pinks, and chrysanthemums; how carefully 
 selected her stories and sketches, clipped from papers 
 or marked in magazines; and also how thoughtful a 
 warm, sympathetic letter for one poor fellow he had told 
 her about, and to whom she had conceived the idea of 
 writing as a change for him, and perhaps a relief also. 
 Finally he did what was very unusual with him in 
 such a case, he resolved to ask her anyway. And 
 then he started up suddenly from his long reverie, hur 
 riedly placed his flowers and stories in a basket, took 
 
A GLIMPSE OF THE DOCTOR. 55 
 
 his medicine-chest and overcoat, and went out to wake 
 up Lady Snowdrop. 
 
 Too much inactivity had made her lazier than ever, 
 and all his urging could only induce her to jog wearily 
 along on a slow trot. 
 
 Riding out into the suburbs of the village, he passed 
 the little red school-house glowing brightly from its 
 grove of trees. It was recess time, and the children 
 were scattered about over the grounds playing ball; 
 while among the shrubbery he caught sight of the 
 school-mistress walking up and down the green turf 
 with a crowd of the younger children listening, wide- 
 mouthed and breathless, to some wonderful story she 
 seemed to be relating. In reality, it- was one of her 
 own invention, of fairy origin, and embellished elabor 
 ately with flying vehicles that looked like bees or birds 
 when high up in the air, but which, when they alighted 
 on the ground, turned out to be only gigs, with great 
 wheels for wings that buzzed round and round. These 
 odd vehicles had little fairies in them, whose hands 
 were made of pure yellow gold, which the other fairy 
 folk disliked very much, although the queer fairies who 
 flew about were very good people; and when the sky 
 was darkened with these weird flying things, and the 
 air was filled with a deep, roaring buzz, everybody 
 knew that they were coming to bring honey-dew and 
 pieces of bright, silver-hued cloud for all the poor little 
 fairies that were not big enough to get these things for 
 themselves. The gig part was not a premeditated fea 
 ture, but one that grew out of the story as she was tell 
 ing it, like a sudden inspiration, and she had just got 
 to the place where she had to describe the humming 
 
56 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 noise when something very appropriate to the story 
 sounded out in the road. She looked, and there was 
 the Doctor, appearing very opportunely, and so she 
 laughed and felt quite merry over it. He had thought 
 when he first saw her it would be a good opportunity to 
 speak, and then immediately his courage had failed, and 
 he decided to postpone it to a future time, although the 
 following day was Saturday, when he would have liked 
 to take her out to the hospital. He had actually urged 
 Lady Snowdrop into a run as he passed along by the 
 fence and the gate, but Miss Warren suddenly caught 
 a glimpse of him, and bowed pleasantly and smiled, as 
 if to bid him godspeed on his mission, and then see 
 ing him pull up the reins slightly, ran down by the 
 fence to speak with him. 
 
 The school-mistress was sociable and agreeable and 
 in the best of spirits that morning, so she chatted away 
 animatedly, all the while looking curiously at his high- 
 wheeled cart, and smiling to herself to think such a 
 story about it as she had just been telling the children 
 should present itself to her fancy. And finally, when the 
 Doctor summoned up courage enough to suggest his new 
 plan to her, and the thought struck her suddenly that 
 she soon would have a drive in that odd little cart 
 which had made such an impression upon her mind, she 
 laughed outright, and thereby hurt the Doctor s feelings 
 grievously; for considering his long meditation over the 
 matter, he was of course even more sensitive than usual. 
 But she answered him so heartily and earnestly, that 
 she would take great pleasure in going, and seemed so 
 sweet and gentle standing there under the trees, the 
 rich yellow sunshine drifting down through the shad- 
 
A GLIMPSE OF THE DOCTOR. 57 
 
 ows and touching her nut-brown hair with glints of 
 gold, while her soft blue eyes, like the fair azure flowers 
 of the flax, looked up to him so innocently and reassur 
 ingly, that he felt somewhat soothed. Yes, to-morrow 
 would do, she said, and she would be all ready at any 
 hour he might name. So they planned to start rather 
 early, because it was so pleasant riding in the, fresh 
 morning air. And then the Doctor drove slowly away, 
 but feeling yet a little uncomfortable because she 
 had laughed. Before he had gone far, he heard one of 
 the children call out in a shrill, infantile tone, "Teacher, 
 won t you please tell us now the rest of that story 
 about the fairies that flied about in the sulky-looking 
 things?" and " teacher" was thankful that childish 
 understanding had misconstrued the idea, even though 
 it had called the vehicles such unrom antic things as 
 sulkies, while the Doctor wondered a little if it could 
 have any remote reference to his gig. But he looked 
 around, and his ease was partially restored when he saw 
 the school-mistress standing where he had left her, 
 leaning upon the fence and looking thoughtfully and 
 dreamily out toward the low line of hills in the distance, 
 her fair face looking like a delicate little flower blos 
 soming out of the leafy locusts behind her. 
 
 Lady Snowdrop was aggravatingly independent all 
 day, and annoyed the Doctor considerably by persist 
 ently refusing to hurry herself a particle; but retribu 
 tion of the worst nature followed when the Doctor s man 
 walked her out of the stable before sunrise the next 
 morning, two hours earlier than usual, when the air 
 was not any too warm, and gave her white sleek hide 
 a good rubbing with a wet sponge, and then hitched 
 
58 ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 her into the gig, that had undergone a polishing also, 
 and drove her around to the Doctor s office. Yet she 
 had known worse days, for she had formerly belonged 
 to the first Dr. Knapp, who knew how to use- a whip 
 quite effectively, and she had been trotted out on nu 
 merous occasions and taken to the office, which had been 
 his also, at very untimely hours, sometimes in the dead 
 of night. But lately life had been getting so delicious 
 that this treatment seemed harsh in comparison. 
 
 The Doctor came out very briskly, and consequently 
 gave her a terrible fright, by making her think it was 
 really the first Dr. Knapp back again, and no doubt 
 she felt as if she should be dealt with very consider 
 ately on account thereof; of all which the Doctor was 
 profoundly ignorant, and so could not be censured for 
 not acting accordingly sympathetic, though it is more 
 than likely he would have done so had he known. 
 
 Miss Warren was not in a mood to laugh about the 
 Doctor s cart this morning when he drove up, oven 
 though his horse stepped as high as ever, and he made 
 such a short turn out in front of the gate that the huge 
 fish-rod whip standing out grandly on the right appeared 
 like a pivot with the left wheel and the horse swinging 
 round it. She greeted him so cordially that he felt as 
 delighted as a boy, and assisted her into the gig with 
 far more boldness than he otherwise would have done, 
 and could not help feeling a little proud, as they drove 
 out of town through the locust groves, to have her there, 
 such a sweet, light-hearted young girl, shedding sun 
 shine freely all around her, and actually planning for 
 and taking a deep interest in his work. 
 
 Locustville was a pretty little village, its homelike 
 
A GLIMPSE OF THE DOCTOR. 59 
 
 houses planted like a collection of gems in the midst of 
 the great valley country, and from it roads, smooth and 
 hard and well kept, led out in all directions, lined for 
 quite a distance with locusts, that made very pleasant 
 drives. Lois was in a most joyous mood, taking a keen 
 pleasure in the green trees that had budded out with 
 full bright leaves, and after they reached the open fields, 
 still more in the gentle slopes blooming forth with the 
 first promise of spring-time; in the dew spread like a 
 white frosty crust over all the grass, and sparkling 
 brilliantly as they rode past, with green and white and 
 purple flashes in the tender morning sunshine; and in 
 the air that bore a delightful freshness and exhilaration, 
 and the sweet early odors of the clover meadows. 
 
 So they drove on together, while the country opened 
 out around them like the fair pastures of Arcadia, be 
 coming so interested in their conversation that both 
 forgot Lady Snowdrop was taking advantage of their 
 abstraction, not feeling particularly lively after getting 
 up so early, even if the world was lovely and hearts 
 were light. 
 
 The school-mistress could not resist a strange feeling 
 of satisfaction that she was riding in the cart that 
 had exercised such an influence over her mind when 
 she first saw it; and besides, it was remarkably easy 
 to ride in, much more so than it looked to be, rolling 
 smoothly into the shallow ditches, and springing out 
 again with a lightness that was very pleasant. She 
 wondered how they looked there in the gig. She could 
 scarcely add herself to the picture, the Doctor alone on 
 the wide seat seemed so inseparably connected with it; 
 yet she knew they must look quite the game, for there 
 
60 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 was the whip and everything, even to the gloves. She 
 turned toward the Doctor to see them again, she was 
 always so irresistibly attracted to them, and saw on 
 the lapel of his coat something she had not noticed 
 before. It was a tiny bunch of forget-me-nots and 
 honeysuckles, which she recognized as one of those she 
 had sent him the evening before for his patients, 
 although he had ingeniously disguised its identity by 
 putting in with it a locust leaf, the only thing in the 
 way of an addition to the flowers he could procure when 
 he took it. Her heart was touched. It betokened 
 such feeling and pride, blended with such a gentle 
 heart, that it sent a thrill and a warmth to her own. 
 " The dear old Doctor," she said to herself; " how very, 
 very nice and good he isl" 
 
LOVE S LATE BLOSSOMING. 61 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 LOVE S LATE BLOSSOMING. 
 
 It owns 
 
 A richer soil and boasts a quicker seed 1 
 You look for it. and see it not; and lo ! 
 E en while you look, the peerless flower is up, 
 Consummate in the birth. 
 
 The Hunchback. 
 
 A SHARP, high voice, breaking rudely upon the still 
 ness of the long corridors in the hospital, greeted the 
 Doctor and Lois as they reached the head of the broad 
 staircase. " Maybe I will, and maybe I won t," it said; 
 and a little red-haired girl of about sixteen, with two 
 bright red spots burning on her cheeks, and the acme 
 of anger snapping in both her round blue eyes, came 
 down to meet them, fairly sputtering to herself. 
 
 " Hy there," said the Doctor, lifting his finger warn- 
 ingly. " That s unkind, Nettie, to make such a noise 
 
 such a disturbance among sick folks. What s 
 the trouble?" 
 
 "Well, I ll just tell you," said she, standing herself 
 up saucily before them. " That mean, contemptible 
 
 " Be careful," chided the listener. 
 
 " Well, I don t care, she is one. And I 11 tell you 
 what she did. I thought I d get up a little fun amidst 
 those long-faced, sober-eyed creatures, who never smile 
 once a century, and so I played an innocent little joke, 
 
 I just dripped some water on Sam Nailer s head, to 
 
62 f ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 see him get mad and try to find out where it came from, 
 and she said I should n t come into her ward again if 
 she had to dust and sweep nights herself to keep me 
 out, and she actually boxed my ears and pushed me 
 through the door." 
 
 "Who did? V 
 
 "Why, that mean, old, vinegar-mouthed, lazy 
 
 "Here, here! You are excited; you are too angry," 
 said the Doctor. " Tell me who, without any descrip 
 tion of what she is like, just the simple name." 
 
 " Well, I will, if I can mention such a such a 
 well, Mrs. Kent, who don t know anything but to eat 
 and boss, and be just as fault-finding, and insinuating, 
 and disagreeable " She stopped, not because she re 
 membered the Doctor s injunctions, but because she 
 noticed Lois for the first time, in her blind rage, as 
 something worth seeing instead of a mere being in 
 company with the Doctor. The two girls were about 
 the same size, and had on hats nearly alike, broad- 
 brimmed, bright straws of the same shape, but Nettie s 
 was trimmed with knots of pink and white ribbon, and 
 Lois had woven a bunch of English daisies into the 
 lace on hers. Here, however, all likeness between them 
 ended, for Nettie s flushed countenance suffered in com 
 parison with the soft whiteness of Lois s expressive face. 
 The Doctor had mistaken Lois for this wayward, im 
 petuous girl that spring-time afternoon of the past, 
 which seemed to her so very long ago, as he rode 
 dreaming through the locust-trees; but he was so likely 
 to commit such blunders from inattention that it was 
 not at all surprising. 
 
 "Aha! " said Nettie, changing her sharp tone to one 
 
LOVE S LATE BLOSSOMING. 63 
 
 of jest; " I 11 bet I know your tricks, Doctor. You re 
 member one day some weeks ago when you came out 
 from Locustville you told me you thought you saw me, 
 but were mistaken. I know your games. You 
 were trying to flirt, and I just guess you have suc 
 ceeded " 
 
 "Come," said Dr. Knapp, sedately, stopping her. 
 "I ve no time to talk. Make no more noise here, Net 
 tie; it s very unkind to do so; I d advise you to take a 
 walk till you feel better "; and he passed by her in a 
 hurried manner, as if annoyed. Lois opened her eyes 
 wide in wonder. Who was this girl who dared talk in 
 such a strain to the grave, dignified, yet kind-hearted 
 man beside her? However ludicrous he might appear 
 sometimes by his carelessness in minor matters, or 
 about things with which he was unacquainted, yet his 
 kind manner and profound learning won their way to 
 the esteem and respect of all. 
 
 However, he said nothing about her, appearing to be 
 quite absorbed in thought, and Lois soon forgot it as 
 they made their rounds through the quiet wards, and 
 she found so much to do, and so many encouraging, 
 comforting things to say to the poor sufferers, that the 
 Doctor compared her in his mind to a sunbeam shining 
 down upon a patch of primroses, making them bloorn 
 out wherever she passed. He did not say quite so much 
 as that to her, though; but she knew he was greatly 
 pleased. Lois had never had much experience in car 
 ing for the sick, but her warm, quick sympathies sug 
 gested scores of things to relieve them. She remained 
 long at the bedside of the poor man to whom she had 
 written the letter, feeling especially interested in him. 
 
64 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 He was suffering from a disease of the heart that made 
 him look old and haggard, though he had not yet 
 reached middle age. His eyes were very bright and his 
 mind very active for one so wasted by the cruel hand 
 of pain; and she discovered before she had talked long 
 with him an imaginative vein in his conversation that 
 was very pleasant, so she lingered to interest him in a 
 story of one of her little pupils, and, to keep up his in 
 terest in it, promised to write the rest as it developed 
 with time. He listened with eagerness, and talked 
 freely with her about himself when she had finished. 
 Incidentally she learned that he was a lawyer, and 
 that his name was James Knowles. He was not ex 
 actly poor, he said, though his health had always pre 
 vented him from accumulating wealth. Then he grew 
 enthusiastic, and his eyes blazed with light as he talked 
 of the law, and launched into long arguments, develop 
 ing into an orator of considerable interest, touching up 
 his sentences with bright flashes of wit, and weaving po 
 etical fancies into the dull, heavy prose of law, in a way 
 that was very ingenious. Finally, he forgot his weak 
 ness entirely, and half rose on his elbow, while his 
 voice lost its hollow rattle, and grew clear and mellow, 
 and rose louder and louder, till Lois was quite alarmed 
 lest he should become too excited, and increase his 
 illness. So, in a pause, she said she must go, but 
 promised to come and see him again if she visited the 
 hospital, and to write the rest of her little story as fast 
 as she learned it; and leaving him a bunch of violets, 
 she stole quietly away. 
 
 The Doctor came to her in the little reception-room, 
 after he had made his rounds, and told her it was time 
 
LOVE S LATE BLOSSOMING. 65 
 
 for dinner. " I shall introduce you to a very good old 
 lady, Miss Warren," he said. " She is a little queer, 
 a little odd, but a very nice old lady. The young 
 girl we saw as we came in is her grandchild, a 
 wayward girl, full uf tricks and fun, a little high-tem 
 pered, but good in the main, I m sure. I generally 
 dine there when I remain over here all day, so she will 
 expect us." 
 
 Lois went as in a dream through the wide, quiet 
 streets, past lovely homes surrounded by fair, bloom 
 ing gardens, and green, bright lawns, and here a hedge 
 ablow with brilliant flowers, and there another scatter 
 ing perfume on the soft air, and all having a stately, 
 quiet, and calm repose. 
 
 "This is Mrs. Hunman s house, where we are to 
 dine," said the Doctor; " I like it, and do not mind the 
 walk, though it is quite a distance out in the suburbs, 
 and I m generally in a hurry, quite rushed, and 
 can scarcely spare the time." 
 
 It was an old, white, tumble-down honse with a steep 
 gable-roof and dim green blinds, but it was set in a 
 mass of overgrown, luxuriant flowers, vines running riot, 
 and trees with long, untrimmed, and whip-like branches 
 stretching across the walk, and interweaving themselves 
 into a tangle of apple and .acacia, oleander and cherry, 
 and scarlet-tipped pomegranate, until only the upper 
 portion of the house, protected by the eaves, gleamed 
 white through the glinting foliage. It was just the 
 time of year to ramble through this queer old garden, 
 when spring had changed its dusky green leaves to new 
 ones, pale and oily and crinkled, and its grass grew 
 knee-deep and sweet and wild, wilting in spots where 
 
G6 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 tho sun shone liot, cool and fresh in the shadow, dew- 
 wet and lighted by starry little flowers deep down next 
 the damp, mossy earth, and springing up tall and rank 
 in the brambles of wild rose and passion-flower beside 
 the green hedges. Honeysuckle and late violets made 
 the air delicious with fragrance, and morning-glories 
 opened wide into blossoms of purple and white and 
 pink, and swayed and glowed like dainty little bells of 
 sun-kissed cloud, so airy and delicate were they, creep 
 ing up to hide with their tender beauty the weather- 
 stained walls of the old-fashioned house. 
 
 Lois was charmed with the place. "It seems so 
 homelike," she said to the Doctor, as they passed up 
 the sparkling gravel walk, and he smiled and said it 
 pleased him, too, because it carried him back to the 
 sharp-roofed country-houses of New England, where 
 the people loved natural, unstudied effects rather than 
 trimmed and rigid cultivation. 
 
 " I 11 get you a rose," he said, turning aside where a 
 cluster of half-blown buds nodded temptingly on a 
 bending stalk. But as usual, he was in a hurry, and 
 tore away at the bush till a shower of old roses rained 
 around him, and the long stiff thorns made a rent in 
 his yellow gloves; but he succeeded in getting them at 
 last by using his knife, and presented them to Lois. 
 
 " Thank you," she said delightedly. " But you have 
 torn your glove, Dr. Knapp, in getting them; I ought 
 to make you some reparation for taking so much trouble 
 on my account, I 11 mend the gloves for you." 
 
 The Doctor almost blushed, he was so astonished. 
 To have her offer to do such a thing, when he would 
 not have asked her to do it for the big round world, 
 
LOVE S LATE BLOSSOMING. 07 
 
 seemed like a new experience to him. A torn glove 
 was one to throw away. He could not bother to hunt 
 up motherly people who would mend his torn garments. 
 But Lois was just the sort of girl who, regardless of 
 rules of propriety, did what her heart prompted, and 
 what she thought should not be neglected. Little did 
 she care who would laugh because she was going to 
 mend the Doctor s gloves. She preferred that to see 
 ing him drive around with holes in them, as she was 
 afraid he would. And she was willing to let people say 
 what they wished when she offended their sense of the 
 fitness of things, so long as she accomplished the work 
 she had in view. But this would be nothing compared 
 with the sensation she stirred up one day long ago when 
 during school recess a simpering young beau called, 
 who was only slightly acquainted with the school 
 mistress, arid found her demurely dragging in a sob 
 bing urchin who had exasperated her but a short time 
 before by learning his spelling lesson from the pictures 
 in his book, and calling h-e-n, chicken. -But she ig 
 nored the caller who interrupted her work, after pro 
 viding him a seat, forgave the barefooted infantile 
 offender his fault, and proceeded to wash the dirty 
 little tear-stained face, and set him down solidly in 
 her lap, while she tied up in salve and soft linen his 
 bleeding toe, the stubbing of which had caused all 
 his sorrowful tears. So the beau, who found that 
 the school-mistress preferred taking care of naughty 
 urchins to talking with him, shortened his call, and 
 went away with a wonderful tale to relate. But Lois 
 only laughed when she heard of it, and still kept on 
 Bowing " tears " in torn jackets, picking out splinters, 
 
68 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 and washing dirty faces before any spectators who cared 
 to look. 
 
 And so she took it as a matter-of-fact duty to be done, 
 while the Doctor was so much surprised that he could 
 scarcely settle the thought in his own mind for a few 
 minutes. Nevertheless, he rather liked the idea, not 
 any more because it was entirely new to him to have 
 young ladies or old ladies, either offer to mend his 
 gloves, than because it showed a warm heart that loved 
 to be helpful with true womanly instinct. 
 
 Mrs. Hunman, a quaint old lady, with a long hook 
 nose, gray locks coiled in smooth loops on the back of 
 her head, and gold-bowed glasses that were ever shin 
 ing in the light like chips of ice, opened the door for 
 them as they came up the steps, and showed them, with 
 a great deal of ceremony, into her little parlor, worn 
 and faded notwithstanding the fact that the sunshine 
 seldom got a peep into its musty corners to steal away 
 their bright hues. She was very slow and old-fash 
 ioned, and, as the Doctor had said, a little odd; but she 
 had a patient, motherly look upon her face, indicating 
 that she was certain to endure the wilful pranks of 
 troublesome Nettie, and all other annoyances, with 
 gentle forbearance. 
 
 Mrs. Hunman was seldom blessed with company. 
 Her heart was so filled with her duties to the five 
 grown sons, who came to " mother " like spoiled chil 
 dren whenever fortune did not roar with laughter, that 
 she had little room left for other things. But to-day 
 the dim green blinds were opened wide to let in the 
 mellow sunlight, and out in the dining-room Nettie 
 stepped about briskly to bring out Grandma Huninan s 
 
LOVE S LATE BLOSSOMING* 69 
 
 snowdrop linen, her best silver, and fine china, while 
 grandma herself made custards, roasted joints, and 
 prepared sauces that were a marvel of deliciousness. 
 And Lois, who ventured out to offer her help, fell in 
 with the spirit of this festive occasion immediately, and 
 beat up eggs and made creams with evident satisfac 
 tion, even enlisting the Doctor into service by calling 
 on him to open a bottle of catsup, and getting him to 
 roam about the garden in search of a garland with 
 which to decorate the table. 
 
 After he had looked about helplessly in the hope of 
 finding something appropriate, and even wishing it was 
 herbs for medicine that he was hunting instead of 
 flowers, he stood so in fear of offending Lois s delicate 
 taste, she caught up her hat and went out to help him; 
 and together they rambled about through the wild old 
 garden, among its fruit-trees and flowers, and Lois at 
 last gathered a bunch of white lilacs, vanquishing the 
 Doctor when he suggested that they add a spray of 
 pomegranate to brighten it. She was too practical to 
 waste the fruit for the sake of the blossom, while the 
 Doctor argued that the flower when matured into fruit 
 could not give more pleasure than it would now in the 
 vase. However, she had her way, and said Mrs. Hun- 
 man s pomegranate blooms should ripen if it depended 
 on her to take them; so the Doctor gallantly dropped 
 the subject. 
 
 He could not maintain his ground against so fair an 
 adversary as Lois, flitting about in the neglected luxu 
 riance of the garden, her lithe form and light gray dress 
 reminding him of a happy little bird, and her face, with 
 the soft white bloom upon it, of the delicate fairness of 
 the pale syringas. 
 
70 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 And on this day, this inspiring, cool, sweet day of 
 spring, when the grasses drank the sunshine and seemed 
 glad, and the birds sang as if all the universe were full 
 of joy, when the far-off hills stood out from their envel 
 oping mists with a new beauty of purple, and seemed 
 releasing from their heart of mysteries some spell of old 
 that restored all the spirit longed for and dispelled its 
 sorrows, the Doctor himself yielded to this strange 
 new charm of life, and felt his youth renewed, and 
 hope once more, like a great rushing host of pleasures, 
 fill his soul. He felt it lift him up on another plane of 
 existence far above petty discords and selfish ambitions, 
 to show him the great billowy beauty of that unknown 
 country he had never seen save in his dreams, to as 
 sure him that its mystic splendors were indeed a real 
 ity, and to give him a breath of its perfumed breezes 
 and a taste of its pure waters that bring more happi 
 ness than any other blessing to the children of earth, 
 the sacred springs of love. 
 
 The truth was, the Doctor was the veriest boy in his 
 inward feelings; and it was the first free stirrings of this 
 sentiment, which he had always crushed, that made the 
 world seem fairer. The mere indulgence, as a tangible 
 possibility, of these thoughts had unloosed the fountains 
 of that holiest of holies in his heart, and the sweetness 
 thereof seemed welling forth to enrich his life with a 
 new-found glory forever after. 
 
 And so it was that he gathered more than earthly 
 flowers that day, when life opened its best secret for 
 him; he gathered blossoms, which, even when they 
 blight, press forth their fragrance through all the weary 
 days that follow, to cheer us and remind us they were 
 
71 
 
 culled from the fair country that borders on the fields 
 of Paradise. 
 
 To Lois the time seemed just like other times of 
 spring and sunshine; no better joy was there than the 
 bright reopening of the year, the sunlit day that was 
 just like other days of light and bloom, and she was 
 happy-hearted just because it was her nature so to be. 
 
 But to the Doctor her very presence gave forth uncon 
 sciously a spell that was more subtile, more potent in 
 the garden of his heart, than the warming influence of 
 the sun could be in all the golden pastures of the earth. 
 It riot only revived nature, but planted neglected deso 
 lation with the sweetness of the rose. And with that 
 quiet delight came the purpose and the hope to keep 
 her always near him. Not that this feeling took pos 
 session of his mind with any palpable distinctness; it 
 crept over him with a peace that silenced all strivings 
 after anything better, and he rested calmly in blissful 
 contentment with the present, and felt satisfied with 
 the undefined and beautiful yet unsought blessedness 
 of the future that troubled him not. 
 
 If good Mrs. Hunman was unusually careful in the 
 preparation of her dinner, she felt thrice repaid for 
 the trouble she had taken in the serving of it. It was 
 a rare occasion to her. And she was pleased with the 
 homelike scene, when all were seated around the table, 
 her five sons, most of them nearly as old as the Doc 
 tor, but all bachelors except Nettie s father, who was a 
 widower, and back under his mother s care again, 
 jolly old Mr. Hunman with his grizzly side-whis 
 kers, and red hair all awry, looking like a subject 
 for a picture-card, and Nettie cuddling up lovingly to 
 
72 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 her grandpa, the only person in the world to whom she 
 was uniformly civil; and then the Doctor and Lois, the 
 distinguished company who honored Mrs. Hunman im 
 measurably, simply by their presence. And never, it 
 seemed to her, did the light fall more prettily over her 
 snowy linen till it seemed spotted with the white bright 
 ness of silver, over her polished glass till it glittered 
 like crushed ice, and even over the drops of water on 
 the goblet that held Lois s lilacs till they sparkled 
 with a clearness that seemed purity and freshness 
 crystallized. 
 
 Nettie was very quiet at first, but cast inquisitive 
 and meaning glances from her round blue eyes toward 
 the guests at regular intervals. By her defiant air, she 
 evidently did not like Lois, yet she was more than or 
 dinarily interested in watching every movement. 
 
 Mrs. Hunman was bent on entertaining the Doctor, 
 but her simple store of conversation concerned only the 
 workings of her own home, so she looked up over the 
 glistening spectacles and said very earnestly, " It s real 
 nice weather we re having these days, Doctor, isn t it? 
 He helped with the wash yesterday. I thought I d have 
 him, because the sun was so bright that the things dried 
 quick." The Doctor was not much mystified by this 
 remark, though Lois was puzzled to know who "he" 
 could be. "He" was always Mr. Hunman. "He" 
 constituted a combination of gardener who never 
 worked, and housekeeper who figeted around the house 
 with the women folks as if it were his natural sphere; 
 but Mrs. Hunman never explained whom she meant. 
 That was always to be found out by the elucidation of 
 subsequent transactions in which "he" figured, or by 
 direct questioning. 
 
73 
 
 Dr. Knapp agreed with her, however, that the weather 
 was very pleasant, and then asked, " Did you try your 
 new plan of feeding peppered milk to your chickens, 
 Mrs. Hunman?" 
 
 Nettie s eyes snapped, and ghe was prompt with an 
 answer before her slow old grandmother could realize 
 what had been said. 
 
 " Feed it to them! I should say we did, and it effected 
 euch a cure as would make Rome howl with envy, or 
 at least, any one would think it might be Rome, and 
 two or three heathen cities thrown in, if they d heard 
 the dogs, their mouths watering for chicken bones." 
 There was a vindictive little tone in her voice, that 
 meant something, though she intended all should un 
 derstand her as jesting. 
 
 "I guess you didn t feed it to them " commenced 
 the Doctor. 
 
 " But did n t I just tell you we did? " snapped Nettie. 
 
 " But not in a proper quantity, you gave them too 
 much." 
 
 " Well, suppose we did. Lots of people get too much 
 of lots of things, but they don t always die about it. 
 Pity they don t sometimes. I d administer several 
 doses of * too much then. But I don t think you d 
 ever get too much flirta " 
 
 " What a charming garden you have, Mrs. Hun 
 man," remarked Lois, ingeniously, just at the right 
 moment. 
 
 " Yes, a delightfully convenient place for doctors and 
 young ladies " just a slight emphasis on the " young " 
 that made an impression, yet passed as unintentional 
 "to roam about making lov lovely bouquets. It 
 
74 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 was built just for that, of course. But why did n t you 
 take the pomegranate flowers, Doctor ? It would have 
 been much prettier. I heard you quarrelling about it, 
 and I picked a lot anyway, afterward. They re in the 
 parlor now." 
 
 " Well, come to see the lilacs alone, they are quite as 
 pretty as they would be with the others," said the Doc 
 tor. 
 
 li Yes, I Ve no doubt you think so. You are a man, 
 and a man always likes the homeliest things in crea 
 tion; perhaps because they are so much like himself. 
 But" 
 
 Mrs. Hunman was horrified. "Nettie," she said, 
 slowly, "you are very saucy. You had better not stay 
 here. Howard, can t you say something to her ? " 
 
 Nettie sat silent but defiant. Mr. Hunman came to 
 the rescue, and said gently, "Nettie, I really think 
 Jack is suffering for water. E as n t ad any to-day 
 that I know of. You d better tend to it right now." 
 
 Jack was grandpa s dog, and Nettie liked him only 
 because grandpa did; but his words pacified her some, 
 and she prepared to leave the table. One of her long 
 array of uncles, the invincible Byron, who loved to 
 add a word or two to aggravate her when she was in 
 an angry mood, said, tantalizingly, " If the report goes 
 out around town that you have to be sent from the table 
 many more times, you 11 never get married in the 
 world." 
 
 " Neither will any of the rest of you," replied Nettie, 
 with telling effect. She even wished that she dared to 
 add something about the overwhelming majority of old 
 bachelors and old maids, and even old widowers, at the 
 
75 
 
 table, but she refrained for grandpa s sake; so with a 
 bow she rose, slyly pushing the dishes ahead of her, 
 until they struck a pitcher of cream, that was overturned 
 into Lois s lap. Then she left the room laughing to 
 herself, and hurried away so fast that she could not 
 hear Mrs. Hunman s call to bring a damp towel quickly, 
 and the good old lady had. to get it herself. But she 
 was even slower than the Doctor, who succeeded in fur 
 nishing napkins and his handkerchief before she re 
 turned. 
 
 Lois could have cried about her dress, but she said 
 nothing, and after the cream was all wiped up and the 
 meal progressing in quiet again, she even forgot it. 
 
 The Doctor was such a gentleman in his instincts, 
 notwithstanding his shyness, that he adroitly intro 
 duced subjects agreeable to all, and made Mrs. Hun 
 man s dinner a very pleasant one in spite of wicked 
 Nettie. Besides, he was very happy this day, and his 
 happiness was so contagious that it put every one 
 around him in good humor. 
 
 And after dinner, and an hour or two had been spent 
 with the family in the pleasant little parlor, the Doc 
 tor left Lois to discuss with Mrs. Hunman whether 
 "he" had better skim the milk at night or in the 
 morning, and went away to bring Lady Snowdrop and 
 the gig around to be ready for their departure. He 
 had left her down near the hospital, so he had to walk 
 quite a distance, and it was getting late when he drove 
 back. 
 
 The sunbeams were beginning to fall aslant, and 
 steal in through the purple shadows with subdued 
 light, when he drove up to the gate at a side en- 
 
76 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 trance to the garden, and the children had gathered 
 around for evening play. A group of boys were march 
 ing up and down beside Mrs. Hunman s house, bearing 
 something triumphantly above them on a stick, while 
 a steady fire of turf and dirt was pelting them from 
 over the fence. This thing that they bore so proudly, 
 and sang " hi diddle dum de dum " to, looked rather 
 familiar, but somehow the Doctor could not understand 
 what this mass of crushed straw and soiled pink rib 
 bon could mean. 
 
 " What are you doing, boys? " he asked. 
 
 Young America, in the form of a blank-faced urchin, 
 turned and answered, "Huh?" 
 
 " What have you there on that stick?" 
 
 "0-o-oh! That s little sputter-up s hat. She tore 
 it up and flung it out here; an we ve got it an are 
 a-plaguin her with it. She s the girl that lives in that 
 there house, an she gets awful mad. Her name s Net 
 tie Hun man. I heard her rowing, an she said right 
 out loud that it was homely, jest like some other girl as 
 had one like it." 
 
 And when they were advised to discontinue their 
 sport, the boys reminded the Doctor that he did not 
 refrain from having good times when he was a "young 
 ster," and could " git em," although the Doctor knew 
 better. 
 
 But that was the last he saw or heard of Nettie that 
 day. When they drove away she was not present with 
 the rest of the family to bid them good by, and then 
 they forgot even her existence in the beauties of the 
 fading day, the rosy sunset and the sleepy flowers that 
 curled up into mere buds, and left whole meadows, that 
 
LOVERS LATE BLOSSOMING. 77 
 
 had flamed with gold or scarlet, nothing but dotted 
 beds of green. 
 
 The rich tender dusk stole around them as they 
 drove along, the dews fell over the dim and fading 
 pastures, and the tall grasses, heavy with its weight, 
 nodded over shrill-voiced crickets that buzzed and sang 
 for miles along their way, while the road stretched 
 white and curving far out ahead of them, through grassy 
 plains, till lost in the groves of Locustville. 
 
 Snowdrop travelled along steadily, being headed for 
 home, and the Doctor felt this the happiest day of all 
 his life, even unmarred by the trifling events that had 
 seemed to disturb it; so he drank in with a reverent 
 feeling all the beauty of the fading landscape, swim 
 ming black and mystic up against the burning line 
 along the west, and the darkening blue dome above, 
 where the stars swung like golden censers raining 
 incense through the balmy air, scattering all around 
 upon the cool, gentle breezes a fragrance and an elixir 
 that seemed even to renew his life, and satisfied all the 
 yearnings of his lonely heart. 
 
78 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 TJNSEEN OBSERVERS. 
 
 Keen eyes that glow 
 Unseen from brambles 
 
 Crowned with bloom, like snow. 
 
 Selected. 
 
 MORNING in the Sierras! What a suggestion of 
 breezy freshness in the cold, clear air, steeped in the 
 rare sweet aroma of the woods ! What a vision of 
 snow-peaks and lofty pines, and cool, dark canons over 
 grown with creeping vines and rank, rich ferns ! 
 
 Nellie Minton rose early, hoping to see Edward Den 
 nett before he became engrossed in business so deeply 
 as to forget her; and had she been of a different tem 
 perament, she would have been sufficiently repaid for 
 it though she had missed him. As it was, though it 
 did not wholly satisfy her, she could not help entering 
 into a mild admiration of the view from her window, of 
 the wild mountains, clear-cut and brightly blue, deep 
 ened with purple folds and seams, and set between a 
 chain of snow and the great timber belt sweeping over 
 the nearer hills in a vast surging ocean of fir and pine. 
 " It is very pretty up here," she said, as she turned, 
 yawning, to the mirror. " Though it is not at all as I 
 remember the place. I m glad I have one whole day 
 to myself, anyway; to-morrow perhaps I ll not be so 
 pleased. I wonder if I have too much jewelry on for 
 
UNSEEN OBSERVERS. 79 
 
 breakfast at a country resort," surveying herself in her 
 elegant dark morning-dress. " I cannot spare ear-rings 
 nor pin, and my watch I hate to leave up here, for fear 
 I may not see it again. Well, well, here it goes. I 
 could afford to lose it if its absence would gain me any 
 thing in another direction." 
 
 Miss Minton descended the stairs to the bright little 
 morning-room, where several of the guests had already 
 assembled and were admiring the beauty of the scenery 
 from the broad, clear windows looking out toward the 
 majestic, sun-bathed mountains. But the clear morn 
 ing had no further charms for her when she found none 
 of her friends among them, and so she seated herself 
 by the fire, away from the rest. Soon she heard a 
 quick, firm step along the hall, and Edward Dennett 
 appeared in the door. " Good morning, Miss Minton," 
 he said, cheerily. "You are sitting by the fire; are 
 you chilly? I was just coming to invite you to view 
 our splendid landscape from the veranda." 
 
 " No, indeed, I J m not cold," answered Nellie. " I 
 was a little lonesome, that is all, and so I came here by 
 myself," she added, demurely, and rose to follow him 
 out. She went into ecstacies over the tall yellow pines, 
 the unpretentious yet picturesque camp below them, 
 where the miners lived, the mill with its new roof 
 reaching high into the trees around it, and the torn 
 piles of red earth and rocks gleaming still beyond. 
 All this was magnificent when Edward was standing 
 near her, though she saw but little of its beauty when 
 he was absent. 
 
 He escorted her into breakfast and waited on her 
 very politely, and afterward brought her a number 
 
80 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 of entertaining books and magazines, saying kindly, 
 "These, I hope, will afford some pastime for you, Miss 
 Nellie, when you are wearied with looking about the 
 place. I regret that I cannot spare a little time to 
 relieve your loneliness to-day, but business is so urgent 
 I fear I shall be hurried as it is. I wish you a pleasant 
 day." With these words he hastened away as if he had 
 already intruded upon his precious moments. 
 
 Nellie was not a young lady who was fond of reading. 
 She looked over the books carelessly in her room, and 
 then put them aside without reading a page, yawning 
 indolently, and saying to herself, "Well, well; now I 
 must depend on George Brooklyn to amuse me. He 
 shall, too, or I 11 amuse myself some time, at his ex 
 pense." But the unhappy George escaped this evil only 
 by enduring a greater one, he was too ill to rise. He 
 had taken a severe cold on his journey, and so kept his 
 room nearly all day, leaving the restless Miss Minton 
 to interest herself, which she managed to do, though 
 not very successfully, until she saw him come out 
 toward evening and wrap himself up as if intending to 
 take a walk. A thought which seemed to Nellie singu 
 larly bright suggested itself to her, and taking her hat 
 and a light wrap she went out too. " It 11 be fun," she 
 thought, "and I don t care much if he does catch me; 
 he knows I have the advantage, anyway. It 11 be jolly, 
 in the absence of anything better, to see what kind of 
 mischief the wretch will indulge in first." 
 
 He walked along listlessly across the hillside and 
 through the- trees, till he came to a little bridle-path 
 winding in and out among the ferny rocks, and over the 
 wood-tangled gulches, and at last reached a little open- 
 
UNSEEN OBSERVERS. 81 
 
 ing where they could see another path that crossed the 
 grassy swale just below. George was disappearing in 
 the thicket on the other side of this bit of cleared 
 ground, and Nellie was watching him, to see if it was 
 best to venture across, when she observed him stop and 
 look at some object through the trees opposite, and the 
 next minute Nita came in sight in the opening on the 
 woodland trail below, skipping gayly along, with her 
 shawl over her head, Spanish fashion, and a basket of 
 eggs on her arm. The dark-green pines and the fresh 
 brightness of the flowery meadow made the loveliest 
 kind of setting for this sylvan beauty, dark-eyed and 
 brilliant, with the rich, glowing hues of the wild ma 
 drono on her rounded cheeks. Nellie remained quiet till 
 she saw George seat himself on a rock as if to wait for 
 Nita s return from the hotel, whither the eggs were most 
 likely to be taken, so she did likewise on the other side 
 of the clearing. She found the delay tiresome, bent as 
 she was on seeing the remainder of her amusement; but 
 George, after his brief imprisonment, and being too 
 ill to have any surplus of wicked animation, rather 
 enjoyed sitting on this rock in the sweet-scented wild- 
 wood, watching the sun tip with its fading beams of 
 reddish gold the shadowy masses of tall fir and pine, 
 the low, white-crowned bushes of the chaparral, and 
 the mantle of plushy green which lay spread out over 
 all the ground, from which the little crickets were al 
 ready beginning to make their weird songs. The sun 
 was nearing the horizon out beyond the woods in the 
 west, when Nita came hurrying back from her errand, 
 swinging the empty basket, and at last putting it on 
 her head, and trying to see her way through its open 
 willow-work. 
 
82 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 George rose when he saw her coming, and went down 
 by the lower trail, standing behind a hedge of bushes 
 to be in readiness, which gave Nellie an opportunity to 
 cross the open space before Nita could see her. She 
 hid herself at a convenient distance from George, and 
 listened. 
 
 When Nita came along he stepped out beside the 
 path, and playfully pushed the basket off her head 
 before she saw him. She gave a wild, shrill scream, 
 like a frightened animal, stood trembling a second, and 
 then sat down on a fallen log, and began to cry. 
 
 " Come, come," said George, " don t cry. Don t you 
 see I did n t intend to startle you. I am very sorry," 
 T- penitently. " But you are irresistible, and when 
 out on my walk through these lovely groves I acci 
 dentally saw you coming down the path, all else lost 
 its beauty; but you see I could not admire you as 
 you passed with that basket over your head, so I was 
 tempted to remove it." She did not reply to this 
 apology, but George seated himself on the other end of 
 the log, and began to gather a little bunch of lilies 
 that grew in the shade beside it. 
 
 He looked handsome as an Apollo in the waning 
 light that touched up his features with a stately glory, 
 while his pale face and his dark eyes, large and lumi 
 nous, lost all their old expression of mocking vanity and 
 selfishness, and seemed sincere and noble. 
 
 "Here are a few lilies for you," he said at last. 
 " Nothing is beautiful to me when you are near," offer 
 ing them to her. 
 
 She took them petulantly, and rose as if to end the 
 matter, but she caught sight of his face turned toward 
 
UNSEEN OBSERVERS. 83- 
 
 her, so grave and earnest that she relented, and stood 
 twisting the bending stalk of a young fir as if she 
 would part on more friendly terms. George was aware 
 of his advantage immediately, and left his seat also. 
 " Nita," he said, " do not treat me so. All are strangers 
 to me about the mine, and I need the pleasant friend 
 ship you could give. Is there any harm in being kind 
 to one another, I wonder? Come now, be even as 
 friendly as you were to the driver last night, and I 
 shall be satisfied." 
 
 " Well, I can do that if you really want to treat me 
 nice," said the dark girl, smiling. " I m willing to be 
 on speaking terms if you ain t trying to make fun out 
 of it, honor bright. Seems to me you re not quite so 
 polite as you ought to be. I m sure you were more free 
 than you should have been last night, and I m glad I 
 would n t let you have my shawl for it, there! " 
 
 Poor child! How deceived to ask him to tell her 
 truthfully that he did not want amusement in their 
 acquaintance, when it was the only thing he sought! 
 
 But he was actually winning this shy beauty who 
 "never noticed," as Milcie had told him, and he was 
 elated with this little victory; for besides, he had to 
 overcome the prejudice which he had already awakened. 
 
 " Well, let s forget all differences, anyway," replied 
 George. " Are you going away soon? I heard you and 
 your friend speaking of it last night, you know." 
 
 " No. My father says later on in the summer will 
 be better for me to go, when it will not be so cold in the 
 higher country." 
 
 "Good fortune for me," observed the incorrigible flat 
 terer. 
 
84 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 " I must hurry along," Nita said, blushing and sud 
 denly remembering herself. " Mother s at home all 
 alone." 
 
 "May I go part way with you?" said George, 
 meekly. 
 
 " O no; I could n t, surely. O no; don t ask me, 
 please." 
 
 " Why not ?" persistently from George. 
 
 " Because I couldn t let you." Nita scarcely knew 
 what to say. She could not give him a plain and grace 
 ful excuse, but became uneasy, and answered him so 
 excitedly that he could not make up his mind whether 
 she was waiting to be coaxed or really did not want 
 his company. She was nervously tearing off strips of 
 tender bark from the young fir near her, and George 
 was reminded of the honeysuckle vine at Robinson s 
 that had suffered on a like occasion, when he could not 
 by any possibility think she liked his advances. So he 
 said only, " I hope you will get along safely, though I 
 would enjoy this sunset far more, facing it with you, 
 than going homeward and turning my back to all the 
 brightness of my day. Good by." 
 
 "Good by," answered Nita, feeling relieved to be rid of 
 his presence, yet going rather reluctantly, and glancing 
 shyly back at him standing by the vine-covered log, 
 seeming handsome and manly in the soft radiance of 
 the western light. 
 
 When she was out of sight around a curve in the 
 path, Nellie parted the bushes of her hiding-place and 
 came out. "Good evening, George," she called. "You 
 and I take our walks at the same time, I presume. I 
 thought you had a severe cold. It don t pay to hunt 
 
UNSEEN OBSERVERS. 85 
 
 mischief at this hour, for it s getting chilly, Sir 
 George." 
 
 He stood confused, wondering if she had just come. 
 " She listened, I 11 wager, if she arrived in time," 
 thought he. 
 
 " Oh, profound meditation ! how oft have I 
 quoted Nellie, tragically. u You 11 get a worse caress 
 from the ice-maiden than you have now if you stand 
 there sunset-gazing. Come, let us go home. Take my 
 wrap, I m warm from walking and can do without it," 
 she said, taking off her soft, delicate shawl, and shrug 
 ging her trim shoulders as if to keep away the cold. 
 
 a O no, thanks; I couldn t think of depriving you. 
 I m well provided for." 
 
 11 But you are not. Put this around your throat," 
 Nellie insisted; " and come straight back to the hotel," 
 she further ordered; and taking his arm, piloted him 
 off, laughing to herself at her success, and the doubt 
 she had raised in his mind. 
 
 Later in the evening Nellie sat in the brilliantly 
 lighted parlor with George, whom she had persuaded to 
 remain up with her to await the arrival of the stage, 
 though he pleaded earnestly the privilege to retire. 
 Although the hour was late, there were many still 
 about, looking anxiously for their mail, the news, or 
 their expected friends. 
 
 Nellie glanced at her watch. " If they left that place 
 called Robinson s at eight o clock, as we did, they ought 
 to be here soon," she said, to encourage the drowsy 
 George to keep awake; but it was unnecessary, for be 
 fore she had finished speaking there was a commotion 
 outside, the rattle and rumble of wheels, a chorus of 
 excited voices, and the stage had come. 
 
86 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 She sent George out to see that her friends were 
 shown into the parlor, where she was waiting, and he 
 returned in a few minutes, followed by Mrs. Willis and 
 Mabel. 
 
 Nellie flew to meet them with extravagant words of 
 welcome, and descriptions of her travel and her lonely 
 day. " But Mr. Dennett has been very kind during all 
 of my exile," she added slyly, ignoring the contribu 
 tions George had made, both involuntarily or with his 
 reluctant consent. However, he knew Nellie too well 
 to expect anything else; and besides, amidst all the 
 noisy chatter and confusion of troublesome packages 
 that Mrs. Willis was constantly losing and finding 
 again, he was enjoying a most comfortable stare at 
 Mabel. Nellie was taking off her wraps, and the two 
 girls were talking freely to each other, while he, half- 
 forgotten, compared the quiet grace and classic beauty 
 of Mabel with the lively and trim Nellie. He was 
 spellbound. Mabel was tired and travel-worn and 
 cold, but she was lovely still, lovely in every motion, 
 in every word, in every look. And again, how poorly 
 did the uncultured, bashful Nita, with all her wild, 
 dashing beauty and impatient ignorance, compare with 
 this high-born girl, her refinement blended with serene 
 dignity, her light-hearted spirits wedded to dainty lit 
 tle feminine graces and modesty ! She was truly beau 
 tiful; George thought he had never before beheld one 
 so lovely. The glossy coils of her dark brown hair 
 were woven like a crown upon her head, her oval 
 patrician face had borrowed the pearly crystal white 
 ness of the snow and the delicate flush of the wild 
 mountain rose; while her eyes, dark hazel, deep, and 
 
UNSEEN OBSERVERS. 87 
 
 lustrous, were shadowy as twilight under the delicately 
 arched brows that relieved the pure whiteness of her 
 forehead. 
 
 George Brooklyn was one of those weak, vacillating 
 creatures to whom the last pretty face is always the 
 most beautiful. In a measure he realized it himself, 
 although he was so superficially bright, so adept at 
 making a good appearance while performing an action 
 unworthy of dignified manhood, that he escaped oftencr 
 than he deserved hearing the unenviable appellation 
 of "susceptible" applied to himself. He recognized 
 the fact that he had admired a score or more of pretty 
 women in his life, and even imagined he loved a gen 
 erous few of them, though he knew he had been cured 
 more quickly than story-books relate, and sooner con 
 soled with another love when unkind fortune separated 
 him from the first. However, he thought the authors 
 very likely exaggerated these things for better effect, 
 and besides, he thought it particularly smart and cap 
 tivating to have a number of such affairs to remember. 
 Only they who are incapable of deep feeling themselves 
 scoff at the misfortunes that befall others through this 
 cause. 
 
 Such shallow-minded creatures as these are generally 
 the ones who imagine that they have fallen in love at 
 " first sight." Although " love " seems to be rather an 
 extravagant term when used instead of admiration or 
 fascination, yet this is often the only kind of love of 
 which they are capable. There is none of the respect 
 and esteem, the tenderness and solicitude in it, the 
 sweet, happy remembrances, the delightful dreaminess 
 of past scenes, the strange, clinging spell, the fragrant 
 
88 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 blossoming of the affections, that characterize real love. 
 And thus it happened that George Brooklyn truly be 
 lieved that he had become desperately in love in less 
 than half an hour. Nellie at last thought of intro 
 ducing him, when it came time for her to send for some 
 one to show the newly arrived guests to their rooms, so 
 he had no opportunity for his oily flattery, or to accom 
 modatingly dance attendance to every suggestion of 
 their wants he could discover. To strangers these ways 
 Beerned very acceptable and delightful, yet they varied 
 in the degree of appreciation all the way down to excit 
 ing sheer disgust, and appearing consummately silly to 
 those who knew him well. 
 
 On this occasion Nellie mentally commented upon 
 his unrelieved anxiety to make himself as conspicu 
 ous as he wished to Mabel Willis by this means. " How 
 different it is from Edward s high-bred and native gal 
 lantry!" and she tossed her head with pride at the mere 
 thought. "It seems as if Edward performs all these 
 courteous and grateful kindnesses as simply and unob 
 trusively as breathing; and that such little interrup 
 tions never disturb in the least the broader and nobler 
 objects that occupy his mind. But I presume George s 
 mind is essentially different, and especially as to oc 
 cupations," she concluded, with an unconscious smile. 
 
 After they had gone she paid attention to George, 
 since it was worth her while to give him an idea or two. 
 It was greatly to her own account that he should mo 
 nopolize Mabel, yet she did not wish to appear too 
 solicitous to throw Mabel in his way, fearing that he 
 would tire if he had an easy victory; and so she put 
 him in the background as much as possible at their 
 first meeting. 
 
UNSEEN OBSERVERS. 89 
 
 "Heigho," she said lazily. "I m sleepy, and I m 
 sure you ve made a great sacrifice, George, to keep mo- 
 company when you are more than half ill, anyway. 
 It was very kind. I 11 repay you some time in like 
 degree. But then, come to think of it, you should 
 consider a glimpse of a girl like Mabel Willis enough 
 compensation. I should, I know, if I were such an 
 enthusiastic admirer of the fair ones as you are." She 
 meant such a soft Tom Fool about it, for Nellie under 
 stood him quite thoroughly; and though unprincipled 
 herself in many things, she still could see the ridicu 
 lous folly of promiscuous love-making; and though she 
 liked to flirt, both for amusement and to obtain favors, 
 she still had one virtue in the matter, her own feel 
 ings were seldom touched. 
 
 " I have n t suggested reward," returned George. 
 " However, as you say, I m independent of you, for 
 you did not furnish me with my best enjoyment, 
 that of seeing, for about ten minutes, from the edify 
 ing background of snubdom, a very beautiful young 
 lady." 
 
 Nellie laughed two or three long ripples of laughter, 
 and ignoring his reference to her treatment, said, " She 
 is almost too pretty a girl to be backed up by a solid 
 fortune, and only one aunt for a relative." 
 
 George s eyes sparkled. This was better yet. To 
 such as he, the gratifying spice of money was enough 
 to attract him even away from his beloved hobby, 
 that of love-making; but both offered in one object 
 seemed like a freak of fortune at least. 
 
 " I d give up half the good luck to be rid of that 
 scheming witch who runs things in such an exasperat- 
 
90 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 ing fashion, with stone-faced impudence, for the sake of 
 winning the other half in peace," thought George as he 
 went to rest, listening to the grovelling clamor of his 
 selfish soul instead of the lyric music of the pines toss 
 ing in the moaning wind, that told in its unmeasured 
 harmony one thing, if that alone, the great mystery 
 and the supreme grandeur in the boundless universe of 
 nature s own unsullied loveliness. 
 
91 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A CITY GIRL S ADVENTURE. 
 
 Nothing good bursts forth all at once. The lightning may dart 
 out of a black cloud; but the day sends his bright heralds before 
 him, to prepare the world for his coming. HARE. 
 
 THE good things of life seldom come to us suddenly. 
 The seeds dropped quietly and unobserved into our 
 hearts make for themselves a place amongst our other 
 joys, they expand, they grow, they flourish, and then 
 they blossom with a fragrance that seems to absorb all 
 our other thoughts, and at last change into the very 
 crown and promise of our being, and we marvel at the 
 desert which we once endured. Alas for those that 
 blight! Alas for those that find a barren soil! 
 
 Those things which rouse most deeply the emotions 
 of the heart come not with haste upon us, but by slow 
 gradations that we cannot see, by trifles that we never 
 heed. On the threshold of life that overlooks that 
 broad and untried region stretching out even to the 
 river of death, we pause and wonder. It is all beau 
 tiful. Here is a path that leads through mounds of 
 gold, to diadems of jewels, that gives a golden key to 
 every traveller, but it leads where? Not always to 
 the heavenly mountains, but often to the blank desola 
 tion of the desert. Here is one that winds amid the 
 flowers of love, and another that passes through the 
 trees of knowledge, and yet again one descending into 
 the deep valleys and dark canons that reveal the rnys- 
 
92 ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 teries of natnre. Which shall we take? Ah! it needs 
 a purpose sure, a heart sincere, to turn neither to 
 right nor left, to be not allured by broad and flowery 
 ways which guide to marshes foul and endless, but to 
 keep in the plain path marked out by duty, which leads 
 not to the city of discontent, to the country of despair, 
 nor to the land of care and sorrow, but to an old age 
 loitering in that sweet Beulah which borders on the 
 fields of Paradise. And then those good things we knew 
 not of when we started on life s way shall grow upon 
 us, giving a reward that is far better than that which 
 any of the tempting roads we have passed could have 
 bestowed. 
 
 And thus it was when Mabel Willis opened her won 
 dering eyes upon the glories of another day, the grand 
 and snowy hills and the long sweeps of forest were a 
 delight to her, just as the great old ocean or the bloom 
 ing, fertile valleys had been, and nothing more. Surely, 
 this landscape which was brightening under the break 
 ing light of early dawn held more of the old primeval 
 solitude and glory than anything she had ever seen be 
 fore, and she was enraptured with its beauty; though 
 little did it stir her heart to those feelings which en 
 compass scenes associated with things we love, little 
 did she dream that this awakening was not alone to 
 the light of a new day, but also to the illumination of 
 another path in life for her, which thenceforth she would 
 tread, one among the piney mountains leading her 
 to life s greatest, sweetest secret, so that ever after she 
 would look upon them as far more dear and beautiful. 
 
 The Royal Rogina was built upon a hillside, amid 
 stately pine groves, and overlooking the rude little town 
 
A CITY GIRL S ADVENTURE. 93 
 
 nestled below it near the foot of the slope; BO that when 
 Mabel cautiously pulled aside the drapery of her win 
 dow and looked out upon the early day, the upper 
 world of heights and cliffs was all before her, and she 
 saw the east rosy with approaching light, the white 
 dews frosting the grassy surface of the ground, foHow- 
 ing the descents into the vales, rising again on the steep 
 banks or creeping under gloomy thickets, and a gentle 
 stirring of the morning air in the tasselled branches of 
 the pines. It was but a little after five, and though 
 she was wearied with her journey, the seclusion of her 
 room became unendurable when such untried loveliness 
 remained without. She could not sleep again, so she 
 clothed herself in a thick warm dress and ventured out 
 upon the balcony. The cold air was invigorating, and 
 the breath of the woods floated to her in fresh little 
 puffs of breeze that woke the roses on her cheeks and 
 the sparkle in her eyes, while the far-off line of purple 
 summits and snowy peaks that crowded to the east 
 were set in a blaze of gold and crimson, melting to a 
 pale rim of amber in the distant reaches of the dim 
 horizon, and reflecting itself from the sombre west in 
 dainty hues of rose and pearl and violet. 
 
 Below, the town lay sleeping, a queer little town 
 of rough new dwellings with yellow pine roofs and 
 small square windows, with its stores and saloons made 
 conspicuous by a long line of gnawed and crooked 
 hitching-posts, and low cabins hovering in the out 
 skirts and clustering tliick across a stream from the 
 great high mill which crowed supreme over the other 
 buildings, with its gilded weathercock perched aloft 
 among the singing evergreens that waved above its 
 
94 ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 sharp, eliiny roof. Beyond the mill and across the 
 roaring creek were huge dumps of red earth and rusty 
 white quartz, odd little buildings and long sheds 
 through the low archways of which huge bands and 
 belts and motionless wheels were partially revealed, 
 and tram-roads tunnelled through high banks, where 
 half-loaded cars stood idle upon the smooth straight 
 rails that shone as if glossed with silver in the pale 
 dawn. Not a sound was heard; not a sign of life save 
 here and there, from rock-built chimney or rusty stove 
 pipe in the valley below, a thick plume of blue fcmoke, 
 edged with a soft white bloom, which curved so slowly 
 upward that it seemed to lie motionless on the clear, 
 heavy air, until dissolved in the depths of pale sky 
 above the horizon. 
 
 u lt would be safe to take a walk in this twilight 
 calm," thought Mabel; " no one would know it, since 
 I could return before the world awakes." 
 
 She left the balcony and looked into Aunt Willis s 
 room. All was quiet there except a low breathing pro 
 ceeding from the bed where a night-capped head was 
 exposed to sight by a ray of light breaking through the 
 closed shutters and falling upon it. Mabel wrote 
 hastily on a card, " Dear Aunt Cynthia, I have gone 
 for a walk and will be back in a few minutes," and 
 placed it inside the mirror frame, knowing it was sure 
 to be seen there; and putting on her overshoes, and a 
 hat and cloak, stole softly down the broad stairs. They 
 seemed to creak and even shriek as she crept along to 
 the wide door in the hall below, and the light that 
 struggled in through the frosted transom seemed to fall 
 upon her alone of all the objects in its path, leaving 
 everything else concealed in dusky twilight. 
 
A CITY GIRL S ADVENTURE. 95 
 
 But once outside in the broad piazza, where the 
 honeysuckles, white and creamy with slender flowers, 
 dewy and wind-kissed with the gifts of morning, threw 
 an incense of delicious fragrance all around her, and 
 the wild Madeira vine made a curtain of transparent 
 green to keep away the breaking gold on the eastern 
 hills, her delight returned, and she fearlessly descended 
 the steps and started off through the glistening grass. 
 
 She passed a stable, the doors of which were thrown 
 wide open, and she could see within a long row of 
 horses, where resounding hoofs made continual stamp 
 ing on the planked floor, and a curious-looking hostler 
 with bushy head and an oilskin cap came out and 
 stared saucily as she went by; while farther on a stout 
 little fellow whistled a few stray bars of a melody sweet 
 as a lark s song, and busily washed the muddy wheels 
 of the great red stages, with a long white hose. He, 
 too, stopped his whistling and his work to look at her, 
 putting his hands on his sides, and gazing in blank 
 surprise at this pretty maiden venturing out alone in 
 the cool daybreak, and even peeking around the corner 
 of the stage, when she passed behind it, for a better 
 look. 
 
 Next, a ferocious black dog with red eyes and gleam 
 ing teeth set up a wild series of barks, and made des 
 perate efforts to break his chain, as she passed an iso 
 lated cabin half hidden in a thicket; and a lean-faced 
 individual with long, lank locks, in an undress of faded 
 brown jean, and blue yarn socks that were wofully 
 short, came hurriedly out, and with threats and a whip 
 decreed silence, telling the growling cur not to terrify 
 the " young leddie," on pain of a beating, and after re- 
 
96 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 ceiving Mabel s thanks, made a very elaborate bow and 
 bade her a polite " good morning." 
 
 Beyond this were the forests of pine, where little 
 groves of pointed, aspiring saplings were springing up 
 beneath the older trees, and brown mats of fallen 
 needles, collections of mouldy, decaying cones, and 
 dried broken branches, were all overgrown with a lux 
 uriance of high grass and yellowish, velvety mosses. 
 
 She chose the path that George had taken the night 
 before, and wandered along, breathlessly drinking in 
 the charmed beauty of the woodland, stopping to 
 gather a frond of silver brake or a cluster of rank, 
 wild maidenhair, or to admire a netted cobweb be 
 spangled with a shower of dew on some gray over 
 hanging rock. 
 
 The sun broke through the gateway of eastern peaks 
 at last, and threw a long flood of sunbeams across the 
 kindling forests, tipping each spear-like tree with a 
 torch of fire. 
 
 Her way led to the top of a low range of slopes that 
 were heavily clothed with pine and fir and tamarack, 
 and finally to a clearing where a primitive-looking 
 house and out-buildings had been erected. The house 
 hold was all astir with life, strutting gobblers and 
 prating chickens having desperate times to keep out of 
 the way of the horned invaders of the barn-yard, and 
 a large, well-built, pleasant-looking man and an agile 
 young woman appeared to be very busy among the 
 hungry throng, though taking time now and then for a 
 playful notice of one another. 
 
 Mabel turned into a side path to avoid being seen by 
 them, and descended the hill on the other side, coming 
 
A CITY GIRL S ADVENTURE. 97 
 
 suddenly upon a little unfenced garden of cabbages and 
 pease and potatoes, and there her path ended. Turn 
 ing to go back, she saw the young girl who had been 
 BO occupied in the barn-yard but a few minutes be 
 fore coming down to the little garden, along the trail 
 which she was following back. The girl stopped, 
 shaded her eyes with her hand, looked for a moment, 
 and then started along again as if half undecided what 
 to do. On drawing nearer, Mabel saw that she was a 
 magnificently colored creature, with the deep hues of 
 the pomegranate lighting up her clear, dusky skin, 
 with eyes like velvety black pansies, and long, glossy 
 dark hair; but yet there was an untamed savage air 
 about her that turned her modesty into an uncivilized 
 timidity. Her features were too soft and delicate for 
 an Indian girl, yet there was more dash and sparkle 
 and uncurbed passion in her face than Spanish beau 
 ties have. 
 
 " I must tell her why I came here, so she will not 
 think it strange that I am just leaving her garden," 
 thought Mabel, mistaking the girl s hesitation. 
 
 " Will you tell me," she asked of Nita, coming closer, 
 "if there is a path that leads to the hotel nearer than 
 the one which goes over that hill beyond us? I came 
 out for a walk, and turning into this side path with the 
 hope that it would take me to a shorter route home, I 
 find it ends in a garden-patch below here." 
 
 Nita looked at her rather curiously for a moment, 
 as if doubting a walk at such an extravagantly early 
 hour, but answered very prettily, in a low, musical 
 voice, "Yes, there is one other trail. It runs just be 
 low, along that canon where the trees grow so thick. 
 It is shorter, too. Shall I go and show you? " 
 
98 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 " She is improving rapidly in manner on acquaint 
 ance," Mabel concluded, though she noticed how ner 
 vously the dark girl twisted the folds of her blue wool 
 dress as if to tear them. " If you will be BO kind, I 
 shall be very glad." 
 
 They walked along side by side, the dainty, well- 
 protected feet of the one, and the rough, heavy shoes 
 of the other, mingling their tracks in trails of bright 
 green through the dew-frosted grass; but Nita was 
 silent, so Mabel finally asked, " You find your home 
 very beautiful, do you not, out here among these lovely 
 mountains?" 
 
 " Yes, it is pretty; but nice views do not satisfy me, 
 I must have something different." 
 
 Ah! here was discontent, even in a spot where nature 
 lavished her choicest beauties, from a being that seemed 
 the very outgrowth of the uninvaded wilderness of 
 hills. 
 
 " What would you have different? What do yon do 
 to amuse yourself ? " 
 
 "Amuse myself! Why, I am busy from morning 
 till night, with our chickens and our gardens and the 
 cows, and the work in-doors; I 11 wager you never saw 
 the likes of it. It s all very well to take nice walks, 
 but you can t always enjoy them when you have to 
 hurry after the cows as I do, or go to the hotel with 
 eggs to sell, with eggs!" 
 
 Her last words betrayed so much feeling, such sup 
 pressed emotion, that Mabel pitied the bright young 
 creature dissatisfied with the grandeur of her beautiful 
 surroundings, and longing for something else, when 
 this seemed her natural sphere; so she laid a little 
 
99 
 
 gloved hand caressingly on Nita s bare, shapely arm, 
 and asked kindly, " What can / do to help you? " 
 
 Nita turned her great black eyes upon the gentle- 
 hearted girl, and read her tender meaning in a mo 
 ment. Instinctively she knew that this was not such 
 an offer of friendship as George had made, and it came 
 to her with a thrill of joy that ended in a passion of 
 grateful tears. She was impulsive and wilful in the 
 gratification of her own feelings. There was no appeal 
 to her reason, no appeal to her sense of duty, nothing 
 but her own impressible, sensitive heart to guide her; 
 and though painfully bashful in her moments of calm, 
 there were times when, forgetful of self, she could stand 
 and defy the whole world in protection of its interests. 
 Mabel had chosen the only path to Nita s heart, when 
 she made this inexperienced little creature feel her 
 goodness. 
 
 "O, I don t know, I m sure, what you could do for 
 me," Nita answered; "but it s bitterness to my pride 
 to see the world s favorites feasted and humored with 
 all its plenty, while I, who could enjoy and appreciate 
 as much as they, must wait on them in the lowest ser 
 vice. I have sinned no more against fortune, that she 
 should put me out here among the wilds to do her ser 
 vile duties, when I hate it all, I hate it ! I love beau 
 tiful dresses and laces and jewels, and handsome houses 
 too; and I could fill a grand place, and have a fair face 
 like you, if I had a chance. 0, I could be a queen, I 
 know," she almost whispered, speaking more to her 
 self or the winds than to Mabel, in the vanity of her 
 dearest wish. 
 
 Mabel knew that errvy and pride are both hard mas- 
 
100 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 ters. The one allures and tempts, the other holds its 
 victim back by an impassable wall. Here was a girl 
 whose strange impulses had betrayed her into giving 
 confidence to a stranger. However free she might be 
 now, the reaction when pride gave its tyrannical warn 
 ing would freeze her into marble, and Mabel knew that 
 judicious treatment was the only way to keep what 
 good-will she had already won, or it would change to 
 hatred. 
 
 "Well," she said, "we are all given life to use for a 
 purpose, to be a part and sum of that great whole which 
 is mighty in the end. To be favored of earth s material 
 gifts is not always to be most happy, for sorrow s sharp 
 est tooth often bites through armors of solid gold, and 
 the only true wealth is the riches of the heart that is for 
 tified and guarded so deep the world s great rumble and 
 turmoils cannot penetrate to harm it. Your lot is not 
 the hardest. You could make it beautiful, and useful 
 too, with only a drop of sweetening contentment. We 
 are all sisters, you know, and should help each other 
 over the hard places that we have to cross, each in her 
 way. I can do something for you, and perhaps you can 
 do as much for me in another way some time. But let 
 me begin and get you a pretty dress. I can find one 
 somewhere, I m sure, that you will like, and that will 
 be one little thing toward making you happier." 
 
 Nita s eyes glowed with pleasure, and the melancholy 
 look faded like the mist before the rainbow. 
 
 "O yes, from you I would take it, if it is really true 
 that even rich people need help sometimes, and I can 
 be of use to you in return. O, I am so glad 1 I love 
 beautiful dresses I And I have been sadly disap- 
 
A CITY GIRL S ADVENTUKHV J 
 
 pointed. My father once promised me a silk if I 
 would read the histories of England and Ireland, and 
 Moore s and Goldsmith s writings, and stand well in 
 my class for one whole term; I worked, oh, so hard! 
 with the thought of a dark crimson silk as my reward, 
 but I had to give it up, that we might pay for my 
 mother s new crutches. She is lame." 
 
 Ah! this study for the sake of her love for pretty 
 things was the secret of this dark girl s language, that 
 was so refined as to be a marvel in one who, though 
 naturally bright and quick, had seen so little of the 
 outside world as to be awkward and unpolished even in 
 spite of her natural grace. 
 
 They were now in sight of a few bright roofs of Lucky 
 Streak, rising above the brow of a neighboring hill, 
 for the distance had seemed short to both; so Nita, 
 with a face dimpled in smiles, said she would go back. 
 
 " What is your name ? " Mabel asked, before they 
 parted. 
 
 " Nita Logan." 
 
 " Mine is Mabel Willis. I live now at the hotel, and 
 shall have a chance to see you again. Good by, Nita." 
 
 " Good by, " she answered, with a glad, free ring 
 that told of a heart full of happiness. 
 
 " How like a child this girl is, to be pleased with a 
 trifle," thought Mabel, as she resumed her way. " She 
 is just one remove from happiness, which she could 
 gain by only feeling satisfied with what she has. Her 
 best ambition is told in a few words." 
 
 Little did she know how deep were the secrets in that 
 passionate heart. Only a whisper had been told her of 
 its fanciful longings, and Nita s next act would have 
 
AllQUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 opened Mabel s eyes to a truth that was too deep even 
 for her; for on her homeward way, Nita sought a cher 
 ished spot of old decaying logs and mossy rocks, and 
 throwing herself recklessly down in the glittering dew, 
 there in the early sunshine, when nature told all her 
 best and truest secrets to the humblest seeker for them, 
 she drew from its hiding-place that which she kept 
 hidden from the eyes of all the world save one, and 
 watched and guarded religiously through every phase 
 of her monotonous life. It was a little scrap of paper 
 put carefully away in the heart of a hollow log, but it 
 was full of meaning. It told how one John Gloucester 
 and one Nita Logan, on a day fully a year before, had 
 been joined in marriage at a little camp away in the 
 inmost fastnesses of the mountain mines. No one knew 
 of it except the absent husband, who had gone away 
 into another country to earn the gold that would make 
 her vain and foolish soul superlatively happy. 
 
 Alas, that she should cast aside a happiness that 
 might have opened into a future grand and noble, for 
 the paltry benefits that gold can buy! Alas, that in 
 those hours, when one heart rises superior to the hollow 
 aims of earth, it finds not a responsive soul! 
 
 She kissed the paper tenderly, this dark-eyed girl, 
 ruled by her vanities and her passions, till her whole 
 self was absorbed in them, and went her way 
 a-dreaming, heeding not her dew-bedraggled dress in 
 the happiness of her new-found hopes, nor the wild, 
 sweet beauty of the early day. 
 
 Not so Mabel. The sunshine threw a maze of shin 
 ing words over all the landscape, and she read from 
 shadowy bank, from flowery slope, and water-stained 
 
103 
 
 rock-wall, stories marvellous and quaint; histories in 
 the dying leaf, the swelling bud, the foaming stream; 
 tales in the blasted pine, the antique rock columns 
 breaking bare and glittering through the cleft and 
 rugged hills; poems in the swinging shadows, in the 
 glad and mellow light. 
 
 " Who is this coming through the tall May grasses, 
 with such a happy face?" thought Edward, who had 
 started out for a morning walk; "it must be Nellie s 
 friend, or some other late arrival," he concluded at 
 length, upon a closer observance. 
 
 Down the narrow path she came, watching intently a 
 linnet swinging on a bush twig, and scarcely seeing him 
 until he had stepped out beside the trail to let her pass. 
 A glad surprise came into her eyes when she caught 
 sight of him, so manly, so strong and handsome, 
 glorified by the morning freshness and the grandeur of 
 the spot, waiting with polite deference in the high 
 wet grass upon her comfort. If his gallant act was 
 unexpected, how much more the man himself in these 
 mountain wilds. Though not peopled with ogres and 
 goblins and wild men quite, her fancy had pictured the 
 dwellers here as rough and uncouth, sturdy and coarse; 
 and though good and charitable at the core, if you will, 
 not given to apt little graces of manner or pleasant 
 politeness. But she saw a man, well-formed and noble- 
 featured, intelligence and culture imprinted on his face, 
 looking down upon her with frank blue eyes that seemed 
 to her just the very handsomest she had ever seen. 
 
 He saw a young girl, graceful and retiring, passing 
 him, a quick blush deepening the roses on her cheek as 
 she bowed her thanks, and an air of quiet elegance in 
 
104 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 every motion. She wore a dark blue dress, made very 
 simply, that seemed moulded to a perfect form, while 
 her wrap was folded carelessly over her arm, and a 
 spray of pearly manzanita bells quivered in her hand. 
 A pretty picture she made, with dainty little curls of 
 brown, ruffled and rebellious from the morning breezes, 
 clustering around her full white forehead, and the fresh 
 color on her cheek, melting into her throat of lily fair 
 ness; but it was one he did not dare dwell upon, so he 
 went on and put her out of his thoughts. This lovely 
 woman, whose fancy or caprice had led her for a season 
 to this place, was not for him, who was so far removed 
 from her world and life, to think upon, or scarcely to 
 admire. 
 
 But Mabel, whose free heart knew not the restraint 
 of circumstances, even turned shyly to watch the re 
 treating manly figure, .the sunbeams glinting in golden 
 waves across his hair, and making hasty little dapples 
 on his back as he passed under the shadows and hur 
 ried away. 
 
 A path turned to the right after she had gone down 
 into a hollow, and she was at a loss which to follow, 
 since no longer the gilded weathercock of the mines 
 glittered above the trees; but the sharp blast of a 
 whistle decided her way, and she turned to the right, 
 whence the sound came. 
 
 Quite likely it was the memory of those frank blue 
 eyes that haunted her thoughts and made the way seem 
 short, for she walked along heedlessly until a weather- 
 vane appeared again in view, not the one she had 
 seen at Lucky Streak, perched up grand and bold, and 
 crowing fearlessly, but a slender little oar of gold sway- 
 
105 
 
 ing in the wind. A few steps more and she was startled 
 at the sight that met her gaze. Nothing like the town 
 of Lucky Streak was anywhere in sight, but gloomy old 
 buildings, black from age, with riven walls and creak 
 ing doors, represented the mill of a long-deserted mine; 
 everything was old and decaying and falling to pieces, 
 while scattered all around were rusty pumps, broken 
 tramways, and battered cars, and mounds of earth over 
 which the grass was beginning to grow and blossom. 
 Yet something bright and new-looking attracted her at 
 tention, and there over the wide, heavy doors that had 
 once borne a covering of white paint she read in gilded 
 lettering, "The Golden Deep." She smiled to think 
 how indiscriminately the names of mines were mingled 
 in these mining regions; the romantic, the quaint, the 
 coarse, and the commonplace were nearest neighbors. 
 
 But a sound from a little gully below attracted her 
 attention, and she looked to see half a dozen Chinamen, 
 picturesque in faded blue and spattered jean, and little 
 pointed willow hats, at work with placer cradles in a 
 turbid stream. 
 
 She shrank back, but one old Mongolian, hideous 
 with moon-shaped eyes, yellow skin, and protruding 
 teeth, looked up and asked, with cross impudence, 
 "What you likee?" 
 
 "Which the road to Lucky Streak mines?" Mabel 
 said, trembling with fear. 
 
 "Quail Gulch this way, Lucky Streak you talkee 
 this way," he said, with wild gesticulation, but point 
 ing nowhere, and adding other words she could not un 
 derstand. And at this juncture two more Celestials left 
 their work and came forward to assist, jabbering loudly, 
 
106 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 while Mabel, terrified, turned and fled, whither she 
 knew not, only glancing back to see all the Chinamen 
 collected in a group, excitedly talking, flourishing their 
 arms and shovels about, and looking in the direction 
 whither she had gone as if to pursue her through the 
 lonely mountain wilds. 
 
AN AFTERNOON AT LOCUSTVILLE. 107 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 AN AFTERNOON AT LOCUSTVILLE. 
 There are days and days, there are kitchens and kitchens. 
 
 "I declare! I do declare!" exclaimed Mrs. Mills, at 
 whose house the school-mistress boarded, to her neigh 
 bor, Mrs. Platt, who had stepped in for an hour s call. 
 " You 11 not be surprised at what I have to tell you, 
 because no doubt you ve seen them ; but /, for my part, 
 think it an entirely new departure for even Lois Warren 
 to indulge in. Don t you think so?" 
 
 " Think what ? I have n t seen anything unusual, 
 that I remember." 
 
 " 0, then perhaps you have n t noticed the late pro 
 ceedings. I thought every one had seen her riding out 
 with the new doctor in that funny little cart of his. 
 It s strange that he d ask a lady to go in it, even if it 
 is a country place. I never saw one before. But then, 
 I guess he is a trifle odd, just like Lois; though both 
 are good as gold, to be sure, and that covers myriads 
 of defects, Mrs. Platt. Still, an educated man and a 
 physician, just out from the East, ought to be proud 
 enough, I should think, to ride about in a stylish kind 
 of turnout, after spirited horses, and present a dis 
 tinguished appearance. However, we all knew the first 
 Dr. Knapp, and the second bids fair to be like him, 
 only a hundred times worse, in these things, of 
 course. But what I started to tell you was not about 
 
108 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 the cart-riding, I thought every one had seen that. 
 It s a dozen times more strange. Lois, dear girl, I 
 would n t say a word against her for the world, but we 
 all know she has been slightly changed since that 
 affair, Lois has taken to mending the Doctor s gloves, 
 
 on such a short acquaintance, too. What do you 
 think of that?" 
 
 " Why, I think it is just like Lois, and not very 
 strange either; for she is very helpful and kind in her 
 way." 
 
 "Yes; but such stacks of them, gloves, you know. 
 It would be nothing if it were only one pair. The 
 other day the Doctor drove up (he calls often on busi 
 ness) and lifted out a bundle from under the cart-seat, 
 which he dropped, he has such a hurried, fussy way 
 with him I wonder he does n t some time drop himself, 
 
 and the paper falling off, he picked up half a dozen 
 pairs of those odd yellow gloves that he wears to drive 
 in. And what do you think Lois did ? She just ran 
 out into the piazza, before the whole town, if you please, 
 and said, So you did bring them, Dr. Knapp. Just 
 think! the simple girl must have coaxed him to bring 
 them. I in glad I can restore them to usefulness, she 
 said. * So the pink rosebush did not do such serious 
 damage, after all, when it tore only one glove, and here 
 are twelve to be made whole by it. And she actually 
 examined them right out there before anybody going by 
 who wanted to look up, and pronounced them all next 
 to new with slight defects; and then went on at a great 
 rate with quotations about waste, and such things, 
 just as she always does, you know. Well, I was amused 
 with the whole performance, no less at the Doctor s de- 
 
AN AFTERNOON AT LOCUSTVILLE. 109 
 
 portment than at Lois s new scheme, for he seemed won 
 derfully pleased over it, and smiled, and hardly knew 
 how to thank her. It s new to him, of course. He 
 does n t know Lois yet, and no doubt he thinks she is 
 doing something unusual for him. Still, it is strange, 
 don t you think so?" 
 
 "Well, yes, that he should bring great stacks 
 of them." 
 
 "And then again, you know how opposed Lois is to 
 any kind of nonsense with young men. She don t be 
 lieve in any trifling, although I must say she has as 
 many admirers as any girl, and a great many would n t 
 have any if they behaved as she does. Why, do you 
 know, that young scamp, Mr. Horace Graham s eld 
 est son, actually said before a whole group he d like 
 to got the school-ma am himself, in fun of course, but 
 then I could see he meant it fast enough. He is young 
 yet, not quite twenty-one, and she is past twenty-five, 
 a nice couple they d make; why, Lois would laugh for 
 an hour if she heard of it. But then young men will be 
 fools, and we have to let them be such. The pity is, 
 that when they get over being fools they turn into 
 knaves, so the first evil is undoubtedly the best, and 
 should be tolerated with patience. But as I was going 
 to say, you know just what Lois is when the young fel 
 lows get too sweet; she just lets them understand it will 
 do no good. Well, I actually saw her making a little 
 bunch of flowers into something that looked pretty 
 much like a button-hole bouquet, for it was so much 
 smaller than those knots of blossoms she sends out to 
 the hospital. And sure enough ! When the Doctor 
 came she had this little thing, a violet and a tiny 
 
110 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 bit of locust flower, I think it was, and pinned it 
 on his coat. She said something about a previous men 
 tion of button-hole bouquets; it seems they had been 
 talking it over, the simpletons, and I happened to pass 
 through the hall at the moment that she was pinning 
 it on, just to see what she would do; and do you know, 
 she actually kept right on, and told me without looking 
 round at all that she was adorning the Doctor. That 
 was like Lois, only she is getting worse and worse. 
 Don t you think so?" 
 
 Yes, Mrs. Platt did think the story was growing worse 
 and worse; but she was even glad, for a bright thought 
 came to her mind. Maybe the Doctor and Lois did 
 think something of each other, and she was happy even 
 in the idea. But she wanted to be sure, so she asked if 
 they were noticeably friendly. 
 
 " Laws ! I should think what I ve just told you would 
 prove it. He don t come to see her except on business, 
 but I think these little carryings on. a trifle odd, at 
 least. Somehow, they made an impression on each 
 other at the very first, at least, Lois came home one 
 day and laughed a good deal about a gig that she had 
 seen, till I told her we would all see it if she giggled 
 any more about it. And then she said: c But there was 
 a very nice, kindly looking man in it, I wonder who 
 he is? Some stranger in town, of course ; but she 
 never suspected it was the new doctor. Arid then he 
 singled her out pretty quick as the best one to do that 
 work for his patients in the hospital." 
 
 " Yes, but Dr. Knapp went to Lois at my suggestion. 
 My aunt, Mrs. Hunman, who lives over in Tenayee, 
 near the hospital, has a granddaughter who undertook 
 
AN AFTERNOON AT LOCUST VILLE. Ill 
 
 it, but she was too mischievous to be of much use. She 
 is a spoiled child, who always has her own way, and 
 her judgment must have been poor in seclecting the 
 reading-matter that he has to have; so I guess he was 
 rather relieved when one day she took offence because 
 he would n t allow her to whip his horse while she and 
 a friend were out driving, and then she refused to per 
 form her duty. The Doctor afterward arranged it so 
 Nettie could help him a little in the hospital. Lois, I 
 think, is especially adapted for ministrations to the 
 sick, she is so sympathetic." 
 
 " Yes, she is a dear girl anyway, nobody knows better 
 than I do how nice she is about the house. I remem 
 ber when my Jimmie had the measles, and I was worn 
 out trying to take care of him, Lois used to come from 
 school, go right into the kitchen with a big apron on, 
 and when I came down to start dinner, there would be 
 the teakettle a-steaming, and Lois peeling potatoes, 
 and flitting about so quietly that I did n t know she 
 was there at all. That was much better than coming 
 to see what she could do for Jimmie, when of course she 
 could n t do anything, because he did n t want to see 
 anybody but me. It was the best kind of help. And 
 she is always ready now to give up anything to assist 
 me. Why, do you know, I even wait to consult her 
 about things around the house, till sometimes I feel as 
 if she is mistress of it herself, and I have to observe her 
 orders. But then I ought n t to say that either, because 
 she always tries to do everything just exactly to please 
 me. 
 
 " Laws! I d miss her if she should marry. Things 
 are looking a bit dubious now, though, don t you think 
 
112 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 so? What with mending gloves and little nosegays, I 
 should say Lois is acting queer. But I have n t told all 
 of it either; there are so many little things that one no 
 tices that one can t just call to mind. If I had supposed 
 you were going to call, I d have thought them up. How 
 ever, it would n t do any good, because if it s a fact that 
 she likes the new doctor, we 11 see material enough to 
 draw conclusions from. She s just the kind of a girl 
 who could do two thirds of the courting herself, with 
 out seeming to be at all forward either. It s because, 
 as Jimmie says, she s got so much steam about her, 
 that she could n t wait for things to come round of 
 themselves. But then, dear girl, I would n t say any 
 thing unkind of her for a diamond. I was just specu 
 lating, you know, Mrs. Platt. It is something to wonder 
 about, don t you think so?" 
 
 Mrs. Mills was an excellent illustration of that kind- 
 hearted, appreciative woman who is thoroughly truth 
 ful, and in the main charitable, yet who loves to gossip 
 so well that she would not hesitate to sacrifice her best 
 friends for material. Mrs. Mills meant well, surely; 
 and yet we all have heard of a road that leads to a very 
 undesirable place paved with just such things as good 
 intentions. However, she had talked to Mrs. Platt, and 
 that good lady was very discreet. But it set the stone 
 rolling, and even into Lois s path, to cause her annoy 
 ance; because Mrs. Platt thought the evidence conclu 
 sive that there was something unusual in the conduct 
 she had just heard about, and so on her next visit to 
 Mrs. Hunman, which she managed to make soon, she 
 warned that well-meaning old lady to be considerate, 
 and help the thing along as much as it was in her 
 
AN AFTERNOON AT LOCUSTVILLE. 113 
 
 power, when they came to her house for dinner, as was 
 quite often the case after the first call. And quaint 
 Mrs. Hunman planned in her own way for the good 
 result. 
 
 Quite likely it is unnecessary to say that Lois never 
 thought of falling in love with Dr. Knapp. If she 
 could have known of the conversation going on about 
 her, she would have wondered to find out how far astray 
 people can go from real facts when indulging conjec 
 tures on mere trifles. She would have smiled, no doubt, 
 thinking how both she and the Doctor could have en 
 lightened them, little dreaming of his real state of 
 mind. 
 
 Besides, the mistake was the more to be wondered at 
 when it was Lois that Mrs. Mills took for the interested 
 party, while the reverse was really the case; and the 
 Doctor s shyness would never have allowed him to 
 manifest his cherished sentiment at all publicly, thus 
 leaving affairs quite in the dark so far as anything with 
 " meaning " could transpire before witnesses. 
 
 To Lois this new-found friend was more than welcome. 
 Her self-reliant spirit sometimes longed, in its weary 
 moments, for counsel and shelter such as the Doctor 
 gave her, although neither of them were aware of it. 
 To the very strongest and most dauntless women the 
 time comes when they need a protecting arm. And 
 Lois, who was neither very strong nor dauntless, but 
 only cheerful, ambitious, and brave in her way, found 
 such times came often to her; but she always went on 
 alone, without a thought of encouragement, lest telling 
 her troubles should invite a rude hand to add to her 
 discomfort. 
 
114 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 So she unconsciously came to depend greatly on the 
 Doctor, asked his advice, and confided little matters to 
 him without hesitation, because he seemed to fill so 
 perfectly, and yet so unobtrusively, that vacant place 
 which none of her other friends, no matter how willing, 
 could occupy. 
 
 If loquacious Mrs. Mills had received her caller later 
 that day, she would have had quite an addition for her 
 story; for while the two ladies were busy talking in the 
 little front parlor, the Doctor called to get Lois to make 
 a certain kind of gruel for one of his patients. lie 
 found her in the garden, it was after school, and she 
 was gathering flowers, and when he had told his 
 errand, he sauntered about among the evergreens and 
 blooming bushes, while she went to prepare the dish. 
 Presently she put her head out of the kitchen window 
 and startled him with the voice he was thinking of, 
 although he affected to be very busily engaged in train 
 ing a fallen honeysuckle vine which grew near the 
 back of the house. " Come in, Dr. Knapp," it said, 
 " into the kitchen; this way, right through the back en 
 trance, if you will. Excuse me for inviting you in here, 
 but I wanted to talk with you about that Mr. Knowles 
 at the hospital, and I thought you would not mind 
 foregoing your enjoyment in the garden for once. Sit 
 down here by the door, Doctor," she said, as she piloted 
 him through the latticed porch and placed a seat for 
 him. 
 
 Forego his pleasure in the garden ! Who could 
 doubt that he would not when such pleasure as seeing 
 Lois cook was offered him ? It was warm and very 
 pleasant in that neat, homelike kitchen, the painted 
 
AN AFTERNOON AT LOCUSTVILLE. 115 
 
 floor fairly shone, bright tins dazzled him, the polished 
 sink looked even icy, it was so cool with fresh green 
 things spread about in pans, which might have been 
 lettuce and celery or ribbon-grass and apple leaves for 
 all he knew, but which had a very inviting effect never 
 theless. A great stove with shiny copper pots on it 
 steamed away, and a west window shaded from the late 
 sunlight by a graceful pear-tree looked out upon blue 
 skies melting into soft and shadowy green slopes, upon 
 locust groves in the full glory of the blooming season, 
 white with blossoms and dark-clouded by bees, and 
 over at the edge of this window-framed picture, past 
 gothic cottages, bits of bright lawn, long rows of shining 
 roofs, and a glittering church-spire, something that was 
 best of all to the Doctor, because it was associated with 
 Lois, the little red school-house, dull and gray-roofed, 
 but notwithstanding its lack of beauty, very attractive 
 to him. Within, the trim little school-mistress, radiant 
 in a dark print dress and big white apron, with glossy 
 brown hair brushed back smoothly, yet falling into 
 coquettish little wavelets here and there around her 
 face, made gruel over the stove and talked quite inces 
 santly, only breaking off while the daintily slippered, 
 noiseless feet tripped in and out of the pantry, or 
 sounded like prophetic little taps down the long cellar 
 stairway outside. And the Doctor, oh, he couldn t 
 think about Knowles, nor talk about Knowles, nor 
 anything else but the present moment; and just sat 
 half-dazed, drinking in the inspiration of the hour, 
 that he would not lose for the slight good he could do 
 to twenty Knowleses in that time. 
 
 It had been a long while since the Doctor had been 
 
116 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 in a kitchen. There was just a spice of satisfaction in 
 getting in there, after all, aside from his other happi 
 ness. Back to an old New England farm-house it car 
 ried him, to a time when the snow lay thick and white 
 upon the ground outside, and the windows took on lit 
 tle cloudy patches of steam to mar their clearness, to a 
 big old kitchen, warm, and odorous of the good things 
 that appeared mysteriously on every hand. Pies came 
 from a glimmering oven, and were ranged in ever-in 
 creasing rows on a long, clean dresser; and besides, 
 there were turkeys brown and savory, light, sweet 
 loaves turned over in pans to cool, and gingerbread, 
 too, which a little Melville and a little Franklyn, 
 bright-haired and rosy-cheeked boys, longed irresisti 
 bly to pick, but dared not for fear of an offended 
 mamma, who would not allow them to eat it hot, and 
 they were wofully unhappy for nearly half an hour, 
 until it cooled, unless wilful little Melville satisfied 
 his mouth at the expense of his conscience, and con 
 siderate and obedient little Franklyn shared in the un 
 hoped-for spoils. It made him shudder to think how 
 very long ago that was, how far behind in the un- 
 speaking, never-returning past his boyhood lay, how 
 changes had come to that dear old home, and its bird- 
 lings had flown, and yet it still remained cherished 
 lovingly in his remembrance through all the drifting 
 years, and his mind ever recurred to it with the same 
 dependent feeling as in his departed youth. 
 
 But here was another kitchen, far away from the 
 first one that haunted his memory, under another 
 sky that was blue and soft and tender, in another 
 spring-time that was warm and balmy and flowery, in 
 
AN AFTERNOON AT LOCUSTVILLE. 117 
 
 another country he had hardly heard of, and where he 
 had never thought to journey; and here was another 
 being who took on the grace and crown of womanhood, 
 BO like that ideal loveliness his mother had worn, and 
 here was a repetition of that quiet, joyous spell he had 
 never hoped to feel again. 
 
 So, of all the kitchens the Doctor had ever Been, 
 this was only the second which seemed worthy of the 
 name; and of all the lovely women who had crossed 
 his path, this sweet young girl before him, unstudied 
 yet graceful, warm-hearted yet sensible, possessed that 
 power over his life which only his mother had held 
 before her. Yet of course Lois was unlike his mother 
 in most things, he appreciated her youth as com 
 pared with himself and his almost ancient memories, 
 he felt all the external differences between them; but 
 they were alike in the one thing essential, each held 
 a never-to-be-forgotten charm for him. 
 
 How unconscious was Lois of all this ! Little do we 
 dream of it when we tread on the sacred borders of the 
 land that parts a life in twain; little do we know, till 
 that last conclusive retrospect, what careless, thought 
 less act of ours was engaging all our mind, when a life s 
 issue was unfolding, silently and inexorably, along our 
 very path, unheeded and unknown. She went on 
 cheerfully, noticing not the Doctor s abstraction, talk 
 ing about Knowles, what she thought of him, how much 
 better he was; and making plans about the disposal of 
 her work when she went "home," now that she had 
 fully decided to go during her vacation; and finally fell 
 to discussing the good merits of this form of food or 
 that form, to see if she could arouse some interest, for 
 
118 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 ehe observed that she had to ]ead the conversation al 
 together. 
 
 The Doctor, who at length realized that he must 
 make some effort to be entertaining, though he dreaded 
 to disturb that sweet, long-lost influence that was over 
 him, instead of answering a question that Lois asked 
 him, tried to introduce a new subject without being 
 aware that it was not time to dismiss the old one. 
 
 So when Lois asked, " Is it better for invalids to take 
 warm or cold milk with their gruel ?" he never heard a 
 word, but said, "This is an Eden-like climate, Miss 
 Warren, the warm, soft air soothes as well as invigo 
 rates." 
 
 The effect was electric. Lois dropped her spoon, 
 looked up and saw the Doctor s face a prodigy of ex 
 pression, and the situation was so comical that she 
 could not repress a laugh. And Mrs. Mills, coming into 
 kitchen at that moment, discovered a most surprising 
 scene, that mystified and yet gratified her, although she 
 felt very sorry Mrs. Platt had already gone, so that she 
 could not relate it immediately. There was an atmos 
 phere of constraint all around; the Doctor looked con 
 fused and blank and uncomfortable, and there was Lois 
 just subsiding from her laugh, yet wonder-struck her 
 self, standing in the centre of the room, the meal slip 
 ping through her fingers and making little trails and 
 miniature peaks along the floor, the fallen spoon, and 
 the gruel boiling up at a fearful rate, as if to add its 
 mite to the dumb excitement. 
 
 Mrs. Mills hurried through and shut the door behind 
 her quite carefully, saying as she went down cellar, 
 yet what she went there for was more than she could tell, 
 
AN AFTERNOON AT LOCUST VILLE, 119 
 
 for she had forgotten her errand to the kitchen, she was 
 BO upset, " I do declare! I believe the Doctor s going 
 daft. He sits there with such an idiotic look on his 
 face that I really believe Lois is asking him already. 
 That looked very much like the critical moment, I m 
 sure. I wonder how they 11 come out of that scene I 
 caught a glimpse of." 
 
 But it was for Mrs. Mills herself to help them out. 
 She turned quickly and started upstairs, thinking it 
 best to be nigh if the Doctor should need any one of 
 " tact " to help him along, and that it was well to be 
 within a convenient distance anyway. 
 
 Not a word had been spoken in the kitchen since 
 Mrs. Mills passed through. Lois and the Doctor had 
 both nearly recovered, being relieved by this trifling 
 circumstance, and Lois was just bending to pick up 
 the spoon, when a dull noise sounded outside, muffled 
 and yet awful in its subdued thunder, and then came 
 a scream, sharp and long and loud, that was full of 
 agonizing pain and terror. 
 
120 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The presence of a young girl is like the presence of a flower; the 
 one gives its perfume to all that approach it, the other her grace to 
 all that surround her. DESNOYERS. 
 
 MRS. WILLIS awoke and went into Mabel s room to 
 rouse her, but found it empty. 
 
 " The imprudent child is up already, charmed with 
 these rough mountains, and enjoying them from some 
 window, I suppose," she thought, as she went back to 
 her own apartment and began to dress. Soon she 
 noticed the card inside the mirror frame, with Mabel s 
 message on it, and she grew indignant. " Out for a 
 walk in a place like this ! " she exclaimed. " With 
 rough miners and tramps about, and dangerous shafts 
 left uncovered, she must be bereft of her brain to do 
 it. Nellie! Nellie!" she called, running to Miss Min- 
 ton s room and rattling the door-knob; "get up and 
 help me. Mabel has gone out, and I am afraid she 
 will fall into danger." 
 
 " Yes," from Nellie, sleepily. 
 
 " Do hasten," said the old lady, trembling with ex 
 citement; "we have overslept, and it is nearly eight 
 now." 
 
 Dressing hurriedly, she went downstairs and in 
 quired of a servant how long ago a young girl had 
 gone out. 
 
 " Have n t seen any one this morning," he answered. 
 
EDWARD S HOME. 121 
 
 Further inquiry proved fruitless, and anxious Mrs. 
 Willis flew back to Nellie s room. "Come," she said; 
 "we will have a late breakfast after we come back; 
 but I must find Mabel; I m afraid something has hap 
 pened to her, for she must have gone out some time 
 ago, and she certainly would have returned before this 
 unless unavoidably delayed." But Nellie s thoughts 
 were more of Edward Dennett than of Mabel, and she 
 stopped to dress her hair artistically, and arrange a 
 knot of lace at her throat, lest she should meet him, 
 despite Mrs. Willis s exhortations to hurry. 
 
 They walked out, poor Mrs. Willis talking loud and 
 excitedly, and enjoining secrecy if possible to Nellie, 
 who scarcely said anything. All about the town they 
 went, Mrs. Willis even peering cautiously into prospect- 
 holes, in the vague dread of seeing a mangled form 
 there, and calling, "Mabel! Mabel! " softly as she sup 
 posed, but very shrilly in reality. 
 
 Finally a miner noticed their hurried movements 
 and strange behavior, and impelled by curiosity, asked 
 if he could be of any assistance. But Mrs. Willis 
 was quite eccentric, and starting off toward the hotel, 
 answered that she would tell him soon. In a short 
 time she came back more excited then ever, saying 
 that Mabel had not returned yet, and requesting the 
 waiting miner to aid in the search. He began making 
 inquiries, and finally learned that the young man who 
 cared for the stages had seen her, but he could not say 
 what direction she took after she passed Old Grant s 
 cabin down in the thicket. 
 
 " But it was rather early, and she has had plenty of 
 time to get a long way from here," said the young man. 
 
122 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 " Are yon sure it was no one who lives in the vicinity? 
 Did you take a good look at her?" 
 
 " Was n t likely to do anything else in a hurry while 
 that girl was going by. Ask Grant, likely he d know 
 where she was going. I saw him speaking with her 
 when his dog got on a tear." 
 
 Yes, Old Grant had seen a " young leddie " dressed 
 in "blue, but " being as he was in rather questionable 
 costume, he did n t remain out long, and consequently 
 could n t say what direction she took." 
 
 That was the last information they could get. The 
 hours wore along till nine and ten, and though Mrs. 
 Willis felt anxious to keep the matter as still as pos 
 sible, at last she was persuaded to raise a general alarm, 
 and a little party of men from Lucky Streak started out 
 to search the woods. Long were the hours of terrible 
 suspense. Mrs. Willis paced the floor of her room, stop 
 ping each moment to look out of the window for the 
 absent one, calling her tender names, and vowing if 
 ever she got her "treasure" back, that nevermore 
 would her own selfish, arbitrary rule deprive Mabel of 
 the pleasure of a little freedom. Eleven o clock, and 
 still no tidings, still no slender, girlish form coming up 
 the red-brown road toward the hotel, still the dull flut 
 ter of excitement about it down in the town below. 
 
 At last the noon whistle sounded loud and sharp, 
 echoed off among the distant heights, and then the 
 noise of the heavy machinery grinding and buzzing, the 
 ehouts of workmen, and the whizzing of belts were 
 hushed. Parties of miners issued from numerous build 
 ings, making their way in a steady stream to the long 
 boarding-houses across the creek; and at last Nellie, 
 
123 
 
 who watched at the window, saw the young manager 
 come out with brisk step and walk hurriedly toward 
 the hotel. She ran down to meet him in the hall be 
 low, asking eagerly for any news of her lost friend. 
 
 " I have none," he answered. " I came here to see 
 if I could render any aid in the matter. You see the 
 arrival last evening of my new force of miners made it< 
 imperative for me to attend very steadily to my work 
 all the forenoon, though I assure you my sympathies 
 were with you in your misfortune; I was almost power 
 less to give it any attention, though I would have been 
 glad to do so were it possible." 
 
 " yes, I know, Edward," looking up with troubled 
 eyes; "and yet I felt so utterly alone in the care of 
 poor Mrs. Willis, half crazed with anxiety, that I was 
 tempted once or twice to send for you to advise me, 
 but I hesitated, fearing it would disturb you. Neither 
 she nor I can direct any one what to do, we are so 
 anxious and confused, and we have had to leave it all 
 to strangers." 
 
 Edward passed his hand across his forehead as if 
 thinking deeply. " Most certainly," he said aloud, " it 
 is a serious thing, and a strange one as well." Then 
 another pause, as if he was trying to solve some ques 
 tion, and again he spoke, "A few Chinamen at work 
 on the stream that flows past the Golden Deep, our 
 neighboring mine, had better be watched. They are 
 very ugly toward every one except their own race. As 
 soon as I heard of this matter I despatched a couple of 
 men to the place to investigate. They returned with 
 the report that, save the absence of two, all things 
 seemed to be moving on quietly, but they would give 
 
124 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 no information, fearing the men had come to secretly 
 look at their diggings, and hence would not permit 
 them to remain there. I mention this to you, thinking 
 perhaps it would be best for you to know as much as 
 that, in the event it would be necessary for you to cause 
 a more complete investigation; and the hint might be 
 of some consequence to prevent delay that would be 
 caused were it left to me while I am so occupied with 
 work." 
 
 " Oh! oh! " cried Nellie in fear. " Just think of fall 
 ing into the hands of those terrible creatures! Can t 
 something be done immediately?" 
 
 "Yes; I am intending to go over in that direction 
 myself, and will see to this too," and he instinctively 
 gave a glance toward the mill, as if fearing to leave its 
 management for even an hour in the hands of another. 
 
 "Oh, good !" Nellie exclaimed; " I am greatly relieved 
 that you feel so much interest. You will come and tell 
 us the result, won t you, whether favorable or not? I 
 shall be in great suspense until you return." 
 
 "Certainly, I will come to you the first," replied Ed 
 ward, as he lifted his hat and started away. 
 
 Meantime Mabel had been enduring one of the hard 
 est experiences of her life. After her fright at the 
 Chinese diggings, she ran a long way, looking back 
 quickly now and then at the terrible Mongolian that 
 followed her, who, wishing to frighten all intruders 
 away from the jealously guarded claim, knew this 
 method would prevent another call from their late 
 visitor. She went over hills and through hollows as 
 fast as her swift feet could run, till completely ex 
 hausted at last she sank down to the earth, her lungs 
 
125 
 
 almost bleeding for want of breath. But her Chinese 
 horror had ceased his pursuit when she looked for him, 
 so with a sigh of relief she remained for another mo 
 ment s rest, pressing her fair cheek close to the damp 
 brown earth for a touch of its coolness. When she 
 rose to look around her, nothing was visible that 
 looked familiar to her eyes, not a hill nor a grove 
 like those around Lucky Streak, and she scarcely 
 knew the direction whence she came. But with a 
 desperate unrest she started out to find her way home 
 ward if she could. She feared to venture anywhere lest 
 she should come upon another or the same group of 
 Chinamen; so for hours she wandered cautiously over 
 the hills and through the pine woods with scarcely a 
 hope of finding even a trail. The sun was growing 
 warm, and the dews had long since melted away into 
 the spongy grass roots, and a sense of severe lassitude 
 came creeping over her, compelling her to sit down for 
 a rest on an old log in a little valley. "Oh, how will 
 Aunt Cynthia feel about this!" she sobbed, yielding at 
 last to the tears she had striven to keep back. " There 
 is perhaps no hope of ever getting out of this terrible 
 wilderness, for I shall surely be discovered by some 
 fearful creature before Aunt Cynthia can send any one 
 to find me," she said aloud, in her distress. 
 
 " Goodness I" said a woman s voice close behind her. 
 
 She started and uttered a terrified cry. Her fear had 
 distorted all objects about her; tall stumps were changed 
 to priests in sombre robes, rough branches to hideous 
 faces leering down upon her, and tramps lurked in the 
 bird-haunted thickets, till at last this spoken word 
 seemed to come from supernatural and evil sources to 
 
126 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 do her harm. But she looked and saw a woman stand 
 ing and looking at her in wonder. "What is the mat 
 ter, miss?" said the woman at last. 
 
 " I have lost my way to Lucky Streak, and have 
 wandered about through the woods since early morn 
 ing in the hope of finding a path that would lead me 
 right." 
 
 " Laws ! That s too bad. Come and I will tell Mrs. 
 Dennett, who lives just over the hill there." 
 
 "But could n t you direct me? " asked Mabel, fearing 
 to be led into more disagreeable experiences. 
 
 "Yes," replied the woman, "if you prefer it. But 
 you look very tired and quite worn out. Mrs. Dennett 
 lives just beyond that grove. She quite likely will do 
 something to refresh you, and send some one with you 
 to the Mines." 
 
 Mabel yielded, and on reaching the top of the hill, 
 they looked down into a fertile little valley luxuriant 
 with bloom and teeming with life. An old white house 
 with a gable roof half hid itself under a burden of roses, 
 Baltimores, Bleeding Hearts, Castilian Beauties, and 
 Cloth-of-Gold roses dropped their leaves like a shower 
 from the blossom-freighted breezes of the Nile. 
 
 In the very precincts of this lovely home she had 
 sank, overpowered with a sense of her solitude and 
 helplessness. 
 
 A lady past the middle of life, with a pleasant, re 
 poseful countenance, hair that had once been golden 
 but now divided its brightness with strands of silver, 
 brushed back smoothly from a fair, intelligent brow, 
 sat sewing in the cool, shaded porch, and looked up 
 with such a welcoming smile that she won Mabel s 
 heart at once. 
 
127 
 
 " Mrs. Dennett, here is a young lady who has got 
 lost trying to find her way to Lucky Streak," said the 
 woman. 
 
 " Lost," echoed Mrs. Dennett, " no wonder, in these 
 unfrequented hills. Sit down, please," she said, offer 
 ing Mabel a low rocker. " Did you come from the 
 Mines?" 
 
 Yes. I ventured out from the hotel early this 
 morning for a walk, the mountains were so beautiful 
 here, but I missed my way, and have wandered about 
 ever since in the hope of finding a road back. I fear 
 my friends are greatly alarmed." 
 
 " You have been out since early morning! " exclaimed 
 Mrs. Dennett, rising. "Then you must not attempt 
 to go back until I have given you something to eat. 
 Huldah will go to Lucky Streak with word that you are 
 safe, and you must remain here until you are rested 
 enough to attempt to go yourself. Why, my poor 
 child!" she said, compassionately bending over the 
 weeping girl, "you have suffered, I am sure." This 
 sudden relief had come so gratefully that Mabel could 
 not repress the tears that came rolling into her great 
 innocent dark eyes like a rushing flood. 
 
 Huldah hurried off after inquiring the name of 
 Mabel s aunt, and the two were left alone together. 
 
 " Come into the dining-room," said Mrs. Dennett, 
 " and I will give you some tea to revive you until I can 
 finish preparing the luncheon." 
 
 She led the way into a large room, long and low. 
 where a neat tea-table was spread for two as if the 
 meal had been already begun. It was a homelike room, 
 a charming one, Mabel thought from a seat by a west 
 
128 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 window, where an JEolian harp made sweet music in 
 the gusty breeze that came whistling down from the 
 pines on the hill, and stirred the little curls on her 
 fevered forehead with a gentle, reviving touch; a carpet 
 of soft crimson threw a pink reflection on the white 
 mouldings of the embellished walls and the low ceil 
 ing, the heavy folds of a dark curtain in an alcove win 
 dow half hid a bank of silver-back ferns and fragrant 
 hyacinths, while over in one end of the great room, 
 which seemed used for a library, stood two immense 
 book-cases, showing through their glass doors heavy 
 vellum-bound books, crisp little volumes of red morocco 
 and gilt, ponderous series of histories, and treatises on 
 minerals, and even rich stores of romance and poetry. 
 Near the book-cases was a cabinet of ores arranged in 
 glittering rows along the shelves; and maps and charts 
 and diagrams lay about on the long library table, in 
 the centre of which was a huge antique lamp of lacy 
 gold. 
 
 " I am something of an invalid," Mrs. Dennett ex 
 plained, bringing in the tea and a slice of toast. "And 
 I live here with my girl Huldah, and my boy Jacob 
 who does the garden-work, quite alone, although the 
 lumber-mills are just below on the creek, where a little 
 settlement has opened with several pleasant homes. An 
 old mine called the Golden Deep once created a sensa 
 tion in this vicinity, and an enterprising village was 
 the outgrowth of its success; but it failed, and the town 
 was abandoned; however, together with a few old set 
 tlers and neighbors, I have clung to the spot, loth to 
 leave its beauty and quiet, until good fortune has again 
 come to us, and the new mines have attracted the out- 
 
EDWARD S HOME. 129 
 
 stretching arm of civilization with their richness, while 
 the old deserted town has sprung up again into a rough 
 new one on its suburbs. We are hut two miles from 
 Lucky Streak, and our most direct road to the town 
 leads through the deserted ruins of the old mines, 
 piles of brick, tumble-down houses, and even a leaning 
 church, with its little cemetery about it overgrown with 
 long-leaved, drooping willows, that touches the heart 
 with its sadness and desolation. Did you come through 
 the old town?" 
 
 " I scarcely think so. A crumbling mill called the 
 Golden Deep was on my way, but I became so fright 
 ened at the Chinese workmen there that I ran for a 
 long distance into the woods, although when I at first 
 took the wrong path, a whistle from that direction mis 
 guided me." 
 
 " It must have been the whistle from the Quail Gulch 
 works that have lately renewed operations. Our mines 
 are quite numerous on this belt through the mountains, 
 though out beyond the Golden Deep, where you proba 
 bly were lost, there is no habitation, nor scarcely a sign 
 of life for miles, except, over on the edge of the forest, 
 the little home of a man named Logan, who works in 
 the Lucky Streak claim." 
 
 Mrs. Dennett had seated herself near Mabel during 
 this conversation, talking very smoothly and pleasantly 
 to interest her, yet avoiding questions with true womanly 
 feeling. Finally she leaned back and looked at Mabel 
 for a moment as she sat pale and weary in the great 
 crimson-cushioned chair by the window. " I like to 
 see you there," she said, half dreamily, as if even think 
 ing to herself. * It reminds me of a little friend I had 
 
130 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 once, who used to come here and stay for long visits 
 with me. She would sit in that chair where you are 
 now, and sew and talk with Hie, and read sometimes, 
 till I came to love her as a daughter. She was a sweet- 
 minded girl, and very ambitious, so I took great pains 
 to teach her. Many an afternoon, in a spring like this, 
 we have sat here and read, and planned together for 
 her future, until it seemed to me as if it ought to last 
 always, and my loss was almost inconsolable when she 
 went away. She was with me so much from her early 
 childhood, that many things and places in this old 
 house are inseparably associated with her. She was by 
 nature so refined and reflective that I had an apt pupil, 
 though the family who adopted her were altogether an 
 other order of beings in the matter of good taste and nat 
 ural fine fibre, but she was so uncommonly affectionate 
 that she loved them all dearly, and had enough to spare 
 for me besides. I have not seen her for years; she has 
 been away teaching, and has never returned since she 
 left. Somehow when I saw you coming up the garden 
 with Huldah I was so vividly reminded of her, that I 
 could scarcely believe it was not she, although she was 
 much smaller than you in stature. It has been a long 
 time since that old chair has been occupied by a young 
 girl, and it recalls my days with Lois. The chair has 
 fallen into my exclusive use, although it was originally 
 intended for my son, who is seldom at home since the 
 mines opened. Have you visited the mines yet? " 
 " Not yet. I only arrived last evening." 
 "Oh! then you have something in store for the fu 
 ture. Although I have only been down in the mines 
 twice myself, I count it one of the greatest treats in the 
 
131 
 
 way of a novel arid interesting experience, and could re 
 peat the visit half a dozen times without being wearied. 
 The workings have not reached a great depth yet. 
 Later on I suppose it will be possible to go a long way 
 under the earth. Now I must attend to my luncheon," 
 she said, leaving her seat and going toward the table. 
 "It is so seldom that I have to do without Huldah 
 that I had almost forgotten it. My son is expected to 
 come to-day for the noon meal. He seldom finds time, 
 though it is only a short ride on horseback, for his 
 work keeps him so busy that he cannot leave it"; and 
 then she went out of the room, and left Mabel alone to 
 marvel at this refined and elegant lady, possessing all 
 the culture and tact of one who mingled every day with 
 educated associates, surrounded by modest little touches 
 of splendor in her dwelling, living among books and the 
 beauties of art, having no other thoughts than of the 
 lovely things in life around her, and hiding herself in 
 these isolated fastnesses of the mountains. 
 
 And then she fell to thinking pleasantly of Mrs. 
 Dennett s blue eyes. They were beautiful in them 
 selves, to begin with, but they had, besides, a soft light, 
 a lustrous frankness, that spoke of a mind beneath 
 free and lovely as were these, its clear outlets; she 
 had a charming way of looking thoughtfully down 
 ward, and as some sudden thought flashed through 
 her mind, of glancing up again so brightly that the 
 change in her face seemed like the sunrise over a 
 dusky scene. Mabel wondered how many more in 
 these surprising hills would have such eyes, for this 
 was the second pair she had fallen in love with on a 
 day that had so far proved very lonely. 
 
132 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 Beware, Mabel ! Dream not of eyes, for Cupid s ar 
 rows often speed with burning victories from even soft 
 and tender eyes of blue. 
 
 But a brisk step along the hall roused her from her 
 fancies, and in a moment a stranger was in the room, 
 no, not a stranger either, for had she not seen him 
 waiting gallantly in the wet grass for her this very 
 morning? And here he was again, standing before her 
 and looking down upon her, worn and ruffled and pale 
 in the crimson chair, with those same earnest blue 
 eyes, eyes with the soft light in them like his 
 mother s, but darker and brighter and clearer, with the 
 fires of youth smouldering in their shining depths. 
 No w r onder, then, that a heart fluttered, and long, dark 
 lashes swept a fair, round cheek under the eyes that 
 held such a magic charm, for he looked quite steadily 
 for a moment without a word; and just as he was about 
 to speak, his mother came in, and greeted him with a 
 warm, hearty kiss. " Edward, my dear," she said, "see 
 what I have found," half playfully. "This young 
 girl has lost her way." 
 
 " And I have found her, too, for which I am very 
 thankful. She has some very anxious friends who 
 await the earliest news, and half the town " 
 
 " Edward," said Mrs. Dennett, warningly, " you must 
 not say anything exciting, for see how pale and ex 
 hausted she is from her fright." 
 
 But Mrs. Dennett should not have made the mistake 
 of calling attention to the color of any cheeks whatso 
 ever, when anybody else with such magical eyes was 
 around, for Mabel s pale cheeks had already lighted 
 up with the beauty of a brilliant sea-shell, and only 
 
EDWARD S HOME. 133 
 
 took on a deeper, lovelier hue at this reference to 
 them. 
 
 They both saw it, and said no more, Edward remark 
 ing that since it had been agreed to fire a gun if Miss 
 Willis should be found, he would go out and discharge 
 a rifle which he had brought with him for that pur 
 pose. 
 
 Mabel followed him out into the porch with eager 
 questions about her aunt, and if she could not imme 
 diately return to the Mines, while he assured her that 
 his signal would be sufficient to satisfy them till she 
 could comfortably go, and then went out with the gun 
 over his shoulder, fired twice in rapid succession, 
 loaded and fired again and again, till the surrounding 
 forests echoed deep and hollow with long, rolling rever 
 berations that seemed heralds of an approaching glad 
 ness. Mabel watched him from the porch with the 
 interest of a child, as the swift spurts of fire left the 
 gun, and the loud report burst out with startling sound. 
 
 Mrs. Dennett saw her watching him from the vine- 
 wreathed door, and a thrill of pride came to her warm 
 mother s heart that was not too narrow to open for even 
 the stranger also. 
 
 " I almost love that sweet girl already," she thought, 
 fondly. " She is not like Lois, either; not so lively and 
 full of energy, but more gentle and confiding, with a 
 very lovely face. Ah me! why was I not blessed with 
 a daughter too ! " 
 
 At a bright little tea-table that day, where lunch 
 was spread for three, one heart and not the heart of 
 youth and hopefulness, but one from which the fervent 
 desires of life had faded felt something like the 
 
134 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 prophecy of a blissful future time that was awakened 
 by this little gathering. How happy she would be 
 when three should sit at this cheerful board and call it, 
 with tender, hopeful devotion, our dear home; when a 
 daughter s thoughtful face would beam in response to 
 the love in her own; when faithful ties of affection 
 should entwine themselves about her new-found loved 
 one, and her longing heart would at last find the treas 
 ure it had ever missed! She liked to think of it, and 
 know that only they three were there to share the 
 suggestive little picture; and oh, how she did wish 
 Edward would think of it too! But she marked the 
 reserve in his face, the quiet reverence that betrayed 
 not one ardent hope, and she knew that her thoughts 
 had not been his. 
 
 At the door when they parted, and Mabel extended 
 her hand with an air of affectionate gratitude, Mrs. Den 
 nett could not resist giving her a warm, loving kiss, and 
 saying earnestly, " You will come to see me again some 
 time, will you not? " And Mabel returned her sign of 
 friendship heartily, and promised to come with even 
 eager readiness, so that each felt that she had won an 
 other friend. 
 
 And then followed for Mabel a ride that was full of 
 little pleasantries and beauties, of penitent regrets and 
 anxious wishes, but through it all a sense of protection 
 from her strong, manly friend that was very pleasant to 
 remember. 
 
 She rode his horse, while he walked on beside her, 
 talking of the mines and the mountains, and finally the 
 old camp with its decaying ruins and reminiscences of 
 its palmy days in the fifties; and at last the view of the 
 
135 
 
 welcome town with its noisy mill, its rough homes, and 
 its great hotel sunning itself majestically from a hill 
 side, opened out before them. 
 
 Nellie Minton, who had detained Huldah that she 
 might have assistance in sending for Mabel, caught 
 sight of them coming up the drive in front of the hotel. 
 "Well," she said, emphatically, "that s a high note! 
 My innocent friend is as full of arts and schemes as 
 even even I myself," with a satisfied shrug and a 
 meaning smile. 
 
136 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 SUPERINTENDENT SEVENOAKES OF THE LUCKY STREAK. 
 
 Though they know that the flatterer knows the falsehood of his 
 own flatteries, yet they love the impostor, and with both arms hug 
 the abuse. SOUTH. 
 
 MR. SEVENOAKES sat in his little office, tilted back 
 in a high-armed chair, with the Mineralogical Report 
 under his nose, which just at that moment walled the 
 whole of his world into a very narrow horizon. How 
 ever, he liked it and felt quite satisfied. He was not 
 averse to having a world of which he was the centre 
 and the motive power. So he swung his polished boots 
 up on the polished stove, and with a smile breaking out 
 irresistibly and unconsciously all over his face, he read 
 it again, a delicious little paragraph interlarded quite 
 unsparingly with references to " Supt. Sevenoakes of 
 the Lucky Streak," to his " able management," his 
 " enormously increased force of miners," and the 
 "steady flow of wealth from those fabulously rich 
 mines." 
 
 He was a sleek little fellow, with a sleek little tongue 
 and a sleek little mind. He was not young. That 
 small, round, bullet head of his was crowned with a 
 growth of very glossy dark hair, sprinkled even gener 
 ously with glinting flecks of silver, and his well-trimmed 
 mustache yielded its tawny brownness to here and there 
 a lighter thread; yet his clean-shaven face was fair and 
 
SUPERINTENDENT SEVENOAKES. 137 
 
 full, and his keen, bright eye had a sparkle that did not 
 by any means betoken age. He was immaculate in his 
 dress; a fine suit of black fitted without a wrinkle his 
 dapper little form, helped nevertheless by the skill of 
 the tailor, and his finely engraved, massive cuff-buttons 
 shone without a flaw on his spotless linen. There was 
 something charmingly fresh about his dress, something 
 soothingly breezy in his manner. And yet everything 
 was on so small a scale that he made one feel as if he 
 might have been rather a fine-appearing specimen of 
 mankind if there had only been enough of him. He 
 had a voice that was light, but pleasant and smooth in 
 tone, and all his motions were quick and easy, yet not 
 hurried, thus preserving a certain degree of dignity 
 that was very becoming, and still did not deprive him 
 of his sleek-tongued sociability or agreeableness. He 
 was like a shuttle, he slipped around very smoothly 
 and easily, until the limit of his free movement was 
 reached; then he was immovable as the cold, unfeeling 
 steel when it reaches the end of its race, immovable 
 except to go back over its accustomed track. 
 
 But something about his clear gray eyes damaged his 
 genial and conciliatory expression by a shade. It was 
 not their steely color, nor the unusual amount of pearly 
 white, that made them slightly noticeable. It was a 
 cold hardness in their metallic stare that made them 
 rather like lustreless buttons, absorbing all the light 
 within their reach, and letting out no ray of the lumi 
 nous soul within. 
 
 His office, too, was on a small scale. It was an ele 
 gant little place, with a brightly dyed carpet and a 
 varnished desk. No scratch or mar impaired the gloss 
 
138 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 of its costly cabinets, no trace of dust or tarnish rested 
 on his burnished inkstands or his polished brass clock. 
 This same little clock was something like its little 
 owner. It was small and bright, with a quick, pleasant 
 tick and a tinkling little stroke, with a regularity sur 
 prising in so small and dainty a machine, and with a 
 pretence at richness that showed rather a cheap, super 
 ficial brilliancy than solid worth. The windows of the 
 office were small and of the clearest crystal, shaded by 
 pale-green paper curtains with a golden border, that 
 shut out the broad view of the mines and the mill be 
 low, and the long sweep of wooded hills and mountains 
 stretching far away to the western horizon. 
 
 The only thing of massive proportions in the room 
 was the great iron safe, which bore a crest of polished 
 brass in the shape of a flying phoenix which reached 
 nearly to the ceiling. Its close-shut doors looked even 
 rusty in the midst of all this glistening newness; yet 
 its brassy knobs were bright enough, as if a constant 
 use had worn away their misty marks of age. 
 
 Outside, the office was rather a neat, pretentious 
 building, painted up to a high degree of stylishness, 
 with a coat of olive-green and deep cardinal trimmings, 
 while over the door stood out the bold, black letters: 
 " Superintendent s Office." 
 
 On this particular morning, when the worthy little 
 Sevenoakes opened his mail of the previous evening, 
 and struck the highly colored article about the Lucky 
 Streak, he plunged into one of his pleasantest moods, 
 and sat with his little turned-up nose tilted skyward 
 so uncommonly far that it almost pointed over the 
 back of his head, a bland smile disclosing his full, 
 even set of very white teeth. 
 
SUPERINTENDENT SEVENOAKES. 139 
 
 His solitude was disturbed after a time by a quick 
 step along the porch, and the opening of the door. 
 
 u Good morning, Mr. Dennett," said the sleek little 
 man airly, pushing a chair toward the visitor with his 
 foot. " Nice morning; not too cold. Work booming? " 
 
 " Work is going on steadily," replied the other, tak 
 ing the offered seat. 
 
 " Anything I can do for you? " inquired Mr. Seven- 
 oakes, pleasantly. 
 
 " Not much. I just stepped in to tell you that I can 
 dispense with Logan s efforts as assayer this week. 
 Our new man is sufficiently recovered from his illness 
 to go on to work, and will be in shortly for some little 
 agreement he thinks necessary before beginning." 
 
 " 0, very well. You are relieved, I have no doubt." 
 
 " Very much. There is considerable loss in any 
 careless handling of ores." 
 
 "Just so. Keep up the steam, Dennett; don t let 
 them lose their hold on the present rich pull," directed 
 Mr. Sevenoakes. "0, by the way, let me show you 
 something good," said he, growing confidential as the 
 young manager turned toward the door. "What do 
 you think of that? " presenting his Mineralogical Re 
 port, and pointing out the article that had put his 
 spirits into such excellent trim. 
 
 Edward resumed his seat, and read the paragraph 
 with interest, while Mr. Sevenoakes watched anxiously 
 for his first words. 
 
 "That is excellent praise," said the young man 
 warmly, handing back the paper, and with his honest 
 blue eyes meeting the searching glances of the steel- 
 gray pair. 
 
140 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 " Is n t that good, now? That will assist business by 
 Bending plenty of help here, and we can work more 
 cheaply, if nothing else, more independently, too," 
 with a sly, quick twinkle of his eye. " Somebody did 
 us a good turn," he added, suggestively, after a pause, 
 reading critically the fair, earnest face of the young 
 man before him. 
 
 "Yes," Edward replied with a short laugh, knowing 
 that Mr. Sevenoakcs appreciated fully the mention of 
 himself. " We are not quite forgotten by the civilized 
 world, up here in the Mines. Some one remembered a 
 little more than that we are here." 
 
 " 0, bless you, yes; of course not forgotten. But there 
 are so few who are willing to give us our due. They are 
 jealous, sir, jealous," with a satisfied chuckle. "Our 
 good luck does ii t suit everybody, by any means." 
 
 The little shuttle had run its length, and could now 
 no longer move about easily. He had satisfied himself 
 that Edward on his late visit to the city had not given 
 this favorable report of " Supt. Sevenoakes," and that 
 was all he wanted to know; so now the sooner that 
 young man went about his business the better, which 
 the young man did immediately, without waiting to 
 find it out. 
 
 In the course of half an hour Mr. Sevenoakes had 
 another visitor, Mr. George Brooklyn. This young 
 man s entrance was somewhat different from his first 
 caller s, rather slower, and seemingly lacking in pur 
 pose. 
 
 The little man was busily engaged, so the effect of 
 the flattery in his choice paragraph had somewhat 
 worn off, and he was slightly less agreeable; but he 
 
SUPERINTENDENT SEVENOAKES. 141 
 
 received Mr. Brooklyn s credentials and letters of in 
 troduction politely, and sat in silence for a few min 
 utes while he examined them, the young man regarding 
 the proceeding with stoical indifference, as if deter 
 mined to exact his price at any cost. Finally, the vis 
 itor espied the Report, and picked it up to glance over 
 its contents while waiting. Becoming interested in the 
 account of the Lucky Streak s success, he made a re 
 mark about the paper, as Mr. Sevenoakes looked up 
 and with some commonplace about the weather pre 
 pared to get out his writing materials. " I did n t ex 
 pect to see this paper here," said G-eorge; "it has but a 
 small circulation in this part of the mining country. 
 The proprietors are rather too particular about the re 
 liability of their reports, and seldom print much to in 
 terest their distant readers, for that reason. I know 
 something about the inside workings of this journal 
 myself." 
 
 Mr. Sevenoakes was all interest at once. " Do you, 
 indeed?" he replied, giving his chair a nearer hitch. 
 "Are you a correspondent to its columns ?" 
 
 " Not exactly," replied George. He detested ques 
 tioning, and always strove to evade it. " Sometimes 
 when in the city, if I happen to pick up some good in 
 formation, vouched for, I send it around, and they 
 are glad to get it; I seldom do that sort of thing when 
 I m engaged in business myself, I have not the time 
 to bother, generally." 
 
 " Ho, ho ! " exclaimed the little Sevenoakes. " But 
 that s a remarkably good power to have. You some 
 times give reports from mines which you have never 
 seen, I presume." 
 
142 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 George saw through his weakness at once, that he 
 was likely to want to find out about that report of the 
 Lucky Streak, and he was ready with his answer. 
 
 "Yes; that is generally the case when my informa 
 tion is direct." Then he added, for better effect, " Likely 
 enough there will be several articles coming along soon 
 for which I furnished the substance before I left the 
 city. They usually fix up several pretty good ones out 
 of a long talk on the different mines." 
 
 u Is this one of yours?" asked the superintendent, 
 pointing to the article in the Report. 
 
 George took the paper as if he had not seen the ar 
 ticle before, and replied slowly, u I could n t exactly 
 say. I don t always recognize my own stuff. Quite 
 likely it is, though; we talked of the Lucky Streak." 
 He knew very well that in his short talk with an at 
 tache of the Report he had not furnished any items in 
 praise of Mr. Sevenoakes, but had merely incidentally 
 mentioned the name of his mine. He had not even 
 taken pains to inquire very much about the mine itself 
 of Edward Dennett while in the city, much less the 
 presiding worthy s name, but he was perfectly willing 
 to take the credit of having bestowed all this praise 
 which pleased Mr. Sevenoakes so exceedingly. 
 
 And the little man was satisfied about it now. 
 " This is rather a fair kind of a young man to have 
 around, one who takes an interest from the first," he 
 thought, as he prepared to write out their agreement. 
 
 " Mr. Dennett, who called in a moment this morn 
 ing, mentioned that you wished to make some stipula 
 tion or other before entering into our regular contract," 
 he said at last, resolving to arrange things as pleasantly 
 
SUPERINTENDENT SEVENOAKES. 143 
 
 as possible for an employee who showed such a good 
 spirit. 
 
 " Yes," replied George. " It is this, which I must 
 insist upon, I think I understand my work suffi 
 ciently well to get along without making any serious 
 blunders, and I must stipulate to have entire control 
 of my own department. Are these terms inconsistent 
 with your regulations ?" 
 
 " O, certainly not, if you desire it. Certainly not," 
 and Mr. Sevenoakes went about drawing up the agree 
 ment with self-congratulations that he had got off so 
 easily. When he had finished, he passed it over with 
 a pleasant remark, and reached for his glossy beaver, 
 that he might walk over to the mill with his new em 
 ployee. As George arose, Mr. Sevenoakes noticed a 
 certain fine grace about him, and an expression of 
 quick appreciation in his face. He was a good-looking 
 young man, and one capable of being rather compan 
 ionable, Mr. Sevenoakes thought, so he offered a cigar, 
 and the two strolled off talking quite freely together. 
 When they parted, George s mental verdict was that this 
 little Mr. Sevenoakes would be a man worth his while 
 to cultivate; and Mr. Sevenoakes s verdict was that 
 George would be excellent company sometimes, besides 
 being useful in matters outside of his regular line of 
 duty, and both were pleased. 
 
144 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 IN THE GLOAMING. 
 
 When evening shadows tinge the sky- 
 How sweet the balm which home can yield; 
 
 The charm of woman s love-lit eye 
 Makes strong the arm that is her shield. 
 
 Selected. 
 
 To Edward Dennett, those prosperous days at Lucky 
 Streak brought rare good fortune in his worldly affairs, 
 but he was still impatient for the fruition of his most 
 dearly cherished hopes. Reared from childhood among 
 the majestic mountains, which marked the springing 
 of his boyish aspirations, which stood by solemnly and 
 relentlessly and saw them wither and decay, which 
 preached sermons to him of patience and renewed 
 strength from their strong, everlasting hearts of gold, 
 the time seemed like a great unsparing scythe, that had 
 gleaned many a promising flower and left but few to 
 blossom. 
 
 Among his earliest recollections was that of the little 
 country school at the old town, and the remembrance 
 always brought back thoughts of a score of little bare 
 foot boys who ranged themselves in rows of all sizes 
 along the blackboard and roused the slumbering clouds 
 of chalky dust; of the master thundering out his rules 
 with deep, impatient tones; of disgraced culprits when 
 the loud-voiced "snapper" popped off under some in 
 nocent iron-shod heel; of recess time, when the little 
 
IN THE GLOAMING. 145 
 
 girls in calico aprons, and the little boys in gingham 
 jumpers, made fearless merriment with their sleds up 
 and down the grassy hillsides; and of the well-remem 
 bered pathway home from school along the borders 
 of a vine-embellished stream. Ah! surely, those were 
 old, old times, when the southern mines were in their 
 glory, and the pioneers were in their prime. Full 
 many a pick that glistened in the ledges then had 
 rusted back to earth; full many a hand that guided its 
 unerring stroke now mouldered in the blooming sods. 
 Yet the survivors of those days looked back through the 
 long aisles of the past to their hopeful youth, and saw 
 its visions rise before them stained by a deeper glory 
 for their distance. Memories they had of cities that 
 flourished with a star-wreathed future, which trembled 
 and sank in the crashing years that followed; those 
 wild hills had known the tramp of many feet, had 
 echoed many a shout with their serene and voiceless 
 summits from tongues that nevermore would sing the 
 old camp-songs, or tell the stories of the past around the 
 hearth of home. From the wild canons of the Stanis 
 laus, from the rock-walled barriers of the swift Tuol- 
 umne, from many a creek half hidden in its stony 
 channels, from the glittering quartz ledge on the moun 
 tain-side, rose up the relics of their coming, to touch the 
 heart with a shadow of its sadness. On many a pine- 
 covered hill, deep filled with fallen needles and the 
 crumbling earth, old prospect-holes told histories of the 
 eager hearts that once throbbed there; on many a river 
 bank the mouldering flume and the broken water-wheel 
 still kept the stains of their turbid tides to attest their 
 by-gone use. Far from the haunts of camp and town, 
 
146 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP* 
 
 deep in the tree-grown centres of the hills, where the 
 still wild ness broke on the spirit in whispers of the old 
 primeval solitude, there stood the falling cabin with its 
 rock-built chimney crumbling to the earth, which once 
 had served to shelter man, in the mad pursuit of golden 
 phantoms, where man had never seemed to tread. 
 
 Those were palmy clays in this fevcr^heated country 
 when the miner, strong and brown, glorious in his mud- 
 besprinkled garb and his wide slouch hat, with his 
 bare arm dripping, fresh from the red-soiled bosom of 
 the mine, stood king over all these endless streams that 
 bore his tribute under their shining flood, over all these 
 gold-emblazoned roads that poured their dust into his 
 long, deep sack of treasure. Life then went in by a ring 
 ing, reckless shout of jubilee, in a maddening drunken 
 ness of desperate hope. From the tribune of the rock 
 heap, by the sceptre of the spade, went forth the man 
 dates of the impatient kings; down from their dusty 
 palaces of stone and earth, out from the regal courts by 
 the pillared blazes of their reddening fires,swept the swift 
 penalties of broken laws. And yet in all this turmoil 
 from their swift-winged justice, under all this quench 
 less thirst for gain, deep in the strong foundations of 
 the heart slumbered the seeds of peace and order. All 
 honor to the pioneer, he of the strong and iron sinew, he 
 of the true and dauntless heart, who faced the dangers 
 of the wild Far West, who in those useless pits that 
 scar the face of our fair land planted the rootlets of a 
 mighty state, who stood by manfully and watched them 
 flourish, who told the praises of the proud tree with a 
 dewy eye, and who to-day, as his reward, sees its golden 
 fruit borne afar on the seas of distant lands that bow 
 in homage to its glory. 
 
IN THE GLOAMING. 147 
 
 Even Edward well remembered the day in the sub 
 sidence of the mining flush, when the gloomy report 
 went about the old town of the close of the Golden 
 Deep; well did he recollect that night when the 
 furnace fires went out for the last time, when the sun 
 went down after a lingering, sad caress from its troop 
 of reddening sunbeams, on the little doomed camp 
 high up in the heart of the lonesome hills, and the 
 men went home with regretful looks toward the broad 
 doors that would not swing open to admit them on 
 the morrow. And after that the old town, was slowly 
 deserted, year by year going to destruction and decay. 
 The winter rains blew through the widening crevices 
 and stained the white walls of many a cosey home; 
 the school-boys pelted with their showers of stones the 
 dusty window panes, until they changed to black and 
 gaping holes; while from all around, from the still, cold, 
 snowy summits, from the dark mystery of the woods, 
 from the soft bluencss of the lower hills, crept on the 
 old-time quiet, and the strange, sweet wildness, to make 
 this spot a part of nature s unmolested provinces again. 
 
 Those were dark times for the few little homes that 
 still struggled on in the abandoned hills. Edward re 
 membered his own in those days, how he, in his long 
 summer vacations, seated on a high team behind his 
 eight bony horses, had to haul shakes from the lumber- 
 mills long journeys over the rough, dusty roads to the 
 mining camps. After his father died he was left alone 
 to care for his mother, and many a hard struggle he 
 endured, on the very threshold of dawning manhood. 
 Hopes that budded, fast blighted in the blossom. Pov 
 erty held up her withered finger and closed the road 
 ways that his hands had hewed. 
 
148 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 But at last there came a day when the Lucky Streak 
 was found, and then the miners came thronging back 
 to the green hillsides with their tents, and finally the 
 old familiar whistle blew its shrill blast through the 
 long-silent gorges, and prosperity dwelt with them once 
 again. It was only then that fortune took his hand 
 with a kindly clasp and led him upward. 
 
 He had now been manager of the mines for some 
 time, for his quick perceptions and his sound judgment 
 had won for him a place among those of rich experi 
 ence. Yet the troubles and perplexities that annoyed 
 him, the constant subjection of his strong will to the 
 little indignities of his work, fretted his proud spirit, 
 and made him strive the harder to bring the time when 
 he could throw off those hated shackles. 
 
 One late afternoon when work was done he rode out 
 to his mother s for a restful hour among his books and 
 the associations of his childhood. He had need of such 
 renewal, for on this evening when the steady drive of 
 cares were over, life seemed a very dull and aimless 
 thing to him. " What am I working for? " he thought. 
 " Why this constant struggle for such poor rewards?" 
 
 Men have their dreams of love as well as women, 
 though in rarer glimpses, with the vivid colors half 
 shut out by the strong framing of the outer world. But 
 now, when life s gloom seemed to hang coldly over him, 
 a picture rose before his inner vision of a refuge from all 
 the besetting troubles of his way, a home that would be 
 a haven of love, a place where his over-burdened heart 
 could right itself for all its struggles with the storms of 
 life. Grant him but this recompense for its bufferings, 
 and he was satisfied. The warm rays of his glowing 
 
IN THE GLOAMING. 149 
 
 hearth-stone, the thrill of its waiting love, could even 
 make the hardest, darkest duty one of light and pleas 
 ure. His mother had always given him a mother s 
 consolation for his trials; yet little did she know it is 
 woman s highest mission to give that spiritual support 
 and strength to him who fights life s battles so bravely 
 for her sake. To her the strength of man was self-sus 
 taining; he had no need of encouragement or inspira 
 tion when it was his chief delight to exercise that 
 strength. Little did she know it is in home s safe 
 hiding-place he gains his best and noblest ambition 
 and powers of resistance. 
 
 " Come in, my son, and sit in your old place," she 
 said, as he kissed her at the door. "I am glad you 
 have come, for I am very lonesome here to-night." 
 
 He wished that she had met him with a bit of joyous 
 news, or with some pleasant association to cheer his own 
 tired heart. But as of old, he had to be the comforter, 
 and not the comforted, though his stout spirit longed 
 more than ever before, with a dull bitterness, for the 
 balmy soothings of a home. 
 
 The day had been one of April s choicest, warmest 
 days, so that as he sat down in the crimson chair by 
 the western window where Mabel had sat, the breeze 
 from the swaying vines blew freshly in through the 
 singing harp, and brought him whispers and change 
 ful melodies of its endless journeyings. 
 
 " How are things here at home with you, mother? " 
 he said with an effort toward cheerfulness, and hoping 
 for a stray beam of comfort. 
 
 " O, just the same as ever. I have been so very lone 
 some to-day that I am happy in your company. How 
 is your work?" 
 
150 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 " O, it is discouraging at times," he replied. " I have 
 felt more than ever disheartened to-day. Ambition is 
 forsaking me, I guess, mother." 
 
 " Such words from you! " said Mrs. Dennett. " Is it 
 becoming for a strong man with health and good pros 
 pects to talk of discouragements? Just think of those 
 who labor on amid the crushing misfortunes of ill 
 health and persecution. Why, you should be happy 
 and ambitious every day of your life." 
 
 He could not tell her that strong men had need of 
 other things besides health and an open path to make 
 them perfect in their strength; so he said no more, but 
 closed his weary heart with its fruitless longings. 
 
 As he went back to the hotel the twilight deepened 
 on his pathway, and enclosed the dying landscape 
 with a soft and restful beauty that was welcome to his 
 tired heart, and opened all its founts of love and ten 
 derness. No wonder, then, that when he arrived at the 
 hotel and saw Nellie Minton sitting dreamily there on 
 the deserted veranda in the dusk, with a book lying 
 idly beside her, while she seemed indulging in gentle, 
 girlish fancies, he was tempted to seat himself by her 
 side, and enjoy with her the sweet night air and the 
 inspiration of the slumbering hour. She was very 
 pretty in that soft light, with her mourning dress add 
 ing a shade of sadness to her fair face. Her eyes were 
 full of a liquid darkness that also lurked with fitful 
 shadowings in her hair, and even her voice borrowed a 
 musical cadence from the enchanting melodies of the 
 twilight winds. His heart reproached him for his for 
 mer indifference to her. " She is only a girl with a 
 heart full of gentle charity and girlish wishes," he 
 
IN THE GLOAMING. 151 
 
 thought, as his idea of her frivolity and thoughtless 
 ness melted in this new image of more lovely inno 
 cence. That little suggestion of sly art when she had 
 offered her friendship to him on their journey in the 
 stage was all forgotten, and he saw only a womanly de 
 pendence on his manly protection. He now felt almost 
 ashamed that he had not received it with a more cor 
 dial welcome. ; Let us take a walk in the twilight, 
 Nellie," he said, almost fearing she would go in and 
 leave him with his lonely musings. She brought a 
 soft white shawl for him to wrap about her, and to 
 gether they strolled down by the mill, through the 
 odorous pine groves, and across the green, bright slopes 
 beyond. 
 
 " I have not seen much of you, Edward," she said 
 to him as they climbed the flower-lined path. " You 
 are kept very busy, I know. Don t you grow tired of 
 the grinding worriments of business sometimes? " 
 
 Why did she say that to him then? She knew not 
 what a chord she had touched, how his heart was even 
 aching for one word of sympathy in its strivings; but 
 she knew that his answer had a warmth and ring it 
 had always lacked, which thrilled her heart with 
 strange new hope, a hope that he might care a little 
 for her after all; for he said, " Only they who are out 
 in the full heat of the daily battles with the world 
 know just how tiresome and profitless they seem at 
 times. Nellie, if it were not for hours like these, when 
 nature binds up the wounds of the day, and gives the 
 mind a strength and peace in its restful loveliness, life 
 would not be worth the living." 
 
152 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 He looked down at her as she leaned upon his arm 
 with a confiding, clinging touch, and bending over her 
 to adjust her shawl that had fallen aside, there seemed 
 wafted to him something of her delicacy and weakness 
 which he had never felt before. She appeared so help 
 less compared to himself, so fragile to fight the battles of 
 life! In return for a strong arm s generous protection, 
 would she not give some of that true affection which he 
 could not but hope dwelt in the hearts of all women? 
 
 This slight yielding to the charm and poetry of the 
 hour stilled the unrest, and brought a healing to the 
 weariness of his breast. 
 
 u In this feverish age, how many overburdened with 
 its cares would not find even paradise in wandering on 
 forever through these purple shadows, and in this fresh, 
 delightful air," he said, taking off his hat to let the 
 cool perfumes of the breezes blow on his forehead and 
 in his hair. 
 
 And Nellie answered, " How many would not love it, 
 even if they had no overburdening cares and battles to 
 make them long for its repose? How many would not 
 choose it among the best of joys, if they could find the 
 happiness it brings to me? " 
 
 When he left her at the door something dewy 
 sparkled in her eye, which moved him strangely with 
 its seeming tenderness. He clasped her hand in fare 
 well more cordially than usual, and said kindly, with 
 his handsome eyes looking steadily down into hers, 
 "We have had a pleasant walk, have we not, Nellie? 
 Let me thank you for the pleasure you have given me." 
 
 But he forgot it when his soft pillow invited him to 
 
IN THE GLOAMING. 153 
 
 the grateful oblivion of sleep; while Nellie sat for hours 
 by her window, heeding not the fresh scents from the 
 woods, nor the starry sky above her with its pulsing 
 splendors, but hearing only those parting words sing 
 ing through the pines, and breathing in tuneful har 
 monies in the swift, free winds. 
 
154 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SUMMER SCHEMES. 
 
 I hear their tones In converse sweet, 
 Like singing winds in summer bowers; 
 
 They speak of scenes and friends loved well 
 In by-gone times and pleasant hours. 
 
 Selected. 
 
 IT was afternoon at the Royal Regina. A dull 
 lethargy rested over the place, and a monotonous 
 silence, broken only by a shutting door or a footstep 
 through the hall, making a jarring contrast to the dis 
 tant roar of the mill and the whispering pines without. 
 In a pretty little sitting-room upstairs sat Mabel and 
 Nellie by the broad, clear windows that looked out over 
 the bright-roofed camp and the busy mines. Nellie 
 was embroidering, with a great many rose-colored and 
 pale green and pearl silk flosses, a strip of russet brown 
 satin, and Mabel divided her time with a book and the 
 glowing scene through the crystal window. 
 
 " Do you think Mrs. Dennett will be pleased?" asked 
 Nellie, holding up her work for inspection. 
 
 " She ought to be. It is very pretty," answered 
 Mabel. 
 
 " It is folly perhaps for me to do this," Nellie went 
 on. " She paints and embroiders exquisitely herself, 
 and I presume she has plenty of time, but I wanted to 
 make her some little present, anyway, with my own 
 hands, and this seemed about the only thing I could 
 do up here." 
 
SUMMER SCHEMES. 155 
 
 " I am sure she will prize it higher than her own 
 work because it is a gift," said Mabel, thinking how 
 Mrs. Dennett s blue eyes would light up with pleasure 
 when she saw it. 
 
 Nellie went on with her careful stitching, and Mabel 
 looked out of the window again. 
 
 " O, there is that Mr. Brooklyn, your friend, coming 
 out of the mill without his hat, and a handkerchief 
 over his head," Mabel exclaimed after a pause. " He 
 looks as funny as a clown," she added with a laugh. 
 
 Nellie leaned forward to see too. " That s just like 
 him," she said. " He would n t do that for a mint if he 
 thought we were looking at him." 
 
 " He is vain, then, and does everything for appear 
 ance." 
 
 " O no. But I rather guess there is a certain pair of 
 hazel eyes he is somewhat afraid of these days." Mabel 
 blushed, and Nellie continued: "He wouldn t like to 
 have those eyes, of all eyes in the world, see him in his 
 laboratory garb, especially if they saw in him a resem 
 blance to a clown. To tell the truth, the absolute 
 truth," she said, growing earnest and laying her work 
 down in her lap while she looked steadily at her com 
 panion, " the man is more than half in love with you, 
 Mabel. There is no denying it. I can read him like a 
 book. You can have the jolliest kind of a time this 
 summer, if you only manage him right. Just flatter 
 him, and he is your willing slave. But, after all, he is 
 not so foolish as to make himself a disagreeable one 
 unless you want him, and that is a great convenience, 
 to have him ready to behave himself when you get tired 
 of seeing him around. George is very proud, you know. 
 
156 ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 He has excellent prospects, besides being a charming 
 fellow himself." 
 
 " Why," said Mabel, whose burning cheeks and ex 
 cited eyes told the story of her agitation, " I am scarcely 
 acquainted with Mr. Brooklyn yet. What makes you 
 say such a thing as that ? " 
 
 " Because I know him better than you do, and be 
 cause I have ears also." * 
 
 " You have ears ! What have you heard ? " 
 
 " 0, nothing much. Just a hint, but I understood 
 it. The other evening when Edward and I were out 
 for a walk we lingered till the twilight had grown quite 
 late, we are such old friends, you know, and we had 
 so many pleasant memories to recall, and so many 
 other things to talk of, that neither of us realized how 
 the time was going, and so, as I came through the 
 hall it was rather dark, I lingered a moment, remem 
 bering I had forgotten to tell him something of a little 
 importance to both of us, and wondering if I had better 
 turn back, when I saw two figures in the parlor, 
 George and Mr. Sevenoakes, and I could not help 
 hearing what they said. Mr. Sevenoakes, it seems, 
 had been speaking about the success of the mines, and 
 mentioned the rush of new-comers, and his companion, 
 George-like (I can t think of anything else to cull it), 
 said, Yes, and better than that, it is delightful to have 
 some of those new-comers ladies. Aba/ said Mr. 
 Sevenoakes, c you are susceptible to such allurements, 
 are you? and George answered, I ll have to own up, 
 while there s such a pretty girl here as that Miss 
 Willis, that I am ; and though Mr. Sevenoakes con 
 curred in his opinion, yet I could see there was a 
 
BUMMER SCHEMES. 157 
 
 vast difference in their degrees of admiration. Besides 
 all this, I can see by George s behavior that he is won 
 derfully interested." 
 
 u Why, Nellie! Why did you repeat that to me? It 
 was only idle talk. He would never have said such a 
 thing if he had been in earnest." 
 
 " How many times will I have to inform you that I 
 know Mr. George Brooklyn better than you do? He 
 meant it. And all you have to do is to be a passive 
 goddess, and you have him at your feet for a long, de 
 lightful summer s enjoyment." 
 
 u Nellie Minton! As if I would trifle in that way! " 
 said Mabel, blushing. 
 
 " As if you would be such a little simpleton as not 
 to accept a man s admiration and get the worth of it, 
 when you will have it anyway. You don t know half 
 as much about the world as I do. You are only con 
 ferring a harmless pleasure when you do not decline 
 his attentions and yet do not encourage his hopes." 
 
 Mabel closed her eyes and shook her head as if her 
 wisdom of the world extended, at least, to the length 
 of knowing her duty in this matter. 
 
 " I never believed such a thing as that, Nellie," she 
 said. " It would encourage him if I should receive his 
 attentions for my own enjoyment, as you suggest. A 
 summer s fun! Why, I could n t endure even the 
 thought of such an arrangement, much less the prac 
 tice of it." 
 
 " 0, very well, then, you little know-nothing," said 
 Nellie, with superiority. " Snub him, and have the 
 dullest kind of a summer, if you must. But don t 
 expect me to stay at home and mope with any one who 
 
158 AROUND THE; GOLDEN DEEP* 
 
 is so morbidly moral that she won t breathe for fear it 
 is a sin. Edward Dennett, naturally enough, is likely 
 to devote some of his time to my pleasure, and I in 
 tend to accept it, too, though of course with us it is 
 different from the affair between you and George. We 
 are old friends, and little kindnesses have a far greater 
 weight in such a case than when they are given 
 through a temporary friendship only. However, do as 
 you like, of course. Only I thought it so fortunate 
 that George had taken such a fancy, for then we both 
 would have so many opportunities to go out well pro 
 vided with masculine protection. O, it would be 
 charming, Mabel. Consider well before you make up 
 your mind to snub Sir George." 
 
 " I have n t said I shall snub him, Nellie. I only 
 objected to a deliberate planning for my summer s 
 pleasure at the expense of another s feelings. If I ever 
 accept any courtesy from him for the promotion of my 
 enjoyment, it will not be with that end in view, but 
 because I appreciate and accept an offered kindness 
 which has no reference to the future for either of us, 
 unless we choose to so ngrce." 
 
 " Of course, that is what I mean," chimed in Nellie. 
 "You can get out of it easy as anything, by keeping 
 him off a little. Only you 11 have to give him a little 
 hope, that is, you must be pleasant and appear to 
 prefer him, or you will not be able to keep him long, 
 unless he is terribly in love." 
 
 " It is no use talking to you, Nellie," said Mabel. 
 " You are a confirmed flirt, so my principles will never 
 be appreciated by you. But if it is true that Mr. Brook 
 lyn is my admirer, I shall never use that advantage 
 for any benefit to myself." 
 
SUMMER SCHEMES. 159 
 
 " You II learn some time/ said Nellie, appearing to 
 be looking down at her rosy threads, but stealing a 
 bright, quick glance upward at the blushing face by the 
 window; "but only after you have lost thousands of 
 good times." 
 
 The two girls sat in silence for some minutes, and 
 finally Mabel asked idly, " Is n t Mr. Brooklyn rather 
 young to be a first-class assayer." 
 
 "Yes. But then you know he is smart as a steel 
 trap, as some one long ago used to say of him. He 
 has only been following this business two or three 
 years. When I first knew him he was studying chem 
 istry in an apothecary s shop. Which do you think 
 is the best looking, George or Mr. Sevenoakes?" 
 
 "0, Mr. Brooklyn is the finest-looking, of course. 
 But Mr. Dennett has very fine eyes," Mabel added 
 innocently. 
 
 " Yes," Nellie said, almost starting at the mention 
 of his name. " However few other claims Edward may 
 have to good looks, his eyes are certainly very hand 
 some." 
 
 " But I think Mr. Dennett is rather a nice-looking 
 young man, without mentioning his eyes," said Mabel. 
 " He is so powerful and well-formed, and his face is so 
 full of expression, and so cheerful and bright." Some 
 how she took a mild delight in speaking of him. She 
 was unconscious of it herself, but Nellie jealously 
 guessed it, and kept on talking to see if she guessed 
 aright. However, Mabel s thoughts were so innocent 
 and natural that Nellie quite satisfied herself there was 
 no danger from that source. She had opened the con 
 versation with two objects in view. One was to create 
 
160 ABOUND 1 THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 an agreeable impression of George in Mabel s mind, 
 and therefore to make the proposition of a summer s 
 enjoyment suggest something better and more lasting, 
 which Mabel could indulge in secret; and the other 
 was to give her to understand by little hints, and ap 
 parently by little accidents, of her own standing with 
 Edward Dennett, and thereby assure her it would be 
 dishonest and unkind to usurp any of his friendship or 
 attention. 
 
 She went on talking of him, and recalling old times 
 and scenes. " When we used to live up here at the old 
 town, which lies just over the hill from the camp," she 
 said, " and I was a mere child and Edward only a half- 
 grown boy, mamma and Mrs. Dennett used to be great 
 friends. Of course that was long, long ago, for poor 
 papa moved away a few years after the Golden Deep 
 mines went down. We went to the city to live, and then 
 we saw them but seldom, on their occasional visits there. 
 But Edward and I have always kept up the ; contract 
 of friendship which we once made. Before poor dear 
 papa s death, it was never possible for me to come up 
 here, it always brought such unpleasant recollections 
 of his failure that he would never approve of it, and 
 so everything is quite new to me as well as to you, 
 though Mrs. Dennett s home and the old mines look 
 about the same as they did a dozen years ago." 
 
 Mabel found a quiet pleasure in listening to the 
 praises of a blue-eyed boy who was manly and gen 
 erous among rough and coarse companions, and sat 
 listening to Nellie s stories until the sun hung threat 
 eningly near the horizon fringed with spear-like pines, 
 and Nellie folded up her work and asked Mabel to go 
 for a walk. 
 
SUMMER SCHEMES. 161 
 
 Out beyond the hotel to the north a thick grove of 
 pines had been allowed to grow in their natural beauty 
 quite unthinned. The ground sloped with a gentle de 
 scent to the bed of a stream that flowed down the hill 
 at the back of the hotel. On its banks the pines natu 
 rally grew thicker than in other places, making a dense, 
 dark line along the rocky channel, and extending over 
 the adjacent ground in straight, tall masses even up to 
 the hotel itself. The girls chose this shadowy creek 
 margin for their walk, and followed its winding course 
 far up the hillside, till the rocks hung high and dan 
 gerous from steep walls overhead, and the poison-oak 
 trailed its shapely, glossy leaves in terrible beauty over 
 all the rock-ribbed ground. 
 
 " I m afraid to go farther," said Nellie, looking up 
 the deep, narrow channel that the stream had worn, " it 
 looks so steep, and the poison-oak has taken possession 
 of everything up there. They have destroyed it farther 
 down stream, where the guests from the hotel go to 
 walk." 
 
 "O, come on," cried Mabel, springing up a rocky 
 bank; "I see such magnificent madronos and moun 
 tain-musk blooms up there, and I must have them." 
 
 " Indeed, you are only too kind to invite me up into 
 the dangerous stuff for a lot of flowers that I could get 
 for the asking, and not have to be laid up for a week 
 with a blistered face, either." 
 
 "Are you sure you would get poisoned?" asked Mabel. 
 " Just think what a lovely view of all these piney moun 
 tains we would have from the summit of that rock above. 
 Let me go, and you stay here." 
 
 " No," said Nellie. " You go for your madronos, and 
 
1G2 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 I will wander off in another direction for flowers, and 
 wo will meet at dinner-time to compare trophies. How 
 is that for a proposition?" 
 
 " Very well," answered Mabel up the height, rejoiced 
 with the prospect of the fresh, bright flowers blooming 
 so rarely beautiful from their high, unfrequented home, 
 and the wide view of the grand wild hills spread out 
 below her. " But you will not find anything better 
 than I shall, I know," she added. 
 
 Nellie went down again, keeping close to the stream 
 till she reached the hotel; and looking back, far up the 
 long, steep hill, she saw Mabel s lithe form outlined like 
 a statue of morning against the brown rock and the 
 trailing vines around her, waving a snowy handker 
 chief and a spray of ricli madronos in token of her 
 triumph. Nellie smiled to herself. " How fortunate I 
 was to get rid of her like that ! I almost despaired of 
 getting out alone when Edward is apt to be around. 
 Now let her ruminate on her high Olympus, I can get 
 enough from the inuch-scorned world below, if only he 
 is nigh." 
 
 She looked at her watch. She still had time for a 
 walk in the woods before the welcome whistle would 
 blow, so she hurried away on the ferny path through 
 the trees toward the Golden Deep. She was not afraid 
 in the lonely, singing forest, for she felt it quite impor 
 tant to find a few flowers that would match Mabel s 
 madronos. At last the whistle of the Lucky Streak 
 shrieked out, full and hoarse at first, and rising to a 
 high, shrill blast that went echoing through the forests 
 and mountains with palpitating answers, and she started 
 up to find something quickly and go home. But she 
 
SUMMER SCHEMES. 163 
 
 saw nothing till she came to the little clearing familiar 
 to her from the time when she had so much secret 
 satisfaction in walking across it behind George, and 
 just on the edge of the thicket she caught sight of sev 
 eral clusters of delicate, pale blue blossoms nodding on 
 their slender stalks in the gentle wind. She went fear 
 lessly into the bushes and began gathering the fragile 
 blooms, wandering on and on into the pines, for they 
 were scarce, until she suddenly became aware that she 
 was not alone in the grove. Two figures were before her, 
 half hidden in the dim aisles of the pines, George 
 and the lovely, dark-eyed girl she had seen with him 
 before. Nellie shrank behind a tree-trunk, and decided 
 she could put off her haste homeward until she had 
 studied something more of this romantic scene. It 
 was too interesting to be missed. " They are a hand 
 some pair," she thought, looking admiringly from the 
 olive face of the girl, with her round, deep-tinted cheeks, 
 her full red lips, and her thick, glossy black hair, to 
 George, standing gracefully by an old pine-tree, his 
 fine features all aglow with the interest of the moment, 
 and his flashing eyes casting quick, admiring glances 
 at the half-shrinking figure before him while he talked. 
 Nellie could not hear his first words, but she heard 
 Nita s answer with just a suggestion of the musical 
 Spanish accent in it. " Yes, I 11 promise to come," 
 she said, "if you are sure no one will know it. But 
 my father would storm fearfully if he should find out 
 that I came to meet you here." 
 
 " No, my little maid of the mountains," said George, 
 advancing a step and putting his arm caressingly about 
 her. " No one shall ever know it in this wide world." 
 
164 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 Nellie could scarcely stifle a giggle at this juncture. 
 " No one knows it now, and it will be a secret for you 
 and me forever. And I will get you a ring for that 
 pretty little hand, and you will be promised to me till 
 I can claim you for my own. And then won t I have a 
 beauty that every one will be envious of, for her fine 
 dresses and her bewitching face. We will go away 
 from here then, and so you must not breathe a word of 
 this to a living soul, or something would happen to mar 
 our hopes, my little love." 
 
 "Who should I tell it to? Not my father or 
 mother, surely, or they d soon stop it; and I would n t 
 tell it to any one else." 
 
 " You must not think it strange if I do not meet you 
 always just as we plan," he went on. " I must be very 
 careful not to awaken any suspicion that you are my 
 little sweetheart now." 
 
 u Yes, you 11 be staying to admire some of those fine 
 ladies up at the hotel. I saw one once; she was beau 
 tiful and good, and I know you would never like me if 
 you could have her," said Nita, trying to tear herself 
 from his strong clasp. 
 
 "Have her! Why, you arc three times as handsome 
 to me, you suit me three times as well in everything. 
 Ah! do you think I could exchange you for any of 
 the girls up there at the hotel, my dear? This little 
 beauty suits me best." 
 
 " Really, truly now? Honestly? " 
 
 " Yes," he returned, hastily. " But I must go. I 
 heard the whistle from the mine just now, and I must 
 be around the mill as if I had just left work; so good 
 by. Won t you give me one kiss? " 
 
SUMMER SCHEMES. 165 
 
 "0, I couldn t," answered Nita, looking frightened. 
 
 " 0, yes, come," he said, coaxingly. " I can t go 
 away without it"; and he pressed a warm kiss on her 
 bright red lips, and with a fond glance left her stand 
 ing in the twilight woods. She waited till his footsteps 
 ceased to crackle on the dried, fallen branches that 
 hid themselves under the spring s covering of fresh 
 green grasses, and started back to her home. 
 
 " I must have a better look at her," thought Nellie, 
 coming boldly out of her hiding-place to meet Nita 
 face to face. The girl did not see where the intruder 
 came from, but she remembered of hearing 110 footsteps 
 under the pines since George s died away, and her 
 heart beat wildly, with a vague fear that they had not 
 been alone. As Nellie passed, her face flushed a deep 
 crimson, covering even her dusky brow and neck with 
 a glow like the sunset. Nellie smiled. "Well she 
 may blush," she said, " to be out secretly making love 
 with such a man as he "; and she hurried off, thinking 
 of Edward, while Nita stood sorrowfully watching the 
 retreating figure till it was lost among the trees. 
 
 Edward Dennett, standing on the flowery slope 
 above the mill, looking down on the other side at the 
 shattered roofs of the old town, picturesque in their 
 loneliness and decay, and enjoying a breath of the 
 singing breeze, was surprised to sec Nellie come out of 
 the twilight shadows that were creeping into the sur 
 rounding woods. he started nervously when she saw 
 him, as if all her mind had been centred on her own 
 happy fancies, but looked up with a smile as he came 
 toward her with a pleasant u Good evening." " Been 
 out for flowers, I see," he said. " You are well repaid, 
 for these are rare. Where did you get them? " 
 
166 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 " 0, I went a long way into the wood, but I do not 
 know just where. Mabel and I have entered into com 
 petition this afternoon. We are going to see who will 
 find the prettiest flowers." 
 
 Coming down the hill, with brilliant, fragrant masses 
 of musk blooms and madronos in her hands, Mabel 
 caught sight of Edward and Nellie coming up out of 
 the woods, armed with their dainty bunches of pale 
 blue blossoms, and a blush rose to her pretty cheek, 
 that even the wind s sweetest and coolest kisses could 
 not bring. 
 
 " Good evening, Miss Willis," said Edward, raising 
 his hat as she came up, and smilingly examining her 
 flowers. 
 
 "Who has found the best?" asked Nellie. "You 
 shall be judge, Edward." 
 
 " No; I must decline to be entered for any such fate 
 as I should inevitably meet if I were to attempt the 
 office," replied Edward, playfully. 
 
 A richer blush deepened on Mabel s cheek as she 
 glanced first at the frank blue eyes of the strong, fair- 
 haired man before her, and then at the delicate azure 
 flowers that trembled with a cloudy beauty in Nellie s 
 hand, and she herself decided, "Nellie did find the 
 best in everything." 
 
TRIFLING. 167 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 TRIFLING. 
 
 He asked a tress, that he might idly boast 
 
 Of winning this young beauty s untouched heart. 
 
 Selected. 
 
 SPRING, loitering on her cool, dewy highways over 
 the summits, at last gave way to summer, and then 
 the mountains changed their brilliant, plushy robe of 
 green to one of glossy, netted gold, and the fresh, bright 
 mornings gave up their balmy coolness to sultry noons 
 and tropic-heated sunbeams. 
 
 Times were good at the Lucky Streak; the vein con 
 tinued rich, the workmen were plenty, and so the 
 whistle s busy blasts were music to the ear of little 
 Mr. Sevenoakes. 
 
 He and George kept up their friendship. Indeed, 
 Mr. Sevenoakes was very much pleased that he had 
 found some one to smoke with him. Edward Dennett 
 might have enjoyed that distinction if he had only 
 been a little more partial to fragrant Havanas, but Mr. 
 Sevenoakes had to accustom himself to smoking alone 
 until George came; after that fortunate event, however, 
 the two managed to spend an hour during some part 
 of every evening talking over the happenings of the 
 day, and inhaling the delightful incense which their 
 sublime weeds scattered on the gently stirring breezes. 
 
 One evening in June the two met down by the mill, 
 and after lighting their cigars, made a little circuit of 
 
168 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 inspection over the mines. It was twilight, and the 
 darkness was gathering in the pine forest that ex 
 tended up to the mill on one side, but presently out of 
 the shades came Nita with her usual basket of eggs 
 for the hotel. The two men looked up when they 
 heard the rustle of her footstep in the grass, and Mr. 
 Sevenoakes remarked carelessly, " What a fine-look 
 ing daughter Logan can boast of." 
 
 " Yes," answered George, with a sly twinkle in his 
 eye; " she is a good-looking girl." 
 
 " Plenty of fire, though," said Mr. Sevenoakes, 
 crushing out the light of his discarded cigar with his 
 foot, and leaving it a little doubtful which fire he 
 meant. 
 
 " Not quite so much as you might think," said 
 George, knowingly. ; She is pretty easily managed 
 sometimes. I would n t be afraid myself to undertake 
 the task of subduing her fiery temper." 
 
 " O, you wouldn t, eh?" said the little man, laugh 
 ing. " That s because you don t know how she settles 
 all the dandies who travel around in these parts." 
 
 u What will you bet I can t get her to take the best 
 kind of notice of me now?" 
 
 " I wouldn t advise you to try," returned Mr. Seven 
 oakes, ready to dismiss the subject. 
 
 "Well, just watch," said George, starting away tow 
 ard Nita, anxious to prove his power. 
 
 Mr. Sevenoakes perched himself upon a stump, 
 laughing good-naturedly, and watched the proceed 
 ings. " Now I m ready to see one or both of them 
 play the fool," he thought. " However, George is a 
 pretty good sort of fellow, as the world goes, if he is 
 
TRIFLING. 169 
 
 a little bit too sweet on the ladies," tins not with 
 out rather a disagreeable remembrance of how the 
 haughty, mincing, proud Mrs. Sevenoakes, who usu 
 ally set her dainty blond head far above any one of 
 George s station, had condescended to chat quite 
 warmly with him one whole evening on the hotel ve 
 randa, notwithstanding that young man s efforts to be 
 attentive to Mabel at the same time; and how afterward 
 the fastidious Mrs. Sevenoakes had pronounced " that 
 young Mr. Brooklyn " a very brilliant and entertaining 
 person. 
 
 Nita was pursuing her way, unconscious of any one 
 near, when George followed her a few steps, and touch 
 ing her on the shoulder, said something to her. A 
 deeper crimson burned on her cheek as she took his 
 offered hand, but she shrank back as if to end the meet 
 ing there, when George led her over into the shadow of 
 the mill, and within hearing of Mr. Sevenoakes, who sat 
 placidly on his stump looking on, not without feelings 
 of contempt for the whole affair, and rather wishing 
 himself out of it, as something far below his dignity. 
 
 " Nita," said George, " won t you give me a lock of 
 your hair to put in my watch-chain? I am going to 
 send it away to-morrow to be woven, and I should like 
 to have it now." 
 
 "Yes, I 11 give a lock to you," she replied, her eyes 
 sparkling. " How much will you have ? " she asked, 
 holding up a long black braid. 
 
 " This will do," cutting off a glossy strand with his 
 knife. " Now good by; I hated to stop you here, but I 
 couldn t help it, you see; and your father will never 
 know of it." 
 
170 AHOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP* 
 
 She turned to go, but caught sight of the superin 
 tendent seated comfortably on his elevated lookout, and 
 observing the whole affair with a good deal of surprise. 
 The sunset blush burned over brow and neck again as 
 she hastened away, and great tears splashed on the 
 shapely bare hand that held the basket. 
 
 " I ve made something by it," said George, coming 
 back to Mr. Sevenoakes with a triumphant smile, and 
 holding up the lock of hair. "This will weave very 
 prettily into my watch-chain. She is not such a spit 
 fire, after all, when she s managed right; now, is she? 
 She s a pretty little girl, and a pleasant one too, if you 
 only just know how to take her." 
 
 George began to feel rather ashamed of his vanity, 
 manifested in such a coarse way, and he thought best 
 not to refer to it again, when Mr. Sevenoakes jumped 
 down from his stump with a laugh, about just what 
 George was rather anxious to find out, and offering a 
 cigar, said calmly: "That proves nothing, young man. 
 Every one is not so fascinating as you are. I would n t 
 advise you to sail in too steep there, though; she might 
 use her temper for even your benefit some day. Come 
 on, let us go and see what Dennett s got over there in 
 that dump-car which so interests him." 
 
 Meantime Nita went her way with her despised eggs 
 on her arm, trying to see through fast-falling tears the 
 swimming path before her. She was tortured by a 
 tumult of agonizing fears. The fresh, bright world, 
 and the star-gemmed twilight with its wooing beauty, 
 were suddenly bathed in a mournful blackness. Was 
 George a traitor to her ? Was he deceiving her, after 
 all ? What shameful thing was this she had just done 
 
TRIFLING. 171 
 
 in the sight of the world ? She wiped her eyes to make 
 herself more presentable in the great, lighted hotel 
 kitchen, though her heart seemed torn and wounded 
 with a wild unrest that brought the tears afresh. 
 
 But what voice was this, so sweet and soft and kindly, 
 coming to her from the low side balcony, like a voice 
 from heaven, and calling gently, "Nita!" She looked 
 up. Mabel stood leaning over the white carved railing 
 above, radiant in a snowy, lace-trimmed muslin, lighted 
 up with a spray of rich pink oleanders and wild moun 
 tain fern. What a beautiful face she had for Nita, 
 sickened with the world s treachery and unthinking 
 cruelty ! It was full of kindness and gentle pity; a 
 face with patience in it, and beaming with the soft, 
 glowing light of love. To Nita s quick remembrance 
 there flashed the image of her own face as she had seen 
 it reflected from her mirror, its dark, oval beauty graven 
 with lines of deep impulse and feeling, brilliant with 
 rich, warm hues coming and going, and great dark 
 eyes gleaming with an unsteady glow. Mabel s face 
 seemed far more beautiful to her, for behind those deli 
 cate features shone a spiritual glory and loveliness; 
 there was a soft light in her clear, dark eyes, and the 
 rich masses of her nut-brown hair seemed fine and 
 glossy as spun silk. She was a lovely being, made of 
 finer clay than poor, impulsive Nita. 
 
 Mabel s calm manner seemed to dispel Nita s un- 
 happiness, and she looked up timidly, a great lull 
 sweeping through the storm of her feelings, to this girl 
 who seemed an angel in her purity. 
 
 "Come up to see me when you have disposed of your 
 eggs," Mabel said; and somehow this mention of them 
 
172 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 made the hated basket of pearly eggs seem far more 
 honorable than before. 
 
 If poor Nita had a sorrow that night, she also had a 
 joy that was to her a partial fulfilment of her fondest 
 hopes; for Mabel, out of her well-filled wardrobe, gave 
 her a silken, sheeny grenadine, glittering here and there 
 with jetty spangles. Nita did not presume to kiss the 
 fair delicate being who was so kind to her, but when 
 she took her leave she held out her little brown hand 
 and told her thanks so earnestly that Mabel saw it was 
 hard work for the proud girl to keep back her choking 
 tears. Nita went home with her precious gift in the 
 empty egg-basket, and her heart, that had been heavy 
 with sorrows, overflowing with gratitude and happiness, 
 and even complete forgiveness toward George. 
 
 And George, whose conscience was very elastic, did 
 not think that Nita had ground for any possible com 
 plaint against him when next he waited at their tryst- 
 ing-place in the wood, and silenced her jealous fears 
 with assurances which he himself almost believed to 
 be true. 
 
 His suit with Mabel did not progress any too well. 
 She was cold-hearted, he thought, proud of her beauty 
 and her wealth; but her shyness only made him desire 
 the more to win her and glory in his conquest. But 
 after the middle of summer he recognized a rival in the 
 affair. The rival presented himself in the form of a 
 tall, thin man, who was a lawyer, and consumptive. 
 James Knowles had known Mabel when she was a 
 child, and through a service done to her family held a 
 strong claim on her kindness and consideration. How 
 ever, George did not think it quite right that he should 
 
TRIFLING. 173 
 
 exercise it to further his designs as a suitor, and follow 
 her to this mountain retreat. Knowles was a silent 
 man. He watched constantly every one around him, 
 but seldom spoke except when roused up to the subject 
 of the law, and then he always blazed forth with un 
 tiring eloquence, which not even the prospect of Mabel s 
 company could persuade him to leave unfinished. He 
 seemed secretly jealous of any one who even spoke to 
 Mabel; and since he had nothing to do, he spent most 
 of his time entertaining Mr. Sevenoakes and other 
 worthies about the mine, and the rest of it listening 
 and watching. George came to regard him as rather a 
 dangerous rival, one who would be well armed if any 
 fate should give an opponent the ascendency. He 
 thought of Nellie Minton and her power to disgrace 
 him, and the thought was not altogether wholesome; 
 for he did not know what Knowles might not get hold 
 of to worst him in case Mabel should at last be won. 
 Still he could do nothing but " confound Nellie Min 
 ton," and call Knowles an. "unprincipled cur," and let 
 the matter rest. But George had a far more dangerous 
 rival than Mr. Knowles, in Edward Dennett. It mat 
 tered little who cared for Mabel so long as her heart 
 was untouched. But while Edward Dennett held such 
 a charm for the pretty, true-hearted girl, it was useless 
 for Aunt Willis to scold, and say that the young men of 
 the mines were far below her station, or for even George 
 Brooklyn or Mr. Knowles to lay siege to her heart. 
 
 Edward himself looked upon her as one of those rare 
 beings who are like gems among gaudy baubles. He 
 admired her; he respected her. He felt more: he al 
 most loved her in a sense; and yet her pride and 
 
174 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 apparent coldness chilled even his admiration, and he 
 felt that she could never be more to him than a mem 
 ory. And there was even something else that came 
 between their friendship. Nellie s love-lighted glances 
 made him feel that, although his heart was untouched 
 by them, in consideration of his friendship to her, he 
 should strive to save her feelings where he could do so 
 without positive injury to himself. 
 
 July came, with its sultry heats and glimmering 
 skies, and though the vein continued fair, and working 
 was easy, Mr. Sevenoakes decided to celebrate the in 
 dependence of his country by giving the men a holiday. 
 
 The day broke with a sky so rich and golden that 
 even old residents took out their palm-leaf hats, and 
 filled their sprinklers, with dubious thoughts about the 
 heat, and the miners spent most of their time wishing 
 for watermelons, or that they might pass the day at 
 the bottom of the shaft. No whistle blew from the 
 roaring mill that morning, and the bright weathercock 
 on the top had to relinquish the highest place to the 
 brilliant stars and stripes which Edward Dennett 
 proudly hoisted before daybreak, so that even the 
 earliest risers could see the glorious colors flaunting 
 through the pines at their first look upon the outside 
 world. From many a new-roofed dwelling in the town 
 of Lucky Streak floated the dear old flag, and many a 
 barefooted urchin shouted for George Washington, and 
 fired crackers with true patriotic zest. The miners 
 loitered about the town until the heat of the day came 
 on, and then scattered about in the long cool sheds, 
 busy over their cards and wine. 
 
 Edward Dennett had planned a little exploring party 
 
TRIFLING. 175 
 
 to the old mines of the Golden Deep, partly to afford 
 pleasure to the ladies at the hotel, and partly because 
 lie had a strong desire to visit the long-closed mill 
 again. The neglected mill and the abandoned mine 
 had fallen into the hands of his father after the cessa 
 tion of mining operations, to satisfy an old debt. The 
 property was considered nearly worthless, except for 
 the half-worn-out machinery; and Edward, who in 
 herited it after his father s death, found his time so 
 occupied with his daily labors at Lucky Streak that 
 he had never found a suitable opportunity to investi 
 gate its value. Around it lingered still its old-time 
 glory in Edward s mind, and he could not help feeling 
 somewhat proud of his ownership, notwithstanding the 
 exhausted lode had long since lost its power to attract 
 the restless gold-seekers. And so this holiday he 
 felt that he could almost revive the feelings of his 
 boyhood with a glimpse of the interior of the old 
 abandoned mill. Consequently, on that warm July 
 morning, the breakfast-bell at the Royal Regina rang 
 a half-hour earlier than usual, and there was a genteel 
 Btir all over the house, that broke up pleasantly its long 
 monotonous quiet. Most of the guests decided to go, 
 so that there were nearly twenty persons in the little 
 party, and all the available vehicles were in demand. 
 The old mines were less than a mile from Lucky 
 Streak, and many preferred to walk, but Edward Den 
 nett found himself faced with the puzzle of how to find 
 a conveyance large enough to accommodate his friends. 
 However, the matter was settled by Nellie, not altogether 
 to his satisfaction, when Mr. Sevenoakes drove up to the 
 crowded veranda in his shining black carriage with its 
 
176 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 satiny black horses for Mrs. Sevenoakes and her lady 
 friend, Mrs. Winsor. 
 
 "You selfish mortal!" said Nellie, as he came up the 
 steps, " to have all that room in your carriage and not 
 invite some of these poor waiting creatures to occupy 
 it." 
 
 " That s just what I intend to do," replied Mr. Seven 
 oakes, cordially; " come along yourself." 
 
 "Not I, indeed!" said Nellie, with a quick glance at 
 Edward, who stood near the steps putting on his driv 
 ing-gloves while he waited. The little man understood, 
 and his precious pride was not wounded. Nellie was 
 willing to forego the honor of riding with the superin 
 tendent s party behind his spirited blacks for the sake 
 of Edward s company, and he had a careless respect 
 for the motive. 
 
 " 0, well," he returned good-naturedly, laughing, "it 
 is Miss Willis I want. Will you consent to ride with 
 us, Miss Willis?" Mabel looked toward Nellie, and 
 the latter young lady telegraphed back in unmistak 
 able language, " By all means, go. You will get rid of 
 that distressing Knowles now"; and so Mabel went, 
 although there was a certain sinking of her heart that 
 she would not acknowledge even to herself. But Mr. 
 Sevenoakes was agreeably affected, and assisted her 
 to a seat with a good deal of airy grace, while proud 
 Mrs. Sevenoakes, whose liking for Mabel was not too 
 great, decided that she too should have a share in se 
 lecting the occupants of their carriage, and so with a 
 stately toss of her blond head, and a melting look from 
 her fine blue eyes, which did not make the most happy 
 impression on her observing lord, said to George, "And 
 
TRIFLING. 177 
 
 Mr. Brooklyn will be a valuable addition if lie will 
 come." That young man stood looking up toward the 
 carriage (in reality at Mabel, but Mrs. Sevenoakes 
 thought it was meant for herself), with an expression 
 of careless admiration that was very becoming to his 
 handsome face, which instantly changed to one of 
 sparkling interest at these words; but he said, "You 
 will be crowded, I fear; you have four already, so I 
 must decline with thanks." 
 
 Mr. Sevenoakes s early impression of George had 
 never changed. That first morning when the eulo 
 gistic paragraph in the Report had set him into such 
 excellent humor, and George had appeared on the scene 
 as the originator of it, and had promised to be such a 
 pleasant, companionable fellow, always rose before him 
 at such times as these, and gave the little shuttle-like 
 man greater breadth of action. If there was anything 
 that could win him, it was a word of praise, not vul 
 garly bestowed, but given as if an acknowledgment of 
 true merit, and he never ceased to gratefully remem 
 ber the compliment. If it had not been for this, it is 
 quite likely Mr. Sevenoakes would not have said so 
 heartily, "Plenty of room, of course, George. You are 
 expected, anyway. On the back seat with Miss Willis 
 I presume you can manage to find a place"; and of 
 course George did manage, for Mrs. Winsor immedi 
 ately offered to sit on the front seat, where there was 
 more room, since Mrs. Sevenoakes was so small and 
 willowy. 
 
 George was in the seventh heaven of bliss. He ad 
 justed the robe with careful politeness, praised in glow 
 ing terms the changing scenes before them, even quoted 
 
178 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 in a deep, melodious voice stray bits of poetry, and 
 charmingly alluded to the joy it would be to him could 
 he always be skimming through such balmy air with 
 a white-robed fairy beside him. It was rather a bold 
 thing to say to a girl like Mabel, who had never given 
 him even a ghost of encouragement; but George was 
 always free with his compliments, and his manner 
 gave them a spice of audacity that was at first very 
 agreeable. He ingeniously made occasions, and paid 
 them gracefully; and they always seemed to have a 
 hidden fire and a personal application, that made them 
 seem more than mere words, so that even when they 
 were unwelcome they could not be repelled very effect 
 ively; and this morning they were accompanied with 
 glances of undisguised admiration from his handsome 
 dark eyes that in some cases would have been irresist 
 ible. But they were lost on Mabel, who was thinking 
 idly how in the world Mr. Sevenoakes, who sat in front 
 of her, could always keep his fine black coat without 
 the slightest suggestion of dust, his black beaver so 
 glossy, and his bright sleek hair so evenly combed in 
 an exact curving line along his fair, pink-tinted neck. 
 Knowlcs, standing on the steps, had seen one of 
 George s love-freighted looks, and turned away, white 
 with rage, muttering, " I expect now I ve got as much 
 to fear from that evil-eyed scamp as from the honor 
 able Dennett himself. I shall have to kill one or 
 both of them." He had guessed Mabel s secret already, 
 and knew that although George had been openly his 
 opponent, and Edward had devoted some of his time to 
 Nellie, Mabel s cheeks had borrowed the deeper tint of 
 the rose s heart, and her eye had beamed with a soft, 
 new light, whenever Edward spoke to her. 
 
TRIFLING. 179 
 
 Edward Dennett saw George s glances, too, but he 
 only smiled to himself. He felt that to this lovely 
 girl, whose path had seemed to lead in pleasant places, 
 such proofs of devotion were quite unheeded; and he 
 was right. 
 
 It was with interest that the party opened the wide, 
 creaking doors and entered the musty ruins of the old 
 mill. Its rafters, once bright red, had turned to brown 
 cracked beams, and on its broad sagging belts the 
 dust of years had collected, thick and mildewed. There 
 were traces of past elegance in the embellished pillars 
 and the .fine-grooved floors, and the unmistakable 
 marks of neglect and decay in the rusty machinery 
 and the rain-stained walls. The buildings were large, 
 and all adjoined, so that the party went from one to 
 another well protected from the hot July sun with 
 out. There were the little offices, with glass doors and 
 moulded ceilings; the great machinery-room full of 
 motionless wheels, and rusty, broken water-pipes; the 
 engine-room, from which that hissing steam-generator 
 had been removed, leaving a black, oil-stained hole; 
 and the terrible shaft-house, with its cages hanging 
 over the door of the gaping black pit, and its cars piled 
 up in disordered heaps over the pumps and windlasses. 
 
 To Edward Dennett these scenes were particularly 
 interesting. It recalled his happy, careless boyhood 
 to see those broad doors opened wide, letting in the sun 
 that for so many years had been shut away from the 
 damp floors, and to hear the voices echoing resonant 
 and clear from the hollow domes as of old. 
 
 " Ugh ! this atmosphere reminds one of a cold 
 blast from the ruins of the Mediaeval ages, it is so 
 
180 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 mouldy and damp and close, with no suggestion of 
 nineteenth-century civilization or sunshine," said Mabel 
 to Edward, as they entered the shaft-house. 
 
 "Your remark seems but an echo of my thoughts," 
 he replied; "but the Middle Ages represent my early 
 life, and these noisome scents come from the decay of 
 the perishing years." 
 
 He stood silently looking around him, recalling old 
 associations, remembering how, when he was a small 
 lad, he had deemed it a herculean feat to push one of 
 those empty ore-cars along its shining track, how he 
 had held his hand to catch the muddy stream that 
 poured out of the wide-mouthed pumps, and looked 
 with wonder upon those flying belts and buzzing wheels. 
 But the coming years and the crown of manhood had 
 made all these things clear, and he was master of his 
 work in every line; and now he was still standing 
 among the grander mysteries of life, like a child trying 
 to discern with his weak insight the mighty problems 
 of existence. We only rise higher to learn how much 
 deeper was our previous ignorance. He had stood but 
 a moment thus, lost in reverie and reflection, when he 
 suddenly roused himself from the graves of the past, 
 lest his thoughtful mood should seem like indifference 
 to Mabel. But when he looked around for her, she was 
 gone. 
 
THE TUNNEL AT THE GOLDEN DEEP. 181 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE TUNNEL AT THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 Oh, there is nothing holier in this life of ours than the first con 
 sciousness of love, the first fluttering of its silken wings, the 
 first rising sound and breath of that wind which is so soon to sweep 
 through the soul, to purify or to destroy. LONGFELLOW. 
 
 THAT was an eventful day at the old mill for two 
 lives at least. The current of our destiny is sometimes 
 turned into other channels by only a shining bar of 
 pebbles or a low reef of crumbling rocks; and so by the 
 slightest chain of happenings on this day revelations 
 were made that changed the course of all after-coming 
 events. 
 
 There was a great deal of merry-making inside those 
 dingy walls, and at last a few decided to take lunch 
 there, and sent a messenger over to the hotel for the 
 viands. They spread the table on an overturned car, 
 and dined in unique picnic fashion, enjoying their 
 queer surroundings even more than if they were in the 
 midst of outdoor leafy woods, gathered about the low, 
 flat rocks that nature seems to have designed for the 
 table of primitive man. 
 
 Nellie was in high glee, having secured Edward for 
 the day, as she thought, and her glib tongue and blithe 
 manner made her appear to be the most brilliant lady 
 in the company. George sarcastically whispered to 
 Mabel at the table that she certainly was the most 
 brilliant, when a ray of glowing sunlight broke through 
 
182 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 the shattered roof and fell upon her bright auburn hair, 
 lighting it up beautifully with a thousand flecks of red 
 dish gold. 
 
 After lunch a few gathered in one of the little offices 
 to hear a story about the place from Mrs. Dennett, 
 while others sauntered around, intent on exploring to 
 the fullest extent the quaint ruins of the mines. Among 
 the latter was Mabel, who succeeded in ridding herself 
 of George, and getting her hat, stole quietly out of the 
 wide front doors for a glimpse of the reddish mounds 
 of earth and the strange wrecks lying about the build 
 ings outside. 
 
 She had not been gone long when Mrs. Willis sought 
 Edward Dennett, as one the most familiar with the 
 vicinity, and asked him if he would find her, adding, 
 " I am afraid of this spot, there are so many shafts and 
 terrible places." 
 
 Nellie was not pleased to be deprived of her best 
 company, so she said, partly as a warning, but more 
 as a petty revenge to nettle the fretful lady, " You had 
 better be careful that she does not wander off and 
 marry that same young man you have sent for her. 
 Mabel s money might be a temptation even to the most 
 honorable person." 
 
 The eccentric old lady had her doubts about the last 
 statement, but she believed that any one of Mabel s 
 admirers was especially partial to her small fortune, 
 and hence she was suspicious of all alike. So this last 
 shot cost Mabel an hour of rigid, painful questioning. 
 
 Edward sauntered off through the buildings, and at 
 length, thinking it quite likely she had taken a notion 
 to explore outside of the building, he found his hat and 
 
THE TUNNEL AT THE GOLDEN DEEP. 183 
 
 went out. No Mabel was there. At last Nellie s voice 
 called from a small broken window, "I think Mrs. 
 Willis has found her now. I hear a commotion, such 
 as there would likely be; so you had better come in. 
 I would like so much to have you show me that fungi on 
 the trap-door of the shaft." But just then Nellie was 
 called away by an impatient voice, so Edward was left 
 alone to loiter about in the shadow of the old mill, busy 
 with his thronging memories. This had been a thought 
 ful day for him, a long review of the vanished past. 
 He had talked with Nellie and had shown her about, 
 but he had scarcely heard her; his mind was crowded 
 with other thoughts, the scenes of his youth, in 
 which even Nellie herself, then lithe little Nellie, de 
 ceitful and wilful, with her long auburn braid and her 
 trim little figure, appeared. 
 
 Over on a hillside west of the mill was an old tunnel, 
 and though he had seen it often since the closing of 
 the mine, he still felt a curiosity to look again into its 
 dark, dripping cavern. It was but a short distance 
 through the hot sun to the refuge of the pines on a cool 
 bank, and he walked quickly till he reached the shade, 
 and then strolled along dreamily through the delicious, 
 cool, damp scents till he arrived at the tunnel. 
 
 The bright sunlight dazzled his eyes, so he hesi 
 tated a few moments at the mouth of the tunnel to 
 accustom them to the darkness before venturing in. 
 First there appeared to his sight the arched, swollen 
 timbers covered with magnificent fungi, propping up 
 like huge ribs the crumbling walls till they were swal 
 lowed in the blackness far into the hill. The water, 
 which in winter and spring constantly dripped from 
 
184 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 overhead and formed a stream in the bottom of the 
 tunnel, had now ceased, leaving only a mouldy moist 
 ure seeping through the walls, and making the filmy 
 webs, which the spiders had woven in damp and dark 
 ness on the jutting rocks, sag down into tiny fairy 
 hammocks with the weight of shimmering dew. Far 
 ther and farther he could see into the darkness, as he 
 stepped slowly from stone to stone on the wet ground, 
 where iris-hued ripples danced and darkled in the 
 agitated pools, and cast great rings of pale gold reflec 
 tion over the roof and walls, radiating swiftly out into 
 unknown blackness before him. He paused to pick 
 off a piece of loose rock from the side of the tunnel and 
 examine it in the dim twilight; it was a bit of quartz 
 with a crystal point, and covered with a mixture of 
 black mould and reddish soil. He tossed it away, and 
 heard its short, clear splash as it sank into the water; 
 but he was sorry afterward, for hiauexamination had 
 been too hasty. "I ll go farther in and find another 
 piece," he thought, as he prepared his match-safe for 
 immediate use. But when he looked up again, there 
 in the centre of that narrowing tunnel, framed by the 
 ivory arches and the soft, gold flying rings, he saw a 
 dainty figure, clad in white, outlined with supernat 
 ural brightness against the deep, dark background. 
 
 Something like a tremor ran through him as he saw 
 it, appearing as if by magic to his startled vision, but 
 in a moment he recovered himself and made sure that 
 it was no spirit enshrouded with mystery haunting this 
 underground retreat, but a creature of flesh and blood, 
 even Mabel Willis. " I find you in rather a strange 
 place, Miss Willis," he called, with an effort to hide 
 
THE TUNNEL AT THE GOLDEN DEEP. 185 
 
 his surprise: but his voice sounded strained and hollow, 
 and echoed faint and far into the unsounded depths 
 beyond. 
 
 Mabel s heart was beating rapidly. What would 
 Nellie say if she could see them there? In such a 
 dark and ghostly place we are strangely attracted 
 toward our fellow-beings; and so Mabel, frightened with 
 the unusual surroundings, instinctively looked to Ed 
 ward with a sense of dependence that found in him 
 support. She forgot the cold reserve she had assumed 
 toward this man from a feeling of honor to Nellie. 
 
 " So you do," she replied, trying to appear natural, 
 but succeeding no better than Edward. " I find you 
 in a strange place, too, Mr. Dennett. I hardly know 
 how to explain why I came here, except that, wander 
 ing along the hillside, I saw this dark tunnel, and ven 
 tured in farther and farther to see the iridescent 
 ripples on the water, until you find me here. It is 
 magnificent, but terrible, too," she continued, drawing 
 a little closer to him as if even afraid of the golden re 
 flections on the walls. He was about to say something, 
 when Mabel started suddenly, and gave a faint scream 
 that went shrieking away into the hollow voids, in 
 weird, palpitating whispers, and she stood rooted to the 
 ground, her eyes fixed on a coiled snake, striped with 
 pale yellow and dull black lines, which were fast 
 changing to brilliant hues of orange and red, and 
 bright, satiny black, in its anger. He stepped forward 
 to lead her quickly out, but her fright had driven her 
 almost to desperation, and she caught his shoulder and 
 fell half fainting into his arms. There was just a mo 
 ment when he unconsciously gave himself up to the 
 
186 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 great wave of rapture that swept over him when he felt 
 her clinging arms, and her quick breath on his cheek, 
 and then he was hurrying from stone to stone, almost 
 carrying her in his strong clasp. When they were out 
 near the mouth of the tunnel, where the full, strong 
 light of day shone in upon them, it revealed Mabel, 
 pale and trembling, her white dress speckled with spat 
 ters of mud, and little ragged, dew-gemmed pieces of 
 spider-webs in her glossy hair; and Edward, whose 
 face was flushed, and whose eyes beamed with a soft 
 and far more tender light than ever before. It was 
 useless now to resist. That clinging trust, that de 
 pendent innocence, had won his heart. The serpent, 
 whose primal curse has made it the most loathsome 
 and despised of creatures, had in this one instance 
 been instrumental for good, thougli not through its own 
 merit. Mabel was no longer a proud and stately wo 
 man, but a girl with all the delightful qualities she 
 had seemed at first to possess, and added to them, 
 that charm the absence of which would render all the 
 others nearly worthless, a loving, trustful nature. As 
 he led her out of the tunnel into a little grove of pines 
 and firs, and seated her on a fallen log, the magic of 
 that gentle touch was still upon him. It had brought 
 with it a spell; had opened the fountain of her heart, 
 and revealed therein a multitude of trembling hopes 
 and fears. He remembered how Nellie had rested her 
 hand confidingly on his arm only the night before in 
 the moonlit veranda. The memory of it brought a 
 feeling almost of disgust. How insipid seemed her 
 animated, artful presence now! He cast off all doubts 
 concerning his duty to Nellie, knowing full well his 
 
THE TUNNEL AT THE GOLDEN DEEP. 187 
 
 thoughts and motives with regard to her could weigh 
 but little against this new feeling which had come over 
 him, and from that moment he never regarded Nellie 
 as capable of possessing woman s choicest gift, a true 
 and noble love. 
 
 He was not a man to be a laggard in such affairs 
 when once his heart was deeply touched. The fire and 
 enthusiasm of his youth awoke him suddenly to the 
 realization of this new impulse, and his impatient 
 spirit longed to be up and doing. 
 
 As he sat half reclining on a gray rock looking at 
 his fair companion, that weird excitement he had felt 
 in the tunnel still controlled him, and he said, forget 
 ful of time and place, thinking only of this new-found 
 delight, " Miss Willis, if you and your friends will come 
 down into the mill to-morrow after the noon whistle 
 blows, I will show you the thing for which all these 
 mighty pits were made. It was cleaning-up day yester 
 day, and our wonderful quartz vein has yielded equal 
 to its best record. Do not disappoint me," he said, 
 more softly than at first. " It would cheer the whole 
 of my day to have you come." 
 
 Mabel s dark eyes glanced up in astonishment. 
 There was something in his tone that made the words 
 significant, a smouldering fire in his eyes, which always 
 had been so frank and tender, that lighted up, like the 
 breaking of the morning, his whole face. 
 
 " O, I should so much like to see the gold; I will cer 
 tainly come," she said simply. 
 
 As they arose to go, and she daintily gathered up her 
 dress to pass over a ledge of quartz that cropped out of 
 the bank, Edward took her hand to help her over, and 
 
188 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 kept it in spite of her gentle efforts to draw it away as 
 they walked to the mill, leading her carefully among 
 the rocks and red mounds of earth to the great wide 
 door. 
 
 Just as they were entering, an apparition in the shape 
 of a human head, with glorious eyes, a handsome face, 
 and dark curling hair, rose up out of one of the shallow 
 prospect-holes, and George s smooth voice called, "Ah! 
 How long has this been going on? I have been wonder 
 ing what was the reason of the ominous absence of all 
 wit and beauty from the company. Miss Willis, I 
 wanted you to see Mr. Sevenoakes test the old pumps, 
 and he has been for a long time about the work. Ned, 
 you d better surrender her here instead of taking her 
 back to the mill, as we shall miss seeing it if we lose 
 any more time." 
 
 Edward stopped a moment to say, "I never surrender, 
 especially when I m not given a sufficient reason 
 why I should"; and then resumed his way. 
 
 George sprang up out of the prospect-hole, and ad 
 vancing a few steps, said, with a good deal of assurance, 
 as if his dignity had been affronted, " Excuse me, but 
 I think Miss Willis will go with me." 
 
 Edward stopped again, and looked around as if 
 awaiting her decision. It was a trying moment for 
 Mabel. Here suddenly she was forced to choose be 
 tween the man who had paid her open attention and 
 the man who had shown her only politeness and gen 
 tlemanly consideration. They both seemed worthy of 
 her friendship; and she dreaded to offend either. Then 
 she remembered that George had spoken before of 
 taking her to see the pumps, though she had stolen 
 
THE TUNNEL AT THE GOLDEN DEEP. 189 
 
 away to the tunnel to escape from going with him. 
 She did not dare to look up, but she knew that Ed 
 ward s earnest blue eyes were resting upon her. Her 
 heart had decided the question long before, why should 
 she hesitate now? She turned to George, "Come into 
 the mill in a few minutes, and then I will go." 
 
 As they walked away, George muttered between his 
 teeth, while his eyes those same eyes that could 
 beam so tenderly with looks of love flashed fires of 
 anger, " He shall pay for that before many days; and 
 if he steals Mabel from me, or even attempts to, he 
 shall suffer all I choose to make him." 
 
 Mabel waited in the mill, but George did not come 
 to claim her, until at last Edward said, ignoring the 
 circumstance completely, " Come, let us find Nellie, 
 and go to see how the old pumps used to work." 
 
 But George thought it best not to remain away from 
 the scene of action too long and give his rival the start, 
 so he strolled up to the little group as they watched the 
 working of the husky, dry pumps, and resumed his 
 friendliness with Mabel, even trying to draw her away 
 from Edward and Nellie; but she proved to be a young 
 lady with a will of her own, and would not go. 
 
 On their homeward ride George improved well his 
 opportunity to be agreeable, and spoke lightly of the 
 occurrence which had displeased her. " Miss Willis," 
 he said, " I could not very well come into the mill for 
 you to-day without offending your friend Mr. Den 
 nett"; to which Mabel replied, as if wholly unmind 
 ful of the slight, " Pray, do not think of it. And I, of 
 course, could not at first go with you to see the pumps, 
 for the same reason." 
 
190 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 That evening the miners were to celebrate the Fourth 
 with powder and rockets, in the absence of better pyro 
 technics. They chose an open space out in front of 
 the hotel for their operations, and as twilight drew on, 
 and the winds began to stir and moan in the pine 
 woods, and the stars to pierce with their diamond- 
 pointed rays the dusky skies, the guests of the hotel 
 gathered on the balcony to enjoy the entertainment. 
 
 Up the white road from the mill came two figures, 
 Edward and George. A swift blush spread over Mabel s 
 cheek as she saw them and remembered the events of 
 the day. She could not feel exactly easy in her mind 
 about it; but what delight it had been to her to choose 
 as she had! Ah! that was what troubled her, the 
 thought that she had no right to feel this happiness if 
 she stood in Nellie s way. 
 
 The two came rapidly up the broad, sweeping road, 
 George carelessly graceful, with his fine-scented cigar 
 that gleamed brilliantly in the fading twilight, his 
 eyes fixed upon the array of airy muslins on the bal 
 cony above; and Edward, erect and manly, moving 
 with a quick, firm step, and looking far out across the 
 clear-cut ranges to the pale gold of the after-glow in 
 the horizon. But he too glanced up as they neared 
 the balcony, and Mabel saw his fine eyes, touching up 
 with an expression of tenderness the strength that was 
 revealed in his face. How incomparably more noble 
 he looked than his companion! though Mrs. Seven- 
 oakes remarked to Nellie almost simultaneously with 
 the thought, after the two men had disappeared under 
 the balcony, " That young Mr. Brooklyn, the assayer, 
 is certainly a very fine-looking man. He has an indif 
 ferent air about him that is peculiarly fascinating." 
 
THE TUNNEL AT THE GOLDEN DEEP. 101 
 
 "0 yes," Nellie replied, leaning back lazily and ad 
 justing her black grenadine so it would float out more 
 beautifully over Mabel s fresh white dress; " George is 
 rather nice-looking, but he is not exactly the type I 
 admire most. I like plenty of strength in man." 
 
 "And plenty of strength in your lemonade, too, I ll 
 warrant," said George, coming through the long French 
 windows behind her, breathless from his hasty ascent 
 of the stairs. " Mr. Sevenoakes has some, ice-cold, in 
 the hall, with the pure crystals of the summits in it. 
 But he says no gentleman can procure it for a lady. 
 The girls must come themselves. That s his dodge, 
 you see, to get a look at the pretty ones." 
 
 " Come," said Mrs. Sevenoakes, by way of invitation, 
 and rising to go. " We will surely have to comply 
 with those requirements if we get any. And let us 
 hurry before the ice melts; it seems as if it might dis 
 solve in a moment on a night like this." 
 
 "Owell; who would n t be looked upon for a glass 
 of lemonade in such a season?" said Nellie, following 
 Mrs. Sevenoakes. 
 
 " I thought I said that our worthy superintendent 
 only wanted to look at the pretty ones," remarked 
 George, sarcastically, as Nellie s trim dark figure van 
 ished through the door; and he took the vacant seat by 
 Mabel. "Don t you intend to go, when you could fill 
 the requirement so easily, Miss Willis?" 
 
 " No; I have already had some, thank you." 
 
 " Some what? Admiration? I ve no doubt of that. 
 But you do not need to go away from here to be ad 
 mired, I can assure you. I 11 see no fireworks to-night 
 if you are in sight." 
 
192 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 " I can assure you if you look at the fireworks you 
 will spend your time far more profitably to yourself," 
 answered Mabel, with annoyance in her tone which she 
 could not conceal. He had committed an unpardon 
 able offence by slighting her publicly in a fit of tem 
 per, and she had concluded that his friendship was not 
 worth keeping. 
 
 Edward Dennett came through the French windows 
 at that moment, and finding a vacant chair, placed it 
 behind Mabel, and took his seat there, as if he intended 
 to remain. 
 
 " Come around here, Ned," said George, shaking a 
 chair beside him; "here s an empty place in the front 
 row." 
 
 " I shall get along very well where I am, thank you. 
 Those places belong to the ladies, I believe." 
 
 Nellie and Mrs. Sevenoakes came back at this junc 
 ture, and George, suddenly remembering that he had 
 usurped another s seat, rose, and with a majestic bow 
 offered to give it back. "No, I m going to sit over at 
 the farther end with Mr. and Mrs. Sevenoakes, for the 
 present at least," Nellie said. She appreciated George s 
 influence in the position he already occupied too well 
 to wish to disturb him. But it was useless. Mabel 
 had wounded his vanity more keenly than any woman 
 had ever done before; and though reluctant to give up 
 the pleasure of the evening to the silence of injured in 
 nocence, still he resolved to try the effect of it for a 
 while. So he remained quiet, and at length appeared 
 very indifferently to enter into conversation with Mrs. 
 Dennett. His experiment proved that he was perfectly 
 welcome to follow such a course the whole evening, 
 which in fact he was compelled to do. 
 
THE TUNNEL AT THE GOLDEN DEEP. 193 
 
 Edward sat quietly thinking of Mabel. Unconscious 
 as he had been of the feeling, he realized now that this 
 new affection, springing up in his heart, had been rooted 
 there long before, though he had allowed it no sunshine 
 or cultivation. He remembered how he used to look 
 for her pretty face in the dining-room, on the veranda, 
 or in the pine grove at twilight; he remembered how 
 her clear eyes had haunted him through the long days 
 at the noisy mill, bringing him a vague delight; and 
 he had thought what a pity she should be a worldly 
 woman going about in the guise of an angel. At last 
 he leaned over Mabel s chair and said, Are you tired, 
 Miss Willis, after our day at the mill?" 
 
 "Not tired now," said Mabel. "I had such a long 
 rest after dinner that I feel as lively as ever. We are 
 to dance for a few hours after the fireworks, I think, 
 though Aunt Cynthia has warned me that I need not 
 expect to stay up for it." 
 
 " Well, the fireworks ought to be our best enjoyment 
 on a day like this, for they serve to keep glowing our 
 enthusiasm for our country." 
 
 "Yes; and to me this celebration will be peculiarly 
 interesting, because I see it against a background of 
 wild mountains and unthinned forests, where I scarcely 
 hoped to find such a spirit of patriotism." 
 
 "Oh! then you think that because we live aivay on 
 the heights of isolation we are not creatures imbued 
 with human feelings, but simply an outgrowth of our 
 lonely habitation, with none of the impulses that gov 
 ern the outside world." 
 
 " Not exactly that; but it is true, we seem to be on 
 the frontier of a strange country. There is a restful 
 
194 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 quiet here. Before I came, I never even dreamed there 
 could be such a spot on earth, but I am very happy 
 to have found it, and so it is not strange that I should 
 think these people would be content to let the world go 
 by, free from its struggles and ambitions, secure in their 
 blue-domed fort built in the rocky hills." 
 
 " You are right. It seems a pity that there cannot 
 be such a place to serve as a refuge for those who have 
 grown weary of worldly clashings. But the truth is, 
 mankind love to be slaves of this arbitrary power, and 
 they carry it with them to the remotest corners of the 
 globe. We have it here, Miss Willis; for it has pene 
 trated nature s fastnesses wherever civilized man plants 
 the symbols of his coming. We leave to barbarians 
 the sweet freedom for which the heart so often longs. 
 Would you forgive me if I told you at first I thought 
 you a being of cold and stately dignity, who banked up 
 the fires of feeling until they sank deep beneath tho 
 barriers of circumstance and reason? I believe I have 
 learned better." 
 
 " O, surely you misjudged me. I feel that I am too 
 much a child of feeling. And yet I hope that I seldom 
 overstep the bounds of wisdom or the promptings of 
 my conscience." 
 
 " Do not fear; you are not likely to do either. I love 
 to see the most sacred impulses of our natures given 
 the swaying power instead of the colder, more material 
 desires that promise only temporal good." 
 
 " O yes; but even then there is another extreme 
 which goes to the length of sacrificing everything to a 
 mere idea. Nellie explains that to me so often that I 
 ought not to forget it." 
 
THE TUNNEL AT THE GOLDEN DEEP. 195 
 
 " Nellie looks on the worldly side. You should not 
 listen to her when she talks so." 
 
 Mabel s eyes flashed, and she drew away. " You 
 forget that you owe something to Nellie more than to 
 others, and you should not say that." 
 
 " I remember that I owe her my friendship, which 
 she has, and nothing more, and that is in no way in 
 compatible with what I have said." 
 
 " So Nellie has been deceiving me," Mabel thought; 
 but she made no explanation of her words, that she 
 might so far shield her friend s honor. 
 
 After this they sat in silence and watched the crim 
 son rockets cleave the skies, quenching the splendor of 
 the stars, and throwing a lurid glare as they ascended 
 over the black-stemmed pines and their glistening 
 branches, until the heavy-loaded stage rolled up to 
 warn them that the hour was growing late, and so dis 
 solved the spell. 
 
196 ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE ESTRANGEMENT. 
 
 O you that have the charge of love, 
 
 Keep him in rosy bondage bound, 
 As in the fields of bliss above 
 
 He sits with flow rets fettered round. 
 Loose not a tie that round him clings, 
 Nor ever let him use his wings, 
 Like that celestial bird whose nest 
 
 Is found beneath far Eastern skies, 
 Whose wings, though radiant when at rest, 
 
 Lose all their glory when he flies. 
 
 MOORE. 
 
 IF Love would always be love, he would then be com 
 paratively harmless; but when he puts on his war-paint 
 and goes to war, he is stronger than a thousand braves. 
 And he was on the war-path now at this little mining 
 camp among the hills; so thus it came about that 
 society there was in a ferment. 
 
 George was disappointed in not winning the golden 
 prize which he had hoped to obtain; he was enraged 
 at being slighted by Mabel; his vanity, that precious 
 plant which grew so rank yet was so delicate, had been 
 wounded almost past healing by Edward Dennett s 
 success. His love of conquest was most absolutely 
 and constantly discouraged by Mabel; his compliments 
 failed signally, his love-glances were never seen, and 
 his attentions were steadily unsuccessful. It nettled 
 him to see Mabel s eyes shine brighter at the sound of 
 
THE ESTRANGEMENT. 197 
 
 Edward s footstep; and so when Mr. Knowles, already 
 in a state bordering on desperation, sought his friend 
 ship, and hinted that Edward held too good a place for 
 a " man who was willing to usurp the rights of every 
 one else, and should be put aside," George was of the 
 same opinion. 
 
 " The mine is going down a little these last weeks, 
 and does not need so many workmen. Dennett s place 
 could be easily filled by some one else, under you" said 
 Knowles, his hollow eyes burning with a hungry fire. 
 
 "O well. What can / do?" said George, impa 
 tiently. 
 
 "All you want to do. You know Sevcnoakes has 
 greater faith in you now than in Dennett." 
 
 " Ha, ha ! Sevenoakes knows where his bread is 
 buttered." Nevertheless, these seeds were not planted 
 in sterile soil. 
 
 One evening, as the whistle blew for six, George ap 
 peared in the laboratory door while Edward was still be 
 low in the shaft, and said very sociably to the workmen, 
 "Come around to my den, boys, the outside door, 
 if you want to see something wonderful." Accordingly, 
 a horde of rough, ignorant fellows filed around the cor 
 ner of the mill and ranged themselves before the door, 
 when George invited them in with a conciliatory air, 
 and proceeded to show them some very rich specimens 
 of quartz, and also his method of separating the quick 
 silver from the gold that had been taken from the mill. 
 Edward, coming up out of the mine, looked into the 
 deserted machinery-room to see if things were all right, 
 and then passed out and locked the door. Going round 
 to the laboratory, he saw George s guests gathered like 
 
198 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 a pack of hungry tramps in the little room, but he took 
 no notice of them, passing through to secure the door 
 that opened into the machinery-room, and putting the 
 key into his pocket, he said a hasty good night, and 
 was gone. 
 
 George looked up with a scornful smile, and seeing 
 it reflected from the grimy faces around him, said, 
 "Dennett has to come sneaking around to see what 
 we re doing. I presume he likes to show his authority 
 about as well as a Walla chief. Though it s not his 
 affair what I do in here, boys. I m not in his books. 
 In fact, Sevenoakes and I manage this thing without 
 dictation from any one." 
 
 This was met by murmurs of approval from all sides. 
 Ignorant man is turned like a leaf in the wind, even 
 against his benefactor, when managed by a superior 
 who understands his weaknesses; and so, thus encour 
 aged, one burly young fellow, ready always to lead, 
 tossing his cigarette out of the window in his excite 
 ment, and spitting on the floor, which last act caused 
 the dainty George to wince slightly, said, "That s 
 right, I m glad somebody is out of his reach. He s too 
 blamed pertic ler, anyway. He watches around just 
 as if we were thieves a-tryin to rob the amalgamator or 
 sluices." 
 
 " What makes you stand it? " asked George. 
 
 " Have to. He don t do nothing to make a row 
 about; but it s just them mean, picayunish little things 
 that makes a feller mad." 
 
 " Well, stand up for your rights, then. Sevenoakes 
 don t want anybody here abused, even about little 
 things," said George, rising to go. The foul tobacco 
 was rather too much for him. 
 
THE ESTRANGEMENT. 199 
 
 The men went away, feeling very mnch abused by 
 the restraints they were under during work hours. 
 They were of a rough class that often drifts around 
 through the mining regions, always following the last 
 exciting discoveries, ready, at every fancied wrong, to 
 stir up discord, and most of them without the ties of 
 home and friends to restrain them from acts of vio 
 lence. They were flattered by George s notice of them, 
 and felt that in him they had a powerful advocate; 
 and so the spirit of insubordination was roused from 
 its slumbering. They were restless under the disci 
 pline they were obliged to observe, and the loop-hole 
 that was now offered them to escape from it promised 
 excitement at least to their vulgar natures. 
 
 George left the mill that evening with an increased 
 elasticity in his step; but he had to dine alone, since 
 his little visit with the " boys " had made him late for 
 dinner. Afterward he sought the hotel balcony, where 
 Mabel and Nellie often sat. But Edward was already 
 there, and he and Mabel stood by the low white rail 
 ing looking off mto the liquid depths of sky where the 
 sun had vanished. 
 
 The days that had followed his awakening to the 
 dream of love at the old mill had been full of delights 
 to Edward. He felt that after years of loneliness he 
 had found what his heart longed for, a haven of re 
 pose, where he could come with his overladen spirit for 
 the comfort and the inspiration man so sorely needs to 
 prepare him for the battles with the world, and which 
 it is woman s highest mission to bestow; a friend that 
 he could trust, whose every profession was made with 
 honesty and truth, whose heart was as fresh and inno- 
 
200 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP T 
 
 cent as the flowers of the field. He had spoken no 
 word of love to her, but many had been their little 
 talks that wove their hearts together, and Mabel often 
 found herself fondly living over again the happy 
 scenes in their friendship which she loved to think of 
 best. 
 
 George found them in the midst of one of those 
 pleasant talks, but he had no compunctions about 
 interrupting it. "Where s all the rest of the people?" 
 he inquired. 
 
 Edward turned. "They seem to have chosen the 
 parlors, or perhaps they are preparing for the party 
 this evening. They are to dance, I believe," he said. 
 
 " O yes; Knowles told me so," George replied, turn 
 ing carelessly to leave; but his wrath was stirred, and 
 his vindictive nature longed for revenge for this thing 
 that he was forced to see so often. Passing through 
 the French windows that opened onto the balcony, 
 he discovered Nellie sitting alone in the gloomy 
 library, and watching through the window the two 
 figures that leaned over the railing. She started and 
 colored slightly, that faint pink which sometimes crept 
 over her white cheeks, but George did not see it in the 
 late twilight. "You were not very successful, eh, 
 Sir George?" she said, in a tantalizing tone. 
 
 " Nor you either, sitting here peeking through the 
 curtains, at nothing" he returned sullenly. 
 
 " Say, George," Nellie said, coaxingly, ignoring his 
 last thrust, " there s no use for you and me to conceal 
 things and act foolishly. Let us work together. Some 
 body has planned for dancing this evening. You are 
 to take me, since Edward no doubt will only give me 
 
THE ESTRANGEMENT. 201 
 
 his arm and the sight of his ear as he talks to Mabel. 
 Then we will settle matters." 
 
 "I 11 ask Mabel first if she ll go. That s fair, you 
 know; for I don t think Ned intends to stay up this 
 evening. That lank Knowles came prowling around to 
 inform me of this fact, which he uprooted somewhere, 
 and that he was to take Mabel himself. Ha, ha! the 
 assurance of the long-legged cur! That was a hint for 
 me to let him alone, for we re in some kind of a com 
 pact about a little piece of business thse days; at least, 
 he s the author and designer; I m the executor and 
 skilful finisher. It will benefit you too, when we suc 
 ceed, understand?" 
 
 Nellie was looking up at him through her long dark 
 lashes, with a glance of deep inquiry. She did not 
 believe much in his stories, knowing that he hated her 
 because of her power over him. " Nonsense!" she said; 
 "two men planning to overthrow a simple little 
 thing like this, by upsetting the foundations of the 
 whole structure, I suppose!" She was ambitious for 
 Edward s success, unless driven to the last extremity. 
 " While you are maturing your plans, the mischief will 
 be done. They are even now talking sentimental stuff 
 out there about the ancient trees glorying that they 
 still are green and young/ ancient trees are not the 
 only things that do that, however. Come to me to-^ 
 night and we 11 settle it." And with a quick glance 
 behind her, the slim, dark figure glided out of the 
 shadowy room. 
 
 The little talk on the balcony was soon disturbed 
 again. Aunt Willis was the intruder this time. She 
 came out, tall and majestic, her gray eyes flinty -with 
 
202 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 determination. " Mabel," she said severely, " (excuse 
 me, Mr. Dennett,) it is already late, and you are out 
 here without a wrap. You must come in now." And 
 so Mabel went. 
 
 " See here," said the irritated old lady as they reached 
 their rooms. "You have done quite enough of that 
 soft mooning with our new friend. He looks as fair 
 and as noble-hearted as a Saxon, but he s as design 
 ing as a gypsy. Do you know what Nellie tells me? 
 She says that you, my niece, who ought to have a 
 world of pride and be as choice as a queen, that you 
 are actually encouraging that young man, who no 
 doubt wants your money, if he can get it. The ideal 
 You, out talking sentiment with a man who works 
 in the mines, and neglecting Nellie and Mr. Knowles, 
 our old friends! See, Mr. Knowles has sent you a knot 
 of curly fern to wear to-night, and he has my permission 
 to take you into the ball-room. We should always 
 esteem him, Mabel; he has been kind to us in the past, 
 and at least deserves our sympathy now in his afflic 
 tion." 
 
 "Aunt Cynthia, do you think I should encourage his 
 attentions when I do not want them? I have never ill 
 treated Mr. Knowles." 
 
 " You have shown your preference for a comparative 
 stranger, to the exclusion of your friends." 
 
 " I do prefer Mr. Dennett to Mr. Knowles. I do not 
 think Mr. Knowles is a man of good principles. Do 
 you want me to even act a falsehood?" 
 
 " By no means. But do not seek opportunities to air 
 your bad taste and lack of appreciation of old friends." 
 
 Mabel turned to the window. The evening had lost 
 
THE ESTRANGEMENT. 203 
 
 its brightness, and the dim night seemed shutting around 
 in fantastic shadows, that mocked at her and hope; but 
 she went with Knowles, and wore the curly ferns, and 
 none perceived her heavy heart under her assumed 
 gayety and life. 
 
 That night the ball-room s many lights shone bril 
 liantly over the drooping flags that draped the room, 
 over the graceful pine boughs on the walls, over the long, 
 shining floors that echoed to the feet of the dancers, and 
 streamed out through the open willows in mellow bars 
 of brightness on the deserted verandas. Edward Den 
 nett, coming up from the mill, heard the delicious strains 
 of music that floated out in little crashes of melody, and 
 saw lithe forms float past the window in surprises of 
 blue arid white and pink, till he was fairly dazzled. As 
 he passed through the hall to go to his room, he met 
 Mr. Sevenoakes, radiant in evening dress, and with a 
 countenance that fairly shone. " Why, hello, Den 
 nett ! " said the airy little man in surprise. "Are n t 
 you participating in the pleasure this evening? Come 
 along in and help with the lancers. We need some 
 body just your size. Why, see here, I m turning gray, 
 yet I manage to do my share to amuse the girls." 
 
 "Quite likely. But I have to rise an hour or so 
 earlier than you in the morning, Mr. Sevenoakes." 
 
 "0, that s nothing, you will feel all the better for the 
 diversion." 
 
 " Well, I will indulge, but it is dangerous to begin," 
 he answered. After a time he appeared in the ball 
 room, and found Mabel dancing with a dashing young 
 Englishman, a friend of the hotel-keeper, so he sat down 
 and waited for the dance to end. Then he sought her 
 as she talked with her loquacious partner. 
 
204 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 "Have you a waltz left for me, Miss Willis?" he 
 asked. 
 
 " Yes, one that I saved for a rest you may have," she 
 said; "but you will have to wait." 
 
 " That is nothing," he answered, as he wrote his name 
 on her programme, adding mentally that he could well 
 afford to wait with the hope of such a reward. Then 
 he danced with Nellie, who seemed to have grown 
 very friendly to George, so he resolved not to interfere, 
 feeling well satisfied with the turn affairs had taken. 
 
 At last came his waltz with Mabel, and after it he 
 asked her to walk with him along the veranda among 
 the sheltering vines. She was very lovely that night, 
 in a snowy India muslin, rich with embroidery, and 
 the bunch of brownish green curly ferns and a single 
 flower of deep, burning red on her breast. As he looked 
 down upon the girlish face beside him, framed by her 
 dark, clustering hair, and dimpled with smiles, and at 
 the little trusting hand that rested on his arm, some 
 thing of that old fascination he had felt in the tunnel 
 came over him. Words that would reveal all the ten- 
 derest hopes of his life rose to his lips but found no 
 utterance, for his heart was beating wildly, and he 
 feared to speak lest an ill-chosen word should mar the 
 harmony of their friendship. 
 
 At last Mabel sat down by a long, half-opened win 
 dow, where the light broke through and fell aslant on 
 her white dress, where the music came in dreamy 
 throbs, and the warm, sweet odors floated out and 
 mingled with the cool, fresh air around them. She 
 made a place for Edward beside her, and sat with her 
 eyes glistening, and a happy look on her lovely face, 
 
THE ESTRANGEMENT. 205 
 
 the soft curves of which were dimly outlined, like the 
 bright whiteness of a lily, in the faint light. 
 
 Now was the supreme moment. " Mabel," he said, 
 leaning forward, and looking into her eyes with a new 
 and glorious tenderness in his own, " I am going to 
 tell you something to-night " But familiar voices 
 sounded near them, and George and Nellie passed the 
 window and sat down by it to get a breath of the 
 coolness of the night that stole in through the tangling 
 vines. Something they were saying dissolved, like a 
 rude awakening, the blissful mood that was over him. 
 He could not utter another word, but sat spellbound, 
 like a figure carved from marble. 
 
 " Mr. Knowles seems to be a good man," Nellie said; 
 "and any one can see he is very fond of Mabel; but 
 she is taken up just at present with my friend Ed 
 ward. It s a pity, for he is too good and earnest to be 
 trifled with, and Mabel never for a moment thinks of 
 him. She has, of course, an ambition to satisfy, and 
 her aunt is like unrelenting stone in her schemes, so 
 that most certainly makes a doubly bad case out of it." 
 
 " Yes; but Mr. Knowles is not the only other ad 
 mirer she has. You are aware, I presume, that I con 
 sider myself on the list, of rejected ones, I fear, since 
 she does not deign to come down off her stilts to notice 
 me," said George. 
 
 " O well, woman-like, I suppose she thought the best 
 conquest was where she might possibly have a rival," 
 said Nellie, with a sigh that floated out through the 
 window, and came back on the gently stirring breezes 
 in mournful sobs. " It is the way of the world. One 
 can cast aside another s bread of life." 
 
20G AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 Edward had waited a moment for Mabel to speak 
 and refute the words that came so distinctly to them 
 both. It had been a moment when his heart was 
 stirred to its utmost feeling. He felt that she must 
 know what he was about to say, and how impossible it 
 was for him to proceed now. But she sat in silence, 
 without a word. It was true, then, he thought, arid she 
 dared not tell him it was not, lest he would finish what 
 he had commenced to say. 
 
 " Let us go back," he said, fearing to hear more. 
 But Mabel shook her head and did not answer. A 
 great lump had risen in her throat, and she could not 
 utter a word for fear of sobbing. He paused a mo 
 ment, and then remarked, " I fear you will be cold, 
 Miss Willis. I think we had better go in now." His 
 voice sounded naturally enough, and he felt a vague 
 satisfaction, in the face of the deadliest pain he had 
 ever known, that he had strength enough left to betray 
 no emotion. She had choked back the rising flood of 
 feeling now, and she answered steadily, if not calmly, 
 "I wish to stay here. Please go and leave me"; and 
 without a word he went, not back into the ball-room, 
 but off into the night, to walk about the shadowy, 
 lonesome mill, and fight his misery-burdened thoughts. 
 It did not seem possible to him that Mabel could be 
 cold and heartless now, and yet she had rather listen 
 to this talk they had overheard than to assure a friend 
 of her sincerity and txuth. Ah! this was something 
 he could not answer, and which stung him almost to 
 madness. 
 
 Meanwhile Mabel sat listening to his firm, departing 
 footstep, while the unchecked tears splashed down upon 
 
THE ESTRANGEMENT. 207 
 
 her snowy dress, and her thoughts were a chaos of re 
 grets and tumultuous pain. What should she have 
 said? She almost knew what Edward was going to 
 say to her, but he had not said it. Could she be the 
 first to declare her feelings toward him? And then she 
 had been so stunned by the surprise of Nellie s utter 
 falseness, and no less by Edward s abrupt change of 
 manner, that her usual tact had deserted her entirely 
 and left her overwhelmed. Presently some one closed 
 the window behind her, and shut away the melodies 
 that poured out through it; then the chains clashed sil 
 very against the glass, and the shutters were closed also, 
 and she was left in darkness and silence out there in 
 the vines. But welcome, black stillness, for the tears 
 were falling fast like rain, and a great agony was strug 
 gling in her heart. Long she sat there in the dense 
 shadow, heeding not the distant voices breaking in 
 upon her sorrow, nor the chill night-damp that pierced 
 into her leafy retreat. 
 
 The honeysuckles threw her little wafts of perfume, 
 and the breezes, that had made a sigh seem like a sob 
 before, hovered about her with tender caresses, while 
 they softened and stifled her sobs, by their musical, 
 loving whispers, and their little singing voices in the 
 vine-leaves. 
 
208 ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE STRIKE. 
 
 It is the flash which appears; the thunderbolt will follow. VOL 
 TAIRE. 
 
 " No smoking in here, sir," said Edward Dennett, as 
 he passed through the machinery-room a day or so after 
 George had entertained the " boys," and saw a spiral 
 cloud ascending from behind the great noisy mortar 
 where Crane, the bushy-headed leader of laboratory 
 fame, was enjoying himself with a cigarette. Coming 
 back again, Edward found the atmosphere still redolent 
 with the scents of tissue paper and tobacco, and the well- 
 known rules of the place, as well as his late reminder, 
 unheeded. His wrath was kindled. u Throw that 
 cigarette away, and indulge in no more smoking dur 
 ing work hours!" he called out rather forcibly. The 
 fellow still sat on an empty box with an insolent ex 
 pression on his mud-bespattered face, but did not move, 
 saying deliberately, with his cigarette still between his 
 teeth, " When I ain t got much to do, I may as well 
 enjoy myself as the next one a-goin . I ain t doin 
 nothin wrong." 
 
 " Throw that away, or I 11 give you something to do 
 immediately !" said Edward, advancing with swift step. 
 
 The fellow rose and cast a furtive glance at the work 
 men who were closely watching proceedings and only 
 making a pretence of going on with their work. " I 
 
THE STRIKE. 209 
 
 may give you somethin to do yourself," said he in a, low 
 tone, as if afraid to utter the words aloud, but the cause 
 of the dissension still remained in his mouth, scattering 
 its noxious scent on the air. 
 
 "You may consider your services in this place at an 
 end because of disobedience to rules," said Edward, 
 sternly. His courage in this extremity was good, 
 though it was the first time he had ever been met with 
 open defiance. Still the man remained standing, and 
 did not seem to notice what had been said. "You 
 may go now!" said Edward, who stood apparently calm 
 and cool, but whose wrath and indignation were each 
 moment rising higher. The fellow at last walked away 
 down the long room and stopped near the door to speak 
 to a fellow-workman, still puffing his cigarette. After 
 waiting a reasonable time, Edward walked over to 
 where he stood and requested him to leave. 
 
 "I m transactin a little necessary business that I 
 can t put off." 
 
 " Well, you shall put it off! You are disturbing the 
 work here, as well as continuing to violate our rules." 
 
 " O, I know all about rules and work here. We 
 understand what your position is"; and the burly 
 Crane turned his back, as if ignoring all rules and 
 work in the world, and went on with his talk. A swift 
 flush swept over Edward s face, and his eyes flashed. 
 He had hoped to avoid trouble, but he had seen from 
 the first that it was almost inevitable, so now he hesi 
 tated no longer. Putting a firm hand on the fellow s 
 collar, he gave a strong push, which sent cigarette 
 and grimy-faced smoker reeling in different directions 
 toward the door. Before the man recovered, Edward 
 
210 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 had pushed him through it, for although no larger in 
 stature, Edward was the stronger of the two. There 
 was just a moment before he could succeed in getting 
 back, when the infuriated miner rushed upon him with 
 a glare like a madman, and seizing his arm, bit it with 
 all the cruelty of a savage brute. Blinded with the 
 pain, Edward dealt a blow on the bended head, that 
 loosened the strong jaws and put an end to the strife, 
 for the dazed Crane staggered off and showed no further 
 fight that day. 
 
 Edward stood a moment to collect his thoughts, and 
 then went back into the machinery-room, where he 
 found the men standing in excited little groups, and 
 talking in loud tones, but he only said calmly, " Now 
 we will resume work," and took no further notice of 
 them. His face was deathly pale, and his blue eyes 
 flashed, but his manner was slow and dignified, and 
 the men murmured their indignation from all quarters 
 when he went out, because he had taken the matter so 
 coolly. He walked to an empty car-shed, and sat down 
 for a moment to fit himself to begin his work again. He 
 looked at his watch, it was five minutes past three. 
 Then he sat and watched through the little windows 
 the reddish haze creep in among the hills, and the tall 
 pines nod slowly and glisten in the afternoon sunshine. 
 A horseman riding along a distant hillside at last dis 
 appeared in the winding canon below, and a flock of 
 birds flying like dark specks against the pale blue sky 
 drew near, and showed their pointed wings and their 
 feathery forms distinctly. " I must be well rested 
 now; I ve been here nearly half an hour," he thought, 
 as he pulled out his watch again, though feeling 
 
THE STRIKE. 211 
 
 strangely dizzy and sick. He had been there just five 
 minutes. "I m excited," he then thought; "this will be 
 a hard day"; but he remembered his unfinished work, 
 and rose to go, when something cold upon his hand 
 caused him to look down, and lo! he saw it was half 
 covered with blood. "The fellow s teeth did effective 
 work that time," he said, as he took off his coat, and 
 surveyed the wet crimson stain on his shirt sleeve. 
 The flesh of his wrist was badly torn and mangled, 
 and yet in his excitement he had felt no pain from it; 
 only a strange dizziness and weary feeling. How could 
 he go through the day with that wounded arm, and this 
 faint sickness in his head? He was strong and young, 
 yet could he bear it with unshrinking fortitude? But 
 he bound the bleeding wound up tightly in his hand 
 kerchief, put on his coat again, and with determination 
 on his face went back to his work. All through the 
 long hours that followed, he bravely did his part, and 
 kept order with a face so calm that no one even guessed 
 how he was suffering. 
 
 That night was a restless one for Edward. A sense 
 of impending calamity impressed him, and fitful slum 
 bers brought him vague dreams of ghastly forms and 
 fathomless pits, till he was glad when the gray dawn 
 broke and brought back reality, which was sweet com 
 pared to that terrible night. As he breakfasted, George 
 joined him at the table, and seemed in excellent spirits. 
 "Hello, Ned!" he said pleasantly; "this is just the 
 day for cleaning up. I m getting out of work. Why, 
 what s the matter with your hand? It s swelled and 
 purple. Been around in the poison-oak, I 11 bet, and 
 feel sorry enough now for it," he added, knowing. well 
 
212 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 the cause of the wound, and feeling triumphant and 
 heartily glad that he had one revenge against his rival. 
 
 " No; some little trouble at the mill yesterday re 
 sulted in this for me. I thought you had heard about 
 it." 
 
 " O yes, so I did; but I was not aware that you did 
 not come out first best all around. Crane was going 
 about last night with a swelled head and a woful 
 story." 
 
 The words were like a stab to Edward. " There will 
 be more trouble to-day," he thought, feeling helpless 
 and disheartened with his wounded arm; and his coun 
 tenance betrayed his unhappy thoughts. That look 
 was a wonderful appetizer to George, who ate his break 
 fast with an increased relish, and felt keenly the 
 pleasure of being in the ascendency, and victorious 
 over one toward whom he entertained a deadly enmity. 
 But this was not all; he was to have better satisfaction 
 than that after a while. 
 
 u Got a match, Ned?" he inquired, as they rose to 
 go, taking a cigar from his pocket. 
 
 Edward handed him his match-safe. " I must 
 hurry off," he observed; " my time is up." 
 
 " That s so, and I must see Sevenoakes," returned 
 George, puffing his cigar, and putting the match-safe 
 in his own pocket with a grim smile. 
 
 Edward entered the mill that morning as the whistle 
 blew, and found the men all in their places and work 
 ing quietly. A sigh of relief escaped him as he gave 
 directions to the man near the door, who received them 
 good-naturedly, and the busy mill stamped away, with 
 its workmen all attentive to business and well behaved, 
 
THE STRIKE. 213 
 
 promising no further annoyance. He did not hear the 
 loud laugh that followed his exit, and so the autumn 
 sunshine borrowed a golden hue again, and the falling 
 leaves their crimson dyes, while the hills swept clear- 
 cut and bright in little protecting walls about him. 
 Surely the world was not so dark as it had seemed 
 to him this morning. The pain and excitement of 
 yesterday had somewhat disturbed his strong, cour 
 ageous spirit, and had brought him groundless fears 
 and unrest. Coming up out of the shaft, the clear cool 
 air revived him again, his recent troubles lost their 
 grave importance, and his dismal forebodings vanished. 
 He entered the mill with renewed trust in his work 
 men, and renewed courage. Passing through the long 
 room, he examined the riffles and the sluice-boxes, and 
 was ordering fresh ore into the huge, crunching jaws 
 of the crusher, when he caught sight of Crane s head, 
 appearing behind the mortar, bushy and unkempt as 
 usual, but some of its expansiveness compressed into a 
 smaller space by a wide white cloth that hinted strongly 
 of liniment and vinegar. 
 
 " See here," said the indignant manager; " you were 
 told to leave this mill yesterday. What do you mean 
 by presenting yourself here again? " 
 
 " I was told to leave this here establishment, but I 
 was also told to come back." 
 
 " Who told you to come back? " 
 
 " Sevenoakes," deliberately spoken, with a sneer 
 and a triumphant smile, after a slight pause, which 
 was intended and served well to give the fellow s word 
 greater emphasis. 
 
 A change passed over Edward s face. It was not 
 
214 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 a look of suppressed and baffled rage, nor of forced 
 concession, but an expression of unflinching anger. 
 " Sevenoakes! " he repeated. "And / now tell you that 
 you cannot remain." 
 
 ""We ll see about that," said Crane, turning to his 
 work with exasperating coolness, as if ready, for his 
 part, to dismiss the matter for the time. 
 
 Edward took a step forward and stood before him. 
 His manner was calmer now, but even more deter 
 mined than before. " Must you have a repetition of 
 yesterday s scene?" he asked. Crane evidently did 
 not like the idea of it, for he softened somewhat, though 
 looking around the room suggestively, as if expecting 
 help in a crisis. 
 
 " Now, looky here, we might as well come to terms," 
 he said. " Sevenoakes sent me back, and promised us 
 that we don t have to submit to no kind of tyranny at 
 all. Sevenoakes is a man, by thunder! Now, we don t 
 none of us want to do nothin to you. You just go 
 along and behave, and we 11 all do our work, and min j 
 our own business too. But if you go to makin a mud 
 dle, and if Sevenoakes goes back on us, we ve all de 
 cided on a course of action that ll mighty soon bring 
 you both back to terms. We ve stood it long enough, 
 so long that we did n t know enough to help ourselves 
 until somebody tol us how it looked to be kicked 
 aroun . We ve been blamed fools not to stick up for 
 our rights before; but you ken bet we re a-goin to do it 
 now, by thunder, every last one of us! I m here by 
 order of Sevenoakes, and. here I stay ! " 
 
 " I will wait just long enough to explain that you can 
 come here by no one s order except mine. Mr. Seven- 
 
THE STRIKE. 215 
 
 oakes has no authority to send you here except through 
 me. He has given me entire control, and cannot inter 
 fere in the least without revoking my authority. And 
 so you may as well consider yourself here without right, 
 and leave the mill. I will settle the matter with Mr. 
 Sevenoakes afterward; hut in the mean time, and while 
 I remain here, I will recognize no one s right to inter 
 fere with my work, or dictate to my workmen. That 
 is all you need to understand about it. You already 
 know that I have told you to leave the place." 
 
 Edward s last words died away in resonant, clear 
 echoes in the hollow, arched roof above them. The mill 
 Lad ceased its heavy stamping, the wheels were motion 
 less, and the broad belts trembled and swayed a little, 
 but showed their seams distinctly where a few minutes 
 before the white stitches had blended indistinguishably 
 in the flying lines of brown. The workmen had all left 
 their duties, and stood around in little groups intently 
 watching the affair, but making no comment upon it to 
 each other, as if their course of action had been previ 
 ously planned. There was a pause. No one stirred, 
 and no sound was heard except the clear splashing of 
 the stream from the water-pipes into the mortar, and 
 the low gurgle as it rippled away through the long 
 Bluices. 
 
 Then the door opened suddenly, letting in a flood of 
 pale golden sunshine across the floor, and Mr. Seven 
 oakes stood on the threshold. His face wore its usual 
 bright expression, and his manner was as airy and con 
 ciliatory as ever, though he took in the whole scene at 
 a glance, and knew that serious trouble was brewing. 
 He did not affect ignorance, yet he was somewhat taken 
 
216 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 back at this turn of affairs. That little round head, 
 which shone as glossily in the broad sheet of morning 
 sunshine as the tall black beaver upon it, had knowl 
 edge of human nature too deep for such a course. 
 "Good morning, Mr. Dennett," he said carelessly. "No 
 steam on to-day, I see. I meant to see you the first 
 thing this morning; so I came down to let you know 
 before going to my office." And he took out a bunch 
 of keys, every one of which was as neat and bright as 
 the little man who held them. 
 
 "Would it incommode you much to come now? I 
 can easily see it would be more satisfactory to you in 
 the end "; and he glanced significantly around as if he 
 understood perfectly the meaning of the idle mill. 
 
 Edward faced the little man squarely. There was 
 an expression of determination and firm resolve in his 
 face that was not lost on the attentive workmen around 
 him, and it caused a momentary sensation. Not a few 
 of the waiting miners hoped for a collision, and yet 
 until this juncture they had scarcely looked for it, 
 knowing well that Edward Dennett would not take an 
 unfair advantage through physical means, even when 
 his adversary had availed himself of as mean a one 
 in other respects, and deserved to be punished for it. 
 " First," he said, " I wish you to decide, before I attend 
 to any other business in connection with this work, 
 whether or not I am to be subjected to the annoyance 
 and inconvenience of having some one interfere with 
 my management; I cannot consent 
 
 "O well, come up into my office and we will have 
 a talk," interrupted the superintendent. 
 
 "A talk is unnecessary, Mr. Sevenoakes. I want a 
 
THE STRIKE. 217 
 
 distinct understanding right here before these work 
 men; it requires no talk to arrange that. I absolutely 
 refuse to continue work without it, I absolutely refuse 
 to accept any settlement that does not clearly and 
 unequivocally and publicly define my position to be 
 what it was at first." 
 
 Mr. Sevenoakes was surprised. He could not quite 
 understand this young man s straightforward dispo 
 sition. Most decidedly this was not what the little 
 shuttle would have done. He did not quite like to 
 have any one take so firm a stand, although he him 
 self was as set in his notions as Edward. He usually 
 accomplished his ends by swaying back and forth, 
 compromising, arranging, or conceding, and yielding 
 up everything except the main object in view. But he 
 decided to try the power of his oily tongue before con 
 senting to Edward s terms. He could pretend he had 
 interests at stake if everything else failed. " O yes, we 
 will fix everything right, of course; and it shall be 
 arranged where you wish. If you insist on having the 
 thing done here, then here it will be. But, Mr. Dennett, 
 you will surely listen to reason. You do not wish to 
 expose all our business relations; but they certainly 
 will be made public if you require an unconditional 
 settlement immediately. I have something to say to 
 you that is quite indispensable to a satisfactory con 
 clusion of the matter. I have rights, too, Mr. Den 
 nett. And so I will ask you as a gentleman to postpone 
 this open adjustment, and consent to a few minutes 
 private conversation. It need not alter your position 
 in the least. We will return here under the same con 
 ditions after our talk, if you wish it." 
 
218 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 Edward felt that if it could do no harm nor alter his 
 position he might as well grant the importunate little 
 man the interview, so he followed him out of the door, 
 and the two men started up the slope to the office. 
 
 The men left in the mill disposed of themselves, 
 with as much comfort as possible, on empty boxes and 
 against slanting timbers. Crane looked after the two 
 men for a minute, and then unconsciously feeling of his 
 sore head, turned to his companions and said: " Seven- 
 oakes is a-goin to threaten him and bring him to terms, 
 by golly! He s mighty independent, and he will get 
 kicked out if he ain t pretty durn careful, you ken bet 
 yer boots! Yer see, Sevenoakes don t dare to do it 
 right here. Dennett would give him the durndcst 
 lickin he ever took if he did." And in this solution 
 of the matter the rest acquiesced, and each man felt 
 himself very smart and very important, and took a 
 profound delight in looking at the idle wheels around 
 him. As for Crane, he expanded into the most dis 
 tinguished, liberal-minded man in the place; he was 
 working a thorough revolution in affairs, he was a bril 
 liant example to his fellows, and he was emancipating 
 them from their former oppression, and had caused 
 this important break in the monotonous round of busi 
 ness. Calmly he sat and awaited the issue, seeming 
 quite content to beguile away the time with a cigarette 
 and the thought that he had solid backing in a com 
 bination that could prevail against both manager and 
 superintendent together. 
 
 Mr. Sevenoakes unlocked his office door with some 
 misgivings. This young man he had undertaken to 
 subdue was a very determined one. It was doubtful 
 
THE STRIKE. 219 
 
 which would come out victorious, and the thought of 
 defeat was not the most pleasant to his precious little 
 vanity. 
 
 " Take a chair, Mr. Dennett," he said, with his cus 
 tomary cordiality, while he raised the green curtain 
 and helped himself to a comfortable seat. " Now, the 
 truth of this business we are to talk over is this: I 
 heard about some little fuss at the mill yesterday, 
 which of itself, of course, don t amount to that "; and 
 he emphasized his speech with a very graceful snap of 
 his white fingers. 
 
 " Pardon me," said Edward, " it does amount to 
 something more. I Ve got a disabled arm for it, sir." 
 
 " 0, indeed, have you ? I did n t know that. How 
 did you come by it ? " 
 
 " The fellow, who resisted until he had to be forcibly 
 ejected, used his teeth with some effect," said the 
 younger man, showing his purple wrist. 
 
 " Well, well, that s bad. As I was going to say, 
 these mill hands are violent fellows. They resort to 
 forcible measures to get satisfaction for everything. In 
 reality, we are somewhat in their power. If the whole 
 lot should resist us, then of course we would be without 
 remedy, and would have to give in on their terms. 
 The matter came to me last night through Brooklyn. 
 He understands pretty clearly the state of feeling 
 among the men, and advised me as to the best course 
 to pursue. It seems this Crane, who caused the trouble, 
 went around exciting sympathy by his lame jaw, and 
 stirring up dissension and no little excitement. The 
 only thing we could do under the circumstances was 
 to set him to work again, and give his idle hands some- 
 
220 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP 
 
 thing to do, for he was bent on creating mischief, and 
 threatening things he had the power to accomplish. I 
 meant to see you the first thing this morning, but with 
 my usual luck I overslept. It seems now to be far 
 more wise to use conciliatory measures, and allow the 
 men a little freedom, so that they will imagine they are 
 having their own way, and feel better satisfied. Don t 
 you agree?" and the neat-clothed, sleek little personage 
 faced the magnificent man before him with a face so 
 beaming and full of enthusiasm that he felt he had 
 already won the day. However, it only required a mo 
 ment for him to discover his error. 
 
 " I do not agree," answered Edward, calmly but de 
 cidedly. " It is true, we have not been through all the 
 experience of a long-established company, and yet we 
 have been at work for some time, long enough to dis 
 cover the best methods of conducting the business. A 
 little freedom to such men as the mill hands would 
 utterly destroy all control over them; they would be 
 come overbearing and quarrelsome to such an extent 
 that they could not by any possibility be managed. 
 Our rules are in no way oppressive; the men are well 
 treated and not overworked. To utterly merge all 
 restraint and regulation into each man s individual 
 whims or ideas would result in complete anarchy and 
 confusion. However, I have no objection, if you wish 
 to try the experiment. My own personal opinion will 
 by no means interfere with your success in it. But I 
 do have the most strenuous objections if you wish to 
 control in any degree my workmen except with my 
 knowledge. I will not submit to it, sir. I should be 
 entirely helpless to accomplish anything either for you 
 
THE STRIKE. 221 
 
 or myself. And I will not undertake the matter. I 
 may as well tell you plainly that I do not think you 
 had the right to send back a discharged workman with 
 out consulting me, whatever may have been your rea 
 sons; and I absolutely refuse to continue in the employ 
 of this company in my present capacity unless the men 
 distinctly understand there is no appeal to any higher 
 authority against me. You have ample means of ascer 
 taining my methods of conducting affairs, and of judg 
 ing whether I am a proper person to be intrusted with 
 the authority bestowed upon me. If at any time you 
 are dissatisfied, or see cause to interfere with my man 
 agement, I claim the right to be personally notified of 
 it, and to have the opportunity either to defend myself, 
 or at least to understand what is required of me." 
 
 Mr. Sev r enoakes was uneasy. He did not like this 
 plain talk. If Edward had used a little polite flattery, 
 and had made some pretence of docility, he would have 
 yielded much more readily. As it was, he was angry, 
 though he controlled himself so well that Edward 
 noticed no sign of it, except that the words slipped 
 along his oily tongue more glibly than usual. 
 
 <: You do not understand me, Mr. Dennett," he said. 
 " Nothing has been done without consulting you. I 
 meant to explain about Crane the first thing this 
 morning. It is not my intention to cramp your pow 
 ers in any way; but we may as well take counsel as to 
 tha best mode of taming down these men when they 
 get restless. Now we will go back to the mill and tell 
 Crane that he can stay if he behaves himself hereafter, 
 and I guess he will be glad enough to do it. And in 
 other ways we will use conciliatory measures until the 
 
222 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 hands are somewhat mollified, and are content to go on 
 with their business, and fight about their cards instead 
 of their work." 
 
 " You are mistaken, Mr. Sevenoakes. The men do 
 not have to find something to fight about. They are 
 peaceable when a proper restraint is put upon them. 
 The miners here are ignorant fellows, most of them, 
 and love to feel a little power, but they are insubordi 
 nate to an exasperating degree if they are not held 
 to strict obedience. These fellows are unlike other 
 workmen; they are accustomed to an atmosphere of 
 excitement and violence, and they are ever ready for 
 a chance to exercise their belligerent proclivities. In 
 other fields of labor the workmen can be allowed free 
 dom and privileges, and they receive them with gen 
 tlemanly appreciation, while they never seek to take 
 unfair advantage. The only way to keep peace here 
 is to give the hands no opportunity to fight. I shall 
 not consent to keep Crane in the mill, if I remain, 
 not because of any stubborn will, but because I realize 
 fully that by doing so I shall lose all control over the 
 men, and be powerless to accomplish any work or 
 keep up a uniform system of labor." 
 
 The superintendent felt it useless to argue, but still 
 he did not give up without a stormy discussion. He 
 did not mention to Edward that George had given 
 him something more than a cigar the evening before. 
 That young man was quite expert at giving hints. 
 There had been a long talk, with frequent mention 
 of Edward on George s part, and they were not 
 the most complimentary, and some strong sugges 
 tions thrown out that frightened the little superintend- 
 
THE STRIKE 223 
 
 ent considerably. Tie entertained a warm friendship 
 for George, and confidence in his opinions, yet lie felt 
 himself helpless to continue the work without Edward. 
 However, he resolved to rid himself of that indepen 
 dent fellow, represented as domineering and unnecessa 
 rily severe, as soon as he was able. 
 
 Finally, however, Mr. Sevenoakes was compelled to 
 yield in order to retain Edward. The two went back 
 to the mill, but the superintendent was as bright and 
 as cheerful as ever, and the mill hands could not de 
 tect any sign that showed how indignant he really was. 
 
 " I did not quite understand this case," he said to 
 the men in his usual good-natured tone; "it was mis 
 represented to me, but I see it differently now. Crane 
 will have to settle with Mr. Dennett if he wishes to re 
 main in the mill. I am sure everything can be fixed 
 all right, though. I do not wish any one to bring his 
 grievances to me hereafter, unless they are of a very 
 serious nature. Then I will give you a hearing, and 
 decide it in the presence of Mr. Dennett. Such differ 
 ences will never arise if each one does faithfully the 
 work required of him, and attends to his own affairs. 
 I wish you all success and good morning"; and the 
 little man was gone as suddenly as he had come. 
 
 " Now we will start up the mill," said Edward to his 
 men. " Crane, you have just heard that your indorse 
 ment from outside sources cannot avail here. I will 
 not permit you to remain, unless you apologize for 
 your past conduct." 
 
 Crane passed his hand through his bushy hair, or at 
 least so much of it as was not bound down tightly with 
 the white cloth, and by this act was unpleasantly re 
 minded of his late conflict. 
 
224 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 " I d like to sec myself apolcrgize to you," he said, 
 with a sneer. " There s other ways I ken use to git 
 back here when you yersclf are kicked out. I ken 
 let yer know afore long who s who"; and the slouch 
 ing figure of Crane disappeared where a few minutes 
 before Mr. Sevenoakes s trim black coat had caught 
 on its velvety, dustless surface the rnys of the autumn 
 sun. 
 
 "You can give us some steam now," said Edward, 
 pleasantly, turning to the engineer. 
 
 " You ken give it to yerself, fur all me," he returned, 
 insolently. " We don t none of us intend to do another 
 lick o work until you take back our pardner, and ex 
 press yerself sorry fur the way you J ve been actin . Do 
 you hear what we say? That s what we re a-goin to 
 do right from the word Go." The men moved close 
 together, some took their coats and hats, and they all 
 started to the door. Before opening it, the engineer 
 turned and called out, "Will yer give in now? We ll 
 all come back an pitch in if yer promise to have no 
 more o yer tyranny a-goin on." 
 
 Edward turned indignantly away. He realized that 
 some evil influence was at work against him, and that 
 the men had been encouraged to acts of resistance. This 
 he felt was the last day of his rule in the busy quartz- 
 mill, and yet he knew that if Mr. Sevenoakes would 
 have patience and allow him to pursue his own course, 
 work would soon be progressing as finely as before, and 
 the men would have something to remember which 
 would deter them from any similar behavior in the 
 future. A calm waiting for them to come back, while 
 ignoring their conduct and finding recruits to fill the 
 
THE STRIKE. 225 
 
 vacant places, would soon accomplish what neither 
 conciliatory measures nor open warfare could do. 
 
 Mr. Sevenoakes from his office window saw the small 
 army sally out of the wide door and start off toward the 
 little town. " Dennett is satisfied now, I hope," he said 
 to himself. " He has proved his experiment, and will 
 be willing to try mine when the mischief is done"; and 
 he scowled so darkly that the little clock, so like him 
 self, seemed to grow less bright, and tick as busily as 
 the little man s thoughts. He did not realize that his 
 open friendship for George Brooklyn had greatly fur 
 thered the latter s secret plots. 
 
 Edward stood alone in the deserted mill. Here day 
 after day he had seen the busy wheels buzz round and 
 had listened to the noisy, restless stamps; here he had 
 seen pictures of Mabel s sweet face in the mirrors of the 
 bubbling waters and above the white gravel in the drip 
 ping sluices; here he had felt an innocent, almost boy 
 ish pride in this the first realization of his ambition 
 and his hopes; and here he had gained little victories 
 that were inseparably associated with every nook and 
 corner of the quiet place. It was all over, all a wreck 
 now; he had nothing to cling to, nothing to comfort 
 him. But he still had hope for the future, and strength 
 to fight his way; he still had a conscience free and 
 guiltless, and his own upright soul to keep him com 
 pany; so he was not altogether alone in the deserted 
 mill. 
 
228 ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE GHOST IN THE ROSE ARBOR. 
 The guilty is he who meditates a crime. ALFIEKI. 
 
 EDWARD DENNETT went to the superintendent s office 
 for the second time that day, but with his convictions 
 unaltered. Mr. Sevcnoakes expected to see him willing 
 to admit his error, and express himself ready to adopt 
 almost any method of settlement. Instead, he main 
 tained that the affair would work itself out all right if 
 no notice were taken of the men. " Mr. Sevenoakes," 
 he said, with much decision, "I offer to surrender my 
 position willingly to any one who wishes to submit to 
 the terms presented. For my own part, I cannot re 
 gret the extreme to which my course has led, knowing 
 full well that any other course would involve like com 
 plications and harsh measures in the end. Let me go, 
 or give me power to restore order, as I believe it can be 
 accomplished." 
 
 Mr. Sevenoakes was burning with anger. u There is 
 the mill idle," he thought, "with loads of ore above 
 surface waiting to be crushed, and yet this supreme 
 donkey advocates delay. We will have to work night 
 and day for a week to catch up if we do as he proposes, 
 and George maintains that the men will never yield at 
 all." Yet he would not trust himself to speak. He 
 wanted time to investigate and think it over. 
 
 "Well, give me a chance to consider," he replied. 
 " Let the matter stand till to-morrow. I will see you 
 
THE GHOST IN THE ROSE ARBOR. 227 
 
 then, and we will arrange it finally. To-morrow morn 
 ing I will be down at the mill, and then perhaps we 
 will think best to call up the men with the whistle, and 
 threaten them, or something. Let it go till then." 
 
 Edward felt content to wait. He had a strong hope 
 that Mr. Sevcnoakes would change his mind and agree 
 cheerfully to the inconvenience that was inevitable. 
 He was even grateful for the rest, for his wounded arm 
 was painful, and his wakeful night had left him weary 
 and faint. A part of the day he spent at the mill, and 
 in the afternoon he rode out to his mother s. because 
 he expected sympathy in his trouble, and because his 
 heart longed for the things he loved best, and needed 
 new inspiration. Of Mabel he had not dared to think. 
 He had tried to put her out of his thoughts and forget 
 her; he had tried to call her a memory, and nothing 
 more; but sometimes when they met, her gentle face 
 spoke to him of her truth and sincerity, and made him 
 forget that he had found her to be trifling and frivo 
 lous. 
 
 Still he avoided her, and they had never met alone 
 since that night when they parted so unhappily in the 
 veranda. Nellie rejoiced that her scheme had been 
 successful in part at least. She waited for the time 
 when Edward would have forgotten his fancy, and 
 then she herself would comfort him and teach his 
 heart to love her. She could wait. She understood 
 Edward perfectly when he grew impatient while she 
 spoke of the follies and ambitions that cast aside the 
 costliest pearls of life for the sake of the vain frivolities. 
 She knew that his heart had received a deadly thrust. 
 It needed no second wound. He was thinking of 
 
228 - AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 Mabel s heartlessness and her ambition. He would not 
 geek to win an empty, soulless happiness from her. 
 
 Dark as life seemed to Edward this day, he felt that 
 his troubles at the mill were by no means the greatest 
 he had to bear. Let his heart but feel the bliss and the 
 hope it had once known, grant him but the encourage 
 ment and comfort of a changeless love, and he was strong 
 to face this misfortune with a calm and trustful spirit. 
 But these golden times were over for him, he thought. 
 In an hour when his heart was unguarded, he had sur 
 rendered its most sacred treasures to a careless hand. 
 He must bear the consequences as best he could. 
 
 The next morning the sun rose behind a vail of dim 
 gray cloud, and cast a mystic, faded splendor over the 
 gleaming line of snowy peaks whitening in the eastern 
 horizon, and dulled the rich, deep blue of the distant 
 mountain folds. The winds sighed with a new dis 
 quietude through the wild oats, and moaned in the 
 tossing branches with a tearless sorrow. Nellie awoke 
 with her busy mind full of plans, and began early in 
 the day to execute them. She had a short interview 
 with George, and then sought Mabel, who was busy in 
 her own room arranging a mass of crimson, yellow, and 
 shaded russet-brown leaves between the pages of an old 
 book. The two girls had been slightly estranged since 
 that evening which Mabel had cause to remember so 
 well. She could not trust herself to speak of it, yet 
 she believed that Nellie had done her that wrong 
 knowingly and wilfully. 
 
 " 0, Mab," said Nellie, enthusiastically, slipping into 
 the room. " Put up your dry leaves and all your non 
 sense, and listen to a real something. none of your 
 
THE GHOST IN THE ROSE ARBOR. 229 
 
 old pressed atoms and relics of the past in this. That 
 strike in the mill has made plenty of leisure for busy 
 hands, and a glorious opportunity for us. George 
 Brooklyn has invited us to ride with him over to see 
 the cave on the mountain-side, and the strange pictures 
 on the rock-wall made by the water stains. This is our 
 last chance, I know, for your aunt threatens every day 
 to make us go home by next stage. I would n t miss it 
 for anything. We ve been here the whole summer, 
 and yet have never seen the most interesting sight in 
 these old hills. Why, I remember years ago that I 
 was perfectly delighted with the cave, and I was famil 
 iar enough surely with the grandeur of nature here. My 
 horrible enemy, the poison-oak, is chilled and paralyzed 
 now, leaves loose, and turning yellow, and red-tipped 
 with coming death, and I can go in safety and com 
 fort. Really, we will have a most charming ride 
 through the autumn woods." 
 
 " But, Nellie, I do not think " began Mabel. 
 
 " You do not think you can stay, I know. It is set 
 tled. Your aunt says yes to the proposition"; and 
 Nellie glided away to tell George he must have the 
 horses ready early in the afternoon. 
 
 Mabel did not want to go. But she had almost given 
 up the hope that Edward would ever forgive her for her 
 silence. What mattered it, then, where she went? or 
 whether the woods were brown and naked, or gorgeous 
 with frost-painted leaves and bronze-green mosses? All 
 life had lost its beauty and sunshine. 
 
 They rode away in the early afternoon, but before 
 they had proceeded far, Nellie s horse obstinately ran 
 under a tree and tore her hat into a crownless mass of 
 
230 AKOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 straw. "I must go back," she said; "I would n t for 
 anything go to the cave with such a head-gear"; and no 
 persuasions were of any avail to induce her to continue 
 on her way. But when Mabel expressed her intention 
 to return also, Nellie grew suddenly very unselfish, 
 and insisted on having the others go to the cave, and 
 bring back a good report of it to compensate her for 
 her disappointment. Finding these arguments useless, 
 she finally promised to get another hat and overtake 
 them if they would ride along slowly. 
 
 She took good care not to overtake them, however. 
 After a short gallop along the road where George and 
 Mabel had disappeared, she returned to the hotel and 
 watched for a glimpse of Edward. It scarcely mattered 
 much, however, for her plans were working in another 
 direction. " He will surely see them as they return, 
 and think that Mabel has already forgotten him," she 
 thought. " Then he will be anxious to show that he 
 too can forget, and will come to me. And when he 
 does, / will never let him go" 
 
 Nellie spent her afternoon indolently in her parlor, 
 writing letters, and dozing catlike on her soft-cushioned 
 loungs. The hours wore along in unbroken quiet, but 
 the stillness was at length disturbed by a musical yet 
 excited voice rising from the corridors below. Then 
 came a rush and a rustle up the stairs, toward Nellie s 
 door, which finally opened, revealing Nita, sparkling in 
 her jetted grenadine, with large, dilated eyes, and deep, 
 burning color, standing on the threshold. u 0, 1 thought 
 it was something like you, nothing else but a hur 
 ricane would come rushing around like that," called 
 Nellie s voice lazily from the lounge. 
 
THE GHOST IN THE ROSE ARBOR. 231 
 
 "I wish I was a hurricane!" cried Nita, coming into 
 the room. I d tear you to pieces! You are the 
 -woman who watched me in the pine woods, and met 
 me so brazenly to show me that you knew my secret. 
 What care I? Nothing, because you know it. You 
 have no more meetings to watch now, I suppose you 
 know. He will not come for fear you will be angry. 
 But you shall not use your knowledge to keep him away 
 from me, and threaten to expose me to my father, that 
 you may have him yourself. He is afraid that you will 
 do it, and that I will have to suffer through his doing. 
 But I am not afraid. Tell anything you know, I do 
 not care! It could do no more than your threats have 
 (lone already." 
 
 "Ha, ha! foolish girl," said Nellie. "It is not I 
 who alienates the affections of your love. Perhaps you 
 have not seen the beauty of the season. If you had, 
 you would know the story. She has turned the heads 
 of half the old miners, not to mention the men here at 
 the hotel, who get a chance to speak to her. What do 
 you suppose would be likely to follow when a man who 
 has the capacity to fall in love every half-hour is en 
 couraged by such a girl? He is desperately infatuated. 
 He has only been amusing himself with you. It must 
 be so, or he would never be so attentive to some one 
 else." 
 
 Nellie s quick wit knew this was a good opportunity 
 to further her own ends. To rouse Nita s jealousy, and 
 make her quarrel with George, would induce him to 
 seek all the more for Mabel s favor. Even if hopeless, 
 he would perhaps prefer to try the experiment of play 
 ing the rejected and heart-broken lover, if every other 
 
232 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 resource had failed, and he had no other opportunity to 
 flirt. Besides, she desired to enlighten Nita as to the 
 truth, and awaken her anger, for the sake of gaining 
 her confidence. Nita no douht had opportunities to 
 learn of the troubles at the mill, and the causes of it; 
 it might be she would reveal what she knew to Nellie. 
 
 But Nita s thoughts were far from the troubles at the 
 mill. She sat with blanched cheeks and wondering 
 eyes, all her old fire and passion quenched, looking 
 hopelessly but appealing into Nellie s face. " He can 
 not be amusing himself with me! " she said, with stony 
 despair. " Y6u do not know how true he seems to me. 
 I do not believe it! " But her looks showed how far the 
 awful fear possessed her. 
 
 " O, you don t, eh?" said Nellie, seeming to grow 
 indifferent. " Well, your faithful George is out this 
 very minute making love to our handsome Mabel." 
 
 " Mabel ! " repeated Nita, as if the thought had 
 dazed her. " Oh, no! it is not that girl!" she cried, her 
 thoughts coming back and bringing a ray of hope. 
 u She is not cruel enough to take him away from me; 
 she looks so gentle and sweet." 
 
 " O yes, that is what they all say. But they get 
 fooled. Men always think a beautiful woman is good. 
 It is because beauty is the physical expression of 
 sweetness and innocence. It is because her face looks 
 as if she were good and true, that they cannot believe 
 she is not. They do not know that beauty often hides 
 a hideously ugly soul." 
 
 " O, but I don t believe she could be so cruel as to 
 do that, when she has everything, and I have noth 
 ing." 
 
THE GHOST IN THE ROSE ARBOR. 233 
 
 " She does not know that she is taking him from 
 any one, you simpleton. I never told her that George 
 had a sweetheart whom he met in the woods. He is the 
 one to blame. He is trifling with you to please his 
 own vanity. It is fine sport for him to make you love 
 him, but he is deceiving you with his stories and his 
 flattery; his promises are nothing. That ring," said 
 Nellie, pointing contemptuously to a little gold circlet on 
 Nita s brown hand, " take it off and stamp it under 
 foot. It is a pledge of lies, nothing else. He has no 
 shame. He glories in his conquests, and loves to have 
 a pretty little story for his friends when he is in the 
 mood. Throw it away, and then go and assure your 
 self that I tell you the truth. He and Mabel have 
 been out riding all the afternoon. You will see them 
 coming home along the road from the old mines if you 
 watch." 
 
 Nita rose to go. Her face was strangely altered in 
 its distorted whiteness, and she gave Nellie one last 
 look, as if mutely appealing to be told that her pain 
 was needless, that what she had heard was untrue, 
 but she saw it was in vain. She closed the door care 
 fully, and was gone with silent step along the hall. 
 The servants peeped slyly at her as she descended the 
 stairs, and tittered and whispered that she had changed 
 her tune since last they saw her, but she knew it not. 
 
 Along the broad highway that led in curving sweeps 
 across the hills she hurried, caring not that the deep 
 red dust rose up in little clouds about her, and soiled 
 the silky folds of her precious dress, or that a crowd 
 of idle miners watched and made coarse comments on 
 her impatient haste. The blackened, riven roofs of tho 
 
234 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 old town at last appeared in sight, with the long road 
 winding out beyond, its course unbroken by the forms 
 of horsemen outlined darkly against its bright track, 
 and only dotted here and there with little bevies of 
 birds, the swift-footed quail and the wild dove running 
 up and down and across it, leaving little star-like im 
 prints of their feet in the gleaming dust. Then Nita 
 ceased her hurried gait, stopping to brush the bottom of 
 her dress, and to gather here and there from the dry, 
 trodden grass at the roadside some downy seeds of the 
 dandelion, and a few hard, crackling heads of scented 
 sunflower, then idly continuing her way until she 
 reached the dilapidated houses and neglected gardens 
 of the old town. All the lumber not worm-eaten 
 and decayed had been taken to Lucky Streak by the 
 new builders, and so there stood here falling houses, 
 doomed to be doorless because these carefully secured 
 protectors had wholly failed to keep grim poverty from 
 entering or the trustful dwellers from going out; and 
 pointed roofs, shattered and warped, lying flat on the 
 ground like the low, broad wigwams of the Indians. 
 Nita wandered along aimlessly, picking leaves from 
 the long branches in the tangled gardens, and gather 
 ing pebbles and pieces of broken crockery, in a bewil 
 dered sort of way, looking often up the red, rocky road 
 with weary eyes, as if dreading to see the objects for 
 which she watched. The fury of her sorrow had left 
 her confused and weak. Her heart was numbed to 
 that blind agony of anger that had moved it at first 
 so deeply, and she waited patiently until the sun sank 
 down in a gorgeous bank of clouds behind the purple 
 line of hills, and the twilight was coming fast into the 
 lowlands. 
 
THE GHOST IN THE HOSE ARBOR. 235 
 
 Then suddenly came the sound of voices and the 
 clatter of ringing hoofs, and looking up she saw George 
 and Mabel riding on a slow trot along the road. They 
 were talking carelessly, but presently Mabel reined in 
 her horse to get a better view of the old church, with its 
 sagging doors and roofless walls, its white, stainless altar 
 under the blue dome of heaven, never lighted now but 
 with the rays of the far-off stars, and wet only with the 
 pure, clear tears of the rain-clouds. Willows drooped, 
 long-leaved and mournful, beside the walls, yielding 
 now and then their tress-like branches to the winds 
 that tossed them in through the arched window-holes, 
 and scattered their loose yellow leaves over the deserted 
 pews and into the silent aisles. 
 
 At length the two rode on again in silence, while Nita 
 concealed herself in an old falling arbor covered with 
 a thick mass of climbing roses, and awaited their ap 
 proach. Now the dead torpor of her wrath was roused 
 afresh. Her heart beat wildly with a deep, suffocating 
 pain, that seemed to take away her breath and crush 
 out all the lingering hopes that she had cherished. A 
 fierce jealousy burned in her brain with an ungovern 
 able madness. She peered out from her leafy hiding- 
 place, with eyes that shone like gems, and watched the 
 man to whom she had given all her strongest, deepest 
 love, for whom she had forgotten the holiest of vows, to 
 whom she looked for everything her heart loved best, 
 she watched him turn with looks of admiration upon 
 the fair girl who rode beside him, and saw his face 
 shine with a love-light it had never worn before; and 
 then she knew that her poor erring heart had been de 
 ceived, and had met the penalty for its wayward sin. 
 
236 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 A demon tempted her tortured conscience as she 
 looked at Mabel, and she drew out of her bosom a little 
 silvery dagger and held it convulsively in her plump 
 brown hand. She would surely end it if her fears came 
 true. This must some time be the deliverance from 
 her torturing woes. 
 
 Did George mentally compare that dark-faced rider 
 who had left a picture in his mind, one cold spring 
 night on the rocky hill in the blaze of the dim stage- 
 lamps, her face full of uncurbed anger and almost 
 savage beauty, with this refined girl who rode beside 
 him now, cultivated though not affected in her easy, 
 careless grace, handsome in her dark green riding-dress 
 relieved by a plumy spike of golden-rod, and with a 
 face that was fair and lovely, and softened and gentle 
 in every line? 
 
 As the riders drew near the old arbor, Mabel espied the 
 tangled roses over it, bright here and there with clusters 
 of shining, scarlet seed-buds. She was thinking of an 
 other ride she had taken through this old abandoned 
 town, one that had returned to her memory in after 
 days with a sacred meaning, a remembrance fondly 
 cherished of the day when she first met some one who 
 had woven a spell into the whole of her quiet life. 
 Why not gather a branch as a memento of that happy 
 time when she had seen it full of wild and fragrant 
 bloom? The summer had gone, and her dream was 
 over; soon winter s noiseless footsteps would be coldly 
 whitening on the summits, and stealing down the pur 
 ple avenues in tracks of gleaming snow; and then she 
 v.ould go away, perhaps never to return to this coun 
 try that had Been the blossoming and the withering 
 
THE GHOST IN THE ROSE ARBOR. 237 
 
 of her tenderest hopes. In her far-away city Lome 
 would she not love to see it, a little leafy spray that 
 grew where the steep heights looked down upon it in 
 approving majesty, and sent it breath from the cool, 
 clear air around their pure white crowns, where the 
 red-gold sunlight, breaking in through the pine-fringed 
 gateways of the east, had coaxed it into seas of tender 
 bloom, and in a spot where she had spent one long, 
 sweet season that would haunt all her life with its fond 
 but mournful memories? 
 
 She stopped her horse and looked at George. " I 
 want a branch of that rose vine," she said. "Will 
 you help me down? " 
 
 "Ah! allow me to get it for you," said the gallant 
 George, springing off and handing her his horse s rein. 
 
 " You would never be able to please me. It must be 
 very choice, and I must pick it myself," said Mabel, 
 pleasantly. 
 
 George helped her with an air of fond solicitude, set 
 ting her lightly and carefully down in the grass, out 
 of the dust, and then stood holding their horses and 
 watching her with admiring eyes. His face was never 
 handsomer than it looked in that soft twilight radi 
 ance, and his voice was never richer or more tender 
 than when he called out to Mabel to beware of the 
 ghosts that walked about in the old ruins. Nita s 
 heart thrilled* anew, in spite of all its pain, at the 
 sound, while a fierce desperation seized her, and she 
 looked at Mabel, who was picking her way daintily 
 through the dry, dusty grass to the arbor, her long 
 skirt gathered up in her hands, and her head bent as 
 if she were thinking gravely. The little dagger gleamed 
 
238 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 again, and mirrored in its shining blade the dark face 
 above it in all its distorted madness. 
 
 There was no rustle behind the broken lattice-work 
 of the arbor as Mabel drew near, and Nita watched 
 breathlessly till the little gloved hand should reach up 
 to gather her chosen rose spray. 
 
 k till the gentle face was not raised upward, and 
 Mabel stood a moment looking vacantly into the lux 
 uriant mass of interwoven branches, with folded hands, 
 while a faint sigh escaped her lips. Nita was ready. 
 But when Mabel raised her eyes and lifted her hand, 
 heedless of thorns, to gather a cluster she had selected, 
 two dewy tears fell flashing from ber eyes, and lay 
 quivering like liquid diamonds on the rose-leaves. And 
 then the dark face, with all the horror and cruelty of 
 murder in it, changed, and softened with wonder and 
 pity, while the little dagger fell crushing and rustling 
 through the matted vines, and lay forgotten on the 
 dry brown earth beneath. " She loves him too," whis 
 pered Nita to herself; " and she is good "; while Mabel 
 started back in alarm, and stood a little distance from 
 the arbor, looking steadily toward it, her rose spray 
 trembling in a hand that trembled too. 
 
 " What is it? " asked George, throwing the horses 
 reins over a leaning stake by the roadside, and hurry 
 ing up to Mabel; " have you seen the ghosts I warned 
 you against?" 
 
 " It is nothing, I guess. Something stirred in the 
 leaves, a bird, perhaps," said Mabel. 
 
 Nita realized that she would be discovered, and she 
 knew not what excuse to give; but with the boldness of 
 desperation she came out of her hiding-place and stood 
 
THE GHOST IN THE ROSE ARBOR. 230 
 
 before them, looking strangely haggard and frightened. 
 u 0, it is only that black-eyed girl whose father works 
 in the mill," said George, as he saw her, glancing quickly 
 away and turning to go. Of all ghosts, he did not want 
 this one to rise and haunt him now. Mabel looked up 
 too, and saw Nita leaning against the cracking lattice 
 work. She greeted the girl with a rare, sweet smile, 
 and said pleasantly, "Good evening, Nita. Our meet 
 ing was rather too sudden, I think. We were both sur 
 prised and a little frightened. This is such a gloomy 
 place, it is easy to imagine a host of terrors in every 
 sound." 
 
 "Yes," faltered Nita, standing in blank recklessness, 
 and watching for a glance from George. But he did 
 not look again. 
 
 Helping Mabel to her saddle with a manner slightly 
 changed, and more hurried than when he lifted her 
 down, and springing on to his own horse, they started 
 away. " It is getting late," he said. " We must ride 
 briskly, or we 11 be absent at table." 
 
 "We ll soon be there," said Mabel; "it is only a 
 short way beyond the hill"; and with a pleasant look 
 over her shoulder toward Nita, and a parting smile, she 
 was galloping down the dusty road. 
 
 A groan burst from Nita s lips as she turned away, 
 after watching with strained eyes the two dark forms 
 till they vanished over the hill. The night seemed 
 gathering fast around, and with a violent, restless bit 
 terness in her soul, she started up swiftly to return 
 home. Through dense thickets that tore her dress 
 and scratched her face she hurried; into dark, unfre 
 quented woods scarcely lighted by the late, fading twi- 
 
240 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 light; and across dry old creek channels, forsaken by 
 the rushing waters, stony, and whitened with bleached 
 water weeds, and dotted with darkling pools in every 
 deep basin of their wayward windings. She was cross 
 ing a little opening in the woods, where her footsteps 
 were retarded by the deep, matted wild oats that 
 rustled and gave out a rich yet dusty odor, when the 
 form of a man appeared among the trees toward which 
 she was hastening. He scanned her a moment in sur 
 prise, then he paused, standing boldly in her path, 
 while a smile brightened his face. He did not speak 
 for fear of startling her, yet he regretted this, for when 
 she caught sight of him she uttered a scream and threw 
 up her hands as if she had met a ghost. Still she knew 
 him. "John, John!" she cried, gazing upon him 
 with a half-wild, half-shy look in her dark eyes, and 
 her voice was scarcely more than a whisper when she 
 added "My husband!" and shrunk back in dismay. 
 
ONE NIGHT AROUND THE MILL. 241 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 ONE NIGHT AROUND THE MILL. 
 
 I am sorry for thee, friend. 
 
 SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 ALL day a ghostly silence reigned over the motionless 
 mill, from which the busy throngs had fled, and over 
 the quiet, lifeless town, while the singing pines made 
 a weird, prophetic musing in their tossing crests, and 
 the leafy boughs shook down their red-tinged robes of 
 autumn as if wont to cast their brightness to the frown 
 ing earth. A red haze lingered in the hills, and draped 
 with purplish folds the distant peaks of snow; and in 
 the still air seemed the mournful calling of an unknown 
 voice, blasting the hope of life, and tainting all with 
 the cankering touch of despair. 
 
 Mr. Sevenoakes did not keep his word. Edward saw 
 him and his adviser George setting out quite early to 
 the former s " sanctum," engaged in earnest conversa 
 tion. Neither of them looked toward the mill, where 
 Edward waited. After an hour or so of counsel giv 
 ing and receiving, the younger man came out, but Mr. 
 Sevenoakes made no appearance. Edward knew that 
 trouble was brewing, and that his hopes of settlement 
 were defeated. He was wholly without friends, without 
 power. The thought came to him with more pain than 
 he had imagined he could feel at the loss of his posi 
 tion, and the disgrace in this instance attending it. 
 
242 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 But still he waited, though unrewarded for his pa 
 tience. From that little green-curtained window of 
 "the office" seemed to come a deadly, silent fire of 
 destruction that was more forcible and more awful 
 than even the volleys of an enemy s ranks. As up and 
 down with restless step and throbbing head the troubled 
 manager walked through the deserted building, over 
 and over again he looked from the frozen machinery of 
 toil, in a blind, dazed way, to see if a sound of life were 
 stirring, but he saw always the closed door and the dark, 
 liquid-looking window-panes, without even a breath of 
 change save when the afternoon sun broke through the 
 cloudy skies and a slant ray of light swept across the 
 clear glass. Then the green curtain was pulled down 
 farther by an unseen hand, and all was quiet as before. 
 Still he kept up his walk in the desolate place, into 
 the laboratory, into the machinery-room, often glancing 
 through the windows at the office, toward the town, and 
 up at the great hotel, where the broad windows shone 
 and blinked like yellow eyes in the afternoon sun. 
 
 Pie was bending over the great crusher and extract 
 ing bits of broken ore when the party of three set out 
 on their ride to the cave, and so he did not sec them 
 depart; nor did he see them return, for at that time he 
 was looking gloomily out of the western window at the 
 faded sunset clouds that pictured many groups of fiery 
 islands afloat in dim gray seas. Nellie counted too con 
 fidently on the success of her plan. He did not have 
 this seeming confirmation of her words spoken that 
 evening by the window to add to his unhappy thoughts. 
 
 When evening drew near, and still the superintendent 
 did not pay his promised visit, Edward left the mill to 
 
ONE NIGHT AROUND THE MILL. 243 
 
 call the watchman who had served the night before, 
 and on his way he stopped at the office. Mr. Seven- 
 oakes was still there. u Come in, Mr. Dennett," he 
 said rather coldly, with a lustreless stare from his depth- 
 less eyes. 
 
 " You did not call down at the mill as you agreed," 
 Edward said, coldly also, standing near the door; " I 
 came to see if you have decided yet." He performed 
 his unpleasant errand as shortly as possible. Not for 
 the world would he cringe and flatter for the sake of 
 mollifying the little man s ruffled temper. He would 
 stand on his own merits, he would maintain his own 
 dignity at the cost of absolute defeat. 
 
 " It is a difficult thing to decide, Mr. Dennett, when 
 the course you have insisted on taking bids fair to ruin 
 us. I have decided this much, however, that we are 
 in imminent danger of being mobbed, or forcibly com 
 pelled to yield to the men. The shaft hands are 
 already in a ferment. They are ripe for mischief now; 
 it is give in or take the consequences, that I am sure 
 of. How, then, am / to adjust the matter, when neither 
 side will make the least concession. I am powerless 
 unless some one will take the first move toward recon 
 ciliation. It is all right for the participants in the 
 quarrel, of course; they have no property at stake, no 
 business suffering, and so they can afford to fight it 
 out, and use other men s means with which to do it." 
 
 " Have you seen any manifestations of violence, Mr. 
 Sevenoakes?" asked Edward, feeling it useless now to 
 discuss matters while Mr. Sevenoakes was so disturbed 
 as to use the sarcasm which he had just employed. 
 
 "Manifestations! Why, I hear of threats and the 
 
244 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 like, that ought to be manifestation enough for any one 
 who does not persist in refusing to recognize them." 
 
 " In view of all the facts, Mr. Sevenoakes," Edward 
 said steadily, though it cost him an effort and some 
 regrets, " I think we had better dissolve our business 
 relations. I certainly will not consent to take any 
 other position with regard to the management of the 
 men. You perhaps can readily find some one who 
 will. I venture to prophesy that you will get along 
 without further trouble for a week or so." Edward 
 could not resist a touch of satire in that bitter moment; 
 but his generous spirit rose magnanimously above it in 
 his next words. "When my successor is appointed, I 
 freely offer all my experience to assist him in conduct 
 ing business on the old system, so that there need be 
 no trouble in managing the work. The machinery is 
 only obstinate with certain ores, and a certain speed in 
 running. In a short time one can learn to manage it 
 reasonably well. If I can be of any use in this way, 
 you may depend on me." 
 
 Mr. Sevenoakes felt better. He did not believe Ed 
 ward s generosity genuine, but he was glad to see at 
 least a show of docility, glad to feel that Edward had 
 made an attempt to appease him. He did not like to 
 do a mean act any better than most men who think 
 themselves honorable and fair; and yet, though he be 
 lieved that Edward did not want to leave the mill, 
 that this was only a ruse employed to win lost favor, 
 he resolved to take advantage of it, and also to hold 
 Edward to his offer of rendering assistance., if it were 
 needed. Then perhaps he could continue to get along 
 with his new manager. " You have saved me the un- 
 
ONE NIGHT AROUND THE MILL. 245 
 
 pleasant necessity of deciding against you, by your 
 resignation," said the wily superintendent. " I accept 
 it, knowing that otherwise we can never accomplish a 
 pacification among the turbulent spirits about us." 
 
 " Very well, sir; I am satisfied with that. If you 
 will not wait for the subjection that is certain to come 
 with time, it is the only thing to be done. I know the 
 men quite as well as you do, and I feel confident of 
 the course they will take if unmolested"; and Edward 
 turned away. 
 
 "Hold on," called Mr. Sevenoakes; "one moment 
 more. I must make use of your generous offer of help 
 this very evening. I will ask you to see to the watch 
 man, and remain in charge of everything as usual till 
 to-morrow morning. Then we will start up. I think 
 I will let Brooklyn try his hand at managing, and 
 perhaps with your help he will succeed in getting on 
 somehow. May be by to-morrow there will be such 
 developments in the case as will enable us to go on as 
 usual, with you in your old place. Good night, Mr. 
 Dennett." 
 
 The superintendent added the last sentence as an 
 inducement for Edward to do his duty as well as usual, 
 fearing he might be negligent unless he had some 
 interest to serve. But he did not mean it; the little 
 shuttle had run its length. His mind was made up; 
 and so he immediately started off to look for George, 
 with his pocket full of cigars and his head full of good 
 news. He felt relieved and almost encouraged, for he 
 had been a victim of the conspiracy rather than an 
 accomplice; and now he hoped for peace and the 
 whistle, and wanted to talk with his confidant over 
 
246 ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 their gleaming, fragrant Havanas. His search was 
 fruitless, and fruitless also several other times that 
 evening, when he strolled around on the same errand. 
 
 About half-past eight the young man appeared, but 
 declined the invitation to take a smoke. " The ladies 
 have captured me," he explained, hastening away; " I 
 am breathlessly obeying their mandates now "; and 
 that was the last the superintendent saw of him. 
 
 Edward left the office with a heavy heart. Every 
 thing seemed to work against him, even his strivings 
 to be magnanimous to those who had injured him. 
 For by his beneficent offer he was now bound to per 
 form a duty that would be utterly distasteful, assisting, 
 as it did, one who gloried in his downfall. But he put 
 the thought aside as unworthy. He was human, and 
 he felt the sting deeply, but he resolved it should 
 have no place among his troubles. He would not brood 
 over it. 
 
 Night came, gloomy with clouds overhead, and sigh 
 ing winds that rustled through the dry wild oats, and 
 in the treetops moaned and wailed with dismal voices. 
 Lights, pale and spectral, from the hidden moon, broke 
 through the rifts of enveloping black ness, throwing a dim 
 refulgence over the serried groves until they stretched 
 away into fathomless darkness, and falling in a white 
 mystic glare over the rude town, brightened here and 
 there by a redder, warmer light that shone out from 
 some solitary cabin window, or from the wide-doored 
 saloons, murmuring faintly with the din that rang 
 hilariously within. All around reigned a vague unrest, 
 a weird and mournful prophecy of coming change. 
 The creek, flowing past the mill, no longer brimming 
 
ONE NIGHT AROUND THE MILL. 247 
 
 with summer s melted summits, rushed cold and white 
 along its rocky way, and roared in a monotonous under 
 tone of wrath, echoing dull and heavy down the lone 
 some canons, with the awful warning voice of eternity 
 whispering through its low, deep thunderings. 
 
 The bell for dinner at the big hotel called in the 
 loiterers from the veranda, and lights shone, dim 
 and small, deep in behind the windows, leaving the 
 great building far more gloomy and forbidding than it 
 had ever seemed before. Edward went late into the 
 dining-room, after it was almost deserted, dreading to 
 encounter the curious gaze of the guests in case the 
 news of the change at the mill had been noised abroad, 
 as most certainly it would be when George learned of 
 his promotion, and quite likely, Edward thought, with 
 not much adherence to the truth. His face, he knew, 
 looked shadowy and worn with anxiety, and that night 
 he could not bear the thought of facing the staring 
 multitude with such a testimonial against him and his 
 strong, manly pride. A party of hunters, coming in 
 from their woodland chase, sat at the table with him, 
 talking vociferously in a foreign tongue about their 
 game, and paying little heed to the stranger who shared 
 their meal. The circumstance heightened Edward s 
 loneliness, it seemed so unfriendly to him, while the 
 lights shone dim and unnatural above them, making 
 dark, uncertain shadows in the corners, and unsteady 
 gleams on the dazzling table-cloth. All things about 
 him assumed an unaccountable dreariness, so he pushed 
 his plate aside and went out again into the windy night. 
 
 The watchman at the mill sat glumly on the stump 
 that the sleek little Sevenoakcs once had graced, look- 
 
248 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 ing meditatively up at the hotel, anxious for some signs 
 of life or a breath of the day s subdued excitement. 
 He removed his stale-smelling pipe as if under protest 
 when first spoken to, but when Edward generously 
 offered to relieve him of his watch the last quarter of 
 the night, the pipe went deprecatingly behind him, 
 and a hearty " much obliged," attested his gratitude. 
 " Kinder windy and oncomfortable out to-night," he 
 remarked, v/ith an effort to be somewhat friendly 
 toward this man about whom the whole town was hiss 
 ing angrily. 
 
 "Yes; not a pleasant night to watch. But keep a 
 good lookout, and I 11 certainly be around toward 
 morning." The watchman smiled, and jumping down 
 from his stump, started away on a new tour of in 
 spection, the beloved pipe again finding its place be 
 tween his large yellow teeth. 
 
 Out on the edge of the pine woods near the mill stood 
 a little vine-mantled cabin, long deserted and uncared 
 for, and slowly going to decay. It was low and humble, 
 with a leaky roof, and a crumbling chimney built of 
 rocks and mud, but it was covered with a faithful 
 honeysuckle that ran unchecked over gray walls and 
 rent roof, as if the tender vine would hide all these 
 unsightly defects with its dumb but constant love. In 
 the strong light of day the cabin was almost attractive, 
 burdened with its wealth of dusky green leaves and 
 dry, fallen pine-needles, lodged, like a shower of tiny 
 javelins, in the soft moss on its roof; and when spring 
 time s vernal beauties were abroad, with flowers bloom 
 ing gorgeously over the gray, naked rocks, this little 
 abandoned dwelling, with its white crown of trembling, 
 
ONE NIGHT AROUND THE MILL. 249 
 
 fragrant blossoms, still made a bower even more invit 
 ing than the wild nests of vines around it. But at 
 night when the coming winter s melancholy winds had 
 stripped the woods of their bloom and their richest 
 foliage, when ghostly clouds drifted overhead in sable 
 masses, edged with pale, unearthly brightness, when 
 the blackest depths of shadow lurked in that low open 
 doorway, it was anything but alluring and cheerful. 
 Still Edward bent his steps to the lonely cabin, think 
 ing gloomily of its former occupant, a poor old man 
 who worked in the mines. One morning no blue 
 smoke-wreath curled upward from that low, rude chim 
 ney, and no bent form was seen creeping slowly along 
 the trail to the mill. They found him pale and cold 
 in the long slumber that knows no dreams; and so 
 when they had carried him through that vine-trellised 
 portal, and had laid him to rest under the lyric pines, 
 with a spray of his beloved honeysuckle on his breast, 
 his little home had fallen into wreck and ruin, and 
 no watchful care now kept its lights burning warmly 
 through the dusky nights, adding their brightness to 
 the hundred stars that twinkled cheerfully from hill 
 side and canon. 
 
 Throwing himself wearily on the stone steps at the 
 door, Edward half reclining watched the white glow 
 force for itself new rifts in the heavy clouds, and lis 
 tened to the dirge-like voices of the wind. No ghost 
 that haunted this desolate spot could bring terrors to 
 him now. He was battling with his own ghosts, the 
 spirits of his buried hopes. They rose up and stalked 
 about him in long, jeering files, and would not be 
 silenced. Disappointed in the first warm love of his 
 
250 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 honest heart, defeated in all his manly ambition, dis 
 graced and scorned, with none to offer sympathy in his 
 trouble, weakened by his wounded hand, and worn with 
 a restless anxiety, what wonder, then, that his fate 
 seemed relentlessly cruel, that his hopes were swiftly 
 perishing? 
 
 A glance into the dark woodland near him revealed 
 the awful loneliness of its dimly lighted aisles, where 
 the winds played free, and the indistinct shadows 
 shifted and trembled and wove themselves into mighty 
 nets, intangible and indestructible as the meshes of 
 fate; so almost shuddering he turned his eyes toward 
 the hotel on the slope above him just in time to catch 
 a glimpse of a slim girlish figure passing through the 
 long windows to the balcony. The light behind her 
 revealed soft, curving outlines and graceful motions, as, 
 shading her eyes with her hand, she looked earnestly 
 out into the night. But she quickly vanished again, 
 and a dull rattle of the window sounded to the watcher 
 in the far-off, night-hidden background, like the last 
 tinkle of the bells in fairy-land, when the walls of earth 
 shut round, and its glorious visions are hidden from the 
 view of bewildered mortals. Something familiar in the 
 outlines and the movements of that form roused afresh 
 his rebellious feelings, and turned his thoughts to bitter, 
 hopeless memories. He sat motionless, thinking thus 
 for a few moments, when the flutter of a white shawl 
 attracted his notice, and he saw a figure moving swiftly 
 down the broad road toward the mill. A moment s 
 pause where the watchman stood like a black lifeless 
 pillar in the shadow, his invisible pipe glowing faintly 
 like a mammoth fire-fly after each vigorous pull through 
 
ONE NIGHT AROUND THE MILL. 251 
 
 its curving stem, and then the strange form moved 
 away, the white shawl gleaming silvery through the 
 young firs, and growing brighter as it neared the little 
 cabin. 
 
 A strange sensation thrilled in Edward s heart as the 
 girl came rapidly forward, a light step rustling softly 
 as the wind in the fallen leaves, and he sat up, wonder 
 ing, with an inexpressible joy, why she came to him. 
 Yes, it surely was Mabel, her quiet grace, her queenly 
 elegance, revealed even in the dim glare that broke 
 through the drifting clouds. 
 
 But at last she paused, timidly taking a step back 
 ward, and looking eagerly into the shadows that 
 stretched beyond. Edward rose quickly and went 
 toward her. 
 
 " Oh ! " said the sweet, low voice, half frightened. 
 "Then you are here"; and Mabel came forward again, 
 holding out her hand. But it trembled even in the 
 warm, strong grasp that received it, while she said, "I 
 hardly thought you would be in this gloomy place, and 
 yet I had the courage to come and see. The watchman 
 said you were here, but he did not offer to call you, as I 
 thought he would, so I came alone. I wish to tell you 
 something"; and her voice fell as if her courage, too, 
 was growing faint, but after a short pause she con 
 tinued, sweetly and calmly as at first. 
 
 " We have not seen you for a day or so, and I was 
 afraid we would not meet again, for this evening Aunt 
 Cynthia decided to return home to-morrow morning 
 early, frightened by the signs of storm, I think. But 
 I could not go without thanking you for the kindness 
 you have shown us; I could not bear to let you think 
 
252 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 it all forgotten, since it has made our summer here BO 
 very happy." 
 
 There was a revolution of thought in Edward s brain, 
 and his heart was beating strong and joyous once more. 
 Her words! they were nothing that an artful coquette 
 might not have said for a last thrust at her victim. Ah! 
 it was useless to argue that; no girl like Mabel would 
 venture forth on such a night, even to add one trophy 
 to her spoils. That blissful fact remained: she had 
 come to him; she had dared to meet him half-way in 
 the renewal of their friendship. 
 
 "And there was something else," she went on hur 
 riedly, as if almost afraid to mention what was in her 
 thoughts. " I wanted to tell you before; I wanted so 
 much to sympathize with you in your trouble. I am 
 so very eorry." 
 
 With one great bound the world and all the keen 
 relish for its blessings came back to Edward; there 
 was such a materialization of his ghosts as would have 
 delighted beyond expression a spiritualistic circle; he 
 was strong again, he could battle with misfortune, he 
 could almost bear defeat, though it would deprive him 
 of his dearest blessing, if only in that downfall he could 
 feel that Mabel s warm, tender heart was sorry for him. 
 
 " Oh, Mabel ! forgive me for misjudging you," he said; 
 " I thought you cold and thoughtless. Why did we 
 let a trifle estrange us? Mabel, you surely knew my 
 feelings that night when Miss Minton s words, which 
 we could not but overhear, brought such a terrible 
 wound to my heart. Why did you not assure me that 
 they were untrue? " 
 
 " Could I explain my feelings to you then? You had 
 
ONE NIGHT AROUND THE MILL. 253 
 
 every reason to believe in my friendship, at least, 
 small reason to think it insincere," said Mabel. 
 
 " I realized afterward that I should not have heeded 
 what we heard, that I should have asked you if it 
 were true," he answered hastily; "and yet, I thought 
 such questions would avail nothing; they would but 
 prolong my disappointment, if you really were not ear 
 nest in your friendship. I should have waited till I 
 had the courage to ask you. Forgive me, Mabel; let 
 me still be your friend." 
 
 Pie walked back with her up the slope to the hotel, 
 renewing with a stronger faith their broken trust, while 
 the dim, ghostly lights that fell around them changed 
 to a soft, white radiance, and the sobbing winds to 
 cool, inspiring breezes, that blew into blossoms wide 
 and fresh and fragrant the opening buds of hope. 
 Three words he whispered to her as they parted, add 
 ing softly, as he pressed her hand, " It is now my dear 
 est aim that I may some time say the rest." 
 
 He went back to the little cabin on the edge of the 
 wood, but all its loneliness was gone. Somehow, in the 
 vague, indistinct language of thought, he made a re 
 solve that it should ever after be most sacred and dear 
 to him. He would never tell the sweetness of the se 
 cret that clustered around it, and it would always be a 
 sign to him, an incentive in weary days perhaps, re 
 minding him that life had yielded there one vision of 
 its blissful paradise, the influence and the memory of 
 which could never be effaced. Half reclining on the 
 stone doorstep, he covered his face with both his hands, 
 as if the better to look into the future, and listened to 
 the winds that struck a stormy music from the lyres 
 
254 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 strung in the tossing pine-tops, and breathed the pure, 
 cool air that came like a draught from the fabled life- 
 renewing fountains beneath the hills hearts of eternal 
 snow. 
 
 Long he sat there, while the white rifts of light in 
 the sky above him shifted and changed and faded, 
 and the honeysuckle vine that grew beside the porch 
 dropped down upon his head a leafy spray, like a gen 
 tle caress; thoughts assumed the shape of plans, and 
 wishes and hopes came fast with them, so that the 
 hours flew by, and he heeded them not. 
 
 Still in Edward s mind burned the rapturous hope 
 that made him strong for the future. He had a great 
 work before him, a work with an end in view that 
 would make each stroke a pleasure, each hour a fleet 
 ing moment, bringing nearer his one great, life-long 
 happiness. 
 
 The late stage came and brought its short excite 
 ment; the hostler led away his horses and closed the 
 stables; one by one the lights vanished from the cabin 
 windows on the hillsides; the hotel at last was dark 
 and quiet, and gloom and midnight settled over the 
 slumbering camp among the hills. 
 
 Finally the dreamer s head fell back against the soft, 
 fluttering mass of leaves, and drowsiness gave way 
 to restful sleep. And in that slumber came a vision 
 strange arid blissful. He dreamed of twilight woods, 
 wild, boundless, and shadowy; of wandering alone 
 through this deep, strange wilderness, and vainly seek 
 ing some outlet from its depthlcss mystery. Then the 
 echoes of a sweet song in the air above the mighty 
 treetops floated down to him, and a faint rustle in the 
 
ONE NIGHT AROUND THE MILL. 255 
 
 interweaving boughs that shut out the darkening sky 
 already thick with stars. He looked upward and saw 
 a heavenly being descending slowly to the ground. It 
 had no wings, no form nor guise of an angel; and yet 
 it came miraculously through the air into this far-off, 
 dreamy forest, and to him. On the ground beside 
 him the lovely being alighted, a soft little hand stole 
 into his, and looking up he saw Mabel, robed in dainty 
 white, standing timidly beside him. Then all the 
 trees around burst forth into ecstacies of song, weird, 
 and strangely sweet, that made the long aisles ring 
 and echo, and sent melodious vibrations even up into 
 the depths of starlit sky above. 
 
 Suddenly, in a great flood, light, richly golden, ter 
 ribly bright, burst over the darkened scene; it illu 
 minated with a supernatural brilliancy the far, dim 
 vistas where lurked the hidden beasts, threw a strange 
 glow into the heavens above, and put out the silvery 
 light of all the throbbing stars. 
 
 He started up from his dream and rubbed his eyes. 
 Was his mind unbalanced, that he could not realize 
 the scene before him? or had the little cabin been 
 spirited away into some unearthly place where fierce 
 destruction was abroad? For lo! far through the sur 
 rounding trees burned the smoky red flames that swept 
 down the high, dry grasses, and fed angrily on the free, 
 fresh winds; up at the big hotel long, smoky tongues 
 of light curled round the roof, the woods, the world, 
 the sky, were all afire 1 
 
256 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE DOCTOR S SUMMER DREAMS. 
 
 Hope and fear alternate chase 
 
 Our course through life s uncertain race. 
 
 SCOTT. 
 
 "DowN cellar" is ofttimes a dreadful term to the 
 little ones whose first impressions of that cool, dark 
 place arise from hasty visits deep underground, where 
 a huge cistern of water stands with the light playing 
 in golden flecks and dancing rings upon its restless 
 surface, and reflecting itself far off from brown, damp 
 walls in rainbow-tinted circlets that twinkle and quiver, 
 and flash out again, with all the strange uncertainty 
 of elf-land. But there are suggestions of material 
 things as well, coming from the scent of rich preserves, 
 and rolls of sweet, fresh butter packed down cool in an 
 ice-lined chest, and fragrant, rosy apples, proving that 
 even enchanted regions abound in tempting eatables. 
 Nevertheless, they have lost more than half their charm 
 until brought out of that chill-aired place to the strong, 
 sweet light of reassuring day. 
 
 But the little folk could never have such a fear of 
 the terrible cellar as Mrs. Mills had on that day when 
 the Doctor sat dreaming in the kitchen, and was aroused 
 by the startling shriek. It probably took Lois less than 
 half a minute to find out the cause of this crying dis 
 tress, yet to Mrs. Mills, lying helpless and racked with 
 
THE DOCTOR S SUMMER DREAMS. 257 
 
 agony on the cold floor of the cellar, it seemed like the 
 long lapse of a never-ending span of time. She was 
 dying, she thought, down there all alone, her screams 
 had not been heard, and now she had no longer power 
 to cry out, while a cold, suffocating feeling, like the first 
 wave of the dark river, came creeping over her. 
 
 Dr. Knapp of course was behind Lois in finding out 
 the dire disaster, but he came along rather briskly 
 nevertheless, and rendered valuable assistance by car 
 rying the suffering Mrs. Mills up into the daylight and 
 to her own chamber. 
 
 Lois ran for smelling-salts and cold water, though 
 the Doctor calmly bade her not to use them, but to get 
 bandages and splints instead, and with a strength of 
 nerve seemingly impossible to one so conscious of him 
 self at times, he carefully examined Mrs. Mills s arm, 
 broken above the elbow. In a very few minutes the 
 bone had been firmly set by the Doctor s steady and 
 skilful hand, and the worst of her pain was over. 
 
 " Oh, Lois, dear ! " were the first words she said; 
 " don t leave me, will you? 
 
 " I am here," Lois answered. " Keep very still for a 
 while, and I will tell you then what has happened." 
 
 " Oh! bring John in and little Jimmie; why are they 
 not here?" 
 
 " They have been sent for, and will come in a few 
 minutes." 
 
 She lay moaning for a time, and then asked, as if 
 she really suffered little pain, and could think of mak 
 ing arrangements for the future, " Lois, my dear girl, 
 you will not go away and leave me? I could n t trust 
 my house with any one but you, and school will close 
 
258 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 this week, you know; so if you give up your visit Lome 
 you could stay as well as not." 
 
 " Don t worry," said Lois, hoping to avoid a promise. 
 " Everything will be arranged to please you." 
 
 Mrs. Mills closed her eyes and moaned feehly. 
 " Lois," she said again after a time, " did you say you 
 would stay and take care of me?" 
 
 " Of course," Lois answered; "I am right here taking 
 care of you now. But do not think about it. Here are 
 Mr. Mills and Jirnmie to see you," she added, as they 
 entered the room. 
 
 The Doctor prepared to withdraw, cautioning them 
 to keep the sufferer very quiet, and talk but little, and 
 in a moment Lois joined him where he sat waiting in 
 the parlor. 
 
 "I do not know what to do, Doctor," she said. "I 
 almost feel as though I ought to stay and take care of 
 Mrs. Mills, now that this unfortunate accident has 
 happened; and yet it will be a great disappointment 
 to give up my trip home. What is your advice?" 
 
 If the Doctor had consulted his selfish feelings, he 
 would have answered promptly, "Stay"; but he put 
 them aside and considered the case in other aspects; 
 he thought of Lois s pleasant ways, how helpful she 
 could be to Mrs. Mills in her trouble; he thought of 
 the many pinched, suffering faces in the old hospital 
 that looked eagerly for her coming, and the verdict 
 still was "Stay/ 3 though he did not have to question 
 his own lonely heart, that would lose its best sunshine 
 if she were gone. 
 
 He sat thoughtful and grave for a moment, but 
 when his conscience wholly approved of his decision, he 
 
259 
 
 looked np with a glad light in his kindly gray eyes as 
 he answered, I think, on the whole, Miss Warren, it 
 would be much better for every one except perhaps 
 yourself for you to stay. I can sec very readily 
 that Mrs. Mills depends greatly on you, and could 
 hardly trust another. It is better to cheer those in 
 suffering than they who are strong and well, is it not?" 
 
 So after that Lois decided to stay, and when Mrs. 
 Mills asked her again to remain, as if the thought 
 troubled her and she must be assured, Lois was ready 
 to answer promptly that she would. 
 
 But the Doctor was more pleased than any one. It 
 was a relief to him, aside from the other pleasure he 
 derived, to know that bright and careful Lois would be 
 there to follow his directions with religious faithfulness, 
 instead of some presuming elderly nurse; and again, 
 with what pleasure he looked forward to seeing Lois 
 every day, to consulting her ideas, and drawing inspira 
 tion from her cheerful spirit, only the Doctor s sensitive, 
 lonely heart could attest. 
 
 So the days wore on into summer, rich and golden, 
 which brought with it the red June roses, the lilies of 
 dark purple, and the full-blown sprays of heavy-headed 
 golden-rod; the wild roses in the thorny brambles by 
 the water margins lost their single-petalled blossoms 
 arid held up seed-lobes of flaming scarlet, and all nature 
 took on richer, deeper hues. Over field and meadow 
 the harvesters gathered in their mounds of sweet wild 
 hay, and broad fields of billowy wheat ripened from 
 seas of silvery green into long stretches richly laden 
 with pale gold. 
 
 To the Doctor, who still drove about in his high- 
 
260 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 wheeled cart, the days passed by with shadowings of a 
 distant glory on his dull, beclouded sky. And dreams 
 came to him, dreams that were fairer arid more golden 
 than he had ever known before; dreams that purchased 
 back for him the inspiration of his youth, that only 
 added more and more a calmer, deeper beauty to his 
 unselfish life. These thoughts came not to him with 
 a vague unrest, an unsatisfied longing as to the impet 
 uous fervor of youth; but day after day, as he drove over 
 the dusty roads, and saw the cool mantle of spring perish 
 into coverlets woven of the matted wild oats and the 
 broken stubble, as the trees lost their frail young leaves 
 and took on foliage broad and dark and dusty, when 
 no more the locusts hung down mellow, sunlit clusters 
 of fragrance into his path, still life retained its rosy hue, 
 and he missed not the departed spring-time, while he 
 kept the merry rhyme of May-day singing in his soul. 
 Wherever he went, he carried the peace that reigned 
 over him, while from his dreaming eyes the landscapes 
 borrowed touches of beauty that they had never worn 
 before. 
 
 Lady Snowdrop was not averse to have the Doctor 
 fall a-dreaming while out on his hot dusty journeys 
 from place to place; she no doubt heartily approved of 
 the habit, and felt that he showed most excellent taste 
 in thus enjoying himself. And there were times, when 
 a cool shade tree offered rest and refreshing shelter 
 from the noon-day sun, that the Doctor put in no ob 
 jection whatever when she presumptuously drew up to 
 a dead halt, and fairly went to sleep under the drowsy 
 branches; but he just sat and watched the little gray 
 birds that hopped about with calm, clear trills of song, 
 
261 
 
 and felt a kind of kinship in their subdued, sweet 
 ecstacies. 
 
 Lois learned to like the Doctor better every day. She 
 depended so much upon him, and enjoyed so heartily 
 their association, that she came unconsciously to look 
 for his coming with a thrill of pleasure, and even to 
 put on a snowier apron and place a fresh rosebud in 
 her bright wavy hair when the hour drew near for his 
 arrival. There was nothing strange in this. She re 
 spected the Doctor more than any man she knew, she 
 enjoyed his society more, so no wonder she uncon 
 sciously learned to compare her thoughts with his; to 
 ask his advice, and admire his broad, deep, manly 
 character. 
 
 Lois s visits to the hospital ceased altogether after 
 Mrs. Mills s accident, and she missed them more than 
 ever now that she was deprived of her daily walks to 
 school. But one day when the Doctor unexpectedly 
 called as she was dusting and hurrying about with her 
 work, he noticed that her face had lost much of that 
 fresh fair bloom it used to have, and her blue eyes 
 wanted some of their old sparkle and life; so he said, 
 in the modest, retiring way he had of making sugges 
 tions, " Miss Warren, don t you think one of our old 
 drives out to Tenayee would do you some good just 
 now? It don t do to stay at home too long, even to 
 take care of sick folks." 
 
 The idea struck her pleasantly, and a radiant smile 
 lighted her face as she answered, " I have been wishing 
 for the time to come when I could go again." 
 
 She selected the following Monday as the most con 
 venient day to go, and arranged to have Mrs. Platt 
 care for Mrs. Mills during her absence. 
 
262 AKOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 The two ladies had a whole day to themselves, which 
 quite delighted Mrs. Mills, who, of course, took the 
 lead in all discussions. But her confinement in-doors 
 had deprived her of any outside talk; and besides, there 
 were some things about Lois she thought quite neces 
 sary to relate. So she opened the conversation about 
 the school-mistress the first thing. Most likely if she 
 had had all the summer to discuss the affair in, told 
 all she had seen, and believed herself all she sug 
 gested, it would have reached enormous proportions 
 now. However, this was the first opportunity she had 
 been blessed with since the day of her misfortune, for 
 Lois had been a constant attendant ever since, and she 
 had to take up the subject exactly where she left off. 
 
 U I suppose," she began, turning her face so that the 
 cool air from Mrs. Platt s fanning would strike her 
 better, "I suppose the people round town miss seeing 
 Lois and her medical friend these days. But / don t, I 
 can assure you. I see quite enough even when I am 
 fastened down here, hardly able to move, to convince 
 me that it s just as I told you once before. They must 
 be engaged, or something pretty near it, she is so atten 
 tive. Why, actually every call he makes, and they 
 were pretty frequent at first, she escorts him to the 
 door, and they have charming, confidential little chats 
 out there in the vines, but I never overhear anything 
 that is said, they talk so low. That is a suspicious 
 circumstance, don t you think so? " 
 
 " Perhaps they are talking over what is best to do 
 for you, and do not wish to let you hear," suggested 
 Mrs. Platt. 
 
 " yes, possibly. But their talks are too lengthy 
 
THE DOCTOR S SUMMER DREAMS. 263 
 
 for that. They would have to tell all the history of my 
 life over twice in order to talk so long. I think they 
 are planning, I m sure I do. It will be too bad if 
 we have to get another teacher for the school, though. 
 The children are used to Lois, and like her, all of 
 them. Besides, they learn remarkably fast. I really 
 believe other people were beginning to suspect some 
 thing, for Mrs. Dean, who was in here the other day 
 when the Doctor called, noticed that he and Lois had 
 a great deal of business out in the parlor, and a remark 
 was made I think she suggested it about Lois 
 being plenty old enough to think of getting married. 
 She said that young man Lois used to think so much 
 of ought to be forgotten by this time. He was not 
 worthy, anyway, of such remembrance, in my mind; 
 and those rumors that were floating around about him 
 after he left I more than half believe, though I wish 
 not to disturb the repose nor revive the forgotten trans 
 gressions of the dead." 
 
 Mrs. Platt was of the opinion that Lois was not 
 nursing any unhappy regrets for the past. u She is so 
 cheerful, you know, Mrs. Mills, that there is scarcely 
 any possibility of that, although I own she seemed very 
 devoted for a while. It is nothing out of the way, I 
 think, that she does not turn her thoughts to such 
 things. The right one probably has not come along 
 yet; and then, Lois s life must be a pleasant one, for 
 she loves her work, and has so many friends, while her 
 cares never fret, but only interest, her"; and Mrs. 
 Platt felt well satisfied after she had said this, slyly 
 thinking that she had done a good turn for Lois, and 
 quite likely Mrs. Hunman would find a chance to 
 
264 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 make it convenient for the Doctor to further his plans 
 that very day. 
 
 But Mrs. Hunman had slightly misunderstood the 
 matter, and planned differently to put in her helping 
 touch. Her honest old soul never knew the force of a 
 hint of any kind, and all her work had to be done in 
 .her own straightforward style; and as for making sug 
 gestive opportunities, or for artful management, it was 
 as foreign to her old-fashioned ideas as fancy skating to 
 an artificial leg. 
 
 Dr. Knapp and Lois had a pleasant drive out through 
 the summer-clothed pastures before the heat of day 
 came on. The roads were dusty, and Lois s dress in 
 this season was of light, fluffy material that was easily 
 damaged, so the Doctor was careful to drive slowly and 
 raise as little dust as possible, until they got near Ten- 
 ayee, which was rather a pretentious place, and watered 
 its roads for some distance out. Lady Snowdrop fa 
 vored the idea, too, perhaps because she herself wore 
 a coat that was easily soiled, but more likely because 
 she objected to much exertion in summer-time. On 
 the way out they were overtaken by Horace Graham, 
 Jr., on horseback, the young gentleman who admired 
 Lois, and had made the speech which Mrs. Mills once 
 took occasion to repeat to Mrs. Platt. 
 
 He rode up beside the cart, and liking company 
 better than travelling alone, endured Snowdrop s slow 
 gait for the sake of enjoying a social chat. 
 
 " How now, Miss Warren," he said, in a bantering 
 tone, "do you find time to thrash the rising generation 
 with apple bark since Mrs. Mills broke her arm ? It s 
 too bad. I ve thought sometimes I d like to turn 
 
THE DOCTOR S SUMMER DREAMS. 265 
 
 into a youngster myself to get a licking from so fair a 
 hand." 
 
 " Maybe you would n t have to change into anything 
 to deserve one," replied Lois, lightly. 
 
 " Come now, good brother," said Horace, appealing 
 to the Doctor, " should n t you think that superan 
 nuated little snail you drive there would feel rather 
 nervous to drag along anybody who has such a repu 
 tation for the application of the rod as your accom 
 panying friend ? " 
 
 " Well," returned the other, laughing, " I don t know 
 that I ve ever heard of anything surprising in that line. 
 Can t you give me an instance ? " 
 
 " Ha, ha ! You just ought to have one from the 
 belligerent little school-ma am yourself. But" with 
 just a tinge of jealousy, perhaps, and hating to lose the 
 opportunity for a sly hit "I can just bet you don t 
 get any of it, or see any of it, either, by the looks of 
 things at the present speaking." 
 
 The ire of the school-mistress was kindled to the 
 blazing-point in a moment. "The effrontery of such a 
 speech ! And to me, too! the impudent fellow ! " she 
 thought. " This cannot and will not be overlooked. I 
 must show him his place at an early day," she decided. 
 
 But the Doctor took it upon himself to answer, and 
 turned it off lightly by saying, " That is because I am 
 on the right side, you see. I expect if I should let her 
 drive and took the left-hand seat myself, you would 
 have something of an increase in the dust you take"; 
 and drawing up the reins he urged Lady Snowdrop 
 into a faster movement. 
 
 Young Horace rode along behind, laughing quite 
 
266 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 heartily, in reality because he had called up a faint 
 blush to Lois s cheek, and so thought she had betrayed 
 herself, while he called out in ranting stylo, "I told 
 you that you have the right side, and your little pacer, 
 too; but I should advise you to find out all about her 
 whaling propensities before Down came the fish- 
 rod whip for the first time upon the unsuspecting Lady 
 Snowdrop, up flew the dust in vigorous clouds, and the 
 rest of the sentence, as well as the jocund speaker, 
 were drowned in an earthy embrace. 
 
 " Mr. Graham never tires of referring to the amuse 
 ment he felt one day when he discovered me punishing 
 a refractory little rebel at school," explained Lois. 
 
 " You might have extended the courtesy to him with 
 good effect," responded her companion, who was thor 
 oughly disgusted. 
 
 When the sport-loving young man again caught up to 
 his friends, he thought it wiser to dispense with fun 
 for the time, and fearing he might have offended the 
 Doctor by an impolite reference to his horse, he never 
 once suspected Lois had cause for offence, because the 
 girls liked everything he did, anyway, devoted him 
 self to being as agreeable as he could to that forgiving 
 personage as long as he could endure the slow travel 
 ling; and when he thought he had mended matters, 
 said to the Doctor that likely they would meet at Mrs. 
 Hunman s, since he had met Byron at a horse-race, 
 where they had planned to "swap nags," and then gal 
 loped on out of sight. 
 
 After that the Doctor drove on slowly as before, feel 
 ing that some fulfilment of his golden visions was 
 complete with good little Lois there beside him, warm- 
 
THE DOCTOR S SUMMER DREAMS. 267 
 
 ing up his kindly old heart to a perfect Elysium of 
 happiness. 
 
 Remembering the fact afterward, he felt very thank 
 ful for the slight delay, for by prolonging that happy 
 hour with her, he postponed for a little time a coming 
 sorrow. 
 
268 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE FINAL RECKONING. 
 
 She stood as stands the stricken deer, 
 Caught midway in the fearful chase. 
 
 WHITTIER. 
 
 WHEN Nita had reached the cabin she called home, 
 twilight had long since deepened into night, a night 
 dark and chill with south winds, which winged across 
 the frozen summits and grew cold as those aged moun 
 tain brows, bare and ghostly and faintly outlined like 
 spectres in the starlight. The winds came tearing 
 down the heights, tossing among the pine-tops, and 
 roaring through the gorges. Before it the moist at 
 mosphere of the Indian summer-tide turned inky black 
 and thick with storm-clouds that banked up against 
 the hills and left only glimpses of the serene heavens, 
 alight with still, pale stars and a slender, silvery moon 
 that seemed to shrink from the darkness beneath. 
 
 Had Nita been the spirit of this wild gathering storm, 
 she could not have seemed more a part of it. Her dark, 
 startled eyes looking wildly out from their jetty brows 
 and lashes, her blanched cheek, and the dashing fierce 
 ness of her motions were all in harmony with the stormy 
 commotion around her. 
 
 She sprang upon the porch with a bound, and burst 
 into the dingy living-room which was but half lighted 
 by the glow of a small lamp. Her father and mother 
 had finished their supper, and were waiting rather un- 
 
THE FINAL RECKONING. 269 
 
 easily for the truant. As Nita began to eat the bowlful 
 of bread and milk which had been left for her on the 
 bare pine table, her father turned toward her, grum 
 bling, with his pipe in his mouth, and still cutting and 
 crumbling the tobacco which he had been preparing to 
 fill it. 
 
 "Arrah there, Nita, you mind that you are not to stay 
 BO late. It s a sorry way for the likes of you now, it 
 is, do ye hear?" 
 
 " The bell-cow got beyond the creek, and I could n t 
 find her anyhow," she replied, timidly. 
 
 "The bell-cow, is it now? I milked her meself be 
 fore dark." 
 
 Nita shrank from his stern gaze, and laid down her 
 spoon; then the tender heart of the father regained its 
 usual sway. " Mind what I tells ye, girl," he added, 
 in a gentler tone, " and come now and loight me pipe. 
 It s been a harud day fur yer old dad, an he needs a 
 comfort now." 
 
 In truth, the idlers up at the mine had vexed his 
 soul not a little. He could not find it in his heart to 
 side with them against one whom he knew to be stanch 
 and true to the highest principles of manhood, although 
 he might not fully comprehend such a character. He 
 had worked with Edward Dennett s father in the old 
 mine years ago, when Edward was a school-boy, and 
 he had known the lad from his youth. 
 
 A man who possessed the cultivation and bearing of 
 a gentlemen, and added to these the principles of jus 
 tice and truth, constituted his ideal of what a gentle 
 man should be. And Edward Dennett filled this as 
 well as his father had before him. 
 
270 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 "Begorra, boys," he had said to the strikers, "a jin- 
 tleman whin he s a-bossing of a job don t want folks 
 a-smokin and cussin around now. Ye all know that, 
 an it s divil a bit o luck 11 come out o this, I can tell 
 ye." 
 
 When Nita had reached home so late, her disobe 
 dience had seemed a spice of insubordination and ob 
 stinacy like that of the strikers which had tried him 
 all day, and so the voice that usually fell only in words 
 of tenderness and praise upon Nita s ear now smote it 
 with blame, which, though merited, rankled and stung 
 in a heart already seething and heaving with angry 
 passion, like the fires beneath a volcanic crater. 
 
 With the same set features and flashing, downcast 
 eyes, she filled the pipe, drawing it while she held the 
 flickering match to the weed it contained, and blowing 
 the wreaths of smoke from her mobile, cherry-colored 
 lips in a manner that showed this to be a familiar 
 duty. But surely her small, even teeth, as white as 
 purest pearls, bore witness that she had not yet fol 
 lowed her parent s example in the use of tobacco. The 
 old man pulled off his boots meanwhile, and sat toast 
 ing his feet by the fire, and on receiving his pipe, 
 smiled and chucked Nita pleasantly under the chin, 
 and then relapsed into his dozing. As usual, her mother, 
 a corpulent old Spanish woman, whose abundant hair 
 of raven blackness, arid still fine eyes, were all that 
 remained of her former charms, reclined upon an old 
 sofa covered with once brilliant but now soiled and 
 faded chintz. She was indolent and luxurious like 
 her Spanish ancestors, whom she so closely resembled 
 in feature and disposition; and no fair senora, under 
 
THE FINAL RECKONING. 271 
 
 the lemon boughs of Seville, could have rolled her 
 cigarette more coquettishly than did this drowsy old 
 dame, merely from habit implanted by nature. 
 
 Poor Nita was thus left alone to struggle with the 
 furies which had taken possession of her breast. Me 
 chanically she washed the bowl that had contained 
 her light supper, and poured fresh water into the basin 
 for the watch-dogs. Then she walked restlessly about 
 the rooms until her father went to bed, and her mother 
 scowled upon her for the noise; so she slipped quietly 
 out again into the darkness of the gloomy night, where 
 the blasts beat ag.ainst the house, and seemed to roll 
 over the pine-tops, making them bow and shriek with 
 far-off, unearthly voices that filled the gorges with their 
 groans. 
 
 Her heart was aching, notwithstanding the scorn and 
 humiliation that maddened her. 
 
 "False, false and cruel!" she moaned, ravelling 
 out unconsciously her long, smooth braids, and hurry 
 ing through the woods fearlessly, half-blinded by her 
 anguish. Back and forth she paced, her white face 
 gleaming from the darkness that enfolded her, some 
 times bursting into sobs and wringing her hands with 
 all the fierceness of the hot Spanish blood that made 
 her a veritable harp of feeling, the music of which is 
 pleasure or pain, and this was pain, the pain of un 
 requited love, of remorse and self-humiliation, and of 
 despair. 
 
 Those sad, tender eyes, and forgiving, outstretched 
 arms of her husband, had been more cruel than harsh 
 upbraiding. " My poor, little, strayed lamb, I should 
 not have left you," he had said, in a voice tender as a 
 
272 ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 mother s, while she leaned against a tall pine trunk 
 like some brilliant, bending lily that had found support 
 by its rough sides. Her hands had been clasped be 
 hind her, as if to make sure that he should not take 
 them. Her proud little head had been bent with 
 shame, and her cheek as crimson as if the .last 
 fading rose of twilight emanated from its rounded 
 velvet surface. Her words of self-reproach and her 
 backwardness he could not understand. To him these 
 had been only manifestations of native coyness. And 
 had he not been gone a long while ? A child soon for 
 gets; true, she was more than a child, but to him she 
 seemed only little more, and this shyness merely im 
 plied a renewal of their courtship. With a smile on 
 his lips he had approached as gently as if she had been 
 a young bird. 
 
 " I will take better care of you now, my little Nita; 
 BO just one kiss to show that you have not quite forgot 
 ten " But she had shrunk back, confounded and self- 
 condemned by her own utter falseness. She knew that 
 he thought her still the hopeful, joyous child-wife whom 
 he had left. 
 
 In the fading twilight he had not seen that she was 
 changed. Her regard for him had been but a child s 
 gratitude, because he had pleased her with the promise 
 of coveted toys. Now a grand passion had come to 
 her life, making her a woman, one that was full of 
 the fire and fierceness of a tropic clime; and at this 
 moment the deep, all-sweeping tide of this master pas 
 sion had been lashed to a storm of fury, dashing back 
 from sunken rocks upon her poor, untried, and un- 
 Bchooled soul, that was frenzied with the shock. 
 
THE FINAL RECKONING. 273 
 
 With a scream of terror she had fled, and disap 
 peared through the forests. No thought of the treas 
 ures he had promised, no memory of their vows, could 
 bring calmness or relief. 
 
 While wandering up and down, she recalled her hus 
 band s goodness and faithfulness to herself, until she 
 sank down and leaned her cheek upon the dust, for 
 shame that she did not merit, and could not reward, 
 this noble devotion. Then came the thought of that 
 other. She lived over again every scene connected 
 with him, and recalling their first meeting, she 
 writhed with the memory of the insult he had of 
 fered. Oh, how plainly could she see his perfidy and 
 her own blindness! 
 
 Revenge! This thought fired her brain with a new 
 purpose. She knew how easily she could spill the life- 
 blood of the wretch who had so ruthlessly broken her 
 heart for idle pastime; and yet with a second s reflec 
 tion, her unperverted intuition taught her what an un 
 satisfying thing this revenge would prove. 
 
 She, with her weak hand, might strike out his life; 
 but when he was gone, the same fierce agony which he 
 had caused must forever wring her heart with pain, re 
 coiling upon herself, since there would be no object 
 against which she could direct it. So she sank down 
 again. 
 
 The reckoning hour with conscience had come, which 
 all must know who leave the path of uprightness for 
 that of evil. If she could survive this struggle, she 
 must either repent, or become hardened and lost in the 
 ways of sin. Who, born and bred in these temples of 
 nature, pillared with living shafts which God had 
 
274 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 raised, and walled in with the eternal mountains, 
 could forsake his whole former life, and deliberately 
 pursue still, amid such surroundings, the treacherous 
 ignis fatuus in the swamps of sin? Surely she could 
 not. But victory left her a hopeless wreck, condemned 
 by her own soul, so hopeless and broken that she would 
 not arise from the earth, upon which she lay prone, until 
 she had unsheathed her little secret dagger and vowed 
 to end her life. With a dash of the tragic, which 
 always belongs to a nature like hers, she bared her 
 breast, and pressed the keen edge of the dagger to her 
 burning, throbbing bosom. The chill of the steel 
 awakened a thought, and with the impulse she sprang 
 up. " He is good. I will go to him and beg his for 
 giveness, and then die and go to my God," she re- 
 folved, and bounded away through the black forest 
 like a young panther. 
 
 The wind blew sharp and chill around her, but she 
 was unconscious of the cold; the brambles and bushes 
 caught her long, dishevelled hair, but she tore it away 
 from their gnarled, crackling fingers, heedless of the 
 pain. She knew well where she could find her hus 
 band, and the darkness hid not her path. It was down 
 beyond the bushy swale, across the gorge 1 , up the slope 
 past the town, and then down the steep road that wound 
 into the caiiori. She knew the room lie would occupy 
 in her brother-in-law s house. A tap on the window 
 would bring him out, and she would tell him all, and 
 kneel before him for the forgiveness which she knew 
 she would receive from a husband so loving and faith 
 ful, and then the dagger. She clutched it tighter, to 
 make sure of its safety. Ah I well she knew its keen 
 
THE FINAL RECKONING. 275 
 
 edge and glittering beauty! It was her mother s, and 
 she had often thought it looked like a willow leaf, long 
 and slender, transformed to purest, brightest silver. 
 And it should stay in her wicked heart and rust there 
 till the judgment-day. She imagined this would be 
 a sort of penance for her sin. As she was hastening 
 along the slope, just north of the town, suddenly she 
 stopped, and a strange, new terror took possession of 
 her, freezing the blood in her veins, stiffening those 
 swift, supple limbs, and making her wild midnight 
 e} T es stony with amazement. 
 
 She stood petrified, as if she could never move from 
 the spot, while her burning brain comprehended every 
 detail of the sight upon which her gaze was riveted. 
 
276 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE FADING DREAM. 
 
 As fades the luminous carmine of the dawn 
 To eyes that gaze on life s turmoil and strife, 
 
 So fades the dream of love, bright, heaven-born, 
 Dragged to the level of a common life. 
 
 Selected. 
 
 AFTER their visit to the hospital was over, Lois and 
 the Doctor drove up to Mrs. Hunman s, but there was 
 no answer to their repeated rings. "Everybody seems 
 to be out," said the Doctor, looking at his watch. "And 
 yet this is one of the days when I am expected, and we 
 are not too early, either. O, I have guessed it now. 
 Perhaps Mrs. Hunman is at the back of the house 
 superintending her weekly washing, for this is Mon 
 day, and Mr. Hunman, who generally attends to it, 
 complained of a toothache on my last visit, and quite 
 likely is not able to do it to-day." 
 
 He had scarcely finished speaking when Horace 
 Graham, Jr., came up the walk, a mischievous smile 
 breaking over his face as he comprehended the situa 
 tion. "What s up?" he called. "Have they locked 
 you out? You will have to go without your dinner 
 now, sure; but never mind, since your appetites are not 
 likely to be extra good, anyway. You 11 both do, I 
 guess, if you don t get any. But just think of poor me 
 going plumb to starvation. I could eat snails, I in so 
 hungry already." 
 
THE FADING DREAM. 277 
 
 Lois faced him with a look that was very severe to 
 come from eyes so charmingly blue and merry as hers. 
 
 " Well, you won t have to starve, until I investigate 
 further," said the good old Doctor, venturing around 
 through the luxuriant garden toward the back of the 
 house. Ah! I have found some one," he said, looking 
 around and beckoning for the others to follow him. 
 " See how accurately I can guess," he added. 
 
 "You have already had an example of how expert 1 
 am at that," said Horace, as they joined the Doctor. 
 
 It was wash-day at the Hunman residence, sure 
 enough. The shady back yard had been converted 
 into a laundry, and tubs of snowy clothes, pails of blu 
 ing, and pans of starch stood here and there about the 
 terraced steps leading down from the hot, steaming 
 kitchen; wflile under a leafy tree, in the deepest shadow, 
 Nettie was at work in the milky suds, busily rubbing 
 up and down, unconscious of intruders. She made a 
 sweet little picture there, facing a hedge of flowering 
 pease growing up through a mass of low currant-bushes. 
 It was just the proper setting for such a girl as she, - 
 a place where she could use up her superfluous temper, 
 and seem quite docile and even pretty, with her cool, 
 light dress fastened loosely about her neck, where stray, 
 damp locks curled up bewitchingly in little rings, and 
 her plump, dimpled arms blushing pinkly through the 
 foamy suds. There was a suggestion of robust health 
 in her bright, red cheeks and in the pale, gold freckles 
 that seemed to be showering down from the sunshiny 
 sky through the shadowy branches above her in tiny 
 specks of light, over face and neck and arms alike. 
 
 She looked up suddenly from her work and saw the 
 
278 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 Doctor coming through the hollyhocks, followed by the 
 others, and her quick, round eyes did not fail to notice 
 that Lois was behind him. She bowed and looked at 
 them with a sour face. 
 
 " You must n t come around into people s back yards 
 unless you expect to find them in uncomfortable plight, 
 and take your share of suds," she said, with a decided 
 vim in her tone. 
 
 " She is n t going to throw any, is she? " asked Hor 
 ace, affectedly, of Lois. 
 
 " Is your grandma at home?" asked the Doctor. 
 
 " Certainly. Am I not out here scrubbing away 
 alone because she had to be in-doors fixing dinner for 
 you? You see our wash-woman could not come to 
 day, and grandma and I have had to manage with the 
 work ourselves. So we are late," she sai^ her voice 
 softening a little, and her eyes glancing slyly toward 
 Horace. 
 
 " But no one answered our ring at the front door," 
 said Dr. Knapp. " That is why I came around here." 
 
 "There! I know why she didn t hear it; of course 
 she s asleep. Grandpa kept the whole house up last 
 night with his toothache." 
 
 "Well, don t disturb her, then," said the Doctor, 
 considerately. " We will sit down here in the garden 
 till she wakes." 
 
 " Observe me obeying the governor s decision imme 
 diately," said Horace, perching himself upon the end 
 of a box, and throwing pebbles at a hen. 
 
 "O yes, I must," said Nettie. "Why, she would 
 scold me if I did n t wake her "; so she told them to go 
 around to the front door and she would be there to 
 
THE FADING DREAM. 279 
 
 receive them. Horace rose and kicked over the box 
 that had served him, looking back at Nettie as they 
 walked away, and in a tone that was intended to be 
 low, but which sounded gratingly harsh on the still 
 ness, said to the Doctor, " Is n t she a little savage? " 
 
 When good-natured Mrs. Hunman received her 
 visitors, she was instantly reminded of Mrs. Plait s 
 instructions, and resolved to perform them faithfully. 
 
 Horace, who was a stranger to the family, but who 
 had struck up a wonderful friendship with Byron on 
 a remarkably short acquaintance, remained to dinner, 
 and rather put a restraint on the good old lady s inten 
 tions. But after the meal, when the young men went 
 out to " swap nags," she opened the subject in solid 
 earnest. 
 
 " Well, Doctor," she began, " I suppose you find 
 these hot days rather uncomfortable, now that you are 
 getting a little old?" 
 
 44 Yes," said the Doctor, passing his hand through 
 his hair when reminded of its gray threads, "yes, I 
 do find the heat somewhat unpleasant." 
 
 But Mrs. Hunnian did not intend to allow him to 
 ignore her reference to his age in that way. 
 
 "When a person s not overly young," she said, 
 " they don t stand a very good chance to get along 
 well. They can t put up with the warm weather as 
 comfortably as when they were young, nor get through 
 the world so good in anything; and particularly, they 
 don t have such a good show in matrimony." 
 
 Lois blushed, and the Doctor grew nervous, and 
 pulled out his handkerchief to wipe his forehead, but 
 he was fortunate enough to think of a reply. 
 
280 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 "You are right, Mrs. Hunman," he said. "Age 
 robs one of his best forces, but it adds experience to 
 make up a little for the deficiency." 
 
 "Seems to me, Doctor," she continued, "You ought 
 to be thinking of getting married yourself, before you 
 get so old you can t find anybody to have you. Why 
 don t you think about it? " 
 
 The Doctor looked as if he had received a blow. His 
 feelings were so sensitive and delicate that anything 
 presented so bluntly as Mrs. Hunman s volunteered 
 advice seemed to him incomparably coarse and shock 
 ing. He grew very red over it, but notwithstanding 
 his usual embarrassment in such positions, he managed 
 to think of something that would tend to put an end 
 to the conversation on this subject. He said, " Your 
 idea may be worthy of consideration, Mrs. Hunman, but 
 that is a matter I do not care to discuss publicly." 
 
 "Well, well," said the innocent old lady laughing, 
 " the idea occurred because you and your friend here 
 look so nice together." She was determined not to be 
 put off without saying it in some way. 
 
 " It seems to me" interposed Lois, pleasantly, but not 
 without tumultuous feelings because of the reference to 
 herself, " that such ideas should not enter your mind 
 unless they also enter the minds of those concerned. 
 They may not always be entirely welcome, Mrs. Hun 
 man." She added that last sentence for the Doctor s 
 sake, knowing that his native gallantry would prevent 
 him from giving such a hint, feeling its necessity, and 
 yet believing that he would wish it said. 
 
 Still that last sentence crushed all the romantic 
 hopes the Doctor cherished, it dissolved a thousand 
 
THE FADING DREAM. 281 
 
 little pictures he had dreamed of, and it quenched the 
 sunshine out of an otherwise dull and rayless future; 
 but he sat without a tremor, and went on gravely with 
 the conversation that followed, in the face of a deadly 
 pain. 
 
 It did not add to his comfort that Nettie was on the 
 war-path that day, and went around sulkily watching 
 her chance to do or say something to annoy Lois. But 
 the latter young lady was not in the least discomposed. 
 She talked away as cheerily as ever; insisted on being 
 allowed to try some remedy to relieve Mr. Hunman, 
 inspired the Doctor to suggest heated charcoal held in 
 the mouth, till finally the poor old man, who had been 
 raving around with a handkerchief on his head and the 
 tears streaming down a puffed cheek, declared that his 
 pain was so much eased that he could get a little sleep. 
 
 Then Lois began to talk with Mrs. Hunman of the 
 flowers in the old garden, about planting and watering 
 and trimming, and finally mentioned the thorny bush 
 of pink roses that grew beside the walk where she and 
 the Doctor had stopped on their first visit for some 
 flowers, and she had so sweetly offered to mend his 
 torn glove. Many a time since then had he paused 
 reverently by it, to recall its happy associations, or to 
 gather a leaf in remembrance of them. Now it had all 
 changed to bitterness. 
 
 He could no longer endure to stay and hear Lois talk 
 so lightly, her eyes glistening v/ith brightness, while 
 his were strangely clouded v/ith something he could not 
 quite explain, and hardly dared to try. So he sought 
 refuge in the garden. Alas! this too but recalled that 
 blissful day of spring, when all those dusty corners were 
 
282 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 filled with delicious, fresh young leaves, when perfumes 
 floated over them in the drowsy breath of mignonette 
 and roses, and the breezes brought something of that 
 olden spell on their cooling wings, from the far-off 
 mysteries of the hills and the drooping skies, that had 
 cast a tinge of rosy hope over all his life. 
 
 But as he sat there among the broad, dark leaves 
 watching the spots of sunbeams light up with quiver 
 ing splendor the covering of dried and scentless grasses 
 underfoot, and listening to the faint, high hissing of a 
 bee somewhere among the apple-boughs, a great peace 
 swept through his heart, and opened his blinded eyes 
 to a wisdom that brought him comfort and tran 
 quillity. He gave up, not without a lingering and 
 sorrowful regret, all those strange, sweet dreams that 
 had made his future promise the belated blossoms of 
 life s spring; he gave up many a hope that had wrapped 
 such halos of transcendent light and beauty over all 
 the coming scenes of his existence, and he accepted the 
 calm, familiar way again, a way that seemed to him 
 now very blank and purposeless, very destitute of life s 
 choicest, sweetest riches. Fate had lifted him up and 
 had given him a glimpse, through the rifted clouds of 
 life s dull sky, of the radiant glory of Love s paradise, 
 but she had cast him down so far below the plane of 
 that fair land that he could never hope to walk again 
 upon its hallowed ground. And yet one consolation 
 remained for all his blighted hopes, poor and meagre 
 though it might have been to others, the memory 
 that the object of his love was still left to him, with 
 every charm she had held for his heart, preserved in 
 all its former beauty. To a younger man, unschooled 
 
THE FADING DREAM. 283 
 
 to disappointments and griefs, this might have been 
 only an aggravation to a bruised and wounded heart. 
 But the Doctor had not won his silvery locks for naught. 
 The fresh enthusiasm of his youth had not been blunted, 
 the glowing fires of his early hopes had not been cooled, 
 without having left a power as potent in their stead. 
 He had known sorrow, he had borne defeat, he had 
 seen the best ideals of life perish, and he could bear 
 his grief and take the blessing left to him with a thank 
 ful heart, knowing well how many of life s joys change 
 only into gall and bitterness. 
 
 And there in the old garden, on the grave of his 
 buried happiness, in the face of a future darkened into 
 midnight, he made a resolve to guard through all the 
 vicissitudes of her way the gentle girl who had taught 
 his heart to feel such love. 
 
 But the world s irreverence broke on his melancholy 
 hour, loth to grant him even the respite of solitude, for 
 Nettie, catching a glimpse of him sitting under the trees 
 so thoughtfully and idle, called to him to come and see 
 her new pets. 
 
 In a dazed way he went to her, and she, perceiving 
 her advantage of having caught him in a reckless 
 mood, ordered him to hold the basket for her while she 
 hung out the clothes, before she rewarded him with a 
 sight of her pet puppies, and he complied as if he knew 
 not what he did. Horace coming from the stables 
 saw him, and rushed in to get Lois to view the "great 
 sights " out in the back garden. Little knowing what 
 his object was, she went. 
 
 " Is n t that a picture of prospective domestic joy?" 
 he asked, pointing through the hollyhocks. Lois was 
 
284 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 shocked. Such a position seemed inconsistent with 
 the Doctor s grave dignity, so utterly belittling to a 
 grand and noble character! Could she have known 
 through what deeps of sorrow he was toiling, how en 
 tirely lost to the world s trivial deeds he was, her heart 
 would have softened with inexpressible tenderness 
 toward him. 
 
 There was a secret satisfaction to Horace in the ex 
 pression of Lois s face, and he went on with his light 
 talk, half teasing her about the Doctor, and venturing 
 upon dangerous territory whenever he dared. Finally 
 he said something that gave her a good opportunity to 
 show him where he stood. 
 
 " Probably," he said, with a tantalizing laugh, 
 "probably the Doctor will get a taste of your belliger 
 ent disposition now. He will then see that it don t pay 
 to get on the wrong side of a school-ma am, specially 
 under the present circumstances" 
 
 There was something so insolent in his tone that it 
 could not fail to awaken indignation, though in reality 
 this was only the fellow s way of being playful. Lois 
 looked at him steadily a moment; there was no fire in 
 her mild blue eyes, no cloud on her fair, smooth brow, 
 no vindictiveness in her voice, when she said, "Prob 
 ably the Doctor is able to do what you are not, able 
 to attend to his own affairs; probably, if the Doctor 
 knows as much of my disposition as I do of yours, he 
 is entirely satisfied with his abundant wisdom without 
 wishing for opportunities to obtain any more." 
 
 From that moment Horace Graham never thought of 
 Lois with the old admiration again. But it left him 
 on a much better footing. lie respected her more 
 
THE FADING DREAM. 285 
 
 when he could not be her equal, and was made to real 
 ize it, and he felt compelled to refrain from the jest 
 ing impudence that he thought his former familiarity 
 licensed. So his sport with Lois came to an ignomini 
 ous end. He lost his relish for it somehow, and none 
 of his subsequent attempts to revive it gave the matter 
 any zest. However, he still liked a joke over the Doc 
 tor, and enjoyed it all the more if he could get any 
 notice from Lois. 
 
 When he came in from the garden after this little in 
 cident, and found Lois, who had left him there, sitting 
 serenely with Mrs. Hunrnan, talking of baking powder 
 and yeast, she seemed to be as pleasant as ever; and 
 yet there was an imperceptible barrier between them 
 that he could not surmount. So when she said it was 
 time to prepare to go home, and asked Horace to tell 
 the Doctor, he did not decline on the ground that he 
 had not the heart nor the courage to disturb that " ro 
 mantic little scene among the currant-bushes," and 
 suggest that her abilities better fitted her to do it, but 
 went straightway to perform the errand. When he 
 came back, however, he had material for a fling at the 
 Doctor, and could not resist the desire to use it. 
 
 " Did you find him? " asked Lois. 
 
 " Yes. He e out in the back garden engaging a few 
 pups." 
 
 "Well, did you tell him?" 
 
 " Tried to. But I could n t swear that he heard me, 
 he was so busy trotting out the little devils for inspec 
 tion, and poking toads around with a stick for the relief 
 of the half-fainting Nettie." 
 
 " And do you think he will come soon? " 
 
286 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 " O yes, like enough, if he don t have to go back a 
 dozen times after he gets started, to trade dogs." 
 
 Laugh as she might at this absurd picture, it never 
 theless made an impression on her mind. She thought 
 it scarcely becoming in the Doctor to humor and baby 
 such a saucy and disagreeable girl as Nettie seemed to 
 be, at the expense of his own dignity. He not only 
 took no offence at her impudence, but he excused it to 
 such an extent that he was willing to sacrifice some of 
 his good sense to gratify her whims. It was something 
 she could not understand, something that she could not 
 respect in him, and hence she could not forgive him. 
 
 To the Doctor, Nettie was a high-tempered, spoiled 
 girl, whose natural infirmities were grievously aggra 
 vated by her circumstances. People liked too well the 
 fun of seeing her anger kindled to desist for her sake; 
 and so the Doctor s patience and consideration with her 
 had won for him the truest friendship she was capable 
 of giving, ajid showed him many innocent hopes that 
 she cherished, many affectionate little touches to her 
 character, that quite redeemed her from the unloveliness 
 that seemed all-pervading to others. 
 
 But Lois was still further surprised that day by some 
 thing that put a disquietude into her cheerful heart, 
 and raised a doubt in her conscientious mind whether 
 her duty really lay in the path she was following, 
 whether it would not be productive in the end of evil 
 instead of good to her fellow-beings. It happened in 
 this wise: the Doctor, who had another visit to make at 
 the hospital, went away before Lois, and she told him 
 that she preferred to walk from. Mrs. Hunman s, and 
 then he would not be delayed by the extra time it 
 would take to drive back for her. 
 
THE FADING DREAM. 287 
 
 After she had left the house she discovered that she 
 had forgotten her parasol, and went back to get it. She 
 entered the garden at the side gate where the Doctor 
 usually hitched his horse, and passed along the well- 
 beaten path that led through an arbor to the house. 
 When she reached the arbor she became aware of a 
 commotion between Nettie and her Uncle Byron on the 
 back steps. Loud sounds issued from Nettie, tearful, 
 angry exclamations, and protestations against his ill 
 treatment of her weakness. 
 
 "I don t care! " Lois heard, the voice weakened by 
 tears and broken by sobs; " you d feel bad too if you 
 had to stand it as I do. I just hate her! I hate her! 
 She s a mean * 
 
 "She s a mean thing, there!" came a high voice 
 in imitation of the first. 
 
 " She s just got the Doctor so he don t like his little 
 girl any more. She rides around in his cart all she 
 wants to, and he never lets me have it now, boo! hoo! 
 to take Minnie Crane out riding, boo! hoo! She s 
 done it all, I know. I can see he likes her the best, and 
 I can t have any more rides, boo! hoo! You get 
 away! I hate you too! I don t like anybody in the 
 world but grandpa and Dr. Knapp." 
 
 Lois fled, forgetful of parasol and everything else in 
 her desire to get out of hearing of that voice. She was 
 so surprised and troubled that she accused herself of 
 injustice to this poor little wayward girl she had just 
 overheard bewailing her unhappiness; and then came 
 the justification of her own conscience that acquitted 
 her on the ground of ignorance of the true state of things; 
 and lastly, the resolve to be no longer a source of pain 
 to others. 
 
288 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 She did not understand that Nettie s lamentings 
 came rather from a childish jealousy than from any 
 thing deeper. She recalled her first visit; and Nettie s 
 jesting but unpleasant references to love-making, which 
 even then had seemed to have something more behind 
 them, came to her with redoubled meaning. 
 
 In this mood she met the Doctor, and he noticed it. 
 He attributed it to Mrs. Hunman s conversation, and of 
 course thought Lois mistrusted him of having had some 
 thing to do with it. Yet he could not mention the sub 
 ject without painful awkwardness, so lie allowed the 
 matter to drop, with the satisfaction of feeling that his 
 own conscience was clear. 
 
 It was a silent ride they took homeward that late 
 afternoon. Oh, what a contrast to that first delight 
 ful one! The Doctor sat thoughtfully looking out over 
 the white, winding road, and urging Lady Snowdrop 
 into her best trot; but Lois was even relieved by his 
 silence. He had lost something of that grave, strong 
 dignity he had always seemed to possess, and she could 
 not feel the old dependence on him now. But it was 
 well, for it opened a road to something better. She 
 learned in time that though he was dignified and grave, 
 these little acts which had seemed to threaten that dig 
 nity came from a warm generosity that could afford to 
 stoop to the smaller things of life without losing its own 
 importance. She learned that he was as kind and un 
 selfish and charitable in the little things of life as he 
 was wise and dignified in its greater things. 
 
 And the Doctor, while he had lost none of that strong 
 affection he had learned to feel, still knew that his hope 
 
THE FADING DREAM. 289 
 
 was broken and gone forever. And he Bat and looked 
 out over the long stretches of yellow stubble, and the 
 matted, satiny grasses on the low, golden slopes, toward 
 the glittering spires of Locustville rising out of their 
 green groves of trees, far off across the prairie-like 
 fields, and felt that nevermore those scenes could hold 
 for him their old-time charm and loveliness. 
 
 Fade now, O ye flickering, golden lights on the tall 
 stubble and across the western slopes, fade with all 
 thy rich glories from the soft, foamy clouds and the 
 blue fields of heaven! and come, twilight, with thy 
 awakening breezes arid thy purple shades, to wrap the 
 glorious promise of the day in thy sheltering oblivion, 
 to hide the dim landscape of the world below, and 
 show the splendors of that higher landscape unrolled 
 with all its wonderous mysteries above, fit emblem, of 
 the peaceful twilight of our perishable hopes! 
 
290 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE FIRE. 
 
 Fierce is the tyranny of fire; it springs from a lowly birth-place 
 on the ground, but rises to high heaven, and burns out e en the fade 
 less glory of the stars. Selected. 
 
 VAGUELY as in a dream Edward Dennett remem 
 bered those terrible moments that succeeded his sud 
 den awakening, how he had madly started up with 
 the loud cry of "Fire! fire!" ringing wildly and long 
 over the sleeping town; how in his hasty flight past the 
 mill he had stumbled over the prostrate form of the 
 unfaithful, slumbering watchman; how dim figures be 
 gan to appear moving about bewilderingly rapid in the 
 streets below, lighted to a dim twilight by the white 
 glow overhead and the dull red reflection from the 
 blazing forests. Still the wild alarm of "Fire! fire!" 
 reached far and loud into the surroundings canons, 
 and came back above the distant murmur of excited 
 voices in faint, despairing echoes, " Fire! fire! " Out of 
 a column of sooty smoke and kindling flame the white 
 front of the big hotel seemed to totter in the wind- 
 swayed wreaths about it; one corner of it was crowned 
 with curling spikes of fire, that licked along the roof 
 and lurked in fitful gleams around the eaves, lighting 
 up the windows just below into momentary sheets of 
 flashing brightness. 
 
 He gained the broad veranda where the carved pil 
 lars shone red in the warm reflection from the burning 
 
THE FIRE. 291 
 
 woods, and opening wide the heavy hall door, shouted 
 up the dark stairways in a voice that seemed to rend 
 the very roof in its resounding vibrations, "Quick! 
 Fire! fire! fire! " Who of all those slumberers realized 
 the meaning of these words, as they awakened from 
 sound and restful sleep, and staggering along through 
 the densely dark passage-ways, jostled against each 
 other in nameless terror! Somewhere there was fire, 
 from some devouring flame came the stifling cloud 
 of smoke that filled the air, and some one s warning 
 voice was sounding loud and awful from below. On 
 the broad, crowded stairway, ringing with the voices of 
 that wild procession, a dark form leaped from step to 
 step, and sprang past like lightning to the landing 
 above. It was Edward Dennett. And now the secret 
 he had guarded so carefully against all gossiping 
 tongues and irreverent curiosity was an open one. 
 And yet what cared he, or even they who heard, in 
 that terrible hour? Who even wondered that he called 
 " Mabel!" in a clear, deep voice that was full of tender 
 ness as well as strength? who save one white-faced 
 girl hastening down and out into the night? 
 
 " fool! fool! " she whispered to herself. " It is all 
 over. She will hear, and then she will know as I now 
 do! I d rather die than see her happiness with him!" 
 she murmured, with a groan that was half a hiss, and 
 turning rushed with swift step back into the burning 
 building. In the deep darkness behind the stairs she 
 stood, thinking madly of her own defeat, of the bitter 
 ness that life held in store for her, firm in her resolve 
 to die. But when the thick fumes of smoke began to 
 stifle her, and a dull red glow fell on the white walls 
 
292 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 around, tremblingly she pictured her own frail form 
 clasped in the destroying grasp of the fire, and her 
 desperate resolve grew more and more terrible as she 
 thought of it. " Oh no! no! I must not wait here till 
 almost too late, and then come out maimed and scarred 
 for life," she said. " Let her have him! My lot can 
 not be such a misery that I should prefer this"; and 
 gathering up her long white robe, she hastened out 
 again into the hot winds that fanned the roaring 
 flames. " I d better even take George Brooklyn," she 
 whispered half aloud, while gliding through the ve 
 randa, crowded with half a dozen stalwart men hurry 
 ing out with a billiard-table. One of them turned 
 roughly to see who jostled him, but beholding a slen 
 der girl, her white gown tinted crimson in the glare, 
 and her long, shadowy waves of auburn hair floating 
 out like a cloak around her, he said kindly, u Stand in 
 that lattice, miss, until we get this down the steps. 
 You will be out of the way, and will not get hurt 
 there." 
 
 Nellie shrank back into the latticed end of the 
 veranda, where the bright gleams of the fire shone 
 through the clustering leaves 1 and fell in tiny moons 
 upon the floor. She waited with tremulous fear while 
 the men carried their heavy burden down, when a light 
 touch on her shoulder warned her that she was not 
 alone. Turning she saw Nita s dark oval face illu 
 minated in the weird, checkered light. "Are they all 
 out?" asked the girl in a low, frightened voice, "all? 
 Mabel and her aunt and the tall young man, Ned 
 Dennett, from the mill, and and George, is he out, 
 too? Say," she added in a whisper, "I thought I heard 
 you speak his name just now. Are you sure he is out?" 
 
THE FIRE. 293 
 
 "I cannot tell," said Nellie petulantly. "How do 
 /know?" and hastening away, she thought she heard 
 the low, pleading voice following her, but when she 
 reached the foot of the steps she found that she was 
 all alone. " T will be calm," she thought, as she paused 
 a moment there. " No one shall ever know what I 
 must bear this night." 
 
 A group of excited people formed a semi-circle out 
 in front of the hotel, looking anxiously up at the smok 
 ing roof, while men were running out with boxes and 
 trunks, with bundles of papers and articles of furniture, 
 and depositing them in the nearest place of safety. 
 
 The handsome, swarthy Englishman who owned the 
 hotel, hatless and in half-undress, stood in the rich 
 lustre of the light, with the scorching breath from the 
 woods blowing through his dark, glossy hair, and fan 
 ning his hot face beaded over with great drops of per 
 spiration, while he shouted to the men to come away, 
 the rest must burn. 
 
 Along the brilliant pathway Nellie went, looking 
 bewildered toward the assembled forms before her, 
 and vaguely wondering if any of her friends were there. 
 
 Yes, there was Mr. Sevenoakes, beating a hasty 
 retreat toward the mill, and his dainty wife leaning 
 half- fainting in the arms of her friend; there was 
 George Brooklyn, and Mabel too, coming toward her 
 with outstretched arms and tearful eyes. " Oh, Nellie, 
 Nellie!" she cried, "thank heaven you are safe, and 
 Aunt Cynthia too! Here they come! See! Mr. Dennett 
 is almost carrying her! Perhaps she has fainted. We 
 could not get her to leave the room, for something 
 troubled her. But he has made her come at last." 
 
294 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 "Hush! Don t make a scene here!" said Nellie, 
 calmly shrugging her shoulders and tossing back her 
 hair. " You are talking too loud. People will remem 
 ber all ridiculous behavior after this thing is over. For 
 myself, I think it quite romantic to take part in such 
 a scene, it will make a fine subject for future recital 
 to entranced hearers. In five minutes my upset nerves 
 were steadied, and I am as unconcerned now as if all 
 this was only a play. The only thing I object to is 
 the costume. It is rather too scant for comfort. 
 Though (low be it said!) perhaps I should be glad of 
 an opportunity for the novel experience of appearing 
 in it; the most uncomfortable thing about it being that 
 I shall have to wear some unbecoming, old-fashioned 
 travelling-dress home, for both my trunks are adding 
 to that blazing pile before us. Ah! you took time to 
 don a morning gown, I see, you piece of vanity, though 
 the last hour threatened to claim you." 
 
 "Nellie, Nellie!" said Mabel, starting away uncon 
 scious of the words last spoken. " Come, let us see 
 Aunt Cynthia, if we can do anything to comfort her." 
 But Nellie drew back, and let Mabel go alone to the 
 place where, on the warm, grassy earth, out of danger 
 of the fire, Edward Dennett tenderly laid his burden 
 down. In the lurid light Nellie stood, tall, emotionless, 
 like a statue, with no sign to attest her troubled spirit 
 except her cold eyes flashing disdainfully as she watched 
 Mabel and Edward Dennett moving to and fro around 
 Mrs. Willis in the fitful shadows that vanished when 
 some blazing bough shot up a momentary pinnacle of 
 fire, and came hastening back again when the bright 
 glare melted into the steady glow from the woods. Not 
 
THE FIEE. 295 
 
 even her best, most exalted feelings could equal the 
 natural innocence of that gentle girl on whom she 
 looked so scornfully. She had no conception of Mabel s 
 self-forgetting goodness, and so she only thought of her 
 rival s exultant heart, and of her own defeated, bitter 
 hopes. Not for the world would she turn her eyes away, 
 though what she saw might kill her on the spot. Like 
 some majestic savage queen she watched it all, im 
 movable in her unspeakable anger, her bright eyes dark 
 with distended pupils, and her white face transfigured 
 into something magnificent in its marble pallor, if not 
 beautiful in its self-extinguishing determination. 
 
 It was the supreme moment of her life, not a mo 
 ment when by some self-sacrificing act she had achieved 
 great good and happiness to her fellow-beings, but a 
 time when all the sentiment, the affection of her heart, 
 perished at one stroke, and left instead a raging, crying 
 bitterness, which she was striving with all her strength 
 and pride to stifle and conceal. 
 
 There is something very sad in the utter extinguish 
 ment of the light that kindles the higher feelings of the 
 heart. And what wonder that Nellie, selfish, ambitious, 
 vain, in the hour when all that higher brightness was 
 shut away, having none of her own to supply her empty 
 soul, should unconsciously feel shame for her poverty, 
 and summon all her pride to hide it. But she suc 
 ceeded. Her face expressed no suggestion of what she 
 felt when she saw Edward glance tenderly back at 
 Mabel as he prepared to go, though it shot a poisoned 
 dagger into her heart while she looked upon the picture. 
 
 But she saw in the next moment the strong, brave 
 man outlined against the burning buildings, like the 
 
296 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 figure of some valiant Spartan of old. She saw his face, 
 it was young and handsome, and the broad, smooth 
 brow, with the damp, bright waves of hair above it, 
 giving courage by its own serenity; and she saw him 
 raise his hands in warning as he said, above the din of 
 lamenting voices, " Stand back! stand back! There s 
 danger here! " A silence fell as the semi-circle quickly 
 widened, and then she saw him pointing to the broad 
 roof covered with a crown of flames, from which black 
 fragments of roofing were caught up into the spurting 
 jets of fire and smoke, and fell again like starry brands 
 from heaven. 
 
 Scarcely half an hour had passed since awakening 
 from that happy dream, and now Edward stood in 
 the heart of a fiery scene that painted with its awful 
 devastation the hues of the infernal regions over the 
 placid, lovely face of nature. 
 
 The thick pine woods to the north of the hotel were 
 hot and darkly red in a great threatening crescent 
 around the little town, while crackling, sweaty boughs 
 each moment broke loose from some glowing, flame- 
 wrapped tree, and sent charry, fire-gemmed logs rolling 
 in clouds of smoke down the slopes into the dry wild 
 grasses, kindling afresh the element of destruction. 
 Where on the gently rising hill the Royal Regina had 
 proudly overlooked the clustering homes and the mill 
 in the vale below, huge masses of fire roared and 
 gulped with ravenous fury, and great, bloody, smoke- 
 tipped forks of flame shot high into the starry zenith. 
 The air was filled with hot, suffocating blasts like the 
 breath from a furnace, and the wild oats, growing high 
 in the sheltered nooks down by the mill, rustled and 
 
THE FIRE. 297 
 
 crackled with each stifling wave, as if in emulous 
 admiration of the raging carnival of terror. Edward 
 paused but a moment in that broad pavilion of light. 
 The next he was calling to the dazed and wondering 
 crowds to hasten toward the edge of the woods and 
 fight to save the town; and then he started away with 
 ewift step toward the mill. 
 
 Most of the men, awakened to their senses, hurried 
 off in the direction of the burning rim of flame around 
 the camp, where already scores of dark figures were 
 outlined against the shining wall that leaped and 
 roared and drove them steadily back. 
 
 Nellie, standing by George, in the richest glory of 
 the flames, glanced shyly up at him, with eyes that 
 twinkled through their long lashes, and illuminated a 
 face otherwise as firm and set as marble. No one who 
 looked upon her would know that at that moment the 
 ruin and desolation about her had no place in her 
 thoughts; nor could they see the remotest sign of the 
 tumult of bitterness that held sway in her heart. 
 With a self-control almost supernatural she stood, and 
 with piercing eye that struck terror to the cowardly 
 man beside her, she looked him through and through, 
 and made him feel as if he would gladly have fallen 
 upon his knees and confessed his sins to her if she 
 would only release him from that all-comprehending 
 gaze. 
 
 Where now were all his fascinating arts? The 
 ready smile that sometimes concealed his trifling sneer 
 of self-felt superiority? The earnest glances of his 
 fine dark eyes, and the tranquillity of his broad, white 
 forehead? He remained motionless, with head half 
 
298 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 bowed, powerless in that hour when all his little pre 
 tences he knew would fail of their effect, sneaking, 
 mean, helpless. 
 
 " For heaven s sake, Nellie, what are you looking at 
 me like that for?" he broke out at last. "Isn t there 
 anything else for you to do? " 
 
 "I was just thinking," she answered, deliberately 
 measuring each word, and still looking at him through 
 her long, dark lashes, "just wondering how it hap 
 pened that you managed t<^ get all dressed on such 
 short notice, even to your necktie; arid yet you did n t 
 stop to wash your hands. They are very black for a 
 gentleman like you, Sir George." 
 
 " I ve been lighting the fire," he answered, hurriedly, 
 and striving vainly in his confusion to think of some 
 thing else to say. 
 
 "Then why did n t you continue in your good work? " 
 she questioned, without allowing him one moment s re 
 lief from her merciless stare. 
 
 " I was looking for that Spanish girl, Logan s 
 daughter, Nita, you know. Have you seen her?" 
 
 "0, never mind her. She is hiding around some 
 where, I presume, ready to spring on me from some 
 covert place because I in talking to you. I guess I 
 don t want to risk such a fate, so you d better go back 
 to your former occupation," she added, shrugging her 
 shoulders, but without moving her eyes. " You re a 
 tropical sunbeam, and needn t mind the heat. You 
 were born for such. In the next world you 11 be sure 
 to inhabit the equatorial regions, where water boils in 
 the shade. So go along and help fight. Your garb 
 might excite some one else s surprise, my friend, and 
 
THE FIRE. 299 
 
 then the question would be raised as to the origin of 
 the" 
 
 I guess you 11 find I J m not the only one in a sur 
 prising costume for a midnight fire. Dennett s out in 
 a well-finished toilet; maybe he 11 have to answer for 
 that, and some other things besides"; and George 
 turned to go, but Nellie followed him a step or so, 
 saying in a shrill, sharp whisper close to his ear, still 
 looking stonily into his downcast face, "Well may you 
 say that, you wretched fool! You need n t suppose I do 
 not know that your evil-doing, your headstrong, fool 
 hardy wickedness, has brought ruin to all of us now. I 
 only live for my revenge, and I 11 have it too; for this 
 work of yours is not wholly unknown. Find the Span 
 ish girl, indeed! I shall find her, too, and get that secret 
 which troubles you now." 
 
 George, hastening down the slope with Nellie s words 
 burning in his brain, espied a group of men by the mill, 
 and among them Mr. Sevenoakes. More from instinct 
 than reason he hastened to one whom he counted as a 
 friend in his hour of misery, but Edward Dennett, run 
 ning up from the other side, rather spoiled the effect of 
 his arrival. 
 
 "What s to be done, Dennett?" said the little man 
 wildly. In the great crises of life some trifling inci 
 dent often absorbs all our thoughts for a moment, and 
 impresses itself upon our memories as inseparably asso 
 ciated with events of such awful magnitude we can 
 not at first comprehend them. And so Edward could 
 not help thinking how natural it was that this little 
 Sevenoakes, so self-sufficient, so fine, so imperturbable 
 in his hours of repose, should be utterly resourceless 
 
300 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 and dependent in his time of need. Even in that ex 
 citing moment his hurriedly donned coat set without a 
 wrinkle, a silk handkerchief relieved the bareness of 
 his neck, and the fitful glory of the lire played on his 
 glossy, spotless shirt-bosom. But his face was a study 
 of despair and appealing helplessness. " The mill will 
 go if we don t do something quick to keep that back," 
 he cried, pointing to the wind-driven deluge of fire that 
 was coming toward them. " Can t we get up a little 
 force to fight it out of the grass? " 
 
 "It would do no good," said Edward, hurriedly; 
 " they could never make any headway against such 
 odds. I went across the creek to look at the old hose 
 we once used to work the placers, up the gulch. I 
 must have help in fastening it to the main water-pipe. 
 Get others to bring the thing over. Some one come 
 with me "; and he ran up the slope, following the course 
 of the great iron pipe that brought water from a spring 
 high up the hill back of the hotel to supply the mill 
 and the town with water purer and clearer than the 
 creek could furnish. George hurried after him. It 
 was but a little way to the outskirts of that grove near 
 the hotel. "We must begin here," said Edward, paus 
 ing a moment, and glancing around to see whose foot 
 step sounded behind him through the crackling grass. 
 His face pictured his disappointment when he saw who 
 followed, but he went on examining quickly the joints 
 of the pipe, and venturing as near as he dared to the 
 place where it entered the burning wood. "This is the 
 only salvation for the mill," he said to George, dropping 
 on one knee and looking critically at a place where a 
 
THE FIRE. 301 
 
 small stream of water trickled along the ground. li The 
 wind irf so high that while we are fighting the regular 
 advance line of the fire the sparks and rolling logs will 
 kindle the grass in a dozen different places ahead of us. 
 We must stop the danger from this source by setting 
 the stream from the hose on the nearest of these trees, 
 and getting the fire under control in this direction. 
 Then the ground can be flooded all over the slope, 
 which will give us time to turn a shower on the roof of 
 the mill without fear from the burning grass. We had 
 best put the hose on right here." He looked around 
 as he spoke, to see if the men were bringing it yet. In 
 the bright light he saw their figures distinctly down by 
 the mill, so lifting the leaking pipe, he placed a piece of 
 loose timber which George handed him under it for a 
 support, and started off to assist the men dragging the 
 heavy hose up the hill, Mr. Sevenoakes, daintily hold 
 ing on to the nozzle and shouting for greater haste, 
 bringing up the rear. 
 
 George was alone up there by the water-pipe. The 
 issues of deliverance or destruction were in his power. 
 For a moment a blind dizziness seized him, and the 
 whirling, sparkling woods grew dim and indistinct to 
 his fading vision. Then through it all rose up Nellie s 
 white face with its relentless stare, that seemed to pene 
 trate his inmost soul, and her last low words to him 
 blended with the hiss and roar of the fire. He started 
 as if goaded to madness by the remembrance of it; and 
 then with a swift glance at the men ascending the hill 
 with bended heads, he darted forward, picking his way 
 with care under the kindling branches, where the pipe 
 
302 ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 lay. An avenue down through the trees he found, lead 
 ing under showers of sparks and dropping twigs to the 
 dry bed of the stream coming down from the hilltop, 
 across which the pipe was stretched. Just on the other 
 side it was lost in the underbrush, then converted into 
 one mass of steady, all-consuming flame. 
 
 Standing on the bank just above the place where the 
 pipe crossed the stream-bed, George loosened a huge 
 round stone jutting out of the bank, and turning his 
 face away to avoid the scorching breath of the burning 
 bushes, he hurled it with all his strength against the 
 pipe. The same instant a blast of water struck him 
 full on the side of his face, blinding him with its hot 
 flood, and causing him to fall headlong across the 
 steaming pipe into the blazing grass beneath. With a 
 smothered outcry he regained his feet, while the whirl 
 ing scenes around him came slowly back to his stunned 
 senses. The water-pipe was sending up tall, crystal 
 jets, on which the light played in fitful twinkles as they 
 broke into sparkling sprays, and fell to the blazing 
 ground and over the hissing pipe. The trees that had 
 tottered and swum before his eyes stood still and held 
 out black, shiny, charred arms against the blacker 
 background of sky, and in the dry creek-bed the water 
 was forming little dark pools and rivulets between the 
 stained rocks. 
 
 Dazed, maddened with pain, he plunged through the 
 woods and reached the clearing, unseen by the crowd 
 of men vainly striving to get a full volume of water 
 out of the broken pipe. Where should he go? What 
 would he do, with his guilty face unsightly from those 
 
THE FIRE. 303 
 
 torturing burns? Passing down the slope, he saw still 
 the same group standing with wild faces upturned tow 
 ard the burning hotel, the roof of which shot up each 
 moment higher and more awful banners of fire. If he 
 could only see Knowles, amid the sea of faces that 
 swum and swayed before his bloodshot eyes! In vain 
 he looked, but at length he caught sight of Mabel and 
 her aunt, a little out of the thickest crowd. Rushing 
 across the brilliant scene, he tried to call to Mabel, but 
 ere he could make himself heard, a smothered chorus 
 of cries broke from the assembled throng. He stood 
 spellbound, gazing at the awful picture before him. On 
 the hotel balcony, framed with a mass of devouring fire 
 which threatened every moment to let its forked, smoke- 
 tipped tongues lick up the frail morsel of humanity, 
 stood Nita, the wind blowing her thick hair about her 
 shapely head, her arms outstretched, and her dark face 
 grandly beautiful in its speechless agony of fear. Then 
 looking upward to the smoke clouds that floated over 
 head, she cried loud and long, "Help! help! In the 
 name of heaven, quick! I have something to tell! " and 
 with one long shriek she flung herself over the railing 
 to the ground. Some one sprang forward, and lifting 
 up the limp form carried it away. 
 
 He saw the crowd draw near, with low murmurs of 
 pity and alarm; he saw Mabel, her cheeks pale and her 
 hands trembling, bending over it; he heard some one 
 say softly, " She still lives! We shall yet know what 
 she has to tell." 
 
 "All is lost!" he whispered, almost aloud; "it was 
 Nellie who said that"; and then with one despairing 
 
304 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 look across the hill to the dark forms around the hose 
 in the distance, outlined by the brilliant glow beyond 
 them, and shielding his smarting face from the hot 
 breath of the fire with his hand, he hastened along the 
 broad stage road that led south away from the town, 
 and was gone from those brilliant, awful scenes forever, 
 into the threefold blackness of the night. 
 
AFTER THE FIRE. 305 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 AFTER THE FIRE. 
 
 Truth forever on the scaffold, 
 Wrong forever on the throne. 
 
 LOWELL. 
 
 MORNING was coming over the distant heights. Not 
 a glad, bright morning, bringing hope and life, but one 
 to reveal more clearly the smoking desolation of the 
 world. Far over the outlying hills and on the steep 
 mountain-sides, red fires paled in the cold, white light 
 of dawn, and smouldering smoke rose from the ruins 
 of the town like the incense of sacrifice to the gray, 
 cloud-draped sky. Many a rancher on the hills looked 
 with dismay upon the raging conflagration that swept 
 through the green forests, blasting life in thousands of 
 young trees, feeding with rapacious rage on the dead 
 tree-spears that had defied innumerable storms, and 
 spreading far and wide on the rich pasture grass that 
 waved knee-deep for his hungry herds. And when in 
 the dim, misty sky a darkness like a frown gathered, 
 and then great, clear, pure drops of rain fell at inter 
 vals on the parched, burning earth, something like a 
 hallelujah of gratitude from all nature rose in the faint 
 rustles of dry pine mats on the ground, and the soft 
 singing of the thirsty leaves. Faster and faster fell 
 the gentle rain, until the dampening woods defied the 
 pitiless red blaze, and the thousand ash-circled flames 
 that glowed like council-fires from the hilltops sent up 
 
306 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 little spurts of steam and flaky cinders, and died with 
 gushing hisses under the cool showers. 
 
 The first rain of the season had come with a twofold 
 blessing. Not only would those floods renew the won 
 drous beauties of nature, but they would also preserve 
 her treasured glories which a thousand years had nour 
 ished. No danger now that those storm-torn clouds 
 would hurry away before the impatient wind, when 
 that thirsting earth below cried aloud for the opening 
 of the flood-gates. 
 
 As the dim light stole over the devastated town, the 
 scenes of midnight had changed into something more 
 terrible in their blank desolation. No longer the red 
 fires leaped and roared, but over the ruins of many a 
 home little wreaths of smoke hovered, and charred 
 trees stood up bare and lifeless against the bleak sky, 
 as if to show what destruction a day can bring. Ah! 
 who could paint the excitement of the dark forms 
 gathered thick around the mill? Who among them 
 could reason calmly, could plan, could hope? 
 
 Here a little group of men, heedless of the lowering 
 sky and the unconquerable flames that had threatened 
 all the beauteous foothill country around them, dis 
 cussed the incidents of the past night. Good thing 
 that the mill and the mine machinery were saved. 
 Work would go on now, anyway, and the prospect of 
 rebuilding the town would be better; strange how the 
 water-pipe was managed. Smart fellow, that Ned 
 Dennett, to think the heat must have bursted it; 
 and mighty plucky too, when he rushed after some 
 thing to fix it with, and then followed it right into the 
 burning woods in search of the break. Whew! what a 
 
AFTER THE FIRE. 307 
 
 power they got on at last! not any too early either. 
 It just cleared a path round the mill, and saved the 
 whole thing. 
 
 Presently a new member joined the group, and asked 
 T/here he could find Mr. Sevenoakes. No one knew. 
 Perhaps he was in the machinery-room of the mill, 
 looking after his wife, who was prostrated by the shock 
 of the fire. Had Logan s daughter told what she had 
 to say? No, not that any one had heard; she had told 
 her mother to bring Edward Dennett to her, and they 
 were in Brooklyn s little laboratory now. 
 
 Then a small party of men came up, among them 
 Mr. Sevenoakes, and Knowles, whose thin face was fairly 
 distorted by excitement. " There was something mys 
 terious about the starting of this fire," said the smooth 
 tongued little man. " I m quite assured of it. And 
 yet I m more than sorry to feel that the trouble among 
 my workmen rnay have had something to do with it. 
 The proof is pretty strong that the fire grew out of the 
 strike. Who of you men can tell me anything about 
 it?" 
 
 Two or three of the mill hands lounged nearer the 
 speaker, and mumbled something about knowing more 
 than they cared to tell. 
 
 u If you are in possession of the slightest clew, the 
 most trifling fact, I ask you as gentlemen to reveal it. 
 What s that, Crane? Speak up and tell us if you 
 know anything." 
 
 Crane, in reality anxious for the opportunity to air 
 his knowledge, fell back a step or two, and cowed some 
 what by the dignified presence of the superintendent, 
 who had always seemed to him mighty as a king, said 
 
308 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 that he had caught rumors floating around, from what 
 source he knew not, that " some one " had boasted that 
 there would he an end of the strike in one night s work. 
 That was about all he knew. He had understood, how 
 ever, that the "some one" was Ned Dennett, who in 
 tended to commit some mischief to the mill or works, 
 and have it appear as if the strikers were guilty of the 
 act, and thus bring about a settlement of the troubles 
 with that prejudice against them. 
 
 Mr. Sevenoakes glanced cautiously around the as 
 sembled group, and satisfying himself that it was safe 
 to speak, said calmly that Knowles had a little story 
 to tell, and perhaps it was best that all present should 
 listen. He alone felt himself incompetent to consider 
 such an enormous crime. 
 
 " I 11 tell you, gentlemen," began Knowles, ner 
 vously, " the case which I shall lay before you is one 
 of great importance; and did I not feel bound to give 
 my testimony by the calls of justice, my tongue would 
 never reveal what I have to tell. It is doubly painful 
 to me, because I fear that the person who would cor 
 roborate my evidence, who was an eye-witness of the 
 act with me, is now beyond my reach, a curious 
 complication of incidents depriving me of his support, 
 which I shall hereafter make clear. 
 
 "I presume it was well known among you, gentle 
 men, that Mr. Brooklyn and myself were warm friends. 
 Some time ago, he confided to me a little secret about a 
 love-affair he had got into with Logan s daughter, who, 
 as it has since proved to be, has been married for over 
 a year to a fellow who used to be around quite often in 
 these parts, one John Gloucester. Last night George 
 
AFTER THE FIRE. 309 
 
 confided to me the fact that this Gloucester had just 
 arrived from Arizona, where he had been engaged in 
 mining, trying to make a strike, and that he feared 
 things would be pretty hot for him, since the new 
 comer was no milk-sop. He said that the Logan girl 
 had confessed these facts, of which he had theretofore 
 been ignorant, and that she had promised to meet him 
 in the woods up north of here, somewhere near twelve 
 o clock, at any rate, long enough after the arrival 
 of the stage to have things quieted down, since she was 
 afraid of her husband, and they could then arrange 
 how to manage their case. Brooklyn asked me to ac 
 company him, as he did n t feel quite safe about going 
 out alone, for fear the girl, no doubt desiring to clear 
 herself, might betray him, and so I consented. 
 
 " We started out about midnight, and took the little 
 trail up yonder that leads into the woods, moving along 
 carefully, so that other night-owls might not discover 
 us before we did them. Before we had gone far, how 
 ever, we ascertained that our precautions had not been 
 useless. We caught sight of somebody moving slowly 
 in the brush, and concealing ourselves, we watched to 
 see if we could make out who it might chance to be. 
 Then our suspicions were aroused by seeing the person 
 kneel down in the grass, and strike a match on an old 
 dead tree-trunk. Not knowing quite who it was, or 
 what he was trying to do, we waited a moment to think 
 what course it was wisest to take. Then quick as light 
 ning we saw a blaze creeping along in the grass, near 
 the tree-stump, and with one lurch we sprang out of 
 our concealment. Our movement frightened the un 
 known incendiary, and starting up in his haste, he 
 
310 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 dropped his match-safe, here it is, gentlemen, with 
 his name upon it; and a sudden burst of light from the 
 tall hay blossoms near showed us unmistakably, 
 Edward Dennett." 
 
 A suppressed murmur ran around through the assem 
 bled crowd, but no one made any comment whatever, 
 only two or three of the older listeners drew back a 
 little and put their hands to their heads. Knowles 
 waited anxiously for the breathless silence to be broken 
 by some expression of opinion, but finding no one would 
 venture to speak, he continued with his story. 
 
 " We all can see his motive, in fact, it has just been 
 stated by our friend Crane here. He wanted to scare 
 our worthy superintendent " - with an awkward bow, 
 and a spasmodic gesture with his thin hand toward Mr. 
 Sevenoakes u into a settlement of the strike in his 
 favor. For of course the fire would be charged to the 
 account of the miners, which would irrefutably prove 
 his theory of the matter. Besides, would it not be pos 
 sible that a cool-headed fellow like Dennett might bide 
 his time for a little chance at revenge? Well, whoever 
 sees it, or whoever don t, the fact remains. 
 
 " And one of the strangest features of the occurrence 
 happened after the beginning of the fire. Brooklyn and 
 I set to work to extinguish it, fighting with all our 
 strength, and believing that our efforts would be suc 
 cessful in a short time. So, forgetful of Nita and our 
 midnight errand, we decided with dismay that the high 
 wind was making terrible headway with the fire, and 
 that some one from town must be called to assist; but 
 before we could make the move, the Spanish girl came 
 dashing along the path, and, angry because we had 
 
AFTER THE FIRE. 311 
 
 failed to meet her at the place appointed, accused Brook 
 lyn of being the author of the fire. She had him in a 
 tight place, you see. She vowed she would get her hus 
 band to swear that he also witnessed the crime, which 
 would make our evidence no better than theirs, if 
 George did not submit to the arrangements she sug 
 gested. He was a high-strung fellow, as you all know, 
 gentleman, and he refused to accede to any such pro 
 posal, but obtained her promise to meet him somewhere 
 else latter on. I have some proof that the quarrel was 
 renewed at the second meeting, and when, later, Nita 
 informed her husband, doubtless poor Brooklyn had a 
 stormy time, and was forced or thought it most prudent 
 to leave. 
 
 " Thus I am left alone with this story; and yet the 
 chain of circumstantial evidence is almost complete, 
 here is the presence of Gloucester, of Nita also, who 
 will most likely confirm what I have said, here is the 
 match-safe, and best of all, here is Dennett, we all saw 
 him last night, dressed when the fire broke out, 
 though he ought to have been safely in bed, coming 
 from the woods, the first to give the alarm of fire; he 
 easily got ahead of George and me, considering that we 
 stayed to fight it." 
 
 Knowles paused again, but still no one spoke, until 
 after a painful period of suspense Mr. Sevenoakes broke 
 the silence. "You have heard this story," he said. 
 " What action shall we take to verify positively its en 
 tire truth? Is it possible that Edward Dennett could 
 be the cause of all this ruin around us? " 
 
 "Humph!" growled a coarse miner from the back 
 ground; " hain t it jest been proved? " 
 
312 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 " Mighty poor show for him now," added another. 
 " He s done the whole business." 
 
 " Well, well," continued Mr. Sevenoakes, growing a 
 little more excited, " then you all give it as your 
 unanimous opinion that Edward Dennett has com 
 mitted this great wrong ? What shall we do next ? " 
 
 Out of low grumbles and murmurs of " String him 
 up!" and "Poison him!" came some one s advice to 
 have him arrested, and punished by law, since the 
 evidence was so strong; but a firm voice from the outer 
 edge of the crowd called, " Hold! " and Logan was 
 pushed forward to have his say. 
 
 There was a troubled look on his honest face, but he 
 Btood calmly and manfully before the hissing group, 
 and defended his friend. "We don t say ye haven t 
 told it all straight," he said to Knowles; " and yit such 
 a mon as George would do the manest thing in the 
 woruld, and he might be in it, too. Let us not be harud 
 on the lad. We ve seen him raised right here among 
 us; we all know the ould folks to be good people; and 
 yez have jest been after saying he wuz the only wan as 
 could fix the fire at all. We don t know what he 11 
 have to say when he comes out, he s in there now 
 with with her"; and he pointed quickly toward the 
 laboratory, that he might use his hand to wipe away 
 something briny which gathered in his eyes. u She 
 wuz my only girul," he went on, pathetically; "and yit 
 that mon Brooklyn could stale her away, and yez niver 
 talk of punishing him. Who knows that Dennett 
 meant to start the fire? Come, now, boys, let s not be 
 harud on the lad. Tell him to clear out, and let that 
 settle it." 
 
AFTER THE FIRE. 313 
 
 Some of the miners pushed Logan back, and he 
 wandered off toward the mill, as if anxious to be 
 within easy call of those in the laboratory, and satisfied 
 also that he could do no more for Edward. But he 
 had done enough, for before any one could speak, Mr. 
 Sevenoakes cleared his throat, and said he guessed that 
 Logan was about right. " No one knows just what he 
 meant to do, as Logan says," continued he. "Quite 
 likely we shall never find out; for it is more than 
 probable he would deny having had anything whatever 
 to do with the fire. Still, no one else could possibly 
 have had any object in the commission of such an act, 
 since the strike had already been settled to the satis 
 faction of everybody, I fancy, except Dennett himself. 
 As Knowles says, the circumstantial evidence is very 
 clear against him, and we will ask him to explain this 
 damaging evidence to our satisfaction, or he may find 
 this place hereafter of a temperature something similar 
 to what it was last night." 
 
 A loud laugh from the miners drowned Mr. Seven- 
 oakes s voice at this juncture, and when the hilarity 
 subsided, the glib tongue was saying that it was a pity 
 George had been forced to take such an ignominious 
 departure. " He was a pretty good fellow, as young 
 men go these days," added the speaker. " The trouble 
 with him seemed to be that he indulged in too many 
 flirtations. They kept him in hot water most of the 
 time. I advised him, however, about this last, but it 
 did n t seem to have any effect on him. I in sorry, 
 though, he did n t prefer to stay and take a thrashing. 
 He would have had plenty to help defray his doctoring 
 expenses." 
 
314 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 Another laugh signalized the acceptance of the super 
 intendent s last words, and low murmurs of affirmance 
 from the miners, while the little man, having finished 
 his speech, walked away toward the mill, carefully 
 brushing a stray cinder off his sleeve. 
 
 The black crowd separated into clusters of three and 
 four, eagerly discussing the last news. Knowles was 
 the centre of attraction, and willingly rehearsed his 
 story over again several times for the edification of in 
 dividual hearers. Each glance at the smoking ruins 
 around seemed to call forth louder denunciations of 
 Edward Dennett from the excited throng. Ah! who 
 could be calm and reasonable not to say charitable 
 in that desolate dawn, after such a sleepless night 
 amid wild unearthly scenes, when their bewildered 
 senses were scarcely able to grasp the magnitude of 
 the awful change that had transpired! 
 
 The light grew stronger. Over in the east a rose- 
 colored flush brightened the rim of the distant snov T - 
 peaks, and cast a soft reflection over the cold grayncss 
 of the stormy morning. Deeper and deeper grew the 
 tint in the horizon, until full daylight struggled through 
 a mass of gold and crimson clouds .that banked the 
 east. The rain that had fallen gently since dawn be 
 gan to descend in welcome showers, and the waiting 
 crowds that had defied the scanty drops began to take 
 refuge in the sheds around the mill, while the conversa 
 tion changed from the absorbing one of crime to specu 
 lations about the storm and the fire. 
 
 Loud ejaculations and incessant talk proceeded from 
 under the low roofs, where the men sat on piles of lum 
 ber and worn-out machinery, waiting, they scarcely 
 
AFTER THE FIRE. 315 
 
 knew for what. At first they looked for daylight break 
 ing gray and coldly over the distant hills; but now, 
 when its vailed brightness was abroad with promise of a 
 gleam of its full brilliancy through a rift in the eastern 
 clouds, they only watched with strained eyes the labor 
 atory door. Twice it had opened softly, and a mysteri 
 ous, sad-faced figure had beckoned to some one outside; 
 and yet the anxious crowds knew only that Nita lay 
 pale and mangled in that little room, that the physi 
 cian had gravely put all questioners aside with a shake 
 of his head, and that some secret which the dying lips 
 might reveal was all but lost. 
 
 Suddenly the door swung open wide, and subdued 
 sounds from within greeted the ears of the anxious 
 listeners. Several forms were moving about, and 
 finally Edward Dennett came slowly down the steps 
 with a solemn face, followed by the rest. Out into the 
 rain the crowds pressed toward the laboratory door, the 
 miners hissing boisterously as they drew near, ready to 
 greet him with their story of the fire. But he raised 
 his hand in warning, and, as if by magic, silence fell 
 over the assembled throng, for slowly and sadly they 
 that followed him bore Nita s frail form, sanctified by 
 the awful touch of death. The rain seemed almost to 
 cease falling on those set features, as they bore her out, 
 and at last a ray of sunlight, escaping through the riven 
 vapors, fell tenderly on that calm face, strangely beau 
 tiful in its snowy pallor, and over the waiting groups, 
 standing reverently, with heads uncovered, while the 
 strange procession moved along. They were taking 
 her home, all that was left of her, to that home 
 which her poor, discontented spirit had never bright- 
 
316 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 ened, to that rude woodland abode which yet seemed 
 a perfect setting to her wild, impulsive beauty. Were 
 there not in those deep, mysterious woods traces still 
 of how her passionate heart had suffered and been 
 tempted? Under an old arbor did there not lie a little 
 gleaming dagger, wet and dimmed with the dripping 
 rain slowly trickling through the rose leaves? In an 
 old, hollow stump was there not a crumpled paper, 
 torn and ragged, once folded and guarded so carefully, 
 when it seemed to her a passport to the luxuriant fairy 
 land her imagination painted? 
 
 Ah, well for all these things there seemed a compen 
 sation! For they who stood around and gazed upon 
 the dumb, senseless clay surely felt that no soul was 
 there. Did they not almost see it, a poor, narrow 
 thing, starved, misguided, unable to expand in this 
 lower, worldly atmosphere, hiding in the wing of the 
 archangel, to be borne with trembling pity up through 
 the sun-rifted cloud, where the base passions of the 
 flesh have lost their charm and power, and into the in 
 expressible raptures that abound in the bright, star- 
 hung steeps of heaven? 
 
SAD MEMORIES. 317 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 SAD MEMORIES. 
 
 Still the heartache comes, but the heartache goes, 
 
 For the heartsease blooms in the grasses deep, 
 And the parsing year.3 will hide our woes, 
 
 And lay them low in a dreamless sleep. 
 If thou hast a heart, that heart must ache; 
 
 Or if its troubled waves would rest, 
 No rosy light of love must break; 
 
 Be it calm and cold as a marble breast. 
 No heartache comes with a bitter pain 
 To the marble heart in its icy chain; 
 Never do marble lips complain. 
 
 Selected. 
 
 THE poor Doctor! What change was this that was 
 coming with such a relentless, hopeless blight over his 
 life? How many of his friends would have echoed 
 such a thought, could they have looked into his rnind 
 in those days that followed the fading of his dream! 
 How many a heart that silently beat its gratitude to 
 him would have warmed with an infinite longing to 
 relieve his loneliness, if only by a single touch of 
 kindness ! 
 
 But he still drove over the dusty roads and across 
 the dry, golden pastures, with the same kindly face, 
 and the same warm, generous heart. No line of sad 
 ness darkened his brow; no selfish brooding over by 
 gone woes stayed his charitable hand. In this valley 
 of sorrow he walked alone. No one shared its anguish; 
 
318 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 no one mourned his dead with him. There was just 
 a slight difference in his manner, it grew more hur 
 ried and nervous, as if he was trying to drive out 
 thought by a ceaseless round of activity, and that 
 was the only index which the outside world could find 
 to his aching heart. 
 
 Lois went no more to the hospital on her mission of 
 mercy to the suffering, pleading that Mrs. Mills could 
 not well spare her, though the Doctor guessed, with a 
 feeling of uncontrollable pain, that this was not her 
 real reason. Lois could not endure the thought of 
 going to Mrs. Hunman s again to distress Nettie, but 
 she felt a delicacy in saying she objected to going 
 there, without telling him why, which, of course, she 
 could not do, and hence she thought best not to go at 
 all. 
 
 So the summer wore away, and melted into autumn, 
 with its yellow hazes lying in stagnant masses over 
 the broad fields, and weaving and tangling, day after 
 day, in a slow, weary flight through the ancient slopes. 
 
 But it happened that one afternoon when the Doctor 
 called, Lois was in the kitchen, and having a letter to 
 deliver to her, he ventured out into those warm, mys 
 terious precincts, and found her making bread. 
 
 "Find a chair, Doctor," she said; "I know you are 
 afraid of me now, with my hands in this dough." 
 
 He did not obey, however, but went and stood by 
 her while she sifted the flour, watching the white flakes 
 pile themselves up into long pyramids and deep drifts, 
 and the light falling through them make tints of gold 
 deep down in the snowy heaps. There was a look of 
 weariness on her face, that even the late rose which she 
 
SAD MEMORIES. 319 
 
 had gathered for her hair could not brighten, nor the 
 pleasant smile with which she greeted him hide. 
 
 Of late, Lois herself might have been a subject for 
 the Doctor s solicitude, though she tried to mask her 
 care-worn face under her brightest smiles whenever he 
 was around. Her school would begin in two weeks 
 more, yet she dreaded the first day like the renuncia 
 tion of her sweetest hopes. She could scarcely settle 
 in her mind the thought of another year of work within 
 those dingy gray walls, without a breath of the pure, 
 cool air of the Sierras. Yet it was not homesickness 
 that haunted her, nor yet altogether a want of change. 
 But night after night as she lay down to sleep, dreams 
 came to her that brought back the early scenes of her 
 love and hope, and he to whom she had given all her 
 heart came in them and thrilled her soul anew with 
 the strange raptures she had never hoped to feel again; 
 but he always vanished with a grace that was a de 
 light, which then changed quickly to false and leering 
 cruelty, that left in her heart pangs of insufferable 
 pain, and desolation. Clouds hovered over the world, 
 tinged with a leaden sombreness, from which faces, 
 blanched with the seal of death, showed their ghastly 
 yet familiar features; and then black palls, falling 
 slowly from the far, dim folds of bluish clouds, wrapped 
 her in a strange oblivion, and shut out all her melan 
 choly visions. 
 
 Day by day the renewal of old scenes came back; 
 little melodies of song, freighted with tender associa 
 tions, thronged to her mind, seeming to insist that 
 they be sung again; and irresistible impulses com 
 pelled her to review each word and thought, each token 
 
320 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 of remembrance, that recalled those departed days. It 
 was not the happy, bright Lois of old who responded 
 eo languidly to Jimmie Mills s questions, but some one 
 else who sat at the window in the twilight with a bor 
 rowed shadow on her brow, and looked out in moody 
 silence. These were not hours of peaceful reverie, but 
 times when her heart ached with a wild tumult of o!J 
 love and pain, when the autumn breezes, rustling in 
 the leaves, seemed hurrying on to tell her of a name 
 less woe, when the gathering shadows seemed creeping 
 even into her life. " This is the end of all my love," 
 she thought. "This is the last faint kindling of the 
 ember hidden so deep in its misty ashes." And the 
 voice of fate seemed to tell her, through all those sad 
 hours of recollection, " This is the end." 
 
 There was something so bitter in this stirring of her 
 buried hopes, such a relentless agony, destroying all 
 their softened, time-mellowed tranquillity, that she 
 knew that nevermore could she cherish the sweetness 
 of her sorrow. She strove against it. She tried to 
 keep the spark from fading utterly, dreading the sear 
 ing of her heart to those sad and tender memories; 
 but she strove in vain. Other things, she scarcely 
 knew what, other feelings, were battling for the su 
 premacy. So she gave up to the inexorable mandate 
 of fate, " This is the end." 
 
 And so, on this hazy day of autumn, when the Doc 
 tor surprised her going about her daily tasks, though 
 she felt still the same dismal forebodings, there was a 
 sudden relief in his coming that she clung to, loth to 
 go back to her desolate thoughts. 
 
 He gave her the letter he had brought. It was from 
 
SAD MEMORIES. 321 
 
 Knowles, who had gone away from the hospital into 
 the mountain mines, and wrote to thank her for all her 
 kindness during his past illness. This brought back 
 vividly her visits to the hospital, and ehe felt that one 
 of those long, pleasant rides with her good friend would 
 do much to dispel her settled gloom. 
 
 " Doctor," she said at last, very timidly for straight 
 forward Lois, " does your hospital gtill receive vis 
 itors?" 
 
 A mild hope sprang up in his breast, a genial cur 
 rent of pleasure, when he heard her question. 
 
 "Yes," he answered; "such a visitor as you would 
 be, at any time." 
 
 " Well, then," she said, looking up to him with some 
 thing of her old archness, " may I go with you again 
 some day? I need the change and the occupation, but 
 I shall have to make a short stay. We will not bo 
 able to take dinner with Mrs. Hunman." 
 
 " Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to 
 arrange everything as you wish," he answered, with 
 more truth than bashfulness this time. 
 
 Then she went on with her bread-making, scooping 
 up the soft, light flour, sprinkling it in little clpuds 
 over the dough, and kneading the great elastio mass 
 about, all the while talking to him with a desperation 
 that seemed afraid to allow him a moment s reflection, 
 for fear he would go. So he lingered, not so much to 
 listen to her talk as to watch the pretty picture, and 
 feel something of the old spell that had once come 
 over him there, saddened though it had to be now with 
 hopelessness. After the Doctor took his departure, 
 Lois plunged deeper than ever into her melancholy 
 
322 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 feelings. The brightness that he brought seemed not 
 to belong to her, and it vanished with him. 
 
 Next day, when she had arranged to take her drive, 
 she felt no better, though the Doctor s watchful kind 
 ness gave her confidence. So she went on talking 
 with him, keeping up the steady flow of thought, and 
 appearing quite cheerful, though all the landscape bor 
 rowed a sodden, dreary aspect, and the skies, hazy and 
 pale gold with the late year s mellow sunlight, seemed 
 dark, as if clouded by a long and terrible eclipse. 
 
 When they arrived at the hospital, and Lois went 
 again through the silent wards, finding so many new 
 faces and so many things to do, the nameless dread 
 and horror she had been fighting back yielded some 
 what to her happier thoughts. 
 
 Just as she was preparing to go away, Mrs. Kent 
 came to her and said that a young man had been 
 brought there a day or two before by a person who 
 said he had been burned in a mine explosion. " He 
 occupies a little room just at the head of the stairs, 
 and you had better step in and see him; please take 
 this sponge to bathe his hands, for he has a fever," she 
 added. Lois found the sufferer lying on a narrow cot 
 in the darkened room, with his face entirely hidden in 
 dampened cloths. He did not moan nor complain, nor 
 even speak, when she came in and asked if she might 
 do something for him, but he stirred slightly, and made 
 a movement to raise the cloths from his face. She 
 bent over him and carefully laid them aside, turning 
 to get the cooling sponge with which to bathe his 
 wounds, as if to put off the sight of his suffering as 
 long as possible. But when she looked back again, she 
 
SAD MEMORIES. S23 
 
 saw the face with a distinctness she could never more 
 forget, that same familiar face that had haunted her 
 restless pillow night after night; those same dark eyes 
 that had once seemed to her to beam with the tender- 
 est truth and affection, and reveal a soul replete with 
 honesty and nobleness; that same clustering hair, 
 glossy and" damp, falling over a broad, white forehead; 
 and alas! that well-remembered voice which she had 
 heard at midnight in the sobbing winds through many 
 a weary watch, that had once whispered burning words 
 of love to her, that had seemed to cry out with ring 
 ing earnestness in a last long farewell call, saying now, 
 just as he used to say it, with the old familiar accent, 
 "Lois!" 
 
 Was it a dream now that his face, with all its hideous 
 scars and burns, should whirl and writhe beneath her 
 gaze, that his voice should sound like a faint, far, hiss 
 ing ring? Was it sleep when a darkness came through 
 it all and wrapped her senses in oblivion? 
 
 A fortunate thing it was that Dr. Knapp, who had 
 followed Lois up the corridor, should step in to see that 
 the sufferer s burns were not too long exposed to the 
 air, and should arrive just in time to catch the fainting 
 girl in his arms. 
 
 " Ah! the sight of blisters was rather shocking to her 
 nerves," said the Doctor to Mrs. Kent, who came hurry 
 ing into the room. 
 
 It was only an addition to the excitement when he 
 turned to see George Brooklyn sitting up, all the horror 
 of his burned and suffering face shown to its fullest 
 extent, and heard him, with a wild, half-delirious cry, 
 call "Lois! " once again. 
 
324 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 " There is something strange here," the Doctor 
 thought as he carried the unconscious girl hurriedly 
 out of the room, leaving Mrs. Kent to attend to her 
 patient. When Lois recovered, and said she would 
 prepare to go home, he ventured to ask, in a rather 
 significant way, if there was anybody she would like to 
 see, refraining from mentioning any one in particular. 
 
 " No," said Lois, with such composure that he almost 
 felt himself deceived about the cause of her fainting; 
 but still he thought it wise to refer to it as little as 
 possible. 
 
 On their way home, however, Lois herself spoke of it. 
 "I scarcely thought myself so weak as I proved to be 
 this afternoon," she said. " I m so worn out with 
 caring for Mrs. Mills that a little thing will quite upset 
 me now; and my surprise at meeting some one whom 
 I supposed to be dead entirely overcame my strength. 
 I fear I should not have decided to give up my vaca 
 tion, though I could scarcely do otherwise when that 
 accident happened to Mrs. Mills. But I think I shall 
 go away now, to spend the remainder of my vacation, 
 even if I cannot succeed in getting an extension of it." 
 
 When they arrived at Mrs. Mills s gate she held out 
 her hand to say good by; but the Doctor s considerate 
 thought suggested that he might go into the house to 
 tell of Lois s fainting-spell, and thus better explain her 
 sudden departure. 
 
 His stay was somewhat longer then usual, and twi 
 light had settled over the town when he went away. 
 
 Lois thanked him with a new gratitude in her voice 
 as she bade him good by in the vine-covered porch, 
 and her manner betrayed so much dependence on him, 
 
SAD MEMORIES. 325 
 
 such mute, despairing helplessness, that he longed to 
 shelter her in his loving protection. But something 
 held him back; and so he left her to struggle with her 
 grief alone, only looking around to see her standing in 
 the vine-wreathed door with the cool tendrils swaying 
 in knotted festoons between him and his lovely picture, 
 and the soft radiance of the hall-lamp floating down 
 upon the halo of silken, wind-blown hair around her 
 head. 
 
326 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE PARTING. 
 
 Whispering tongues can poison truth, 
 
 One kiss, so ends all record of my crime! 
 
 It n the seal upon the tomb of hope, 
 
 By which, like some lost, sorrowing angel, sits 
 
 Sad Memory evermore. 
 
 Lady of Lyons. 
 
 THE stormy day was almost over. To Mabel it had 
 been a strange one, so strange that she could scarcely 
 realize she was not dreaming as she recalled its terrible 
 events. Yesterday she had taken that ride with George 
 out to the water-stained rock-wall, and they had come 
 back into the little town just as a gorgeous sunset was 
 lighting up its hundred westward windows into mirrors 
 of flashing gold. To-day no windows caught the lire of 
 the dying sunlight, for a flame more potent had been 
 there before, and all that remained of that rude, flour 
 ishing camp which had so often led her thoughts into 
 the fascinating associations of the southern mines was 
 a smouldering mass of charred and ash-powdered ruin. 
 They were at Mrs. Dennett s awaiting the morrow s 
 stage, which would take them away toward their city 
 home. " But it will not be home very long," Mrs. Wil 
 lis had tearfully declared, when speaking of their return. 
 Vainly Mabel had tried to comprehend something of her 
 aunt s despair. 
 
 " We are beggars," the old lady had said. " Mabel, 
 
THE PARTING. 327 
 
 all that we had for the coming years was consumed in 
 the flames last night; and now we are left in a world 
 that will hereafter look as dreary as that camp across 
 the hill. What we possessed and goodness knows it 
 was a fortune small enough! I had converted into 
 diamonds, and I actually took them with me, I was so 
 fearful for their safety, so distrustful of every one. Who 
 would ever guess that I carried any wealth in that little 
 iron box, which served for a medicine-chest as well? I 
 was so sure that no burglar could ever find them there, 
 that I congratulated myself I had a hiding-place secure 
 against those perils, and I even imagined that nothing 
 would ever harm them." 
 
 " Well, don t mind it so much, Aunt Cynthia," Mabel 
 had said, to comfort her. " We shall get along some 
 how, I am sure. We ve got the house at home, you 
 know." 
 
 " Yes," Mrs. Willis had assented fiercely, "we can go 
 there and live till we starve to death. It will serve 
 to hide our skeletons from a too curious world, that is 
 all; for skeletons there will surely be." 
 
 " Then let us sell the house and come to som little 
 town here among the mountains. It is so beautiful, so 
 full of dreamy quiet and inspiration. I have been 
 very happy here, aunt; for we are relieved of all the 
 obligations of the old life, and there has been, besides, 
 a peace and beauty in this existence that nothing else 
 can borrow. I call this my little sky-domed fort among 
 the hills. Perhaps I could teach, and we could let ouc 
 lives pass happily and untroubled " 
 
 "Bah! don t talk of caging yourself in a mountain- 
 pass as if you had no higher ambition than a wild ani- 
 
328 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 mal," Aunt Cynthia had interrupted. "You are just 
 beginning life with interests and ambitions that in no 
 way agree with such idiotic sentiment. Pass happily, 
 indeed! You d bury yourself here, and be an old maid, 
 I 11 warrant. How would you fancy that, my lady?" 
 
 "Perhaps it wouldn t be so very awful," Mabel 
 had returned, smiling; "and then, aunt, perhaps I 
 should n t be an old maid." 
 
 " Well, we shall not live in these forsaken wilds, rest 
 assured. That settles it." 
 
 But somehow Mabel could not feel very miserable 
 about their poverty, though she realized that their 
 position was indeed greatly changed. 
 
 When evening drew near she found the old crimson 
 chair by the western window, and sat looking out upon 
 the rain-beaten world. All day the clouds had hung 
 heavy with rain, though afternoon had brought an 
 abatement of the storm, and now when night gave 
 warning of its coming, a narrow belt of clear sky shone 
 above the bank of dense purple clouds that rested on 
 the horizon. " It is something like my sky," she 
 thought. " One little window of light dispels so much 
 of storm and gloom." Truly the day had been a se 
 vere one for Mabel. After the fierce excitement of the 
 night, the morning had brought her new anxiety. A 
 temporary shelter in the mill had been provided for 
 the ladies after the danger to it from fire was over, 
 and Mabel had found a secluded corner where she had 
 soothed her distracted aunt into a restful sleep. But 
 the old lady s repose had not been long, for when a few 
 minutes later Mabel returned, Aunt Willis had for 
 saken her place of rest. Through and through the 
 
THE PARTING. 329 
 
 building Mabel had searched for her in vain. And at 
 last venturing out in the desperation of her alarm, she 
 had come upon a disconsolate figure sitting in the rain 
 on a gray rock by the creek margin, shedding bitter 
 tears over some unknown sorrow. Every effort had 
 been unavailing to reveal the cause of this strange grief 
 until long after their arrival at Mrs. Dennett s. Then 
 as if her horrible secret had weakened her fierce deter 
 mination not to reveal it, even before a day was past, 
 Mrs. Willis summoned the whole household to her and 
 told her story. "The excitement and the trouble of 
 last night have preyed upon her mind to an extent far 
 beyond what she is able to endure," Mrs. Dennett had 
 privately said to Mabel. " We must try to calm her, 
 Miss Willis, and lead her thoughts into another chan 
 nel. Then perhaps she will be able to rest a while." 
 But the sympathetic, motherly friend had no con 
 ception of the difficulties in the way. Mrs. Willis was 
 not a person to be quieted or made to rest at other 
 people s pleasure or bidding, and Mabel s efforts were 
 utterly unavailing. The mortifications, the trials of 
 the day, had left her nearly exhausted, and as she 
 sank into the soft old crimson chair, a great lull of 
 relief came over her, like the calm that succeeds some 
 devastating hurricane. 
 
 But amidst all her anxieties there had been a ray 
 of comfort, which like the crystal streak of sky out in 
 the west had shed a soft glory to light up all the dark, 
 cloud-curtained heavens. She took a certain pleasure 
 in recalling how Edward had entered the mill im 
 mediately after he had come out of the laboratory from 
 his visit to poor Nita, and after inquiring for the com- 
 
330 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 forts of all, had told Mrs. Willis that he should insist 
 on having her accept an invitation for herself and 
 Mabel and Nellie to share the shelter of his own home. 
 Then he had gone out, and in an hour or so returned 
 with a comfortable old farm-carriage to drive them 
 across the hill and through the old town to his mother s 
 house. He had shown a mild surprise when his friendly 
 invitation to Mrs. Sevenoakes and other ladies, as yet 
 unprovided with shelter, had been declined with chill 
 ing politeness. But Mabel did not think it at all 
 unusual when she recalled the stylish little Mrs. Seven- 
 oakes s narrow-minded vanity, and felt just a trifle 
 indignant to think that such whole-souled generosity 
 should be scorned by those even unworthy to receive 
 it. But how quickly that slight unpleasantness had 
 passed away, as Edward enthusiastically explained 
 how the pipe had been managed and the mill saved, 
 and what a great satisfaction it was to him to feel that 
 he had been instrumental in keeping back the fire. 
 To the origin of the conflagration he gave but little 
 thought, but expressed himself as deeply affected by 
 Nita s sad death, and the utter destruction of the town. 
 Mabel loved to recall the picture he made that win 
 try morning as he drove along over the slippery roads, 
 urging the horses to show their best speed, that the 
 rain might not overtake them in heavy showers. The 
 light wheels of the old carriage rolling easily through 
 the muddy ruts, the horses skimming swiftly over the 
 ground, and the pleasant change from the distressing 
 scenes they had left behind, had revived him wonder 
 fully, and brought an exhilaration almost surprising 
 after the miseries of the past night. 
 
THE PARTING. 331 
 
 Mabel remembered how bright his face had seemed 
 when he spoke to her of the mill. She knew his heart 
 was full of hope; he was so ready with plans, so far- 
 seeing, so magnanimous, that he could rise above the 
 dark discouragements around him, and hope by pa 
 tient work arid unflagging zeal to restore the heavy 
 losses that threatened now to overwhelm the camp. 
 She thought how generous his nature was when he spoke 
 of forgetting all the wrongs of the past, and each man 
 striving with honest, indiscriminating charity to build 
 up a new era of prosperity. She did not realize that 
 her presence cheered and inspired him with all the 
 hope he felt. But she knew that he was not forgetful 
 of her when his eye had rested for a moment on her 
 face, and she had caught a gleam of light from it that 
 betokened all the tenderness that dwelt in his heart. 
 
 And BO the memory of that glance had been a com 
 fort to her all day. She was happy, besides, for Ed 
 ward s sake, knowing that his bravery and presence of 
 mind had saved the mine-works from destruction, for 
 which due praise must be awarded to him. 
 
 All day he had been absent at Lucky Streak. Mrs. 
 Dennett had anxiously wondered what kept him; 
 Nellie had privately rejoiced, as much as was possible 
 in the soured state of her feelings, that he was not 
 around; and Mabel had tried to silence an occasional 
 touch of jealous pain. It was her last day in the 
 mountains, and yet the excitement at the camp had 
 kept him from her side. She would not have preferred 
 to leave him for the sake of listening to idle gossip. 
 And then her womanly heart had straightway found 
 an excuse for his conduct, one not only sufficient to 
 
332 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 cover the fault, but which would make him appear 
 hetter for it. 
 
 Of course his ready hand was rendering its aid to 
 the afflicted. He was generous enough to forget him 
 self for the sake of others, even though the mere effort 
 of his assistance was not the whole of his self-denial. 
 
 But now since evening was drawing near he would 
 certainly be home soon, with news from the town, news 
 about the stage, if it would leave on the morrow, and 
 yes, why he had remained away all day. 
 
 Aunt Willis fortunately had been able to fall asleep, 
 and Nellie had snarlingly repelled all visitors to her 
 apartment the whole day, and so the house was secure in 
 its stillness. No sound broke upon the quietude of Ma 
 bel s thoughts except the light step of Mrs. Dennett, and 
 the soft raking of the dying vines just below her window. 
 
 She sat looking at the jagged edge of the cloud float 
 ing against that bit of blue sky, and watching its silvery 
 brightness melt into hues of gold, when a slight excite 
 ment, firm footsteps, and a hum of voices in the porch 
 announced a new arrival. Edward had come! She 
 bent further toward the window to hide a blush of 
 pleasure in the protecting folds of the curtain. Soon 
 of course he would come in and speak to her, and she 
 must conceal some of her pleasure by being very much 
 interested in the outer world. She would surely betray 
 enough of her delight for a sufficient welcome. 
 
 How interminable the time seemed while she waited! 
 The low sounds ceased altogether at last, but still Ed 
 ward did not come. " He is telling his mother the 
 events of the day, I suppose," she thought, im 
 patiently glancing- at the clock to find that more than 
 
THE PARTING. 333 
 
 half an hour had passed since first those quick, elastic 
 footsteps had set her heart a-flutter. She resolved to he 
 more than ever interested in the view from her window, 
 and when at last the step sounded again, in the very 
 room where she was sitting, but more lagging and weary 
 than hefore, she did not look up, although certain who 
 had entered. Some one sat down in the chair near her, 
 and then Edward s voice, strangely altered, said softly, 
 " Mabel, won t you speak to me? " 
 
 She turned quickly. There was Edward Dennett, 
 sure enough; and yet a golden shaft of late sunshine, at 
 that moment breaking through the ragged cloud, fell on 
 a face so haggard and full of pain that it seemed the 
 countenance of a ghostly visitor who had just passed 
 through the agonies of death. 
 
 Mabel rose hurriedly, and held out her hand, while 
 her face beamed with the tenderest pity. 
 
 " What has happened? " she asked anxiously. 
 
 Edward took the offered hand and kept it, clasped 
 in his own. " I will not deny myself this pleasure," 
 he said sadly. " No, even though you should regret the 
 next moment that you have given it to me. I must have 
 this remembrance of something pure and noble and 
 true, yes, true. Ah, Mabel! what are our friends to 
 us if they are not true friends? Are they not worse 
 than enemies, when they desert us in our time of need, 
 after having betrayed us into trusting them? " 
 
 Mabel stood wonderstruck, and yet alarmed, by this 
 strange conduct. "What has occurred to make you 
 talk so, Edward? Won t you tell me if you are in 
 trouble?" she asked, forgetting herself and her sur 
 roundings in her anxiety. 
 
334. AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 Edward covered his eyes with his hand, as if thereby 
 he might hide from his view the enormity of an obstacle 
 that stood between him and Mabel. u I cannot look 
 you in the face and tell you of what they have accused 
 me," he said excitedly. " It seems to stand between 
 us like a great barrier, a mountain of disgrace and 
 misery, which I can never hope to remove." He 
 stopped and drew in his breath quickly as if to fortify 
 himself for the trying ordeal before him, but Mabel 
 waited in vain for him to continue. Ah! how could he 
 proclaim his own disgrace? How could he know that 
 Mabel would believe his story in the face of the dam 
 aging evidence before him? 
 
 "What has changed you so, Edward?" she asked 
 again. "What has happened? Nothing can stand 
 between my friendship and you. Has it not been 
 tested? and did not we promise never to distrust each 
 other again?" 
 
 " Yes. But you do not know how impossible it may 
 be to believe," he said, rising hurriedly and pacing up 
 and down the room. "Mabel, they say that / have 
 destroyed the town. They accuse rne of getting my 
 revenge in that way. It is all plain to them; the 
 trouble at the mill was not settled to my satisfaction, 
 and I, feeling that defeat was certain, resolved that 
 neither side should win. But, Mabel, it is a falsehood. 
 It is a base, unjust accusation. I care not what their 
 proofs may be, it is a lie, a foul lie! " That despair 
 ing face had altered now. Angry fires flashed from 
 the heavy eyes, and the haggard look changed into 
 something awful in his righteous wrath. What strong, 
 healthy, sound-minded man ever endures injustice and 
 
THE PARTING. 335 
 
 dishonor, either to himself or those whom he loves, 
 but that a fierce spirit of indignation is aroused, which 
 demands restitution, whether it be possible to secure it 
 or not? It is only for woman s gentle nature to bear 
 calumny and persecution with charity and meekness, 
 waiting and trusting patiently that a divine, pitying 
 providence will at last relieve her bitter sorrow. 
 
 But Edward Dennett could not bear his wrongs in 
 silence. Could he allow his honor to be assailed, and 
 not stand up manfully in its defence? Could he have 
 a fiendish crime laid to his charge? Could he meet 
 his accuser face to face, helpless to prove the wretch a 
 black-hearted villain, and take the punishment calmly, 
 without a protestation of his innocence? 
 
 He strode up and down the room in a wild frenzy, 
 scarcely hearing or seeing anything but the fatal words 
 and looks of his accusers, until Mabel touched his 
 arm lightly and looked up pleadingly into his face. 
 That soft touch had a magic in it, for it dispelled the 
 strong man s anger, as the sunlight breaks the fury of 
 the storm, and brought the rainbow of penitence in a 
 moment. " Sit down and tell me about it," she said, 
 kindly. " Let us think it over together. Perhaps 
 there is a way out of the cruel position they have 
 placed you in. O yes; there is surely some way. 
 Some one must have seen you. Tell me the story 
 calmly. Perhaps I can help you clear up the mis 
 take." 
 
 " It is no mistake, Mabel," Edward said, allowing 
 himself to be led to a chair. "It is a premeditated 
 scheme. There can be no way out of it, for I was cer 
 tainly watched, and proof manufactured to implicate 
 
336 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 me. Why it should be done, who are guilty, and what 
 strange complications have worked out this result, I 
 do not know. I only believe that Knowles Forgive 
 me, he is your friend; but I still believe that he has 
 done or has helped to do the deed. For he has in 
 vented the most hideous falsehood that ever was told 
 to put the crime on me." 
 
 Then Edward gravely repeated the story of his wrongs. 
 If ever in that painful recital of injustice the madness 
 of resentment seized him, a glance at Mabel s pitying, 
 gentle face brought calmer, better feelings. There is 
 always a frantic hopelessness in the realization of being 
 utterly forsaken by one s friends. 
 
 Edward had come prepared to feel the sting of that 
 last bitterest blow of fate, Mabel s doubts. His 
 mother had been overwhelmed with sorrow. In truth, 
 he felt that the ignominy fell heavier on her, trustful 
 and clinging like a vine to something strong and able 
 to resist the storms of life, than on his own brave, de 
 fiant nature. But when he found Mabel ready with 
 just the calm tenderness which would soothe his wrath 
 into reason and reconciliation, his heart melted almost 
 to forgiveness. " Let me tell you something, Mabel," 
 he said, after he had related the story Knowles had 
 told. " If I had been less faithful to the trust imposed 
 on me, I would not have remained up to help the 
 watchman with his work; if, when utter defeat seemed 
 imminent, I had not thought of you, and hope had not 
 risen strong to crowd down my discouragements, if 
 faith had not somehow whispered that the straight, 
 upright path of duty would lead to success and satis 
 faction, and a clear conscience in the end, I should! 
 
THE PARTING. 337 
 
 not be here covered with shame and dishonor, for they 
 would not have had the opportunity to entrap me. I 
 cannot tell you all the mortifying miseries of the day, 
 Mabel. They even sent some one out behind us when 
 I drove over here with you this morning. Though they 
 were willing to allow me my liberty, they did not want 
 me to get away before they had tortured me to their 
 satisfaction. There was a trial, such as it was. Then 
 I found out how few were the friends I had. Among 
 my workmen, only a few of the shaft-hands had a word 
 in my favor, except poor Logan, who worked in the 
 mill. He came over to town for the express purpose 
 of staying by me, and helping fight the battle. Poor 
 fellow! It did little good except to comfort me. They 
 even construed Nita Logan s dying call for me as evi 
 dence against rne, though the poor girl could not reveal 
 her awful secret. Would to heaven that she had, for 
 I am sure it would be something in my favor. Mr. 
 Sevenoakes was non-committal, but I could see his 
 sympathies were with Knowles. After all the evidence 
 had been collected, they asked me to disprove it. I 
 could do nothing but state my inability, and protest 
 my innocence. Then I was given my choice, to appear 
 no more at Lucky Streak, or be arrested and tried by a 
 court. I chose the latter course. This raised a breeze. 
 I was declared ungrateful, and after some consultation 
 among the witnesses, they insisted it would be a trying 
 ordeal for them all to go through. Small wonder that 
 the ordeal would be trying, when they would thereby 
 necessarily run the risk of betraying their own guilt! 
 Then they concluded to make me go; and when I re 
 fused to promise this, I was told that measures would 
 be taken to compel me. 
 
338 AHOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 "Ah, Mabel! those were terrible moments! Forgive 
 me when I confess that indignation and contemptuous 
 anger got the better of my reason for a time. I hurt 
 my own cause by my persistent refusal to listen to 
 their insults. Though now, when I am here with you, 
 and look back upon it as something more bitter than 
 death, yet feeling that it is all past forever, I regret 
 I did not show more humility and charity, such as 
 your kind sympathy prompts. But, Mabel, you do 
 not think me guilty of that crime? If I felt myself 
 unworthy of your friendship, I should not be here to 
 bid you good by," 
 
 " My friend," Mabel said, trying to conceal how 
 dewy and bright her eyes had grown, " I am sure you 
 are not. Tell me what to do; let me help you some 
 way," she added quickly, fearing to express the fond 
 solicitude she felt. 
 
 "Unless the disgrace which now covers me is re 
 moved, you can never do anything more for me. I 
 can only keep the remembrance of your kindness at 
 this time. I will not ask you to accept a friend whose 
 name is blackened and despised. I will not allow you 
 to do it. But, Mabel, my faith is strong that some time 
 my innocence will be established; that some time I can 
 offer you my hand with a past untarnished by any 
 thing, even by the breath of slander. I am powerless 
 to bring about that day myself. I can only wait, and 
 hope that Providence will work out my deliverance. 
 And until then I must be an outcast from my home 
 and friends. But I shall go out conscious of having 
 lived an honest life, Mabel. Whether that reward will 
 compensate me for all the misery I have suffered for it, 
 
THE PARTING. 339 
 
 I cannot tell. When all else is gone, it is at best but a 
 poor inheritance, the satisfaction of not doubting 
 one s own self when condemned by hundreds who have 
 known him from his youth. And so I realize that I 
 have lived to little purpose. And yet I would cot ex 
 change the feeling of satisfaction that comes from 
 knowing that one so true-hearted and gentle as you 
 can still believe in me, for the adulation of all the 
 world. That is my blessing. I shall go out, cherish 
 ing it as one of the few sweet, unimbittered memories 
 of the past." He rose, and held out his hand to Mabel, 
 ready to say farewell. The sun had crossed the nar 
 row strip of clear sky, and had withdrawn behind the 
 purple clouds again, while the shadow fell on the 
 grave, sad face of him who was leaving love, home, 
 friends, and life itself almost, behind. 
 
 "Mabel/ he said slowly, "let me thank you for 
 the glimpse of heaven you have opened to my eyes. 
 I dare not try to say more, even though my farewells to 
 all the other joys that are left me require few words 
 indeed. Fate cannot rob me of the remembrance of 
 you. I may never see you again, and yet your influ 
 ence your presence will always be with me, and 
 I shall be better for it. Your image will rise before 
 me in long days of exile, a solace, a guide to that bet 
 ter place where we may meet at last, without the sting 
 of earthly pain." 
 
 Tears were falling from Mabel s eyes, great inno 
 cent tears she could not suppress. How could she let 
 him go out into the cruel world alone? There is usually 
 something very childlike in a young girl s love. It is 
 quick to yield its sympathy, and yet though it acts as 
 
340 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 the stay and comforter of the strong man in his hours 
 of need, it is helpless and weak without that object 
 which it sometimes supports alone. 
 
 " You must not go to-night, Edward," she said, ap- 
 pealingly. " To-morrow morning you will start with 
 renewed courage after your night s rest. And who 
 knows but that some one will be over from town to tell 
 you that you need not go, that your innocence is 
 proved." 
 
 " They would more likely be over to inflict a punish 
 ment on me for not obeying their orders," Edward an 
 swered, looking lovingly down upon the slender form 
 beside him. "No, Mabel; I must go to-night. I can 
 never endure that bitterness again. We must part, 
 with hope let it be, instead of despair. Your love must 
 sustain me, Mabel, in this last hour. Heaven knows 
 there is little enough left to keep me from utter desper 
 ation when I go oat from your kind pity." 
 
 There is sometimes a supernatural power bestowed 
 upon women s hearts, when they, forgetting their own 
 needs, can yield comfort and courage to the broken 
 spirits of those infinitely stronger to bear the brunt of 
 life s battles. Mabel found that strength, and heed 
 less of her own pain, poured out all the sweetness, the 
 essence, of her soul, not in lamentings, but in consola 
 tion and hopeful counsels. 
 
 And so as the hour passed, Edward and Mabel sat 
 together while the wintry gloaming gathered, forgetful 
 of the trials and sorrows of their way; and heedless of 
 the gloom and cruelties of the great wide world around 
 them, looked forward into a future far beyond the 
 coarse discords and petty bickerings of this life, where 
 
THE PARTING. 341 
 
 heaven unfolds its unspeakable glories, its divine and 
 tender raptures, and with hands clasped, saw through 
 the coming years when that time would be theirs, and 
 said together, "We can wait." 
 
 And sad as was their parting, still in both hearts 
 there reigned supreme a calm comfort, a nameless hope, 
 that made their lot endurable. 
 
 Evening was darkening fast around them when all 
 the last sad duties and farewells were over, and Mabel 
 stood in the vine-covered porch to watch the proud 
 man, to whom she would gladly have given all her life, 
 shake off the bonds of hope and brave the harrowings 
 of fate in that lonely exile which lay before him. 
 
 But Edward, dependent as he was upon that gentle 
 girl, still had strength to refuse the sacrifice she was 
 willing to make, and bear his part alone. 
 
 A gentle rain was falling when he led his horse to the 
 door, and Mabel stepped out into the twinkling drops 
 for one last hand-clasp ere he rode away. Perhaps it 
 was the last time they would ever meet on earth. Ah! 
 how could either have endured that moment had they 
 not looked beyond the gloom into that celestial coun 
 try, whither faith and hope would lead their footsteps 
 on, and bright waters of recompense and healing would 
 wash away their griefs ! 
 
 There was a power which upheld that saddened man 
 as he went away, and turning his face from the bleak, 
 stormy road before him, strained his eyes for a last 
 glimpse of that home that lay behind him, where all 
 the treasures of his heart were left, for a last glimpse 
 of that lonely form in the doorway, outlined dark 
 against the pale lights of the early evening flashing 
 
o42 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 with a warmth and brightness not all their own 
 through the storm-sprays and the woods. 
 
 lie could not comprehend how he endured it; ho 
 only felt that a thrill of strength come over him when 
 from the last hilltop he looked back, knowing that the 
 next step would hide all love and brightness from his 
 way, that as he went on a strange consolation and 
 the genial warmth of a new-found hope came over him, 
 which supplied his empty, sorrowing heart with some 
 thing of the inspiration he had left behind. 
 
 And Mabel, though possessed of finer intuition, knew 
 not what that power was which so sustained her. She 
 only knew that, despite the quick beating of her heart 
 and the dewy tears that gathered in her eyes, she could 
 still look out upon the hilly, winding road, and watch 
 the lonely horseman wend his way along the cafion 
 and across the shadowy vales, till night and rain mist 
 hid him from her sight. 
 
 The morning broke dark and rainy. Clear, shallow 
 drops clung to the window-panes, and slanting sheets 
 of rain descended in steady showers to obscure the 
 view beyond, misty itself with overhanging clouds 
 and low, dim vapors. Mrs. Dennett s home was very 
 cheerful and pleasant that morning. The guests were 
 greeted with savory scents of coffee as soon as they left 
 their chambers, and a bright, warm fire blazed in the 
 sitting-room, where Mrs. Dennett waited to welcome 
 them, stately in a dark brown morning-wrapper, her 
 grayish golden hair waving back from a face that was 
 full of kindness and hospitality, though touched by 
 new lines of sadness. 
 
THE PARTING. 343 
 
 They breakfasted in the long, low dining-room with 
 its crimson carpet, its heavy curtained windows, and 
 walls tinted by the rosy, warm reflection from the 
 floor, which had seemed so beautiful and homelike to 
 Mabel on her first visit to Edward s home. 
 
 Mrs. Dennett clung to Mabel as a solace in her afflic 
 tion. She longed for the comfort and the brightness 
 this sweet young girl could bring into her twice deso 
 late home, and dreaded the hour when this last ray of 
 sunshine should fade out of her life. But she put the 
 thought aside. It was not for her now to indulge in 
 hopes like these; and Mabel also secretlv longed to re 
 main with Mrs. Dennett, that she might bury her own 
 sorrow with a less bitter heartache for the kindness 
 showered around her by true motherly sympathy. As 
 the morning brightened into full daylight the rain 
 ceased, and the dripping woods held up their drenched 
 and almost leafless branches to the gray sky with a 
 new beauty, while the far-off hills, misty with the 
 storms about them, regained their vanished blueness, 
 and stood out behind the pearly fogs like lines of giant 
 soldiers battling with the beating rain. 
 
 In Mrs. Dennett s small, elegant sitting-room the 
 guests gathered after breakfast, while their sad-faced 
 hostess, hiding her own inexpressible sorrow, busied 
 herself in making little preparations for their journey. 
 Many were Mrs. Willis s anxious glances from the rain- 
 spattered windows for signs of good weather on their 
 prospective journey, and many the injunctions to the 
 girls not to fail of being ready when the time came 
 to start. The conversation was chiefly confined to 
 conjectures about the state of the mud in the roads, 
 
344 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 the possibility of getting the driver to wait at Robin 
 son s wayside house an extra half-hour until his pas 
 sengers were comfortably warmed, on the part of Mrs. 
 Willis; and thoughtful directions and suggestions about 
 the journey, and careful solicitude as to the provision of 
 wraps, on the part of Mrs. Dennett. A great rumble 
 and the splash of slippery feet, a jocose laugh and a 
 loud " Hello," announced the heavy stage, adding a bit 
 of welcome color to the dull gray landscape, with its 
 red paint newly brightened by the washing rain. 
 
 While the others, rustling in their shiny rain-cloaks, 
 hastened out. behind the driver, carrying their bundles 
 and bags, Mabel lingered for a quiet farewell to the old 
 garden where Edward had played and worked in his 
 boyhood, where she had seen him fire his signal-gun 
 one bright spring day, when its shrubs and vines were 
 bending with luxuriant bloom. 
 
 Frosts and storms had stripped it now, and only frail, 
 belated blossoms, beaten and broken by the storm, clung 
 patiently to nodding stalks, and held up their delicate 
 colors to the frowning skies. A fine spray dewed the 
 rose leaves by the path, and glistened brilliantly in cold, 
 clear drops like shattered diamonds on the thorny, 
 naked twigs of the sighing trees. Mabel glanced back 
 ward toward the pleasant porch, where on her first visit 
 to this charming home she had seen Mrs. Dennett 
 sewing contentedly behind the fragrant vines. She 
 remembered that first bright smile with which Mrs. 
 Dennett had welcomed her. She remembered now 
 that the loving greeting, the dawning light in those 
 soft blue eyes, had never been wanting. There she 
 stood out at the gate now, waiting for her last guest 
 
THE PARTING. 345 
 
 with an expression as full of slumbering charity as 
 Edward s, wholly as uneffaced by the bitterness of 
 years. 
 
 She held out her hand without a word, while Mabel 
 took it silently, and turned to go. But something held 
 her back. Here she too had suffered; this home which 
 had been Edward s was dearer to her than any other 
 spot on earth; that sweet-faced lady beside her was his 
 mother. Could she go and leave it all, perhaps for 
 ever, without one word of parting, one sign of affec 
 tion, when her heart was brimming over? No; she 
 must speak; she turned back, and placing both arms 
 around Mrs. Dennett s neck, kissed her fondly on the 
 cheek. " I could not go without telling you something 
 of the love I feel for you, Mrs. Dennett," she said, ear- 
 r.estly. " Aside from all the gratitude I owe for your 
 kindness, there is something else, I love you because 
 you are 
 
 " I know, I know," answered Mrs. Dennett, quickly. 
 " lie has told me. dear. But I could not speak to you 
 on such a subject, for I realize our disgraced position; 
 I could not presume, you know, my child." 
 
 " Do not say that," Mabel said, sadly. " You are 
 not disgraced in my eyes. To me Edward is even 
 more manly and noble than at first; for he has the 
 courage to bear injustice without harboring malice 
 toward those who have inflicted it. Oh, you do not 
 know all! I cannot tell you now! " she added, breath 
 lessly. "But tell him for me just this little message, 
 that Providence is good; it will guide us both to the 
 place we have hoped to reach. And when at last he 
 reaches home, my love will be waiting for him there." 
 
346 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 Mrs. Dennett silently folded the young girl in her 
 arms and kissed her, and then they parted. 
 
 Mabel was not conscious that the fires in the black 
 eyes of the expressman beside the driver were not 
 extinguishable by rain; or that there were many sly 
 allusions to rosy cheeks and pretty girls who were so 
 proud that a whole summer did not suffice to make 
 their acquaintance. She sat quietly looking on the 
 scenes around her, watching for the last glimpse of 
 Edward s rose-embowered home among the mountains, 
 thinking what a new charm all those wild hills had 
 assumed since she first saw them, and feeling that 
 nevermore would she breathe the sweet aroma of the 
 boundless pine-lands, or catch a gleam of far-off, snowy 
 summits, without a new stirring of that suffocating 
 pain, that sad, sweet joy which had taken possession 
 of her life. 
 
MEMORIES OF THE SAN JOAQUIN. 347 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 MEMORIES OF THE SAN JOAQUIN. 
 
 As on through marshy banks a silent river 
 Winds tortuously, with moonbeams all a-quiver, 
 So crowded memories haste, with magic power, 
 To soothe the sorrows of the dying hour. 
 
 Selected. 
 
 LOCUSTVILLE seemed hardly like itself after Lois was 
 gone. Many a friend missed her, regretfully remember 
 ing how-her bright face and willing hands had helped 
 to smooth rough places for them, though they scarcely 
 realized it at the time. Mrs. Mills grew anxious, and 
 even forgot to gossip while telling of her troubles, and 
 how she would certainly have to send for Lois if she 
 did not return when the two weeks were up. And the 
 little folks were almost inconsolable, since they could 
 no longer save their brightest pinks and their rosi 
 est apples to carry to Miss Warren, that they might 
 see how happy it seemed to make her, and thus show 
 their gratitude for her watchful, patient care, and her 
 loving sympathy in their little troubles which others 
 scarcely deemed to be worthy of the name. All through 
 the warm vacation the little troops of bright, happy 
 children were seen coming and going through that 
 friendly looking old front gate at Mrs. Mills s house, 
 and Lois had found their simple manifestations of 
 good-will the brightest things in her life, except the 
 visits of the good, faithful Doctor. He had a power to 
 
348 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 make the most serious obstacle seem small in compari 
 son to his protecting strength. His unerring judgment, 
 his hearty generosity, his kindly interest, made him, 
 indeed, her most trusted, most respected friend. 
 
 And the Doctor himself! No one of all the friends 
 who missed the school-mistress found life so burdensome 
 without her as did he who loved her so incomparably 
 better than they all. To others she was helpful and 
 pleasant and kind, instrumental in giving them hap 
 piness; to him she was the great essential, without 
 whom life was dull and colorless and blank. On her 
 depended what little joy and purpose the world could 
 thereafter yield to him, for the years that had brought 
 the silvery threads to his once brown hair had brought 
 bitternesses and disappointments which had robbed life 
 of those hearty, trustful enjoyments that ever sweeten 
 and build up the hopes of youth. Though his dream 
 of love had faded, the dream that comes in life s 
 meridian gathering round it all the scattered sunbeams 
 of the wasted morning in one great final effort, 
 though the rich summer of his life had failed to keep 
 its promise like the glorious foreshadowings of its 
 vanished spring-time, still a calm, autumnal beauty lay 
 before, a season when all the bloom and brightness of 
 the world had faded; and yet its naked trees, its brown 
 and leaf-strewn hills, were softened and half hidden by 
 the dim, slow-drifting haze that covered with a restful 
 tenderness all the blank desolation of the hastening 
 winter. The bloom and the verdure were gone, but the 
 soothing calm of this Indian-summer time would rob 
 the coming decay of the sharp agony of despair, and 
 mercifully hide with its smoky haze that river of his 
 
MEMORIES OP THE SAN JOAQUIN. 349 
 
 hopes, once so full and deep and clear, but now dimin 
 ished and narrow, though crystal and unsullied still, 
 till it only shone in bright, surprising sweeps of silver 
 breaking through the veiling mists. 
 
 Lois was not his now to care for and to love; but 
 she was his to remember tenderly, to watch over, if 
 not to protect. And so the world lost more than half 
 its brightness that day when Mr. Mills drove over to 
 Tenayee with Lois by his side. The Doctor, who went 
 over behind them in his little cart, saw her enter the 
 train with her usual light step, as if she was cheerful 
 and happy as ever, but when her face appeared at the 
 window, it was pale and sad and full of regret, and 
 his heart was stricken with sympathy and a longing 
 to lighten her sorrow. There seemed a mournfulness 
 in the farewell she waived to Mr. Mills, a striving to 
 be her old self, cheerful and bright with hope, that 
 touched him with unutterable pity, for her act lacked 
 the spirit she strove to put into it, and only seemed the 
 sadder for the effort. The Doctor turned away with 
 troubled thoughts. How could he lighten the burden 
 that had fallen so suddenly and mysteriously upon his 
 friend? That she was unhappy, that the stranger in 
 the hospital had awakened in her painful memories 
 and regrets, he was certain. But what course could 
 he take to serve her, if ever so slightly, in this time of 
 need? First, he thought if he could only learn the 
 cause, he might the better be able to effect relief, if 
 the wound he could not cure. There are some troubles 
 in which silence is the most welcome sympathy, and 
 so the Doctor had felt restrained from inquiring of 
 Lois this evil which he so longed to remedy or relieve. 
 
350 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 But now that she was gone, and nothing could give 
 her further pain in what transpired, he resolved to 
 learn the secret from the stranger. It was no prying 
 curiosity that prompted this desire; but a wish to be 
 a shield, or a helper, or a sharer in her affliction, if 
 he could not be more. 
 
 The man at the hospital suffered intensely at times, 
 not alone from his burns, but from exposure and ex 
 haustion, which induced a fever, and made his chances 
 for recovery slight. The Doctor was anxiously watchful 
 of his patient, feeling, with a strange sensation of com 
 fort in his heart, that thereby he might be performing a 
 service for Lois, or at least doing as she would have him 
 do, even to one who had caused her suffering and pain. 
 But the days wore on, and still he found no oppor 
 tunity to inquire into the subject which weighed so 
 heavily on his mind, although he often sat and talked 
 with the sick man when the latter wanted company, 
 amusing him with a cheerful bit of conversation, or 
 listening to his entertaining stories of past experi 
 ences. George never spoke of the origin of his burns, 
 or made any reference to his acquaintance with Lois, 
 though his talk was free enough, as if he did not inten 
 tionally conceal anything; and he swam so smoothly 
 through both deeps and shallows of his conversation, 
 with such a charming indifference to them, and such 
 a graceful avoidance of all reefs, that his listener was 
 not aware there was anything but the most thoughtless 
 navigation through the current of his stories. 
 
 But one day when the Doctor was making a visit to 
 George s room, he eat down by the bedside for a few 
 minutes to rest before leaving the hospital, since he 
 
MEMORIES OF THE SAN JOAQUIN. 351 
 
 had finished his rounds through the silent wards for 
 that day. George lay in a dull stupor, breathing 
 heavily for a time, and then with a Jong sigh he roused 
 himself, turning over impatiently, and showing his 
 white, disfigured face, lighted with its luminous, dark, 
 searching eyes. 
 
 "I m a pretty sick man, am I not, Doctor?" he 
 Baid, brightening, and displaying something of his 
 old careless grace. 
 
 " Yes," returned the Doctor kindly; "you have borne 
 a good deal of pain; but let us trust you will come out 
 as strong as ever." 
 
 He sighed and lay quiet for a time, as if studying 
 the Doctor s face. Then a dreamy look came into his 
 eyes, softening the wild, unsteady light that burned 
 there. He was thinking, lost in memories, perhaps 
 touched with remorse, so the Doctor did not disturb 
 his thoughts. 
 
 "It s wonderful," he broke out at last, as if recklessly 
 eager to unburden his mind, "wonderful how the 
 world turns round. I was just thinking how strange it 
 is for me to be back here in Tenayee, dying in the old 
 hospital that never had any terrors for me when I used 
 to look so carelessly on these old brick walls, without 
 even a thought of what was inside of them. I lived 
 here once, but I never expected to come back again. 
 The old place quite lost its charm for me before I left. 
 By the way, tell me something about that Miss Warren, 
 who came in here one day with you, and was taken so 
 suddenly ill. She has turned nun or angel, I suppose, 
 of late years. She used to have a sprinkling of both 
 in her character when I knew her; but of course they 
 
352 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 must have increased since then, in view of the circum 
 stances." 
 
 The Doctor was thoroughly roused, and relieved be 
 sides, since George had chosen to talk of Lois, and had 
 saved him the unpleasant task of opening the subject 
 which was uppermost in his mind, and which troubled 
 him sorely. 
 
 " If you knew Miss Warren once, I should say there 
 is not much to tell. No description could do her jus 
 tice, she is so thoroughly good and delightful." 
 
 " 0, then she has turned angel," said George. u She 
 was n t quite all that when I knew her, and yet she was 
 a very nice little girl. I thought a good deal of her 
 once myself." 
 
 " Ah! then you can tell me something about her. 
 The memory of her must certainly be pleasant," said 
 the Doctor, anxiously. 
 
 u yes, I don t mind recalling the part Lois took in 
 the little story of my sojourn here. She was younger 
 in those days, I dare say much more charming than 
 she is now. Girls bordering on old-maidhood some 
 times grow a trifle sour. Still, I don t know how it is 
 with Lois. I wish she cared something for me now, 
 for then I would have a capital nurse, at any rate; but 
 of course it is not to be expected, when our little affair 
 came to such an ignominious end, no tragic parting, 
 no sentimental promises of eternal friendship or re 
 membrance, or such nonsense in it, just a final, com 
 plete breaking off. She has mourned me as dead, and 
 planted my imaginary grave with forget-me-nots all 
 these years, I suppose. But it could n t be helped. It 
 was better to let her think that than to tell her the 
 
MEMORIES OF THE SAN JOAQUIN. 353 
 
 truth and have her lose her high estimate of me. A 
 boyish prank would have turned me into a scoundrel 
 in her eyes, and so I concluded that if it was not pru 
 dent for me to continue our acquaintance she had better 
 think well of me than ill. 
 
 " There is something rather pleasant in recalling our 
 first meeting. It was some years ago, and not in this 
 place either. Left an orphan early in life, I went to 
 live in my uncle s family, where I was obliged to re 
 main and donate my services gratuitously for my 
 maintenance until twenty-one. I received a little in 
 struction in chemistry in my uncle s drug-store, but 
 when I attained my majority I left in disgust, feeling 
 that the world would do more for me than my uncle, 
 when I should at last reach his standard of usefulness. 
 I drifted around for a year or two, saving a little to use 
 when I should have an opportunity to finish my educa 
 tion in chemistry, until at last I obtained a position as 
 freight agent at a little wharf on the San Joaquin. 
 
 " It was a lonely life I led there, and a hard one 
 too. I had a little house on the river margin, in which 
 I employed my spare time, fitting it up comfortably, 
 and storing it with books for companions when noth 
 ing better offered. Twenty times a day some little tug 
 would come steaming up the river, towing a great old 
 awkward barge, a sloop, or a schooner, with their in 
 evitable signals for me to be ready to receive some keg 
 of molasses, or box of crackers or soap, and load them 
 with my charge of potatoes, or salt beef, or tule-rushes. 
 They had me up at all hours of the night, attending to 
 the infernal little batches of freight that came in piece 
 meal, so that my strongest recollection now of the 
 
354 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 lonely river wharf is of the night scene when the signal- 
 light shone like a glowing white star high up above the 
 restless, dark waters, and of the lanterns lighting up 
 up the rough gable-end of the freight-house, in the 
 door of which my key grated so aggravating often, and 
 where the columns of my open entry-book continually 
 lengthened. Twice a week the steamers stopped to 
 exchange mail or passengers, and then I got a glimpse 
 of civilization, for the people from the surrounding 
 districts, for whom I had to do all this drudgery, came 
 flocking around, often accompanied by their women 
 folks, anxious for their letters, expecting friends, or 
 ready for a journey themselves; so that I always 
 looked forward to the steamer-day with a glow of satis 
 faction. As for company, I did n t have any, except 
 the Dutch boys, who lived in a cabin up the river, 
 where they caught suckers. They sometimes came 
 down to enliven me with a tune on their accordion, 
 which served to attract a few loungers to the spot, and 
 then I usually put in a pretty good day or evening, with 
 cigars, and plenty of help when the boats came. 
 
 " But one night I was all alone, sitting rather dis 
 consolately out on the edge of the wharf, swinging my 
 legs over the water, and looking absently up the broad 
 river shut in by its dark, low banks fringed with 
 nodding tules. It was a pleasant sort of evening, I 
 remember, warm and balmy, with just a soft breeze 
 stirring gently in the rushes, and skimming with an 
 added freshness down the wide, level expanse of water. 
 The great marshy tule-grown valley stretched out for 
 miles each side of the curving stream, but all was hid 
 den in the darkness, except the pale lights here and 
 
MEMORIES OF THE SAN JOAQUIN. 355 
 
 there on the surface of the river, showing its tortuous 
 course between the inky black shores. I was thinking 
 even in the midst of my solitude that there was a spice 
 fascination in that kind of life, if only something 
 might come along to enliven it once in a while, and 
 make it somewhat pleasant, when the dull buzz and 
 quick, short puffing of the hopelessly frequent tug 
 came across the winding river, and in a minute the 
 familiar sight of the dark floating object, with its short, 
 thick smoke-stack scattering trails of fiery sparks and 
 black wreaths of soot against the sky, presented itself. 
 It made no end of noise, this particular steam affair, 
 so that it was not until its snorting and puffing hushed 
 itself into a low, steady hiss when it turned off steam 
 that I heard voices singing, uncommonly sweet and 
 clear, behind it. 
 
 "As the tug drew up to the wharf, I saw that it had 
 in tow, not the usual barge, but a small pleasure-craft, 
 filled almost to the capsizing point with pretty young 
 girls and attentive young men, and one or two elder- 
 lies to keep things straight. They were on a little ex 
 cursion up the river, undecided where they would stop 
 to wait for the late moon-rise before going back. When 
 the -tug stopped, an idea seized some one in the pleas 
 ure-boat, and the proposition was made that they part 
 company with the tug and explore the wharf, without 
 going farther. You can readily imagine that my con 
 sent was easily obtained, and I was so agitated and 
 eager to receive the boat-load of beauty in proper style 
 that my duty toward the tug-boat s freight almost 
 slipped my mind; at any rate, if my idea of duty did 
 not become slippery, my hands or the greasy soft-soap 
 
356 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 keg did, for the thing escaped my hold, and with a 
 resounding boom and a heavy splash it dropped down 
 beside the timbers of the wharf, and sank into the 
 rocking, spumy waters below. There was some explo 
 sive swearing and premonitions of a storm between the 
 tug s crew and myself, but I avoided trouble by pay 
 ing for the loss, and let the tug go on her way up the 
 river, ploughing inky-black furrows tipped with edges 
 of foam in the water, and showing her course miles 
 away up the broad, winding stream by the dull red 
 glow and the storm of flying sparks from her smoke 
 stack. 
 
 "Ashamed as I was of my exhibition of awkward 
 ness, regretful as I was of my loss, the thing almost 
 vanished from my mind, and I was glad of its occur 
 rence before my visitors left the wharf. First of the 
 girls who came out of the boat was a trim, bright little 
 lady in a dark blue boating-dress, pretty and smiling 
 as a picture, helped tenderly by a very attentive ancient 
 beau who seemed to worship her, while I stood by and 
 held the lantern. Capital idea that was, for I sized 
 them all up as they came along the plank. But I was 
 smitten with the first girl. I almost fell in love with 
 her before she reached the wharf, with her foot, per 
 haps, more properly speaking. It was small and neat 
 and shapely, with the daintiest little ankle imaginable, 
 and she put it out timidly at first, and then drew back 
 before stepping from the plank, but at last gaining 
 courage, planted it firmly on the wharf, all of which 
 gave me a first-class opportunity to get a look at it. 
 She had a friend, this charming maiden with the 
 pretty foot, and the friend was a sly girl, slender and 
 
MEMORIES OF THE SAN JOAQUIN. 357 
 
 willowy and red-haired, with a fine white face and an 
 exasperatingly cool habit of exacting her own way, 
 and getting it too. These two were the life of the party. 
 Miss Nellie Minton, by the way, I met her last spring 
 on a ferry-boat in the upper country, wholly unchanged, 
 and the circumstance recalled vividly that night of our 
 first meeting on the river wharf; but as I was going to 
 say, Miss Minton set herself up for queen of the crowd, 
 which claim was readily recognized by Miss Lois War 
 ren, the youthful school-ma am teaching her first school 
 at Locustville, and out with this party of friends to spend 
 a week or so of her vacation at some little town on the 
 river. But the gentlemanly side of the company wor 
 shipped the maid of honor to the queen more than the 
 potentate herself, and I for once sided with the mascu 
 line portion of the community in their way of thinking. 
 It happened that I had had a previous slight acquaint 
 ance with one of the gentlemen in the boat, so introduc 
 tions followed, and all restraint wore off in the ensuing 
 good feeling. 
 
 " Fortunately the l Dutch boys took it into their 
 heads to come down to the wharf that evening, and we 
 heard the faint strains of their accordion falling sweetly 
 on the night air while they were still away off, follow 
 ing the narrow, winding trail that led through the tall, 
 damp tule-rushes. But the spirit of the music was 
 sufficient to arouse every one, and when the * Dutch 
 boys arrived, they were astonished to find us whirling 
 lightly up and down the firm boards of the wharf to 
 the time of the quick, sweet waltz they were playing. 
 
 " Perhaps our case would not have been so serious as 
 it afterward proved to be had it not been for something 
 
358 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 the merry little school-m am did. I cut out all ad 
 mirers, and secured the second dance with her, and 
 after it, while walking up and down the wharf, we 
 had no seats, except a dozen sacks of potatoes awaiting 
 shipment, and these were already occupied as such, 
 much to the prejudice of the tubers, ehe expressed 
 herself so sweetly sympathetic for my accident with 
 the soap-barrel that I felt at once I had never seen be 
 fore such an exquisitely fine, sensitive nature as hers, 
 and consequently I tumbled straight as the soap-keg, 
 not into the river, but into love. 
 
 " I was wrought up to the wildest pitch. Excusing 
 myself, I went into my little house and tore out a 
 month s supply of delicacies, made coffee and choco 
 late, spread the table, the length of which I helped out 
 wonderfully with boards, and when the moon was ris 
 ing up out of the endless plain of tule-marsh that 
 stretched out both sides through the great San Joaquin 
 Valley, I invited my guests in for refreshments. It 
 was the crowning success of the evening. I was the 
 jolliest best fellow on the river, they all said, and I 
 well I was younger then, and I enjoyed it hugely. As 
 host, I could take my pick of the girls, having none 
 myself, and of course I chose Lois, enlisting the help 
 of Nellie Minton in my behalf. 
 
 " I sat beside Lois at table, the elderly admirer on 
 one side mildly submitting to my appropriation of his 
 pretty girl as a matter of course; for most assuredly 
 an old fellow, prosy and slow arid dry, could n t stand 
 alongside of me in such a conquest, when the fire of my 
 young blood was up and I was bent on victory. It was 
 not to be thought of, because of course Lois was predis- 
 
MEMORIES OF THE SAN JOAQUIN. 359 
 
 posed in favor of young fellows. An old man would n t 
 do for her, even if she was a smart little school-ma am 
 with plenty of practical ideas." 
 
 The Doctor mentally flinched. George s words struck 
 him like a blow, though to be sure he had come to a 
 similar conclusion himself. He turned very red, and 
 nervously drew out his yellow gloves, those dear old 
 half-soiled gloves, with Lois s own neat little stitches 
 in the fingers. The sight of them soothed him won 
 derfully after this fresh wound his sore heart had 
 received, and unconsciously he clasped them with a 
 loving pressure to his great manly breast while George 
 continued with his story. 
 
 " When I begged that she would do the honors of 
 the feast by pouring out the coffee and dishing up the 
 preserves, she complied with a readiness the sweetest 
 possible, and added the one wanting touch to make our 
 night revel as refined and romantic as it was merry and 
 gleeful. She sat with such lady-like composure, yet 
 such a charming air of proprietorship, and dished up 
 the viands, smiling and joining lightly in the conversa 
 tion as she passed the cups around, her blue eyes bright 
 with animation, and her fair face visited every second 
 by a host of freakish dimples! By Jove! as I sat there 
 and watched her behind the big, steaming coffee-pot, 
 and received such, gentle, kind acknowledgment to 
 every attention I bestowed, I made up my mind then 
 and there to have a little table of my own some 
 day, presided over by this same charming, fair-faced 
 little school-ma am. The idea may be laughable now, 
 but I was young then. I presume you know how it 
 is yourself, Doctor. Quite likely you had just such 
 
360 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 thoughts when you were a young man with fresh feel 
 ings and hopes." 
 
 The Doctor turned to adjust the shade at the window, 
 thinking sorrowfully all the while of his own dead, faded 
 dream of love. He was not ashamed because it had 
 come when he was no longer youthful and full of strong, 
 young hope; and yet the story that George was telling 
 so carelessly for his amusement was growing strangely 
 painful by coming irreverently and harshly close to his 
 own cherished secret. 
 
 u O no; it was not strange that you should have had 
 such a hope," he replied absently, revolving in his mind 
 the thought that other men had cherished just such 
 dreams and hopes of Lois as he, and vaguely wonder 
 ing perhaps a little impatiently if these dreams 
 had held for others such a sacred loveliness as for him. 
 
 " Well, I suppose none of us will ever forget that 
 night," continued George, warming up to his story again. 
 " At any rate, two of us will not, Lois and myself. 
 It was one of those rare seasons of life when all care 
 and responsibility seem to vanish, and the hour is one 
 of unalloyed, childlike enjoyment, with a full capacity 
 of appreciation. Lois told me afterward that it was 
 one of the very happiest she had ever known. Well, 
 well; Lois was a thoroughly good little girl, after all. 
 Somehow it rather stirs me up to recall that night, 
 even yet. 
 
 " The prettiest picture in all my recollection of Lois, 
 except perhaps the time when she came up the plank 
 and showed her neat little foot, was the parting one that 
 night when the moon had risen high into the sky, flood 
 ing with light the level, swampy valley, and converting 
 
MEMORIES OF THE SAN JOAQUIN. 361 
 
 the dark, restless river into a smooth, broad, glorious 
 stream of silver. 
 
 " She stood on the edge of the wharf, surrounded by 
 the picturesque mystery of the moonlit plain beyond 
 the dark farther shore, her trim, shapely figure out 
 lined against the water, and the cool breeze that had 
 sprung up playing listlessly with the little brown curls 
 around her face. The boys in the boat below, who 
 were getting it ready for embarkation, just then struck 
 up the sweet, haunting music of their boat-song. A 
 silence fell over the waiting groups as the deep, rich 
 voices rose above the ripple of the waters washing 
 against the piles of the wharf, and Lois stood quiet, 
 her face turned toward the silvery expanse of water 
 in a dreamy reverie, and the moonlight showering 
 down around her, touching her fair, round cheek, and 
 lighting up her face with a strange new beauty." 
 
 The Doctor turned away again, but not with a pain 
 ful thought. Had he not seen Lois in one of those 
 same sweet musings that day, when, as he was driving 
 away from the little red school-house, he turned and 
 saw her standing under the locust-trees, looking dream 
 ily out toward the blue line of far-off hills? He had 
 sometimes wondered if Lois seemed so gentle and lovely 
 to others as she looked to him, when lost in those fanci 
 ful thoughts. He had his answer now. It was not a 
 product of the loving esteem in which he held her, for 
 others had seen her thus, and had felt the delightful 
 spell that he had known. It was indeed a reality. 
 
 "I always like to think of Lois as she looked then/ 
 George went on. " I have a little picture of both her 
 self and her character in the thought; for when the 
 
362 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 song died away and she turned toward me, I naturally 
 supposed that she would come out of that sentimental 
 reverie, her eyes heavy with tears. But no: her lace 
 was cheerful and bright as ever, and her voice musical 
 in its steadiness, when she held out her hand, saying 
 cordially, My hand for good night, and the many 
 thanks which I cannot express. But not good by, I 
 hope, said I, appealingly. May I not see you again? 
 She hesitated a moment, and then I asked permission 
 to call upon her, which she granted. 
 
 "I waited that night out on the deserted wharf until 
 the song of the boat s crew, faint and far, was hushed 
 in the splash and gurgle far down the river, thinking, 
 with a pleasure indescribable, of this happy diversion 
 from my usual lonely life. 
 
 " But that was about the last of my solitude. I soon 
 left the wharf, and came here, to be near Lois, and 
 to study chemistry. In. a few months we were engaged, 
 and you can imagine my trips over to Locustville be 
 came pretty frequent, and my circle of acquaintances 
 there correspondingly large. Confound it all! I might 
 have escaped this miserable doom if I had stayed here 
 and learned of Lois how to be better. She had a won 
 derful influence over me for good. But fate denied 
 me just at the time when I was most happy in my in 
 fatuation for her, and was enjoying hugely my escapes 
 from the snares set by a handsome, black-eyed widow 
 over here in Tenayee, whom nobody knew anything 
 about. 
 
 " But to make a clean breast of it, I got into difficul 
 ties which forced me to move out of town for good. I 
 was friendly with a set of medical students who some- 
 
MEMORIES OF THE SAN JOAQUIN. 363 
 
 times got up rides about the place; and since I kept a 
 horse, principally to ride over to Locustville four or 
 five times a week, I often joined them. A lot of us 
 kept our horses in the pasture of a little old man who 
 was half crazy, always drunk, and uglier than a mad 
 dog. We had a quarrel with him every time we wanted 
 our horses, and as my visits were most frequent, I 
 consequently had more trouble with him than the 
 others. He accused us of breaking his fences, and rid 
 ing over his garden-patch, in language that was more 
 than strong; and so one night we boys got pretty well 
 fired up, and determined to have the fun of doing 
 a little of the mischief he accused us of perpetrating. 
 I got some poison from the chemicals I worked with, 
 and in a body we set out to the old man s barn, where 
 he kept a snarling bull-dog ready to be turned loose on 
 us when the old wretch s whim dictated. We were 
 intending to feast this precious animal on a piece of 
 meat thickly buttered with strychnine, but the vile 
 thing made a disturbance, and we just escaped out- 
 and-out detection by beating a rapid retreat. In my 
 hurry I dropped the bottle of poison on the hay, with 
 the cork out, and of course the stuff was spilled, and so 
 after that the old fellow s chickens mysteriously died 
 off in great numbers, and a valuable cow passed in her 
 checks for the great unknown. It was an unfortunate 
 piece of business, but doubly so for me; for when the 
 bottle was found, it bore the label of the drug-store 
 where I pursued by studies, and also private marks 
 in my handwriting, and so of course suspicion pointed 
 directly to me as the agent of the wrong. I had been 
 on the worst possible terms with the old man, and 
 
364 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 hence I must have maliciously poisoned his hay for 
 revenge. I had plenty of friends in the place who 
 were willing to stick to me, but I was only interested 
 in keeping the matter from a public airing. I knew if 
 I were even accused of such a thing it would break 
 Lois s heart and destroy our happiness. She would 
 know for she was not a love-blind maiden that I 
 had had something to do with the controversy in a re 
 mote sort of way, since I had once or twice related my 
 quarrels with the old man, and she had steadily advised 
 me to find another pasture for my horse. But the thing 
 could n t be helped. I had to keep it quiet or lose Lois, 
 for she could never accept me if a suspicion rested 
 on my name, nor endure the ugly process of the court 
 to establish my innocence. If I had had money, the 
 trouble would have vanished immediately, but I was 
 poor, and did n t dare to borrow; so I had to bear the 
 consequences of my foolish prank. 
 
 " Finally the old man sent me word that if I didn t 
 leave town in a week he would prosecute me. I think 
 he was afraid of me, and preferred the freedom from 
 my company in town to my punishment. He was 
 universally disliked, and I probably should have got 
 clear if he had carried out his threats; but if I had to 
 lose Lois, I preferred doing it in the way most agreeable 
 to myself; and so, since I had a good offer to go to the 
 mines, I determined to take it and cut loose from the 
 old ties forever. 
 
 "Nellie Minton was in Locustville on a second visit 
 just then, and hence I availed myself of my old ally in 
 this extremity. There had been a certain sympathy 
 between us from the first. She had been Lois s friend, 
 
MEMORIES OF THE SAN JOAQUIN. 365 
 
 and had divulged little secrets to me, and helped me 
 along somewhat in my suit, for which I assure you she 
 lost nothing. 
 
 " The scheming minx had heard a rumor of the dif 
 ficulty from a special source of gossip, or I should have 
 been very clear of giving her an inkling of it; hut since 
 she already knew something, the best way to stop her 
 prying was to tell her enough to satisfy her notion of 
 the thing. So I told her the danger I was in, and got 
 her to arrange my departure. I was hurriedly called 
 away, she was to say, but I was to return in a few 
 days. This I was supposed to have told her at an 
 accidental meeting as I was leaving town. She had 
 friends in the place whither I was bound, and hence 
 that fact would establish a subsequent source of news 
 from me through her. She was to give my farewell to 
 Lois, and assure the devoted girl of my inability to see 
 her before I went, and that I would call immediately 
 after my return and explain the lucky business ven 
 ture that called me away. I wrote her a short note 
 also, but to avoid suspicion I had to abridge it greatly, 
 and trust the most lengthy explanations to Nellie. 
 
 " Of course, by a fortnight conjectures were ex 
 hausted about the delay in my return, and even the 
 most incredulous believed that something of a serious 
 nature had detained me. A letter from Nellie, from the 
 city where she had sent it to be posted, informed me that 
 Lois was nearly frantic with anxiety, and regardless of 
 appearances intended to start herself or send a mes 
 senger to the place whither I was supposed to have 
 gone. She never for a moment doubted that I was in 
 need of her help, and that insurmountable obstacles 
 
366 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 forced my silence. Poor Lois! She was so trustful 
 and loving, I was sorry to give her pain. 
 
 " So then I had to make the final stroke and close 
 my career for good, and thus prevent Lois s intention 
 of rendering aid in the unknown trouble that detained 
 me. The news came indirectly through Nellie s friends 
 that I had been drowned in the San Joaquin imme 
 diately on my arrival at that town. At first I had 
 mysteriously disappeared, and then, after several days, 
 the body of an unknown man had been found in the 
 river, it quite often happens that such is the case, 
 but it was so far decomposed as to prevent recognition, 
 although from the size it might possibly have been 
 mine. Of course all of the rumors from Nellie s friends 
 were fabrications, except the finding of the dead stran 
 ger; but it had to be fixed up that way in order to 
 make the thing more certain, for if there was much of 
 a doubt Lois would be sure to investigate. The body 
 was buried, and since the place where I was supposed 
 to have met my untimely end was a long distance from 
 Tenayec, of course no one had a chance to inquire into 
 the facts at all; and when, afterward, Lois went to find 
 my supposed last resting-place, with a little sum that 
 she had saved to erect a stone and fix it up a bit, no 
 one could point out the exact spot where the stranger 
 was buried, nor tell her anything of the alleged 
 rumors, either, I 11 warrant. But of course the trust 
 ful girl was satisfied with what she knew, for she felt 
 certain that I would have come to her if in the land 
 of the living. 
 
 " Poor Lois! I trust she enjoyed herself hugely 
 spending the money on ribbons and such things. And 
 that was the end of our little romance. 
 
MEMORIES OF THE SAN JOAQUIN. 367 
 
 "As for me, I went off to the mines, and becoming 
 interested in ores, I have travelled about extensively 
 since then all over the coast, being reasonably success 
 ful as an assayer. It was not long before the new life 
 swallowed up the old, and I soon found comfort for 
 what I supposed to be my broken heart. That being 
 my first serious affair, of course I did not understand 
 how soon one can be comforted with a second. I have 
 ha d several since, one desperately earnest which turned 
 out miserably for me, and far more so for the other fel 
 low in the game, as / happen to know" 
 
 His eyes, that had gazed so calmly on the Doctor s 
 quiet face, grew dark and wild and unsteady with his 
 last words, as if his mind, grown weak with suffering, 
 was roused to painful madness by these memories. 
 
 The Doctor tried to calm him, and lead his thoughts 
 back to Lois, and the restful sweetness associated with 
 her. Rising to go, and arranging in his usual hurried 
 way his medicine-case, he said, "Have you never heard 
 from your friends here since you left?" 
 
 George sank back on his pillow with a sigh, showing 
 his relief that he had not betrayed himself by ventur 
 ing farther on dangerous ground. He closed his eyes 
 as if soothed by the older, sweeter memories of Lois and 
 his first youthful love, and as if willing to repose in its 
 comforting tranquillity. 
 
 " O yes," he said, in answer to the Doctor s question; 
 " indirectly I have heard, several times. But the events 
 in which I figured have faded out most completely 
 by this time, I presume; and yet to me, coming to this 
 town and reviving again its slumbering memories, the 
 past rises up before me as if it were but yesterday that 
 
368 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 I walked the streets of Locustville; and I can see as 
 plainly as if they lay before me all those old, dead 
 scenes of my life, the rolling hills, treeless and stub 
 ble-grown, the quaint green gardens, and the blossom 
 ing, feathery-leaved trees that lined the shady streets, 
 the white, winding roads, and even those first pictures 
 of the night-time on the river at the little wharf, robbed 
 now of everything wearisome and lonely, and surrounded 
 by a vague, sweet charm, new yet full of all its ancient 
 magic, like the returning, faint, far echoes of some long- 
 forgotten melody." 
 
LOIS AT HOME. 369 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 LOIS AT HOME. 
 
 I have forgotten all the love you gave me, 
 
 And all the tender words you ever said; 
 I have unbound the chains that did enslave me, 
 
 And sealed the tears they cost me with the dea 
 Thou wert a god in an enchanted heaven, 
 
 Wherein I dwelt for one bright summer day; 
 But now thou art forgotten, and forgiven; 
 
 For thou wert not to blame for being clay. 
 
 Selected. 
 
 Strange phantoms rising as the mists arise. 
 
 POPE. 
 
 OUT where the woodland steeped the pure, clear 
 mountain air with the sweet aroma of the pine, Lois 
 spent many hours of the cool, bright days that followed 
 her return home, looking with a new interest on the land 
 scape that held so much of grandeur and tender beauty 
 for her eyes. All her cherished memories of those 
 majestic scenes lost their charm when compared to the 
 reality, she felt; and yet there was something lacking, 
 something she had expected to find in her native 
 hills which she still missed. She loved to be alone in 
 those days. There was a dreamy charm in wander 
 ing through the still pine woods, with no other com 
 panion than her own thoughts and memories, seeing 
 how, during the years of her absence, this narrow 
 creek had worn a deeper, darker channel through the 
 caiion; how that old tree had lost its leaves and green 
 
370 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 branches forever, and stood naked and riven against 
 the sky that had once nourished it so tenderly with 
 refreshing rain and warming sun; and how some old 
 trail she had followed in her childhood had lost itself 
 in a rank, tall growth of ferns and grasses. She surely 
 loved her own people with the same fervency as of old, 
 and yet she realized that her life had somehow grown 
 apart from theirs, and in those thoughts and feelings 
 she longed to entertain they could have no share. Her 
 life needed something which the old home though 
 perfect and inexpressibly dear to her still could not 
 supply. She tried to persuade herself she had out 
 grown it; that the expansion of her feelings needed 
 yet other interests and hopes; that her little school of 
 children, every one of whose childish, innocent faces 
 were dear to her, the friends in that little valley town 
 far away, and her all-absorbing work, had so grown 
 into her life that the old home, though incomparably 
 dearer than all these, could not quite compensate her 
 for the loss of them. 
 
 It was in a measure true. She had outgrown a good 
 deal of the old life; and yet why was it that most 
 of the years that intervened held but little part 
 in her cherished memories? The truth was, that she 
 did not want to understand herself. She scarcely 
 dared to admit the truth, and so she strove to explain 
 away her feelings with whatever excuse she could. 
 The time had come when, although her home and her 
 own people held their old share in her affections, there 
 was still another place unfilled, one which she had 
 thought could never be occupied again after the loss 
 of her early love, the emptiness of which made her 
 life imperfect and lonely. 
 
LOIS AT HOME. 371 
 
 The shock of discovering George s unfaithfulness to 
 her trustful love had been severe at first, but it had 
 quickly given place to happier, more peaceful feelings. 
 Always in her thoughts of that awful day she had 
 unconsciously taken refuge in the Doctor s protecting 
 friendship, and it gave her a comfort that served al 
 most as a recompense for all the pain she had suffered. 
 " After all," she thought, " the wound in my heart was 
 no longer fresh, and had left only its scar, which 
 throbbed sometimes with the old pain. Years had 
 passed, and both the sorrow and the joy I once felt 
 had been worn away by my busy life into only a 
 sacred memory, and at the last it held no active part 
 in my feelings or my hopes, though I fondly imagined 
 it satisfied my whole life." 
 
 Looking back, the first years she had spent at Locust- 
 ville seemed like a dream, receding farther and farther 
 into the past. She could dwell calmly on the old 
 scenes that had once held such a mighty power over 
 her young heart, and smile coldly on the strange charm 
 which then enchained her. And yet that last summer 
 somehow came back to her in rare, sweet glimpses of 
 joy which she could not put aside. " It was because 
 the Doctor was so good to me, after all the years of 
 sorrow I had lived through alone," she thought. " I 
 am strong, but for that very reason it seems a relief 
 which is almost a delight to put away the burdens for 
 a little while, and lean trustingly in the dark hours 
 of weariness and discouragement on some good, tried 
 friend who is loyal and earnest in every thought and 
 word. How kindly he helped me when that last bitter 
 stroke came that shut out of my past all its sad but 
 
372 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 sacred sweetness! The unspoken sympathy he gave 
 me was more and better than anything he could have 
 said. I can never be grateful enough to my good 
 friend." But she did not realize how far she had al 
 lowed him to enter into her heart, so that when the 
 time came for his help and kindness, he had been 
 in a position to render her the mute sympathy which 
 she could accept. "The Doctor is peculiar," she 
 thought, while trying to explain her own feelings, and 
 excuse them somewhat to herself. " One could never 
 regard him as an ordinary person. He is so constant, 
 so upright, so kind, and yet so different from every one 
 else; somehow every event in our acquaintance is as 
 firmly fixed in my memory as if I had a vital interest 
 in it. From that day when I first saw him driving 
 through the streets of Locustville, the picture he made 
 in my mind has but gained greater interest with every 
 subsequent meeting, until I really feel as if it were 
 something very pleasant, and happened just as I would 
 like to have had it, considering how I have come to re 
 spect the Doctor since. I am glad it made an impres 
 sion on my mind, and yet I do so wonder why it did. 
 I cannot explain it, and cannot be thankful enough 
 that he was so friendly in those last bitter days of the 
 revival of old thoughts and feelings. I should have 
 sunk utterly in despairing sorrow but for the thought 
 of him which sustained me. It is because his char 
 acter is so strangely kind, that it fastens itself on one s 
 mind strongly and irresistibly." Yet Lois would not 
 admit that it was because she missed the Doctor that 
 her old home had lost something of its satisfying charm. 
 Still less would she acknowledge that it had anything 
 
LOIS AT HOME. 373 
 
 to do with her fondness for Locustville and its quiet, 
 rural scenes. She told herself that she loved it because 
 the best of her happiness there and her sacred memories 
 had utterly and miserably perished; and since our lives 
 nlust grow more or less by our environments and our 
 every-day associations, she had transferred some of 
 that disappointed affection to her adopted home, be 
 cause its familiar features had endeared themselves to 
 her empty heart. 
 
 And sitting there alone in the still, majestic woods, 
 so utterly removed from the influence of the outer 
 world, Lois let the tender beauty of nature all around 
 her pour into her heart a soothing peace, and soften all 
 its sorrows, its hopes, its fears, into something calm 
 and trustful and happy. And many a time while half 
 reclining in some moss-covered niche in a wall of gray, 
 rugged rocks, and watching the hazes of the Indian 
 summer veil the mountains in a cloud of purple smoke, 
 and when, as the day declined and the red sunlight fell 
 aslant upon the twilight-gathering peaks, she saw it 
 grow thicker and more glorious in the failing light, and 
 change into a bright mist over all the landscapes, like 
 the pearly bloom upon the blueness of the grape, the 
 thought would come, " How grandly beautiful it is up 
 here! so wild, so boundless, and so free, like one s 
 visions of the celestial mountains"; and then with a 
 little pang her fond heart would return to other scenes 
 in the far-away valley, as if afraid that by her moment 
 ary forgetfulness she had been disloyal in her love for 
 them. 
 
 For often there returned to her remembrances of that 
 pleasant valley country, with its pretty homes, its bios- 
 
374 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 soming gardens, and its quaint, green orchards, dotting 
 the broad expanse of golden grain-fields that stretched 
 far and wide over the rolling slopes; and thoughts also 
 of the quiet, village, its broad, shady streets leading out 
 past many trim, neat houses, until at last they ended 
 in the wide pastures where the road grew hard and 
 smooth, and the leaf-strewn sidewalks gave place to 
 narrow paths along the fences and beneath the shelter 
 ing locusts. And chief among those pleasant scenes 
 she recalled the homeward drives she had taken with 
 the Doctor, when the day grew late and the sunlight 
 was waning into a subdued and mellow splendor. The 
 atmosphere of contentment and peace which the Doc 
 tor always brought with him associated itself with the 
 memories of those times, and brought a quiet rapture 
 unlike anything she had ever felt before. And so no 
 wonder she liked to return to those scenes, when with 
 the recollection of the endless apple orchards by the 
 roadside, shadowy with rich, dark leaves that hid the 
 ripening fruit, the low buzz of the bees flying slowly in 
 and out between the fence-pickets from the odorous 
 clover-beds, the sunlight fluttering in a soft glory of 
 tender green and fretted gold on the feathery leaves 
 of the locust avenues, and the drowsy, evening quiet 
 gathering slowly as they drove along, there came back 
 also the thrill of joy and tranquillity that seemed 
 sweeter and lovelier with each returning. 
 
 The hard and bitter experiences Lois had borne were 
 all forgotten, and her early youth renewed, when she 
 and the girls rummaged through the old garret after 
 books and pictures they had enjoyed in their child 
 hood, or searched through the hay-scented barn for 
 nests of eggs. 
 
LOIS AT HOME. 01 5 
 
 They all seemed to be so proud of her, so kind, so 
 loving. Not a shade of the old love had died out of their 
 hearts, and they took up their former life right where 
 it had ended. Ah! what evenings they had, seated 
 around the blazing hearth, recalling the old times, liv 
 ing again in the by-gone days! Lois had many things 
 to tell; how busy her life had been, how happy some 
 times, at others how sad and lonely. And then the 
 girls would think of innumerable questions to ask 
 about the people they had met in Locustville on their 
 short visits to Lois there, and John rnischeivous, 
 kind-hearted, faithful John would make some ab 
 surd remark which would set the company all to 
 laughing, and the long evening would scarcely seem 
 to have begun before the ash-frosted embers on the 
 hearth, and Aunt Jemima also, warned them that 
 people sometimes went to bed at night. Two. three, 
 often four reminders had to be given before they could 
 be persuaded to disperse, and then only on compulsion 
 from Lois, who would assure Aunt Jemima, whose 
 kind face would sometimes look a little weary and 
 troubled, that they would all be safely out of the way 
 in five minutes, and the promise was always kept. 
 
 Dear, good Aunt Jemima! Many were the talks die 
 and Lois had alone. Lois scarcely realized that this 
 kind aunt was not really her own mother. She had 
 never known another home, and cherished but a dim 
 remembrance of eome one long ago who used to call 
 her his own dear little blue-eyed girl. Her father had 
 been a minister, whose field of labor lay in the old town 
 near Lucky Streak. There, in the little willow-mantled 
 church now mouldering into ruin, he had preached for 
 
376 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 several years, working bravely, and striving to bear up 
 against the loss of his young wife and the many dis 
 couragements of his hard lot. But finally, while Lois 
 was almost a baby still, he fell sick, his sensitive spirit 
 unable alone to battle against adversity. He lingered 
 for several months, nursed kindly by his wife s eldest 
 sister, Mrs. Robinson, and at last died, leaving his little 
 girl to the care and protection of her loving aunt. From 
 him Lois inherited all the poetry and sentiment of her 
 nature, much of the pitying charity, and the strong 
 and changeless affection. And so around her adopted 
 home twined all the close, unseverable ties which child 
 hood had formed and after years had strengthened. 
 
 Lois had been home a week or more, when one even 
 ing the stage -driver handed down a letter for her, post 
 marked Locustville, that made her heart beat faster 
 and her eyes shine, as she looked at the superscription 
 and failed to recognize Mrs. Mills s hastily written 
 direction. The girls teased her a little about her agita 
 tion and the delicate blush that betrayed her, suggest 
 ing a beau, and the like; but Lois, almost oblivious of 
 it all. escaped to her own room where she could read 
 her letter in peace. She hardly dared to open it for 
 fear of disappointment, she was so anxious that it 
 should prove to be from Dr. Knapp; but at last, gather 
 ing courage, she was rewarded by finding that it was. 
 " Whether it will please you or not to know that your 
 vacation has been lengthened, I cannot say, but I will 
 venture to guess," he wrote; "and I think it will. At 
 any rate, it pleases me. I know that you are in need 
 of it, and I feel that a few weeks of rest and change 
 will do much to bring back the sparkle to your eyes 
 
LOIS AT HOME. 377 
 
 which so many months of constant toil had somewhat 
 worn away. However, you have no choice now, for the 
 trustees have decided that school shall begin two weeks 
 later than was at first intended, the new roof taking 
 more time than was expected. As you already know, 
 the suggestion of making repairs was not made until 
 nearly time for school to begin, and then it was calcu 
 lated that a week or two would be ample time to com 
 plete them. But that was a mistake, and your school 
 must commence more than a month late. It seems 
 almost like a providential delay, since thereby your 
 kindness to Mrs. Mills did not compel you to forego 
 your much desired visit home. 
 
 "To you, far away amid other scenes, my thought 
 often wanders; for into my solitary life few friends like 
 you have ever come, and when I miss you, I thereby 
 miss much of the sunshine that brightens my way." 
 Lois liked that last paragraph. She lingered over it 
 without reading farther for a moment, unconsciously 
 fearful that the Doctor might spoil the thrill of pleas 
 ure it gave her by some dignified expression of his 
 feelings, which would make her feel quite like a merry 
 child whose lively play he missed. He had often done 
 this, when by some tender thought, expressed with 
 gentle feeling, she had felt her heart stirred strangely 
 by his words; and then, as if suddenly remembering 
 to whom he spoke, he would quickly change his mood, 
 and rudely dissolve the spell by the utterance of some 
 commonplace thought. And now, more than ever she 
 longed to keep that little touch of sweetness, marred 
 as it was by the fear that the Doctor did nut quite 
 mean what he wrote; that in his next sentence ho 
 
878 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 wtrald so qualify it as to take away all its best force 
 and meaning. These feelings were BO unconsciously 
 indulged that Lois did not for a moment realize why 
 she paused and looked out upon the scene below her 
 window, where the hostler was hitching fresh horses to 
 the great, untiring stage, and the dimly lighted lamps 
 cast a warm, yellow glow over the rapidly moving 
 figures. 
 
 But when she resumed her reading, the pleasure she 
 had already found was not disturbed by anything the 
 Doctor wrote. " Mrs. Mills deputized me to write this 
 letter," he continued, after some further explanation 
 about the school and the vacation. "She said that 
 eince it became my duty to inform her of the news, I 
 could best explain anything of a business nature to 
 you; and though I feel that I can but poorly satisfy 
 the many questions in your mind upon the subject, I 
 have undertaken it for the pleasure it affords me. 
 Your many friends in Locustville arc watching pa 
 tiently for your return. Often when coming out of 
 Mrs. Mills s gate, some one accosts me with the inquiry 
 if she has told me anything from you. And in the 
 hospital there have been grateful remembrances of 
 your ministrations. Nettie supplies me with flowers 
 now; and though the summer is dead, she still finds 
 many fragrant clusters. You know how exhaustless 
 the blossoms seem in that queer old garden around 
 her grandma s house." Little did Lois know, as she 
 read this, what the Doctor was thinking of when he 
 wrote it, how it recalled a day of early spring when 
 the flowers ran riot over everything in that tangled 
 garden, and the perfumes floated over it so delightful 
 
LOIS AT HOME. 379 
 
 and so rare that they suggested southern isles freighted 
 to the water s edge with fadeless tropic bloom; and 
 how when the sunshine warmed the buds into blos 
 soms new and beautiful, his own heart had opened like 
 the flowers, and had let so much of the glorious sun 
 light of love pour into it, that he never could shut it 
 up again. And so no wonder that his letter became a 
 little disconnected just there, where he had stopped 
 so long to dream; but Lois stopped too, and did not 
 notice it. 
 
 Her mind returned to Mrs. Hunman s garden also, 
 but with mingled feelings of mortification and pleasure. 
 Associated as it was with drowsy peace and homelike 
 loveliness, there still came back to her the time when 
 she had seen a picture, framed by the rank, tall 
 hollyhocks, of the back garden where Nettie and the 
 Doctor hung out the clothes to dry. She was a little 
 ashamed of the feelings she had then indulged. She 
 had been unjust to the Doctor; and yet she remembered 
 another garden scene with Nettie and Byron in it, which 
 roused very painful thoughts. She had felt somewhat 
 contemptuous about these little incidents, for it had 
 seemed rather out of keeping with the Doctor s grave 
 character that he should so pet and humor the sharp- 
 tongued, fractious Nettie. Now, with many protests, 
 she acknowledged that perhaps the faintest shade of 
 jealousy had chilled her heart, and had deterred her 
 from skilfully removing all misunderstandings, and 
 establishing the most complete good feeling instead. 
 A rosy blush spread over her fair face as she recalled 
 it. "I was so much older than Nettie," she thought. 
 "How wofully absurd of me to feel so! To be sure, I 
 
380 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 disliked her, and then I thought she had no right to 
 aspire for the favor of such a glorious man as Dr. 
 Knapp, she was so incapable of appreciating it prop 
 erly." But Lois did not even give the form of thought 
 to the feeling she was vaguely conscious of possessing, 
 that she had made the mistake of thinking Nettie 
 was somewhat too much interested in the Doctor s 
 friendship. However, she mentally reproved herself. 
 " My conduct was very foolish! I had no reason to 
 think myself in Nettie s way, and on that account to 
 avoid her altogether. Ah! why did I not let her see 
 that we both might have Dr. Knapp for a friend, with 
 out quarrelling about it either?" Poor Lois, uncon 
 scious of it as she had been at the time, her heart slowly 
 yielding itself to the Doctor s influence had suffered a 
 wound when in the arbor she had heard Nettie s bois 
 terous lamcntings, though she had attributed her pain 
 to another cause. She did not know what a strong hold 
 he already had upon her affections; she did not realize 
 that her life, deprived as it had been of the boundless 
 beauty of gentleness and love, was being supplied with 
 just these very things, which she took without ques 
 tioning the reposeful trust they purchased for her. 
 
 When she returned to her letter, her cheek still 
 burned with mortification. She could afford to be 
 generous now. The Doctor was really hers, a friend 
 who protected and cared for her, and remained faithful 
 through every circumstance. "I must atone for my 
 unreasonable behavior, and try to forget it utterly," she 
 said to herself. " When I go back to Locustville, I 
 shall call to see the Hunmans again, make friends 
 with Nettie, and resume my old associations with 
 
LOIS AT HOME. 381 
 
 them, regardless of the foolish fears that once drove 
 me away; yes," and her face grew quiet and happy, 
 as if her eyes, looking afar into the future, saw some 
 thing sweet worth living for, "yes, we will take our 
 drives out to the hospital, even though it be winter and 
 the roads muddy. I m sure I shall not dread the old 
 place if the Doctor is with me. And some day I will 
 tell him my story. He will sympathize with me, I am 
 sure, in a way that will make the old trouble vanish. 
 Oh! I must try to be so good to him when I return; I 
 owe him more than I can ever repay, but I shall try to 
 reward him some way, though of course he could not 
 like me well enough to let me do very much to show the 
 friendship that will never, never die out of my heart." 
 Lois blushed again, a bright rose-color, because of the 
 boldness of her thoughts; they so startled her that 
 when she looked down again upon the letter she held 
 in her hand she was almost ashamed to finish it. 
 
 But she was relieved inexpressibly by something the 
 Doctor wrote toward the last of his letter. By a few 
 carefully worded sentences, she knew he meant that 
 he was guarding her from any painful circumstances 
 that might arise from the presence of the stranger in 
 the hospital. She understood that the end of one sad 
 chapter in her life was near, that ere the letter reached 
 her all would be over, but she was comforted with the 
 assurance that some one was there to perform the kind 
 offices her forgiving heart would prompt in that last, 
 sorrowful extremity. And then a great wave of peace 
 swept over her, a peace that could nevermore be 
 broken by that old loss which made her life so sweetly 
 sad, and she said, looking back upon it all with a calm, 
 
382 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 untroubled spirit, "It is better so. I am wiser, stronger, 
 for that sorrow; and I am happy now, happy in a 
 good home, in loving friends, in noble work." 
 
 The Doctor s letter made Lois very bright and joyful. 
 Milcie accused her of having a love-letter; but she ex 
 plained that it was from Dr. Knapp, and Milcie knew 
 quite well who he was, for Lois had described him as 
 a marvel of learning and goodness, and had even gone 
 so far as to confide the fact that he was one of her very 
 warmest friends. "I should like to see that wonderful 
 personage," said Milcie, as Lois joined the family in 
 the sitting-room after finishing her letter; "I wonder if 
 he d seem as nice to us as he does to you, Lois." 
 
 " I d like to see him too," said Lill. " Is he good- 
 looking? " 
 
 t{ Well, rather. He has a kind expression on his face. 
 His features are regular; he is a little stout, and nervous 
 in his manner; and oh dear! he persists in wearing 
 well, a very bright shade of tan-colored gloves; but 
 to those who know him these things are positively at 
 tractive. I m sure I would n t have them changed for 
 anything." 
 
 u Well," said John, mischievously, poking the fire 
 with his boot, " you d see a very eccentric old doctor, 
 my friends, wofully fat and short-winded, with yellow 
 gloves on, nothing less, girls, nothing less than real 
 canary-tinted gloves." 
 
 " Now, John, that s too bad of you," said Lois, really 
 shocked by his want of respect for such a person as the 
 Doctor. " They are no such thing as canary-colored 
 gloves. And he is n t fat either, just slightly stout, 
 you know, as good-natured people most always are; 
 
LOIS AT HOME. 383 
 
 and as for being eccentric, it is worth while being dif 
 ferent from other men when that difference consists in 
 being better than they are"; and Lois gave a pleasant 
 little laugh as if she had utterly vanquished John. 
 
 " You d better not stay around too long, John," cau 
 tioned Lill. " While you are teasing Lois the stage 
 will start off without the mail." 
 
 John glanced at the great slow-voiced clock over the 
 mantel, and starting up, bounded hurriedly out of the 
 room, putting his head back through the door before 
 shutting it just long enough to say, "Fat, Lois, and 
 queer, with yaller gloves." 
 
 " He has plenty of time when the stage comes these 
 days," said Lill, with a sigh. "Absolutely nobody but 
 the driver and the expressman on this evening. That 
 fire was a terrible thing for the mines." 
 
 "Have they rebuilt much yet?" asked Lois. 
 
 " But very little. Teams are busy hauling lumber 
 from the saw-mill at Joy s Gap for the new hotel. But 
 it will be a long time before the town will be rebuilt." 
 
 Lois read the Doctor s letter again that night before 
 she went to bed, regardless of the girls teasing. And 
 as she looked from her window out upon the night 
 blackened by the awful shadows of the gloomy woods, 
 and cheered by the pale glow from the far-off worlds 
 overhead, old memories thronged back, and brought 
 her sad and mournful thoughts of the past, mingled 
 with others, sweet and tender, of that second home 
 which she loved, and that kind friend whose generous 
 care seemed guarding her from all evil. And so as she 
 leaned her head far out of tke window, under the clear, 
 trembling lights of heaven, for one moment she bowed 
 
384 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 it reverently, and the weird night-winds bore away on 
 their swift wings, up through the starry wastes of space, 
 a little half-uttered prayer of thanksgiving to Him 
 whose love is over all. 
 
 Next day, after Lois and the girls had made the old 
 house shine with neatness, and when the cold morning 
 freshness had given place to the short balmy afternoon, 
 Lois set out for a long walk through the rugged hills. 
 John stopped her in the porch to give her a large field- 
 glass. "See here, Lois," he said. "The driver left this 
 for you last night, so you could enjoy the scenery better. 
 Thoughtful of him, wasn t it? You see he has his eye 
 on somebody. He said last night that that blush, when 
 you got your letter, was prettier than a rose, and that 
 he d write you a letter himself if you d only blush 
 again like that when he handed it down." 
 
 "Nonsense, John! Stop your foolishness. Paul 
 would n t say that; he s a sensible man." 
 
 " 1 1 rn not disputing it. I think he shows remarkably 
 good taste in one particular. But he did say it > I 11 be 
 bound! There s a matrimonial chance for you, Lois. 
 Here, take the glass. It will enable you to watch for 
 the stage with much better assurance of success." 
 
 Lois, pleased with the prospect of a good view, de 
 cided to climb a rocky old peak towering high over the 
 surrounding hills, knowing that from its summit she 
 could look for many miles over the wild mountainous 
 region, tinged with the soft, mellow glory of the autumn. 
 
 After a long and toilsome climb, she at last reached 
 the rock-crested top, too exhausted to think of the 
 entrancing wonders spread out below her, and so she 
 sat down among the sheltering madronos to rest. The 
 
LOIS AT HOME. 385 
 
 Doctor s letter was in her pocket, and under pretence 
 of assuring herself of something concerning her vaca 
 tion, she allowed herself to look it over again. Of 
 course, in such a long, friendly letter the dry business 
 subjects would have to be left until the interesting 
 news was exhausted. And so the letter was read once 
 more. Lois put it in her pocket again with a happy 
 sigh, and taking up her field-glass, looked far away on 
 to the distant mountain-sides, and into the deep, narrow 
 valleys. " Dr. Knapp would love to see these wondrous 
 Sierra beauties," she thought. "That great chain of 
 snowy pinnacles rising above the purple mountain folds, 
 and the nearer pine belt, dark and richly green, covering 
 all the great foothill region, would seem as grand to 
 him as it does to me." Then she looked at the stage 
 road, winding its red course over the hills, till away 
 in the distance it turned to a mere trail, where it de 
 scended a great range of hills to the river ferry. 
 
 The slow, flat boat had just left the farther shore, 
 and was drifting across the stream s rapid current. 
 Lois could see that there was some vehicle crossing to 
 take the road into the higher country, and that the 
 boat was not going across to get passengers; but her 
 glass somehow became unsteady in her hands while 
 she looked, and she could not quite make out what it 
 was. She wiped it hastily with her handkerchief, and 
 placing it firmly before her eyes, looked again, and lo! 
 strange, unaccountable sight! there on the open 
 ferry-boat was Lady Snowdrop, hitched to the high- 
 wheeled gig, her delicate nose over the railing, and 
 some one very like the Doctor holding her bridle. The 
 glass dropped from Lois s hands. Oh dear! the gig! 
 
386 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 the gig again! "she cried aloud, startling the timid 
 lizards among the rocks, and causing a momentary 
 rustle among the glossy madrono leaves overhead, 
 " a ghostly vision of it haunting me even here in this 
 far-away mountain country. Oh dear! what shall I do! 
 what shall I do!" 
 
 Was that little shiny-wheeled cart supreme over her 
 destiny, that it should always appear simultaneously 
 with the thought of it? Lois wonderingly asked her 
 self if it was not because she thought of it too often, 
 and if it appeared at all, she would surely be thinking 
 of it. 
 
 But she could not refrain from looking through the 
 glass once more, though scarcely expecting to see the 
 mysterious gig. No; not a sign of it was visible. There 
 was the narrow, sand-colored road leading up from the 
 ferry, gradually melting into the rich, red soil as it 
 ascended the hills; yes, and surely there was the ferry 
 boat on its way back across the river, the ferry-man 
 standing near the forward part alone, looking up the 
 curving stream, but no trace of the gig, or Lady Snow 
 drop, or the Doctor. Lois suddenly became aware of 
 the fact that she was trembling. " Such an apparition 
 as that! no wonder I am nervous! I ll look down 
 toward home to see what they are doing around the 
 house; perhaps that will help me to forget it." But 
 home soon lost its charm, while the glass was gradu 
 ally turned toward the far-off stage road on the hills, 
 and Lois was looking again for the great phantom. 
 Yes; there it was again, again! the gig, as natural as 
 life! It was coming up the long hill above the river* 
 and had reached a point where she could view it dis- 
 
LOIS AT HOME. 387 
 
 tinctly. There was the Doctor, half reclining on the 
 broad seat, looking out on one side toward the velvety 
 chemisal-clothed hills that rose from the river-bed; the 
 reins sagged low in his listless hold, and Lois almost 
 thought she heard him whistling softly when the wind 
 stirred in the pines around her. " It looks as if they 
 stopped to rest at the foot of the hill, the horrible 
 phantoms!" she said, watching with tireless earnest 
 ness the objects which she could not possibly persuade 
 herself were real. 
 
 On up the grade they slowly travelled, sometimes 
 scarcely seeming to move, until the Doctor s ghost 
 roused itself from its reverie to urge the ghost of Lady 
 Snowdrop into greater speed. Often they stopped. 
 And Lois could see that the wheels of the gig were 
 always turned across the road, and Lady Snowdrop 
 headed toward the graded cliff, so that she did not 
 have to hold the weight of the gig while she rested. 
 "Just like her, the lazy animal! Lois exclaimed, 
 "just as she would be sure to do on a long hill like 
 that! I wonder if it cannot be some phenomenon, I 
 wonder if it is not a mirage, or something like that! " 
 Vainly she tried to detect some indistinct shadowy 
 contour that would confirm her suspicion; but the 
 phantom vehicle still crept slowly up the hill, and she 
 watched it long and intently, until it nearly reached 
 the top without a sign of approaching dissolution. 
 Then she thought of looking into the sky above it for 
 an inverted picture of the wonderful thing, but still in 
 vain; not even the faintest shadow rested on the soft 
 broken clouds, nor any vague, faded outline on the filmy 
 mists through which the blue of heaven shone. 
 
388 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 But when she fixed the glass on the world below, and 
 found the exact spot where the stage road wound its 
 bright course along, no trace of the gig climbing the 
 hill was there either. " Oh, mercy! It is gone again! " 
 cried Lois, covering her eyes with both her hands; " he 
 could not possibly have reached the top at the rate he 
 was going; he could not have reached it anyway, even 
 if he hurried. It is surely a delusion that melted away 
 when I was looking at the sky." 
 
 The short afternoon was growing late, and already 
 the sun was casting long, deep shadows into the wooded 
 valleys, and shining redly faint on the hilltops. Lois 
 looked at her watch. She had but a little while to 
 stay, before it would be necessary to turn her stops 
 homeward; but still she sat and anxiously watched the 
 next spot where the road appeared in sight; she must 
 surely satisfy herself that what she had seen was really 
 some awful vision of the gig, more unaccountable and 
 wonderful than her dreams of it. Hopelessly she can 
 vassed the possibilities of the phantom s reality. The 
 Doctor could not come from Mrs. Mills, or any of the 
 family, nor yet from any of her other friends in Locust- 
 ville. They would not send the Doctor, no! How 
 utterly absurd that would be! He would have nothing 
 to come for himself. No, surely nothing. The Doctor 
 would certainly be the last one in the world to do that. 
 No matter how much he desired to see her, nor how 
 necessary it might be, he would be too sensitive, too 
 modest, to do such a bold thing in defiance of a gossip 
 ing village. George ? No, not even for him. The 
 Doctor would not undertake such a journey himself, 
 even for George s sake. Why would it be necessary ? 
 
LOIS AT HOME. 389 
 
 If they wanted her, why not send a message? If there 
 was any secret for her, why such unexplainable haste 
 in revealing it? O no; certainly the gig could not be 
 real. It was another delusion a waking dream of 
 that strange thing which seemed forever haunting her. 
 
 Long she sat and watched the road until all possi 
 bility of seeing the phantom again was gone. Higher 
 and higher crept the shadows on the sun-tipped hills, 
 and down in the valleys the evening mists gathered, 
 and the forests seemed folding themselves in the dusky 
 wings of night, till at last the glass fell from Lois s 
 tired hands, when the far-off hills and the winding 
 road she watched grew faint and glimmered in the 
 waning light. 
 
 Lois hurried away from her rock-built watch-tower 
 on the hill-crest, with one parting look at the cold, gray 
 crags, and the plumy mosses spread like curtains of 
 emerald plush upon them, wondering half frightened 
 what strange spell nightfall would bring to that en 
 chanted spot. Down the precipitous trail she hurried, 
 around jutting rocks, and through thick masses of 
 underbrush, and tall, majestic groves of lonesome trees. 
 " What will they think at home? "she asked herself. 
 " It is so unusually late to be returning from my 
 walk. The whole household will be out straining 
 their eyes for a glimpse of me, and wondering which 
 way to look"; arid she shuddered, when a long-winged 
 bird flew swiftly and noiselessly over her head, and 
 seemed to make the chill air even colder than before. 
 
 Down in the vale at the foot of the peak grew a 
 dense wood, fringing the sides of the caiion which 
 crossed the road just below her home. She dreaded to 
 
390 AKOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 enter it, the shadows were BO thick there, and the way 
 seemed so long, winding in an almost endless labyrinth 
 among the rocks and trees and bushes. Some old strag 
 gler from the road might " turn in " there for the night, 
 it was so sheltered and so convenient to the highway; 
 and again, she was ashamed to confess it even to 
 herself, might not the awful apparition assume some 
 strange, new form, and confront her there in the gather 
 ing night? Still she must go, the sooner the better; 
 for the sun had already set behind the purple ranges, 
 and the twilight would soon fade. She resolved to be 
 blind and deaf, to know no object except to reach the 
 open road; and so summoning all her courage, she 
 plunged into the wood. The fallen leaves rustled with 
 weird sounds as she flew along, gray mosses, like the 
 hoary beard of some old jinnee, brushed her face and 
 startled her, and the network of tangled boughs above 
 let in long white fingers of light that seemed to clutch 
 at her, and writhe with strange contortions when she 
 eluded their grasp. 
 
 At last she was on the edge of the grove, and with 
 one breathless bound she gained the open roadside. A 
 red light from the wintry sunset greeted her, and the 
 terrible influence of the dark wood was all forgotten. 
 There in the softening twilight across the road was the 
 friendly old house, and there also were the girls on 
 the porch, watching for her coming. And what else? 
 Yes, unmistakably, there was the Doctor and the gig, 
 and Lady Snowdrop much travelled-stained and crest 
 fallen, close by the long line of hitching-posts. No 
 ghosts this time; they were real, made of solid sub 
 stance, that would not melt away like the airy fabrics 
 of her dreams. 
 
LOIS AT HOME. 391 
 
 No wonder the girls felt as if they were being enter 
 tained by a splendid little drama as they looked on. 
 Was it not interesting, indeed, that this stranger, 
 Lois s Dr. Knapp without a doubt, should drive up un 
 expectedly at the close of day, should stop in front of 
 the house, look up with just that kindly face she had 
 described, and say a cordial good evening to them, and 
 then jump out of his odd little gig, and proceed very 
 nervously to tie his horse, as if in great haste, though 
 he took time enough to tie three horses as gentle and 
 drooping as Lady Snowdrop was just then? Was it not 
 more interesting, still, to see Lois dash out of the wood, 
 and catching sight of the Doctor, actually run toward 
 him with her hand extended as if forgetful of every 
 thing else? 
 
 "Oh, Dr. Knapp, I am so glad to see you ! " she said 
 warmly. " Is it really you, any way, up here in this 
 out-of-the-way country?" 
 
 The Doctor shook hands cordially. " Really me, Miss 
 Warren. No doubt of it, no doubt of it; though I 
 cannot explain just how I came to be here quite yet. 
 It might be a long story, you see. And how have you 
 been since I saw you last. Very well? Ah! I can see 
 that; no need to inquire, no need to ask, for I can 
 see that." 
 
 " I could hardly believe my senses when I saw you 
 coming, though Lady Snowdrop and the little gig are 
 almost unmistakable. I am sure this is a pleasant 
 surprise " Lois began, but the Doctor interrupted 
 her. 
 
 "Yes, Lady Snowdrop is quite unmistakable," he re 
 plied with a laugh, scarcely thinking of what he said, 
 
392 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 he was wondering so intently whether it was the rosy 
 reflection from the sunset or a fine blush that made 
 Lois s face so radiant and bright. "We ve had quite a 
 jaunt, Miss Warren; and we really succeeded in beat 
 ing the stage by almost an hour," he added, taking out 
 his watch, and dropping one of his yellow gloves in his 
 hurry. "We went at rather lively gait, you see, through 
 the hollows, resting on the longest hills. Lady Snow 
 drop is very much abused with mountain roads. They 
 are not much like those at Locustville, are they? And 
 then she could n t know, as I did, that night would 
 bring her to such a grand old homelike place as this, 
 and such a pleasant little friend as you." 
 
 No need now to wonder about the rich reflection from 
 the red glories in the west, for Lois stood with her back 
 to the sunset, her face still glowing with bright tints of 
 the rose, and both the yellow gloves at her feet. 
 
THE CONFESSION. 393 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE CONFESSION. 
 
 Wakes the bitter memory 
 
 Of what he was, what is, and what must be. 
 
 MILTON. 
 
 LET us look back over the preceding week, and re 
 view the causes which brought about the Doctor s visit 
 to the mountains. The days that followed George s 
 story of his early love brought peace and even com 
 fort to the Doctor s mind. Somehow, the recitation of 
 those by-gone events, tinged with the rosy hues of youth 
 and hope, held as deep a magic for the Doctor as for 
 even Lois herself. They were a part of her own pure, 
 bright life; and since they were dear and sacred to her, 
 they were also dear and sacred to him. And with her 
 he shared the pain that came when she knew beyond 
 refutation that her love had been in vaisi, only with his 
 clear, unerring foresight he realized that perhaps it was 
 best for Lois in the end. When that old, sweet love she 
 had cherished so reverently must perish as a worthless 
 thing, would not her heart long for something that was 
 earnest and noble with which to fill the vacant place? 
 Would it not lead her to look with stronger, brighter 
 hope into her future, and feel that it held something 
 better than the holy memories of a vanished love? 
 There was no tinge of selfishness in the thought. He 
 felt that hope for him was dead; but he was so anxious 
 
394 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP, 
 
 for her -welfare and happiness that he would gladly 
 bear the Bting which the reflection brought, if he could 
 only know that the lovely dawning of her life, which 
 held such a charm for him, would round out into a 
 glorious, perfected womanhood. 
 
 If the Doctor had been a younger man, perchance 
 the contemplation of that first strong love which had 
 entered Lois s life might have brought a pang of jeal 
 ousy; but to him whose vision had been clarified by 
 time and pain, it only called forth a generous sym 
 pathy. And yet perhaps he sometimes felt a touch of 
 indignation, that one to whom had been given such per 
 fect, trustful love had not held it forever as the crown 
 and jewel of his life; had not braved any and all dan 
 gers for its sake; and had only given it up when death 
 robbed him of all his earthly treasures. There is some 
 thing sad and painful in the thought that often what 
 we hold most dear lies just beyond our reach, where 
 its most precious worth is squandered by irreverent 
 hands. And yet there is a wise Providence that appoints 
 all our pained steps through life s cheerless deserts, and 
 in the end all afflictions appear just and for the best. 
 
 The Doctor felt this, and it gave him comfort that 
 came without a spice of selfish sorrow. Though he had 
 nothing to hope for, he felt that Lois s life would in 
 some way be better for that early grief; and so he could 
 look upon these distressing events with a far-seeing 
 magnanimity, feeling that they soon would pass away, 
 and time would usher in for her a season that would 
 seem the sweeter for past adversities. 
 
 As the week wore on, the Doctor saw that George was 
 slowly failing, and so he made his visits rather brief, 
 
THE CONFESSION. 895 
 
 lest George, who seemed usually fond of his company, 
 should overexert himself in their talks. 
 
 But one afternoon, as the Doctor had started for 
 home, in driving past the hospital he happened to re 
 member some trilling direction that he had omitted to 
 give to one of the nurses, so he tied Lady Snowdrop to 
 the slim iron hitching-post in front of the great brick 
 building, and went in to perform his errand. On his 
 way out he paused at the top of the stairs to look at his 
 watch, and finding that he had a few minutes to spare, 
 thought he would go a second time to George s room. 
 Deep down in the recesses of his heart he felt that he 
 was doing it for Lois s sake; he knew that her sweet, 
 forgiving nature, when the bitterest pangs of her grief 
 were over, would prompt just such unfailing kindness, 
 even to one who had wronged her; and so there was a 
 certain pleasure to the Doctor in the feeling that he 
 could do for Lois what she then had not the power to 
 do herself. 
 
 He builded better than he knew. By that one little 
 act, which he had hardly hoped could be productive 
 of much good, he smoothed the way, not only for the 
 happiness of others, but for her whom he so tenderly 
 loved and longed to serve. 
 
 As he entered the room, George was lying motion 
 less, as if asleep, but his large, dark eyes were open 
 wide, and fixed on the bright rift of light that stole 
 through the drawn curtains and touched his pallid 
 cheek. 
 
 " Well, my boy," said the Doctor, cheerfully, as he 
 went over by the bedside and carefully adjusted the 
 coverlet, "how are you now?" George brightened, and 
 
S96 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 holding out his hand with a pleased smile, replied 
 that he was feeling rather weak, but resting easily. 
 
 "I m glad you came in, Doctor," he added; "sit 
 down and stay with me a while. I m better, and feel 
 the need of company somewhat now." 
 
 The Doctor took a seat near the head of the bed, and 
 said kindly, " Keep up your courage, and soon I trust 
 you will come out as strong as ever." 
 
 "No," said George, gravely; "I think I shall not 
 come out at all. I m stamped already with the doom 
 of death." 
 
 The Doctor knew it. He knew that this final rous 
 ing was the last kindling spark of the ember ere it went 
 out into utter darkness; so he tried only to cheer the 
 dying man. . 
 
 " well," George went on, tossing about restlessly, 
 as if ready to exhaust that last revival of his strength 
 in the effort. " We ve all got to go some time. It s 
 pretty bad to have to give up when young; but I won t 
 complain. There is no one to care much except my 
 self, if I do have to yield. I m alone in the world. 
 No one has ever helped me, except maybe our good 
 little friend Lois, she did all she could, but under 
 the circumstances that was n t much. Perhaps if some 
 one had, when I most needed it, I should not be where 
 I am now." He paused a iliinute, and the silence was 
 unbroken, except by the distant footsteps falling softly 
 in the corridors; and then George said, with a burst of 
 enthusiasm, " I wish I d known you, Doctor, before 
 this thing happened to me. I think we would have 
 been friends, and your advice would have been worth 
 more than perhaps even I now know, and I realize 
 
THE CONFESSION. 397 
 
 only too well that I have paid the dearest price for all 
 my follies. A certain glow comes over me a kin 
 dred feeling whenever yon call in to see me. I ve 
 sometimes thought that you must take an unusual 
 interest in me, Doctor, for I was never very famous for 
 my friendly feeling toward men, and something must 
 have stirred me up in this case." 
 
 "I do take an interest in you, an unusual inter 
 est," replied the Doctor; and then slowly, with his eyes 
 fixed on vacancy, as if his mind was looking afar off 
 into the future, he added, "I think you may consider 
 me your friend." 
 
 George s dark eyes blazed brighter, and he moved 
 restlessly, as he put one hand out from under the bed 
 clothes and touched the Doctor s sleeve. u Then tell 
 me," he said earnestly, "am I really going to die? 
 Had I better make every preparation for death? Much 
 depends on it, and I must know to-day. I have some 
 thing to tell. A strange presentiment came over me 
 this morning after you went away, and I feel that I 
 have not many more hours to live. If you are my 
 friend, tell me whether I am about to die, whether I 
 shall live until your next visit." 
 
 The Doctor sat in quiet thought for a moment; and 
 then shaking his head just a trifle gravely, he said, " I 
 would advise you not to put off the thoughts of death 
 until too late. We should always be prepared." 
 
 George did not speak for some minutes, and when 
 the Doctor looked again toward the face on the pillow, 
 the dark eyes were even brighter than before, and the 
 strange, unsteady light in them burned with a new and 
 awful fire; his pale cheek was flushed; and the glossy 
 
398 AROITND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 dark curls above his white forehead were dcimp and 
 heavy. The Doctor significantly noted all these. "Ah," 
 he thought, " it is very near. Night is fast coming, 
 the last gleam of the light, the sunset glow, and even 
 the falling dews, - truly it is here." 
 
 "My friend," he said aloud, "take no unnecessary 
 anxiety. Let me tell you what to do. I am your friend, 
 I will be your confidant. Tell me what weighs upon 
 your mind, and it shall be as safe as with yourself. 
 And if this confidence shall not be needed, we will look 
 upon it as if it had never been given." 
 
 That cool, soothing hand on the moist forehead held 
 a subtile magic, for George clutched at it convulsively, 
 as If it were his last anchorage, and turning with a 
 deep-drawn sigh he said, " I will." 
 
 " Do it calmly, quietly," cautioned the Doctor. 
 "You are not strong; remember that." 
 
 The sufferer moved again upon his pillow and sighed 
 deeply. "You promise me," he said earnestly, "you 
 assure me that you are my friend? That my secret 
 shall never be divulged, except except to those who 
 must know after I am gone, and then only with a shield 
 to protect my friend ? " 
 
 " Be assured." said the Doctor. "It will be safe." 
 
 " Well," he began, " I must tell you first that I re 
 ceived my burns when the little mountain town of 
 Lucky Streak went up in fire and smoke. It was a 
 love affair that began my troubles, always love affairs 
 driving me about. Having obtained a position as as- 
 sayer in those mountain mines, I met Miss Nellie Min- 
 ton on my way up; and when later she discovered that 
 I had fallen desperately in love with a beautiful Miss 
 
THE CONFESSION. 399 
 
 Willis spending the season there, she threatened to ex 
 pose my early misfortunes in this place to my ladylove, 
 to Lois s people, who lived near, and also to write of 
 my whereabouts to friends here, if I did not assist her 
 in her scheme to capture the young manager of the 
 mine, a fellow with whom she had become wonder 
 fully infatuated. It was all effected in the sly way 
 she had of doing things; and knowing so well how ruin 
 ously she could carry out her threats, I was afraid of 
 her. She drove me from one position to another, en 
 tangled me, watched me, harassed me, until I was 
 nearly distracted. To aggravate matters, Miss Willis 
 took a fancy to Nellie s flame, and jealousy and rage 
 turned the red-headed minx into a perfect vixen. All 
 her spite and chagrin she visited on me, until I was 
 driven to desperation. 
 
 " The manager at last got into difficulties with his 
 workmen, and they all struck for a change of manage 
 ment or different treatment. The superintendent, feel 
 ing his dependence, was almost helpless. Things went 
 on, however, and showed no indications of a settlement. 
 The whole ambition of my life depended in a great 
 measure on the manager s defeat. If he could be 
 forced to leave, that slippery-ton gued Nellie would 
 cease persecuting me, and my way would be open 
 toward winning Miss Willis, when she learned that 
 Ned Dennett, the manager, was a dishonest man. I 
 meant no great wrong to any one, only to be rid of 
 that big, strong fellow who was smart enough to get 
 along well anywhere in his native hills. Miss Willis 
 had another admirer, an elderly man, half-invalid, who 
 travelled for his health. He had been a friend of the 
 
400 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 Willis family-for many years, and hence presumed to 
 make himself a suitor for Miss Willis s hand. Coming 
 to our mountain retreat, he settled down for a month 
 or so, and became insanely jealous of the manager. 
 He was jealous of me also, but I let him get hold of 
 a little flirtation I had with a dashing Spanish girl, 
 and that tended to satisfy him a good deal. * It s a 
 serious matter, he would say to me, a dark cloud set 
 tling over his thin face. Something must be done ; 
 and then he would talk wildly of using a revolver, and 
 paint the case in the most gloomy aspect. Driven to 
 recklessness, we at last decided to take some action. 
 I depended greatly on this man Knowles, and yet I 
 dared not trust him. We had to keep that prying 
 Nellie out of our secret, for of course she would suffer 
 no wrong done in the direction that most interested us, 
 so there was no alternative. We were compelled to 
 take the course we at last chose, or detection would 
 follow, and our scheme would fail to work. It was our 
 object to bring about a settlement of the strike, and 
 drive the manager out." 
 
 George lay still for a few minutes, his face expres 
 sionless and his eyes fixed, as if he lived again in those 
 by-gone scenes. The first of his story had been given 
 hurriedly and disconnectedly, with small attempt in 
 the brief outline to justify his conduct or picture his 
 feelings. But that pause brought a great change with 
 it. The dews began to stand out in beads of crystal on 
 his forehead, and he palled nervously at the bedclothes 
 to shield himself from the dim light that broke through 
 the drawn curtains. While the Doctor drew them 
 together more closely, he half rose on his pillow and 
 looked wildly around the room. 
 
THE CONFESSION. 401 
 
 "It was a windy night in the late autumn, with a 
 cloudy sky above that threatened rain, which we chose 
 as the time to carry out our plans," he began, half 
 deliriously, as the Doctor sat down again. " I remem 
 ber distinctly, though it seems now as if all these things 
 must have happened years ago, how weird were the 
 voices in the pines, how black and ferny the huge 
 pointed trees stood outlined against the horizon, and 
 how faint and dim and ghostly the distant line of 
 snow-peaks glimmered under the white lights of heaven. 
 
 " We went out at midnight," he half whispered, after 
 a pause, " out into the woods that grew near the town, 
 waiting quietly behind the rocks to see that no breath 
 of life stirred near us. Oh the shadows! " he cried, 
 faintly. " They tangled and spread and deepened all 
 around us, though the moon was hidden under dim, 
 gray folds of cloud, until they rested dark and heavy 
 on our brains. They have been there ever since, 
 though we made a light, we made a light," he 
 softly mused, and leaned back on his pillow with 
 closed eyes. " I must tell the rest," he said, at length, 
 rousing himself with an effort, "though it is so hard to 
 call up those terrible scenes that have passed before rue 
 in ghastly pictures every hour since. We never meant 
 to burn the town. A match touched to the dry grass 
 around a dead pine began it, and we thought it would 
 creep over toward the mill and threaten it a little. 
 That was all we meant to do. Then our confident 
 manager would be irrefutably proved an incendiary; 
 for we took care to leave traces of his guilt where the 
 fire started. Everything had been arranged to reflect 
 on him; we knew that he would remain up part of the 
 
402 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 night to see that all things were going well, and the 
 fact that he was dressed and around at such an hour 
 would look suspicious. Besides, he would have a 
 motive which all would recognize. Ah, what misery 
 that night brought! The fire, fanned by the high 
 wind and fed by the grass and trees, broke away from 
 our control, burning up the slope instead of toward the 
 mill. Beginning in the dry branches of the grove 
 beside the hotel, it flew in great sheets of flame through 
 the trees, while flying sparks from the dead boughs 
 kindled on the roof of the building, and then all was 
 lost. I shrink from the scene of that night; I long to 
 undo the mischief I committed. So let me draw the 
 veil quickly over the burning town, over the homeless 
 hundreds fighting through the night, over spectacles I 
 dare not even mention. In that terrible hour despera 
 tion seized me, a sense of utter recklessness. By 
 breaking a water-pipe I saw a chance to hinder the 
 manager from putting out the fire around the mill, for 
 that would be evidence in his favor, and since the fire 
 had burned the great hotel, the issue became one of 
 life or death to Knowlcs and me. I did not leave 
 my opportunity unimproved. But just when success 
 seemed about to smile on my deed, I discovered that 
 our cause was utterly lost. 
 
 " The Spanish girl with whom I had the little love 
 affair had caught me lighting the fire in the woods. 
 It was our quarrel, I think, that caused me to neglect 
 it until it was beyond our control, and prevented me 
 from getting back to the hotel in time to rise in hastily 
 donned apparel with the others, when the alarm was 
 given. I was trying to persuade the dark-faced gypsy 
 
THE CONFESSION. 403 
 
 that it was set by some one else. But she would not 
 believe it. She thought she had me in her power, and 
 vowed she would expose the deed. At last, in despera 
 tion, I got her promise to meet me at the hotel, where 
 I told her I would explain and prove the origin of the 
 fire, and settle our misunderstanding to her satisfaction. 
 She was very angry, and I realized that she would be 
 hard to control. Thus we parted. 
 
 " When the big hotel had burned until its roof was 
 nearly gone, and little was left untouched by fire, 
 except the great white front protected by the winds 
 that blew the flames backward, she arose from the 
 balcony where she had fallen suffocated by the smoke, 
 and insanely angered, perhaps because I had not kept 
 our appointment, strove to divulge her awful secret, 
 though death stared her in the face. She jumped to 
 the ground, but she still lived; and then I knew that 
 I must hasten to put distance between me and the 
 story she would tell, blackened by her fierce jealousy 
 and her bitter disappointments. 
 
 " Out into the darkness of night I hurried, along the 
 dusty road that led away from the town. The pines 
 leaned over my pathway and whispered, Fiend ! fiend ! 
 the winds howled angrily around, and whipped the 
 long tangles of brush into my face. But still I pressed 
 on, suffering agonies from my burns, and knowing not 
 whither I went. After I had gone some distance, the 
 cloudy moon lighted my way over the broad stage road 
 that led from the mines through thick pine woods for 
 many a mile, to a wayside house called Robinson s. 
 I thought if I could only reach it and get help, I might 
 escape before morning brought news of my work. On 
 
404 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 I struggled, often stumbling when the overhanging 
 pines darkened the road so I could not see, often I fell 
 into the thick dust that suffocated and blinded me, 
 and often I sought the cooling mud of some wayside 
 creek for my smarting face. The bursted pipe at 
 Lucky Streak had left me deluged with water, and the 
 cold winds blowing on my damp clothing chilled me 
 to the marrow. Oh, what a miserable night that was! 
 I had to keep in the grass by the wayside as much as 
 I could, so as to leave few telltale tracks in the road, 
 and my own passage rustling along the brush sounded 
 to my strained ears like the pursuit of fifty horsemen. 
 A hundred times I looked back over the moonlit road 
 to see who followed, but I only saw its red dust gleam 
 ing pale in the dim light, and the lonesome pines 
 crowding in thick, black masses on either side, swept 
 like grain stalks in the howling wind. A hundred 
 times I paused to watch from some point on the hill 
 side that red glow in the distance, great spears of 
 crimson shooting upward, and one awful, billowy mass 
 of fire reaching high into the heaven, where the strong 
 wind caught it and twisted it into a rope of flame until 
 dissolved in storms of sparks that floated away and 
 perished against the background of red-stained sky. 
 Far around the horizon that red reflection lurked, and 
 cast a strange, unearthly radiance down, even when the 
 hollows hid the terrible scene that caused it from my 
 view. Still more lonely grew my way as I hastened 
 on, farther and farther behind faded the red glow of 
 the spreading fire, until at last the woods shut around 
 me and swallowed the road in their black, threatening 
 shadow. Fear possessed me at last, and I cried aloud 
 
THE CONFESSION. 405 
 
 for help, and vainly strained my eyes for the beacon- 
 light of a friendly lantern coming to my aid, or the 
 sign of some isolated cabin on the rugged hills. Still 
 in vain. 
 
 " I hurried till I dropped half fainting by the way 
 side, and then I shouted long and loud again for help. 
 Only the faint, mocking echoes and the wild winds an 
 swered to my call. Shout after shout pierced through 
 the gorges, until I longed for even foes, in my distress. 
 The white stumps changed to ghostly forms standing 
 stark and dumb, and looking at me with stony eyes 
 from the woods, the gray rocks turned to monsters, 
 sluggish in their sleep, and the tinted clouds overhead 
 seemed heralding the dawning of the judgment-day. 
 Weak and unable to rise, I crawled into the dense 
 shadow of the pine grove by the way, and laying my 
 face against the cold, crackling needles that covered 
 the earth, a great, soothing wave of blackness stole 
 slowly over my anguished mind, and I knew no more. 
 
 " When I awoke the morning light was beaming 
 cold and gray, and a gentle rain was falling. After 
 two or three attempts, I rose and limped on pained, 
 stiffened legs to the road again. No sign of life or 
 habitation was near, but all around were the dense, un 
 cleared woods, and away across the hills, above the 
 broken lines of slender pine points in the east, burned 
 still a dull red glow on the clouds. A sweet, fresh scent 
 from the newly wet dust revived me, and I managed 
 to creep along by the roadside for quite a distance, un 
 til the rain began to fall more steadily, and exhausted 
 I sat down among some sheltered rocks, and waited. 
 Presently, through the soft beating of the rain on the 
 
406 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 pine leaves, and the far-off roar of the wind in the 
 trees, came a great rumble and clatter and hissing, as 
 of a team coming down the rocky, graded hill road. 
 Nearer and nearer came the sound, sometimes growing 
 fainter in the bends of the road, and then roaring out 
 again, until the shouts of the driver to his horses 
 reached me, and I tried to hide among the rocks. But 
 desperation drove me out to the edge of the road again, 
 where I awaited the appearance of what seemed my 
 forlorn hope. I scarcely know what happened, what I 
 said, what I did, except that the teamster stopped and 
 asked me how I had burned my face. My month s 
 salary was in my pocket. I offered it all to him if he 
 would care for me, and take me secretly out of the 
 mountain regions to the city. 
 
 "He accepted the offer, whipped out his whiskey- 
 flask for me, helped me take off my wet clothing, 
 rolled me up in his warm blankets in the bottom of 
 his empty wagon, spread a canvas over me to keep 
 away the rain, and started on. Again I lost ir.y senses, 
 and when I awoke we were in the lower foothills, where 
 the country was more open, and the roads were smooth 
 and brown. We stopped at a ranch-house near the 
 road, and the teamster went in for a moment, and 
 coming out again, began unhitching his horses. Then 
 a pretty, kind-faced woman came out and said he 
 might take me in, and I was carried into a warm, 
 clean room, and put into a comfortable bed, where I 
 could rest and sleep. My face no longer smarted so 
 unbearably, but it was dressed, and I was fed and 
 warmed, and at that place we remained till the next 
 day. By that time I was able to be moved, and we 
 started on our way again. 
 
THE CONFESSION. 407 
 
 "Little I remember of the journey except that 
 within a few miles of the railroad terminus the stage 
 from Quartz Hill, a place above Lucky Streak, passed. 
 The driver shouted the news to the inquiring team 
 ster, the town had burned, the mine was saved, and 
 the excitement was great throughout the country. 
 Raising myself on my elbow, I looked over the edge 
 of the wagon at the crowded passengers. A gleam of 
 Nellie s red hair from inside met my eye, and then 
 Mabel s fair, rose-stained cheek came before the win 
 dow as they dashed ahead. I must not take the city 
 train that day, I told my man. So he said there was 
 only one other, that for Tenayee, and we would have 
 to wait two hours. And that is how I came to be here 
 in the old hospital." 
 
 He stopped in his long, breathless story, but his 
 countenance still shone, and his eyes gleamed with 
 the same restless fire. " But let me now make what 
 reparation I may," he went on again. " When I am 
 dead, it will matter not who gains the prize I longed to 
 win; when I am gone," and he sighed sadly, " I can 
 never undo the wrongs that I have wrought. But, my 
 friend," he said, and as he leaned out to take the Doc 
 tor s hand the latter noticed how thin and wasted his 
 form had grown, "you are all I have now. Out of 
 the many whom I cared for, out of all those for whose 
 good-will and favor I sought, none are left me now in 
 these last, lonely hours, none but you. Yet you are a 
 true friend, I am sure of that, since you do not come 
 here as a protector and a helper, for the sake of old 
 times or friendship, only as a sincere and charitable 
 though new-found friend. And so I give up all I ever 
 
408 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 cared for. If I should survive this suffering, I will be 
 gin life anew, with you for my adviser, if you will let 
 me. But I will not speak of that now. Time enough 
 when the shadow of death has passed. 
 
 " If I should die, here under my pillow in my pocket- 
 book you will find letters written in cypher, and also 
 the cypher with which to read them, sent in different 
 envelopes. They are from Knowles. My flight had 
 been explained as the result of my affair with Nita 
 Logan; for Knowles made our simple flirtation appear 
 much more serious than it really had been. He learned 
 of my whereabouts from the teamster who helped me. 
 They tell the outcome of our miserable work; they also 
 tell how safe and free we are from all blame or exposure. 
 Take them, and restore what you can. I saved them, 
 thinking perhaps I should at the last wish to put them 
 to such use. The sum laid away for the future is for 
 Nita s father and her husband, if they will take it. 
 Perhaps it will be best not to let them know where it 
 came from, though I would like to make this slight rep 
 aration for having cast a cloud over Nita s fair name. 
 
 " That is all, I guess, Doctor. Do you think you 
 understand it clearly now? If I should live, I shall 
 make amends myself, with your help and advice; if 
 not, the letters are yours. Only spare Knowles. Let 
 the blame rest on me, for I shall be beyond their power, 
 while he is not, and so I must leave it with his own 
 conscience." 
 
 A silence fell, after the Doctor had promised again, 
 and reigned long unbroken. The great clock out in 
 the corridor ticked slowly, regularly, and sent the 
 faint sound of its vibrations in through the half-open 
 
THE CONFESSION. 409 
 
 door. The light of the late afternoon stole through the 
 curtains, and made a soft, restful twilight in the little 
 room; while the fitful winds outside tossed back and 
 forth the tops of the locust and the poplar trees, just 
 below the window, until now and then a spray of dying 
 leaves shattered itself against the clear glass. 
 
 " I was mistaken," thought Dr. Knapp, as he looked 
 at George s peaceful face resting on the pillow. " His 
 story was long, and required an effort in the telling. 
 He was much stronger than I thought." Rising he 
 laid his hand on George s forehead. " Can you sleep 
 now?" he asked, glancing at his watch. 
 
 " Oh no! don t leave me, Doctor," pleaded George; 
 "I must have some one now to stay with me; I am 
 afraid to be alone, for I think the end is near." 
 
 So the Doctor tried to make the poor sufferer as com 
 fortable as possible, and resuming his seat, took both 
 the white, wasted hands above the coverlet in his own, 
 and talked long and earnestly. 
 
 The twilight faded and the lights came in. Soft foot 
 steps passed sometimes along the hall, and once or twice 
 a kind face looked in at the door; but the Doctor only 
 gave directions for Lady Snowdrop s comfort, and still 
 sat beside the little white bed where the dark-eyed 
 stranger lay. Just through the open door he could 
 look out into the dim corridor, with its light falling 
 from the Jow clusters of lamps on the smooth, bright 
 carpet, and shining beyond its borders on the waxed 
 floor. George seemed to be looking at it too, for his 
 eyes gazed steadily before him, but at last he glanced 
 up into the Doctor s face. " I should like to look out," 
 he said, in a hoarse, unnatural voice. " I d like to see 
 the old place again. Do you think it is too late? " 
 
410 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 "O no; I ll lift you up if you like, if you wish"; 
 and the strong arms of the Doctor bore the wasted form 
 over by the window, and parted the thick curtains. 
 Twilight still lingered, but the evening lamps were 
 lighted in the quiet streets. George sighed as he 
 looked up and down, as if each feature of the scene 
 recalled a thought of the past. His face was pale, and 
 seemed each moment growing whiter, so the Doctor car 
 ried him back and laid him on the bed again. 
 
 "Ask Lois to forgive me," said George, sadly. " Say 
 I remember her as the sweetest friend I ever knew. 
 And when I am dead, let me be laid to sleep in the lit 
 tle cemetery in Locustville, and perhaps sometimes when 
 she looks out of the windows of the red school-house on 
 the hill, she will see the lonely graves in shadow of the 
 stately church-steeple, and will stop to feel a thrill of 
 her old tenderness for one wayward heart that moulders 
 there." 
 
 Then followed a long, peaceful silence. The hours 
 wore on, and George scarcely spoke or stirred, but his 
 breath grew shorter, and his eyes more dark and bright. 
 The subdued sounds out in the corridor grew less fre 
 quent, and finally ceased, save a faint rustle from some 
 lonely watcher moving softly in the sleeping wards. 
 Then suddenly George roused from his stupor, and 
 held out his hand to the Doctor again. " You are my 
 friend; stay with me," he said. "I m afraid. I m 
 afraid to go alone without a friend." 
 
 " You have a Friend who goes with you everywhere," 
 said the Doctor, kindly. " He is with you in the last 
 hours. Trust in Him, my son; believe in Him, and He 
 will save you." 
 
THE CONFESSION. 411 
 
 "Do you think you can pray for me? I will trust 
 then," said George, faintly. Reverently the Doctor s 
 head was bowed, and the light above fell softly over 
 its gray-brown waves, and over the black glossy curls 
 on the pillow. Then the oppressive stillness was broken 
 by a deep, low voice, bearing on its rich, steady tones 
 a petition for mercy and forgiveness to the throne of 
 grace. It brought strength and reconcilement, and 
 at last peace; for when the Doctor raised his head, 
 the spirit had flown. 
 
 Tenderly he straightened out the wasted limbs, turned 
 the still form on its side to hide the scars, and brushed 
 the damp hair from the pale forehead. The face had 
 lost all its wild unrest, and looked smiling and repose 
 ful, even boyish, in its stillness; and when a spray of 
 late roses Nettie Hunman had laid above his pillow 
 that day broke to pieces from some light brush, and 
 let a few petals fall upon his head, the Doctor could 
 not refrain from repeating softly to himself some little 
 verses that came to his mind. 
 
 The rose s dainty branches just above him 
 
 Shed creamy petals o er his glossy hair, 
 As if the fragrant flowers still could love him 
 
 Though false and cruel, yet so young and fair. 
 
 Death s pale, sweet angel cannot yet subdue him, 
 
 For lingers still a flush upon his cheek, 
 As if the uncurbed passions that o erthrew him 
 
 Would from that silence in mute language speak, 
 
 Would drive away the peace of death s cold finger 
 That steals so slowly o er his dreaming face, 
 
 And in defiance of that touch still linger, 
 In death as well as life to lend their grace. 
 
412 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 This man who lay before him, cut down in the bloom 
 of his manhood, had fallen a victim to his own sins. 
 And yet he had now atoned for all his guilt, and had 
 left no room for aught but charitable thoughts. The 
 Doctor looked reverently down upon the still form. He 
 had been Lois s love. In those dark curls of hair, that 
 handsome face, that calm, white brow, she had read a 
 character replete with every manly attribute; she had 
 trusted all her girlish faith and hope to him, and trusted 
 to the last. 
 
 Fortune had bestowed many goodly gifts upon him. 
 He had been talented, strong, able. There had been a 
 grace and a magnetism about him that could win him 
 scores of friends; there had been a refinement, a poeti 
 cal vein, in his nature, which if blended with sincerity 
 and upright purpose might have made his life magnifi 
 cent in its grand achievement. Ah, what a pity those 
 redeeming qualities had been squandered to satisfy a 
 grasping, foolish vanity! 
 
 The Doctor sighed. Ah well! for Lois there might 
 be something even better, something more glorious, 
 than the blossoming of her first, sweet love. It must 
 be all for the best. 
 
 And so he went softly away, told the watchers that 
 death had passed, and then descended the broad stair 
 way. He opened the wide hall door, and stopped for 
 a breath of the damp freshness of the night air that 
 rushed in. 
 
 The memory of Lois was inseparably associated with 
 the mournful peace of that quiet place, and to-night 
 it came back to him with a dull heartache, that still 
 touched a minor chord of sweetness and longing in his 
 
THE CONFESSION. 413 
 
 lonely breast. How often he had stood there with her 
 and watched the light that broke in suddenly upon her 
 fair face, her pleasant blue eyes, her soft, wavy brown 
 hair! And now! This night she would not wear a 
 pleasant face were she there to know. " And yet 
 why linger with these mournful scenes?" he thought. 
 " George, his life, his work, are things of the past; all 
 is finished, and from this moment will forever be drift 
 ing farther and farther away on the receding shores of 
 time." And as he went out into the cool, night air, lo! 
 all the sky was thick with midnight stars. 
 
414 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE DRIVE UP THE LEAFY GRADE. 
 
 Trne love s the gift which God has given 
 To man alone beneath the heaven; 
 It is not fantasy s hot fire, 
 
 Whose \vishes, soon as granted, fly; 
 It liveth not in fierce desire, 
 
 With dead desire it doth not die; 
 It is the secret sympathy, 
 The silver link, the silken tie, 
 Which heart to heart, and mind to mind, 
 In body and in soul can bind. 
 
 SCOTT. 
 
 NIGHT had come, one of those clear, cold nights when 
 a dense blackness shuts around, when the winds are 
 stilled, and all nature seems to hide herself for repose. 
 Around the tall wayside house at Robinson s all sounds 
 were hushed, save now and then a distant call from the 
 sleepy calves in the barn-yard, or a rattle of the watch 
 dog s chain. In-doors, lights warm and brilliant glowed 
 from the windows, and sent steady beams far out into 
 the darkness, as if that pleasant home was overflowing 
 with good cheer, and willingly parted with some of its 
 brightness for the sake of lonely travellers out on the 
 night-shadowed hills. In the pleasant parlor a glorious 
 fire snapped and roared, sending its rich, yellow blaze 
 from the pine logs high up the chimney, and picturing 
 itself in playful sparkles on the liquid deeps of the 
 window-glass. The room was large and square, filled 
 
THE DRIVE UP THE LEAFY GRADE. 415 
 
 with plain, old-fashioned furniture, that still served to 
 make it very attractive and homelike. On the front, 
 long French windows in groups of three almost covered 
 one side of the room, with just space enough between 
 the full curtains for a tall, gilt-framed mirror, which 
 reflected in its clear depths the flashing sheets of fire 
 from the hearth-stone opposite; while on the eastern 
 side another group of windows opened out into a wide, 
 latticed court, where of summer evenings the men often 
 sat and enjoyed a smoke in the balmy air. All around 
 the room were evidences of the wonders of nature in the 
 mountains, queer fossils, glittering stallactites, knots 
 of moss like dainty lace-work, polished antlers, and 
 rich-hued birds, stuffed with such care and art that 
 they looked as if alive, peering down, with bright, dark 
 eyes, from their perches in the corners, whenever the 
 firelight flashed forth its lurid glories. 
 
 Lois and the Doctor sat alone in the quaint, old 
 room. Now and then from the distant kitchen a clat 
 ter of dishes or a ring of spoons came faintly to them, 
 and sometimes a low hum of conversation or a sup 
 pressed laugh. Dinner was over, and the girls were 
 finishing their work, while Lois listened to the Doctor s 
 story of George s confession and death, in the fitful fire 
 light. To one so full of gentle sympathy, of modest 
 shrinking, as the Doctor, the task was by no means an 
 easy one. How could he know that, despite the pain 
 Lois must have suffered in learning how cruelly George 
 had deceived her, there was not still some lingering 
 hope which he must crush by that story he had to tell? 
 How could he approach a subject, when even his mere 
 knowledge of it might cause her pain? 
 
416 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 It was well that the pine knots on the hearth some 
 times sputtered, and the bright light died down to a 
 smouldering blaze half curtained in pitchy clouds of 
 smoke, for the Doctor s face had spells of growing 
 redder than even the warm fireside could make it, and 
 his nervous hands twisted unconsciously the soft silk 
 handkerchief with which he often wiped his face. 
 
 He began by telling Lois of George s death, intending 
 to pass over it quickly, and to spare her feelings with 
 out revealing the fact that he knew her secret; but Lois 
 stopped him often to ask questions, and finally began 
 to tell him something of her story. She explained 
 to him frankly, though in few words, that George had 
 once been a very dear friend of hers, going through it 
 all calmly, without any girlish blushes or hesitation, as 
 if those old feelings had left no power to move her now. 
 But when she came to relate the last sorrowful inci 
 dents, she paused. It was almost painful to tell the 
 Doctor how cruelly she had been deceived. There was 
 no need, however, to tell more, for he touched her arm 
 as tenderly and caressingly as if she had been a little 
 child, and told her not to revive those griefs; he knew, 
 and sympathized with his whole heart. 
 
 Lois started slightly when he said this. " No, do not 
 offer me sympathy now, Dr. Knapp," she said. " I do 
 not need it. The memory which was once the holiest 
 of my life perished utterly and ignobly at the last, and 
 it has left no influence that could rouse me to feel either 
 much pain or pleasure. There was a time, when I 
 first learned how unworthy the object of my remem 
 brance had been of all my tender thoughts, then I 
 suffered bitterly and sharply for a while. But it was 
 
THE DRIVE UP THE LEAFY GKADE. 417 
 
 eoon over. It was only the destruction of a sad mem 
 ory, after all, not of a living, flourishing joy; and now 
 there is only i cold, dead feeling left in its place, that 
 can never disturb me again." 
 
 The Doctor made no comment, though inwardly he 
 rejoiced to know that Lois had cast off a sorrow which 
 would have deprived her of the happiest duties of life. 
 He went on to explain George s confession, with some 
 hesitation, knowing that the story he must relate would 
 be full of surprises to Lois, involving one who had once 
 been so near to her, and explaining events which had 
 happened so close to her home. 
 
 " We must regard this as strictly confidential until 
 matters have all been righted, all made straight," he 
 said. " My mission is a strange one, something al 
 most incredible, until I have proved its necessity by 
 the letters which I have. I knew it would require my 
 personal presence here, I who heard the story with 
 my own ears, and have means to assure myself that it 
 was not the ravings of a dying man. I shall go up to 
 Lucky Streak to see the superintendent, taking care 
 first to look around a little and make inquiries. I 
 must ask a great many questions of you, Miss Warren. 
 Shall you object?" 
 
 " Not if you are patient enough to answer all of mine. 
 I am so shocked by what I have just heard, and yet so 
 rejoiced for the sake of Edward and Mrs. Dennett, that 
 I have no doubt my disturbed mind will give vent 
 to its feelings by innumerable questions, and incessant 
 talking about the matter." 
 
 But the Doctor after a little time took care to change 
 the conversation to the scenes of Locustville. He re- 
 
418 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 lated all the news he could think of, and finally spoke 
 of the Hunmans. Nettie, he said, was growing much 
 more amiable. She brought him flowers, and did her 
 work with a sweetness and quiet grace seemingly im 
 possible to one so irritable as she had been. " There 
 are many redeeming qualities in her character," he 
 explained, "but they have always been hidden and 
 crushed by the less pleasing ones. She has been a 
 child, a helpless plaything, in the hands of a large 
 family of older children, for her uncles are little else 
 in their own home. They have teased and worried her 
 for their amusement until all her energies were bent 
 toward defending herself, and her unformed character 
 found no outlet to expand into anything broader and 
 better. I saw the state of things at once. My first 
 work was to encourage Nettie. I helped her a little by 
 giving her something to do, something with a reward 
 for it, that would not be unwelcome drudgery. She 
 was saucy and ungrateful at first, but gradually she 
 grew to like me because I never opposed or worried her. 
 Then I talked to her uncles a little, and we all tried 
 together. But the wickedness of her nature seemed 
 almost incorrigible for a long while, and the case all 
 but hopeless, all but lost. However, time at last 
 brought about a change." 
 
 " But do you think it well to humor irritable people, 
 Dr. Knapp?" asked Lois. " Does it not rather cultivate 
 their selfishness and impatience?" 
 
 "Usually it does, I think," returned the Doctor. 
 " But with Nettie the case was different. She is by 
 nature rather proud, yet her pride was so utterly 
 crushed that she went to the opposite extreme, and 
 
THE DRIVE UP THE LEAFY GRADE. 419 
 
 became almost shameless in her ill nature. By allow 
 ing her a little chance to grow, to think, you see, 
 she began to take an interest in making friends and 
 presenting a lady-like appearance. We had just got 
 her started on the right road, when something very 
 encouraging came along to help us." The Doctor 
 paused, but Lois waited for him to resume his little 
 story, without a question. It was the first time he had 
 ever spoken so about Nettie. How kind of him, she 
 thought, to try to bring out the good in such an 
 unlovely character! She remembered that morning 
 when they had first met the snappish little girl in the 
 old hospital, and the Doctor had borne her disrespect 
 ful sallies with calm patience. Ah, she knew the 
 secret of it nowl 
 
 And again she thought, with mortification, how she 
 herself had been indifferent to poor Nettie, and at the 
 last avoided and mistrusted her. Truly, the Doctor 
 was most magnificently generous to discover the good 
 under all that unpleasant exterior, and strive to culti 
 vate it, even at the expense of his own comfort. 
 
 " Nettie found some one," continued Dr. Knapp, 
 <l some one who encouraged her, not by kind indulgence, 
 but by treatment which appealed to her pride. She 
 will in time become very devoted and kind to her near 
 est friends, though I think she will never quite outgrow 
 her lively temper when annoyed by others. She has 
 not enough broad charity for that. As I was saying, 
 this new friend praised and defended her, and in turn, 
 of course, she showed lovely little graces that were 
 very surprising. It was a most fortunate thing that 
 she should find such a person, ah-h, in fact, that 
 she should find such a beau." 
 
420 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 "O dear!" said Lois, laughing merrily. "Then this 
 friend was a beau. Who was he?" 
 
 " Rather who is he," said the Doctor, getting red. 
 " He is now more than ever her friend." 
 
 " Well, then, who is he? " asked Lois, correcting her 
 self. 
 
 "Er-r Horace Graham." 
 
 "Horace Graham!" echoed Lois, opening her eyes 
 wide in wonder. " I m surprised. Is he a good, en 
 couraging friend? I always thought him such a 
 trifling, nonsense-loving fellow." 
 
 " So he is," replied the Doctor, " nonsense-loving, 
 and for that very reason he puts cross Nettie into 
 a pleasant mood. He needs some one to lead him 
 around, just as Nettie loves to do, and because he 
 pleases her, she is pleasant and lady-like; because she 
 shows a pleasant disposition, he in return is loyal, 
 attentive." 
 
 " I m sure I m very glad," said Lois, thoughtfully. 
 
 And after that they sat and mused over the strange 
 things life brings to us; while the firelight flickered 
 and died away into melting ash-drifts, and John came 
 in to put another back-log on the smothered embers. 
 
 The Doctor prolonged his visit to the mountains for 
 several days. There was much to be done, and Mr. 
 Sevenoakes, sleek and careful as usual, was very reluc 
 tant to believe anything unfavorable about his friend 
 Brooklyn. He was heartily glad, however, that Ed 
 ward Dennett had been proved blameless; for notwith 
 standing the fact that personally he felt little interest 
 in the young man, he recognized a good workman, one 
 
THE DRIVE UP THE LEAFY GRADE. 421 
 
 whom he respected despite prejudices; and since he 
 had been obliged to make quite a struggle to find a 
 trustworthy man for manager, he felt a strong hope of 
 securing Edward again. 
 
 Cautiously the little man and the Doctor investi 
 gated the case. Knowles, who still remained at Lucky 
 Streak, was interviewed, and finding himself circum 
 vented by irrefutable proof, admitted the whole crime 
 on being assured by his confessors, that, since they had 
 been given the knowledge of his guilt on promise of 
 secrecy, they would not divulge it without his consent, 
 though the thoughtful Doctor appealed to the poor 
 wretch s conscience for some smouldering impulse of 
 honesty. 
 
 Mr. Sevenoakes had not suffered severely by the fire, 
 and consequently felt rather willing to forgive, and 
 promise concealment to the agonized creature who 
 pleaded with him. 
 
 In justice to Edward Dennett and all others con 
 cerned, even Mr. Sevenoakes agreed that the true origin 
 of the fire should be made public, toned down as chari 
 tably as possible into an accident, for George s sake. 
 Before taking the step, however, the Doctor decided 
 that Mrs. Dennett should hear the good news first, 
 and bethought himself of Lois as the messenger. The 
 gentle little school-mistress was just the one to carry 
 good tidings, she was so sympathetic and joyous- 
 hearted; and besides, he had heard her speak so often 
 in loving terms of Mrs. Dennett, that he was sure she 
 would be happy to do something for the dear friend of 
 her early girlhood. 
 
 For two or three days the Doctor had made daily 
 
422 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 trips up to Lucky Streak from Robinson s, and when 
 on his return one evening lie suggested that Lois 
 accompany him next day on her kind mission, she 
 was thoroughly delighted. She was greatly interested 
 in the news of the Doctor s work, and now when she 
 could share and help, she felt that she had heard the 
 best news of all. 
 
 The Doctor cautioned Lois to rise early, and she 
 playfully assured him that he would only be com 
 mencing his morning nap when she had shaken off 
 the last dream of slumberland. And of course she 
 was right. The household was always astir early; and 
 since Dr. Knapp s advent into it, there was increased 
 effort that everything might pass pleasantly and or 
 derly for his sake. 
 
 John was agreeably surprised with Lois s medical 
 friend, and even went so far as to admit to her that a 
 certain pair of gloves were not really canary-tinted, 
 only a rich tan-yellow. He was never tired of examin 
 ing Lady Snowdrop s fine black harness, which seemed 
 so delicate, yet proved so strong and pretty besides, 
 with its ivory rings and burnished buckles. The gig, 
 and Lady Snowdrop herself, were equally objects for 
 his wonder and admiration, and he felt that too much 
 care could not possibly be bestowed upon them. 
 
 The girls, also, thought that Lois had certainly not 
 overrated the Doctor s good qualities. At first they 
 almost felt as if he was a godlike creature, too grand 
 and noble to care for the material benefits of this world, 
 and they felt at a loss to find some way to please him. 
 
 But when they discovered that he had an excellent 
 appetite, and liked plenty of roast beef and plum pud- 
 
THE DRIVE UP THE LEAFY GRADE. 423 
 
 ding, they were much relieved, feeling that there was 
 one way in which they could show their appreciation, 
 and hence they liked him all the better for it. 
 
 So of course no caution was necessary about the 
 early rising. The girls were very particular to have 
 the home pleasant and the breakfast tempting, and 
 there was a general rush to make a pat of sweet, golden 
 butter and the lightest biscuits possible, not to mention 
 other choice things, for the table. Lois was up with 
 the rest, busy getting ready for her early drive, and 
 helping with the breakfast; but when the bell rang, 
 and the Doctor did not appear, she stepped out into 
 the porch to see if he had yet gone out to look after 
 Lady Snowdrop. 
 
 "Why, what a good-looking man the Doctor is!" 
 thought Lois, when she discovered him tying Lady 
 Snowdrop to one of the long row of hitching-stakes, 
 and covering her carefully with a blanket. He patted 
 her smooth, snowy neck, and spoke kindly to her as he 
 adjusted the halter again, quite unconscious that some 
 one dearer to him than any other in the world was 
 thinking what a pleasant picture she saw before her, 
 of which he formed no inconsiderable part. 
 
 It was one of those bright, frosty mornings in au 
 tumn, when the air is sharp and clear and exhilarat 
 ing, when the season seems to combine all the beauties 
 of the year. There were the tender greenness and the 
 fresh beauty of the spring; floods of rich, summery 
 sunshine streaming through the trees, dispelling the 
 shadows of the morning twilight, and converting beds 
 of wet brown leaves into scales of burnished silver; 
 there were the deep blue skies, and the damp, fresh, 
 
424 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 earthy scents of winter; the white ice-gems melting 
 from the trees, the roofs, and the sunless corners, the 
 yellow, perishing vines, and the red-tipped, scanty 
 leaves of autumn. 
 
 Out where the hard brown road broadened in its 
 sweep up to the door was the shiny-wheeled black gig, 
 the white horse, and the Doctor too, surrounded by a 
 background of green forests of pine and fir, golden and 
 sparkling in the sunlight and the frost, and the new 
 growth of grass creeping up to the roadside, its bright, 
 velvety greenness dotted here and there with showers 
 of decaying brown or white-veined skeleton leaves. A 
 cloud of steam arose with each breath from Lady Snow 
 drop s delicate pink nostrils, and several times she 
 looked around appealingly at the Doctor, as if to re 
 quest that he leave nothing undone which could con 
 tribute to her comfort. She was looking beautifully 
 plump and fine that morning. No blemish marred 
 the soft creaminess of her coat, and her bright, dark 
 eyes, her arched neck covered with a flowing mane of 
 crystal, wavy threads, and her little neat black hoofs 
 impatiently stamping up layers of the crusted earth, 
 all combined to make her a very handsome creature, 
 which the Doctor had once said was the only thing 
 that could possibly excuse her indolence. 
 
 But the Doctor himself seemed most attractive to Lois. 
 She smiled unconsciously to find herself thinking that 
 Lady Snowdrop was no finer specimen of her kind than 
 the Doctor of noble, perfect manhood. The thought 
 seemed absurd, and yet she rather liked to indulge it. 
 And there was, besides, a certain pleasure in seeing the 
 odd little cart and the Doctor s familiar face making 
 
THE DRIVE UP THE LEAFY GRADE. 425 
 
 a part of her old home scenes. Except her bright 
 glimpses of the past summer, associated with pleas 
 ant drives through avenues of blossoming locust, all 
 the rest of her life at Locustville had lost its power 
 to move her feelings either to bliss or pain. And since 
 the Doctor had somehow become blended with these 
 scenes before her, she closed the book of her dead hopes 
 and sorrows forever, without one mournful regret, and 
 let the present, holding as it did all that her warm heart 
 cherished, bring its full measure of delights, untinctured 
 with any touch or remembrance of grief. 
 
 The Doctor, stepping about briskly to arrange the 
 scarlet-lined robe over the broad seat, and to secure 
 the reins, looked up and caught sight of Lois standing 
 on the edge of the porch. She was dressed in a neat 
 wool dress of gray, relieved by a bunch of rose-colored 
 ribbon, which gave her flower-like face a softer, fairer 
 bloom than it had ever worn before. He was pleased 
 with the little surprise, and said good-naturedly, " So 
 you are up with the sun this morning, Miss Warren. 
 We shall have a fine drive a glorious drive through 
 this keen, delicious air." 
 
 " Up before the sun, you should have said, Doctor," 
 Lois answered. " I J ve been making biscuits, which 
 naturally I am anxious to hear praised, so I came out 
 to tell you that the breakfast-bell has already rung, 
 and we ha.ve been wondering if you heard it." 
 
 " Thank you. I heard no echo of it," said the Doc 
 tor; " but I will be ready in a moment. I cannot afford 
 to postpone very long the pleasure of trying one of your 
 biscuits." 
 
 Lois laughed and ran into the house. Her heart was 
 
426 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 lighter than it had been before for years, and her face, 
 dimpled with smiles, was so bright that Milcie greeted 
 her as she went into the dining-room with the remark 
 that the country air was reviving her remarkably. 
 
 " Why, you can get an early breakfast as easily as 
 I, who rise every morning in the year to do it. You 
 don t look as if the indolence of the school-room has 
 at all affected you." 
 
 Lois laughed as she poured the coffee, and welcomed 
 the Doctor, coming in at that moment, with a pleasant 
 glance of her soft blue eyes, which stirred his heart 
 strings just a trifle more than her glances usually did 
 in^those later days of his love. 
 
 Lois enjoyed the breakfast hour in her old home that 
 cold autumn morning more than any other since her 
 return. It seemed so pleasant to have the Doctor there 
 filling up the home circle. He really was her best 
 loved friend outside of her own people, she told herself; 
 and then, besides, his presence, as it always did, sent a 
 glow of kind feeling and happiness into her warm, gen 
 erous heart, that was ever giving away its own sunlight 
 to others. The dining-room was unusually cheerful, 
 with the soft light coming through the frost-pictured 
 windows, and falling over the bright, warm-hued car 
 pet, and over the snowy table around which so many 
 pleasant faces clustered. Savory scents of coffee made 
 the room fragrant, and little puffs of white steam from 
 Lois s flakey biscuits floated up and dissolved in the 
 cool atmosphere. 
 
 John came in rubbing his hands, and took a seat by 
 the Doctor, remarking that the cold, frosty air outside 
 sent the blood coursing in warm currents even to the 
 
THE DRIVE UP THE LEAFY GRADE. 427 
 
 tips of his fingers; while the Doctor, in sympathy, 
 began rubbing his own hands too, and replied that he 
 thought the weather rather frosty for a country that 
 professed to be semi-tropical. " But then," he added, 
 " your mountainous regions claim the right to indulge 
 in ice and snow, I suppose." 
 
 " Yes," John answered, " the air is thin here, and the 
 summits over in the east keep a perpetual supply of 
 chilly weather to send us, should we get short." 
 
 " I almost envy you such mornings as this, though," 
 said the Doctor, thoughtfully. " The sharp coldness 
 is enough to wake up the dullest ah-h, the sleepiest 
 head. One could actually have dreams of empire, and 
 all sorts of other glories, if he lived here very long, and 
 rose each morning to drink in this cold, sweet, pine- 
 steeped air, and to draw inspiration from these dark- 
 clothed, majestic mountains that surround us." 
 
 "I ll venture to say you d have dreams enough. 
 We all do," replied John; "but the trouble here is, 
 that our inconveniences are twofold more than yours in 
 the lower country, so our dreams barely enable us to 
 overcome the extra trouble we undergo by living here. 
 That s the way our dreams vanish. We have nothing 
 left after all but the pleasure they give." 
 
 Lois looked at John s rough, red hands as he said 
 this, and compared them with the Doctor s, smooth 
 and plump, that had lightened so many burdens for 
 others, and yet to her seemed never to have had very 
 heavy ones of their own to bear; she looked at John s 
 honest, sun-browned face, and his old, worn clothes, and 
 thinking of his hard, busy life, and how all the dreams 
 of his early youth had given way to struggles and wor- 
 
428 AHOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 riments, a feeling of inexpressible tenderness toward 
 him stirred in her heart. He looked hardly more than 
 a boy, and yet his lot had been for many long years a 
 very hard one. " How I wish I might do something 
 to brighten dear John s life!" whispered a wish down 
 in the deep recesses of her heart; and looking the next 
 moment toward the Doctor, she felt that there she 
 could find the answer to her wish. He sat with such 
 a kindly look on his face, and seemed in such hearty 
 sympathy with this home and the interests of those in 
 it, she felt sure he would share her desire to make a 
 touch of brightness in her dear brother s upright life. 
 The Doctor was so strong and capable to her. She had 
 somehow grown to submit her plans to him with more 
 reliance on that strength and wisdom than even she 
 herself knew. 
 
 Then her thoughts took a brighter phase. She fell 
 to thinking how good he was to always show such gen 
 erous compassion to others, when most likely the ways 
 of his own life had led in pleasant places, and he could 
 scarcely know from experience how to pity others. She 
 little knew how his lonely, unselfish life had taught him 
 to forget his own troubles, that other lives might be 
 richer for the poverty of his. 
 
 She felt rather proud of him. She knew that her 
 own people recognized his goodness; that they felt an 
 admiration something akin to her own; and so she ex 
 perienced almost a childlike pleasure in seeing them 
 so solicitous for his comfort, and so ready to honor him 
 in their simple way. 
 
 His behavior was always so full of deference and un- 
 obstrusive politeness, which were very delightful in spite 
 
THE DRIVE UP THE LEAFY GRADE. 429 
 
 of his nervousness, that she felt sure his presence in 
 fused a charm into every heart within reach of its influ 
 ence. 
 
 He sat talking lightly with John about the moun 
 tain districts, expressing his surprise over the beauty 
 of the scenery, and the wild, pristine glory of a region 
 that had borne the tread of many thousand feet and 
 the blows of many thousand picks. His face lighted 
 up with enthusiasm as he spoke of his love for the 
 mountains; and Lois thought again that it was indeed 
 strange she had never before discovered that the Doc 
 tor was almost handsome. " But then," she mused, 
 u it must be that his retiring disposition keeps one 
 from thinking much about his personal appearance. 
 Besides, he is so good, one sees only the kindness in 
 his face, without looking for anything less pleasing." 
 
 And then she vaguely wondered how she ever could 
 have thought the Doctor old. He certainly looked young 
 that morning, although his brown, curling hair, parted 
 so evenly in a narrow white line above his broad fore 
 head, showed many silver threads in its glossy waves. 
 But his clear gray eyes beamed with a youthful frank 
 ness, and his calm face, slightly flushed, looked so 
 beneficent and serene, so free from all traces of bit 
 terness or discontent, that she felt sure the generous 
 charity shining through it issued from the sweet, per 
 petual spring-time of his heart. There was a certain 
 purity about him that all felt, the sure inheritance 
 of a life w<3ll lived, of wisdom discreetly gathered from 
 the best experiences of the past. 
 
 Lois grew almost enthusiastic in her admiration of 
 the Doctor, and so quite forgot to eat her breakfast, un- 
 
430 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 til reminded of it by him. " You must remember this 
 air sharpens the appetite, and you will wish for another 
 breakfast before we have driven a mile, at Lady Snow 
 drop s pace," he added, with a sly twinkle of his eye. 
 
 So Lois checked her pleasant train of thought, and 
 finished her meal, without indulging it further. In the 
 hurry that followed her preparation to start, she was 
 scarcely reminded of the Doctor, until the girls had all 
 assembled in the porch to see her off. and stood giving 
 her dress sly little pulls to adjust some wrinkled fold, 
 and pinning at her throat the late blossoms of a pink 
 geranium which grew in a sheltered corner of the porch. 
 
 "Come, Lois," said the Doctor, fastening Lady Snow 
 drop s check-rein in its place after she had refused the 
 cold water of the brimming tank, and Lois with a little 
 start and a faint blush went down the steps to be helped 
 into the gig, with her mind so confused she scarcely 
 realized what had happened until the Doctor was 
 seated beside her and they were starting away. 
 
 " I may call you Lois, may I not, when we are here 
 in your old home among your own people who call you 
 by that name?" asked the Doctor, as they drove away 
 amid the chorus of good-bys from the porch; and he 
 looked down upon the fair face beside him with a pro 
 tecting tenderness beaming from his kind gray eyes. 
 
 "Why, yes; I d rather have you. It is less formal, 
 and so much more friendly," Lois replied. " But he 
 need n t be quite so fatherly about it," she added men 
 tally, as she remembered with a touch of indignation 
 the look that accompanied his request. " There is n t 
 so very much difference in our ages, that he can think 
 me a mere child compared to him." 
 
THE DRIVE UP THE LEAFY GRADE. 431 
 
 But the Doctor, all unconscious that Lois did not 
 look upon him as old and prosy, felt indeed quite like 
 her fatherly protector, and tried very hard to keep all 
 other thoughts buried up in the grave of his perished 
 hopes. 
 
 "I always like to drive through the woods in the 
 autumn, when the leaves are turning red," he remarked 
 at length, as they passed out of the sunlight of the 
 open road under the dark canopy of shadowy trees. 
 " The damp scents from the decaying leaves under 
 foot, and the soft glory of the gold and crimson foliage 
 lighting up the sombreness of the dim vistas, have a 
 power to recall my boyhood more vividly than any 
 thing else." 
 
 There was always something so dreamy, so full of 
 gentle feeling, about the Doctor, something which 
 appealed so tenderly to a kindred chord in others, 
 that Lois quite forgave him for that glance as he said 
 this, and forgot it almost while indulging that strange 
 sympathy we feel toward those who turn back fondly 
 in remembrance to their early home. 
 
 " We are almost too late for the full beauty of the 
 fall," she answered. " I like best to see the trees be 
 fore any of the bright leaves have fallen. Still, there 
 is color enough left, though the winds have almost 
 stripped the boughs. See that red leaf, glowing in the 
 sun! It is like a ruby covered with a dewy shower of 
 diamond dust. We can take the lower grade, that 
 winds along the hill just above the creek, if you want 
 to enjoy the fullest glory of the autumn in the moun 
 tains. It seems much prettier to me than the travelled 
 stage-route, for the roadside is uncleared, and of course 
 
432 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 the trees grow thicker near the water. Besides, it is 
 associated with the pleasant drives I used to take in 
 my childhood up to Mrs. Dennett s, when the old town 
 was in its prime. The upper grade was not built then, 
 and all this country was in the full flush of its first ex 
 citement, very unlike the dull lethargy that has settled 
 over it now, which scarcely seems disturbed by the 
 opening of a new era of prosperity." 
 
 " The lower road, by all means, must be chosen, if 
 the solitude is deeper there," said the Doctor. "We 
 must not allow the least suggestion of the outer world 
 to mar the peaceful quiet of this perfect day." 
 
 Then they talked a while about the changing leaves, 
 and Dr. Knapp told Lois of the maples of New England; 
 how the fall dressed all the forests in robes of buff and 
 russet-gold and crimson, and the brown burs opened to 
 let out their treasures; and how he and his brother 
 spent many hours of the purple autumn weather 
 ranging the gorgeous woods in search of their store 
 of Christmas nuts. 
 
 It was not the first time he had recalled his New 
 England home that morning. His thoughts had been 
 busy at breakfast time, in a deep undercurrent, through 
 all his cheerful talk. The frosty windows, and the in 
 spiration of the home life all around him, had some 
 how touched a chord of his being that had not vi 
 brated so fully or so strongly since the halcyon days 
 of his boyhood. To be one of that charmed circle, to 
 feel instinctively that he had a little share of the inner 
 riches of its love, to be near Lois, and to see her cheer 
 ful once again, opened a vein of happiness as rare as 
 it was blissful. 
 
THE DRIVE UP THE LEAFY GRADE. 433 
 
 But still in that fond returning to his youth, and to 
 the influence of his childhood s home, he realized there 
 was another feeling, something deeper and more joy 
 ous, which not only heightened his pleasure in the res 
 toration of those by-gone days, but held a charm, a 
 power of its own, stirring him with a rapture he 
 scarcely dared indulge. It made his heart even trem 
 ble, lest he should forget the hard lot fate had meted 
 out to him, and which he had resolved to accept with 
 out complaining, and so give way to that nameless 
 ecstacy until too late to save himself from the de 
 spairing misery that would follow its inevitable flight. 
 And yet there was an exhilaration that rose up 
 through all his sad forebodings, through all his set 
 tled griefs, and like the spirit of his dead happiness 
 resurrected, pleaded with unconquerable earnestness 
 for just that one short season of renewal. He could 
 not long resist the delight that possessed him; it 
 allayed his fears, and lifted him up into that fair, 
 enchanted region, where the world s dull common 
 places, its strivings and its wearing sorrows, have no 
 part. 
 
 And so, as they drove along, he and Lois together, 
 on that matchless October day, over the quiet, leaf- 
 lined road that led around the hillsides in odd and 
 devious windings, he felt that earth was nearer heaven 
 than he had ever realized before; he even allowed him 
 self to fancy that the. life which he had left behind 
 was cleansed of everything but sweet and spotless 
 memories, and the way before him borrowed more and 
 more of the beauties of elysian fields, till it ended at 
 the gate of Paradise. 
 
434 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 The sunshine fell in warm, golden showers through 
 the pines, and turned the white frost-crystals into dia 
 mond drops of dew; while above them, on the vine- 
 grown bank overhanging the road, or below them, 
 where the wild nests of bushes choked up the canon 
 through which the clear stream roared, autumn s mel 
 low glories were displayed in yellow, dying sprays, 
 trembling above the brownness of the naked earth, 
 and flame-red leaf-tongues flashing forth from hollow- 
 hearted tangles each moment as they passed along. 
 The ferns, old and brittle, leaned out of their rocky 
 crevices, and flaunted threads of gossamer from their 
 half-crushed silvery fronds; and the squirrels, with soft 
 bright eyes and plumy coats of short gray fur, flitted 
 about quickly through the fallen leaves, and left the 
 imprint of their sharp toes in the damp red soil of 
 the road as they ran across to take refuge in their 
 sheltered holes beneath the rocks. Sometimes a leaf 
 fluttered down from the canopy of vine-mantled trees 
 leaning above the way, and lodged in Lady Snowdrop s 
 tossing mane, or slipped to the ground after a brief 
 stay on her plump, sleek back; and now and then on 
 the still, keen air rang out the distant call of some 
 wild bird from the echoing woods. 
 
 No word profaned the golden silence, until Lois, 
 returning to her thoughts at breakfast time, deemed it 
 a fitting season to ask the Doctor what she could do 
 for John. She had been thinking, too. And like the 
 Doctor, she had indulged in day-dreams that brought 
 her memories rare and beautiful. That old graded 
 road, leading along the mountain-side through the very 
 heart of the wild woods, had seemed to relapse into the 
 
THE DRIVE UP THE LEAFY GRADE. 435 
 
 calm, primeval beauty that had haunted it long ago, 
 and renewed her cherished, unchangeable pictures of 
 the past. And yet she could not forget something that 
 troubled her, though she hardly dared admit it to 
 herself. She shrank from the loneliness she knew 
 would return to her when the Doctor went back to 
 Locustville; and yet she told herself that she must 
 stifle that strange dread that came over her, as some 
 thing hardly usual in friendship such as hers. But 
 the dread would not be stifled, so she resolved to talk 
 of something that would tend to relieve her mind. 
 
 " Dr. Knapp," she said, suddenly, " I was thinking 
 of John this morning, thinking how much I would 
 like to do something to make more pleasant his hard 
 life. He has always been such a good boy, so faithful 
 and willing. You can scarcely understand just how 
 good, because his trials and hardships have been of a 
 kind of which you know nothing. And I resolved to 
 talk with you about it, because your suggestions are 
 always so valuable to me." 
 
 " Ah! So we have both been thinking of John, I see," 
 replied the Doctor. " I am sure he has been a kind, 
 faithful brother. But I am ahead of you in my plans, 
 and so, perhaps, you will allow me to finish it for 
 you in your name. During my talks with Mr. 
 Sevenoakes I discovered that there was a fine opening 
 for some one in connection with the mine, so I im 
 mediately thought of John. It will enable him to get 
 help to fill his place at home, and give him besides a 
 very fair start in life. I intended to settle the matter 
 to-day, and if favorable to my wishes, to consult John 
 himself about his ideas of the plan. I scarcely have a 
 
436 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 doubt but that he will be able to get it, for Mr. Seven- 
 oakes has been much troubled with unfaithful work 
 men, even since the fire." 
 
 "Oh, Dr. Knapp!" said Lois, quite overcome with 
 gratitude. "It was so good of you! I hardly know 
 how to express my thanks. You have always been 
 more than kind to me, Dr. Knapp; and I have often 
 wished, oh, so very much! that I could do some 
 thing in return. And though I feel wholly powerless 
 to do anything commensurate with the debt of grati 
 tude I owe, if there is ever anything I can do, will you 
 give me the pleasure I shall feel in performing it, by 
 telling me what it is?" 
 
 The Doctor looked wistfully away toward the rugged 
 hillside beyond the canon. He hardly dared trust 
 himself to speak in answer to such words while the ten 
 der thoughts and the enchantment of the lovely scenes 
 around him filled his heart. And then suddenly all 
 reserve deserted him, and he resolved, let come what 
 might thereafter, he would unburden some of the over 
 flowing affection of his soul. 
 
 " My sweet friend," he said, " do not ask me that. 
 You have already done more for me than any one else 
 in the world. You have shown me a glimpse of a life 
 more pure and true and lovely than I ever dreamed of. 
 You have made me realize that in this delusive world 
 all our fond fancies do not end in disappointments 
 in regrets; that there are heights of delight which have 
 their foundations in the firm and everlasting rocks, and 
 their summits above the frowning clouds in the blue, 
 untroubled fields of heaven. This you have done for 
 me when the innocent faith of early life had perished, 
 
THE DRIVE UP THE LEAFY GRADE. 437 
 
 and had left me hopelessly striving to do my appointed 
 work in a world that held none of its choicest blessings 
 for me. I have felt this often since I first knew you. 
 You have made my life far richer far better than it 
 ever was before; and though I regretfully realize that 
 only stray touches of the sunshine you bestow can fall 
 on me, that your chosen path lies far from mine, yet 
 I long to have a little place in your heart, which you 
 will keep for me alone, and will feel it is filled by a 
 friend whose best and only happiness lies in knowing 
 and serving you." 
 
 Lois sat like one stunned while the Doctor spoke. 
 Though usually calm and self-possessed, she sometimes 
 had moments when all her confidence deserted her; 
 though practical, there was still a deep vein of senti 
 ment in her character that thrilled with its pensive 
 beauty every purpose and action of her life, and rose 
 up at times supreme over every other feeling. And so 
 when he who had always seemed so far above her, 
 wrapped in his cloak of experience and wisdom, look 
 ing down upon her though she hardly liked to have 
 him do it from that calm, disinterested plane of 
 fatherly friendship, when he declared to her what a 
 great part she held in his feelings and life, she simply 
 covered her face with both her hands, and had no word 
 to say. 
 
 There was just a moment of silence between them, 
 which seemed almost endless to Lois, who remained 
 with her hands before her eyes, listening as if in a 
 dream, in spite of the tumult of her thoughts, to the 
 sharp clatter of Lady Snowdrop s hoofs on the hard 
 road, sounding far away and indistinct to her, and 
 
438 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 feeling a cool zephyr, freighted with the shrill, sad 
 whispers of the pine trees, blow against her cheek, and 
 then die away with soft, low rustles in the leaves. 
 But she quickly raised her face, revealing the slightest 
 sparkle of a tear upon her eyelashes, which she made 
 an unsuccessful effort to conceal, saying, with just a 
 suggestion of unsteadiness in her voice, "You have 
 already a place in my heart, Dr. Knapp; it surely 
 must be needless for me to tell you that. I know too 
 well what it is to have false friends not to appreciate 
 and welcome the true. Bitter experiences have taught 
 me that. The false are soon forgotten; they are almost 
 obliterated from the memory, and hold no place in the 
 affections. But I know that you are a true friend to 
 me, because you are a true friend to every one. And 
 that is the reason why I spoke as I did, about mak 
 ing you some return for your kind friendship." 
 
 "My reward has already been received, as I told 
 you," said the Doctor, still speaking with unusual fer 
 vor, and wholly without his native reserve. "What 
 more can I ask? I understand fully what a small 
 portion of your thoughts belongs to me, and yet, if you 
 will let me, I will make it my greatest aim to shield 
 you and protect you through every trial in life. I will 
 not force my friendship upon you when others are more 
 welcome. I only ask the privilege to offer you a con 
 stant refuge in my friendship if you should ever want 
 it ever need it; for, Lois, strive to conceal the fact as 
 I may, it will not remain hidden, I care more for you 
 than you can ever know. When first I knew you I dared 
 indulge the strange, new joy your presence brought me, 
 scarcely realizing what it meant. But there came a 
 
THE DRIVE UP THE LEAF? GBADE. 439 
 
 day when my foolishness was forced upon me, and I 
 awoke to recognize my true position. Still, I could not 
 cast aside your influence, and so I found my solace in 
 wishing for you all the sweetest blessings life can bring, 
 and hoping perhaps in some way I could be instru 
 mental in bringing good to you by feeling toward you 
 as I did. And hence, though I am old compared to 
 you, though my feelings may scarcely interest you 
 now, because my life has been as true and earnest as I 
 could make it amidst many sorrows, I ask you to con 
 sider me worthy to be your friend. And, Lois, when 
 our paths shall lead apart, and by you all our old asso 
 ciations shall be quite forgotten, if by some careless 
 reminder you ever think of me, know that your bright 
 image will lie enshrined in my heart as unchangeable 
 as the solid rock. Then won t you stop to feel a thrill 
 of pity for me, will you not send me some little 
 message of remembrance ? " 
 
 He had entirely broken away from his old sensitive 
 shyness, he had far overstepped the bounds of what he 
 had meant to say, and had poured out his whole heart 
 as if he could not bear to leave one feeling unexpressed, 
 until checked by a glance at Lois. Her face was cov 
 ered with her hands again, and she seemed to be trem 
 bling. 
 
 " Forgive me," he said softly, leaning over her. " I 
 did not intend to grieve you, Lois. I little thought 
 that I should so far forget myself as to offend you with 
 such a recital of my feelings of my thoughts. But 
 I shall go away to-morrow, and if my hope of seeing 
 you again is sometime realized, try to forget this grave 
 mistake which I have made, and think of me as if it 
 
440 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 had never been. Don t you think you can forgive me, 
 
 Lois?" 
 
 "I have nothing to forgive," she answered, looking 
 up, and yet trying to hide the traces of tears on her 
 face. She felt mortally ashamed of them, confused, 
 and troubled. How absurd of her, she thought, to 
 show so much emotion, she who always knew so 
 well how to meet emergencies! 
 
 " I am not displeased with what you have said," she 
 went on. " On the contrary, I thank you very much 
 for your kind thoughts of me. Do not feel that they 
 are not appreciated, only I cannot tell you I do 
 not want you to go away with the idea that you have 
 offended me. You certainly have not." 
 
 "Thank you for that," he said, almost sadly. And 
 yet he was wondering why Lois, usually so undisturbed, 
 so bright and strong-hearted, allowed her eyes to be 
 dimmed by tears because of his agitation, why she 
 did not, by a few calm words, in her own kind way, 
 administer a timely reproof to him for his rashness, and 
 set things on their old familiar basis again. A bright 
 hope sprang into life with the thought. 
 
 Why should he not say all, when he had already 
 said so much ? Perhaps thereby he could enable her 
 to regain her self-command, and she would answer him 
 with her natural tranquillity, would talk to him in her 
 gentle way, and soothe his wounded heart; and per 
 haps in what she said he might find some word, some 
 touch of tenderness, to last him all the coming years; 
 and then perhaps perhaps ah ! the simple thought 
 wrapped him again in that uncontrollable ecstacy that 
 made him fearless in his hopes. 
 
THE DRIVE UP THE LEAFY GRADE. 441 
 
 " I am more than happy that I have not displeased 
 you, Lois," he said. " It would be almost an unbear 
 able pain to go away feeling that by my hasty conduct 
 I had forfeited what little claim I held upon your 
 friendship your esteem. That would deprive me of 
 the best joy I have, the pleasure of being near you." 
 He paused, and then, an almost audacious hope spring 
 ing into life at that moment, he asked, " Won t you 
 allow me to love you, and live my life near yours, dear 
 Lois?" 
 
 Softly and timidly, very unlike the bright, self-reliant 
 Lois of old, came the answer, " Yes "; and somehow the 
 Doctor understood it, understood that it was meant 
 to satisfy, not only his modest question of words, but 
 the great unexpressed question of his soul, that it 
 removed all misunderstandings, and linked their lives 
 together forever after. 
 
442 ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 EDWARD DENNETT S FORTUNES. 
 
 Disgrace does not consist in the punishment, but in the crime. 
 ALFIERI. 
 
 There is a pleasure sure 
 In being mad, which none but madmen know. 
 
 DEYDEN. 
 
 LET tis journey far across the blue, tossing ocean, to 
 a foreign land, where Edward Dennett has taken refuge 
 from the sorrows that have tortured his lacerated heart. 
 It is a wild country, vast and beautiful; but alas, how 
 unlike his native shore! There are strange people in 
 its crowded cities on the seaboard, swarthy natives from 
 the island districts, rough herders, and excited miners, 
 sturdy, progressive Englishmen, highly satisfied because 
 they are on " Her Majesty s soil," broad-faced Holland 
 ers, and a few Americans. 
 
 What can a young man bred as a liberal-minded 
 American do in such a strange world? Life in the 
 cities could bring him no profit, and so the broad miles 
 of inland country must yield him the occupation which 
 will help him to forget his woes, and the strange land 
 around him. And again, what is more inviting than 
 the wild, free woods, which somehow vaguely remind 
 him of his own native forests of pine? 
 
 At first he tried the mining districts, but the work 
 was more than distastful to his fine nature. It was in 
 the latter part of October and early in November when 
 
EDWARD DENNETT S FORTUNES. 443 
 
 Edward arrived, and mining in Australia was being 
 largely discontinued on account of the hot months, so 
 that his occupation was very uncertain. And besides, 
 his associates were rough men, superior in their knowl 
 edge of local mining, and he was obliged to fill a sub 
 ordinate position while earning scarcely more than his 
 daily bread. It was at this time, seemingly the darkest 
 of his exile, that he received a letter from his mother. 
 It had been written shortly after his departure, and 
 arrived on the steamer that followed him. In it there 
 were many comforting expressions of tender love and 
 gentle advice, but it held out little hope that she could 
 ever join him in his new home. 
 
 " I cannot bear to think of such a change, my son," 
 she wrote. "I am growing old, you know, and this 
 home which has been mine so many years is the only 
 spot on earth where I could find contentment and rest. 
 I do not mind the new position in which I am placed; 
 it is only for your sake I suffer, so do not reproach your 
 self that your misfortune has spoiled my home for me. 
 I shall ever live in the strongest hope that your name 
 will be cleansed of all dishonor, and that you will 
 some time come back to me, my dear son, and to this 
 old home where the bright years of your childhood were 
 passed. Be brave, be strong, and wait. It will surety 
 come." Edward could not suppress a sigh. He loved 
 his mother very tenderly, and keenly felt the disap 
 pointment of his hope to see her kindly face in his utter 
 loneliness. But then the thought came to him of his 
 poor mother severing the ties which a quarter of a cen 
 tury had formed around her home, and the utter aim- 
 lessness of her life in a foreign land; and he bravely gaid 
 
444 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 to himself, " She is right; this is no place for her in her 
 declining years." At the last there had been a touch 
 of joy for him. It was Mabel s message. Mrs. Dennett 
 carefully wrote every word of comfort she could call to 
 mind, in her description of Mabel s departure, and at 
 last described the farewell at the gate, and Mabel s 
 parting words, " Tell him when at last he reaches home 
 my love will be waiting for him there." Strong man 
 that he was, the letter fluttered from his grasp. He 
 could never more think of an earthly home, he could 
 never expect to look into Mabel s face again. Ah! 
 could he do his part without one struggle to obtain 
 those earthly comforts, devoid of which the smoothest 
 path through life is hard indeed? 
 
 For a time that thought of Mabel sustained him. In 
 untiring toil he wore away the sharpness of his trouble, 
 taking a strange comfort out of the vague, shadowy 
 hope of the fulfilment of his dreams in another world. 
 It was well for him that such a stray wave of com 
 fort tided him over the most treacherous rocks of his 
 voyage. After a time he grew accustomed to his work 
 and surroundings and hopeless loneliness, and he could 
 look with clearer vision into his future years, and feel 
 somewhat reconciled to the cruel fate that so tortured 
 him. 
 
 His adversities should not altogether discourage him; 
 bereft of home and friends, an exile to a foreign coun 
 try, where every face that looked into his seemed 
 strange and cold, there was still something left for 
 him to do. He was a man still, let them call him 
 fiend as they would; and he had a work before him, a 
 long life to use for the sake of that mother far away, 
 
EDWARD DENNETT S FORTUNES. 445 
 
 for the sake of that dear friend whom he could never 
 hope to see again. He must live worthy of their mem 
 ory. Out of a new life and strange surroundings he 
 must fashion his path, bearing up against new dis 
 couragements if they met him, striving bravely on 
 ward to win at least the reward of a life well lived. 
 
 Fortune favored him after a month or so spent in the 
 mines. He fell in with a party of trappers, and found 
 an opportunity to change his mode of life by sharing 
 their labors. But their pursuit led them away into 
 wild, unsettled districts, so that although Edward felt 
 that his lot was growing better, there was still one dis 
 advantage, he could receive no news from his far-off 
 home. Their constant travel and ever-shifting camps 
 made it very uncertain where their letters could be 
 sent, and Edward found no opportunity to return to 
 the mines, where his mail had been directed. With 
 every touch on civilization, he sent a letter to his 
 mother. But he never received an answer from his 
 anxious messages. 
 
 The days slipped by, and still he patiently hoped and 
 waited for the long-delayed news that would come like 
 a picture of another life into his desolate existence. 
 
 But time had made him strong to bear his hard 
 ships, and it was well for him, for after the elapse of 
 two or three months there came another trial, more 
 severe than all, in which his new strength served him 
 well. It came in the form of an artful letter from Nellie 
 Minton, which by some chance had reached him. She 
 had obtained his address by a little stratagem practised 
 on his mother, and could not resist the desire to write 
 to him, offering her sympathy and regret for his ban- 
 
446 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 ishment. There were divers hints about the fire, and 
 little pleasantries which made his heart a good deal 
 lighter, until he reached the part where she had at 
 tempted to write him a word of news. He wondered 
 blindly, as he read it, how that terrible intelligence 
 could be written in the same careful, lady-like hand as 
 other parts of the letter; why it was that a hand which 
 could send him such a cruel blow did not tremble 
 slightly, out of pity for his pain. George was dead, 
 she had learned from friends in Locustville, who were 
 slightly agitated over the occurrence. She had not 
 heard anything further about it, not even the cause 
 of his death. Edward shuddered as he read the line. 
 
 Alas that George, who had been his bitterest foe, 
 should end his career and leave his victim suffering 
 still, when all earth s allurements perish with the clos 
 ing of the grave! It seemed hard indeed to Edward. 
 What purpose did it serve to George that his victim 
 should always bear the condemnation of his own 
 wrong? 
 
 He continued with his letter, only to find something 
 more bitter still. "I presume you have not heard 
 much from Mabel since she left Lucky Streak," Nellie 
 wrote. " Neither have I. She seems to have forgotten 
 her old friends, by such long silence; but then, you 
 know, mamma and I live so quietly here in our home 
 in the city that perhaps we do not seem quite fashion 
 able enough to suit her tastes. Her aunt is very am 
 bitious for her. Since their return I have heard that 
 they undertook a journey to the East on some society 
 call or other. And of course Mabel is happy; for not 
 withstanding their severe losses of property in the past 
 
EDWARD DENNETT S FORTUNES. 447 
 
 year the report is spreading that she has succeeded 
 in securing a very wealthy suitor. Well, that is not 
 strange. She is a very pretty girl, and such usually 
 strive to use their personal advantages for worldly 
 advancement. For my part, I am thoroughly glad to 
 hear it. She was not a girl who could endure poverty 
 of any description, although she was brave enough to 
 think so when at first threatened with it. I trust by 
 this time you have ceased to think of her. (Forgive 
 me, if by this I seem to be intruding into your private 
 affairs, but of course, being a friend a disinterested 
 friend of both of you, I could not help observing the 
 course of matters.) Mabel is at heart a very good, 
 sweet girl, but she is human, not quite divine, as you 
 seemed to think her once. She told me herself that 
 she never expected to see you again, and this, with her 
 aunt s influence, better explains why she so quickly 
 forgot you. There was no use clinging to a dead senti 
 ment, when the joys of life were inviting her from every 
 hand. Of course we cannot blame her, when she 
 chose a future of ease and comfort to the prospect of 
 nursing a memory in obscurity. If you had been 
 prosperous, her fancy for you might have continued; 
 as it is, the frail thing perished, and another sprang 
 up. Such a girl as she must live in sunshine, there 
 is no such thing as gloominess to her bright nature. 
 It should not matter so much if her sentiments are 
 fleeting; they are pleasant for the time. After she is 
 gone, one sees how shallow they were, and yet escapes 
 the sting they might have left, because they were so 
 short-lived. Her prospective future is the best possible 
 one for her; a rich husband, such as her betrothed will 
 
448 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 make, cares most for a pretty wife, and if her fancy is 
 only light, he can renew it every time he buys her a 
 little present, or humors her in some simple, girlish 
 whim. 
 
 " The wedding is to take place in the spring, in 
 March, I understand. One hears so many reports 
 about such a thing, I really do not know whether I 
 ought to forbear to tell you that Mabel is extremely 
 happy, and has declared her brightest hopes fulfilled 
 in the affection of the man she has chosen. 
 
 " All this I have written, feeling quite assured that 
 your admiration for her has so diminished with time 
 that you have come to realize her character better, 
 and will rejoice over her good fortune. I am sure I 
 should, if it were only for gratitude, because she ac 
 companied me to Lucky Streak last summer, where I 
 passed one of the most pleasurable seasons of my life, 
 among my old-time friends and the scenes of my 
 childhood. 
 
 " I cannot help expressing the satisfaction I feel in 
 hearing that you will soon return home, because of my 
 love for your mother and my friendship for yourself. 
 I am greatly rejoiced to hear that your troubles are 
 over." 
 
 With the reading of that letter Edward s comfort 
 and trust in Mabel s affection perished in spite of 
 himself. He felt assured that Nellie was striving, for 
 gome reason or other, to poison his mind against 
 Mabel, and yet she certainly must have truthfully 
 reported Mabel s expected marriage. Nellie was too 
 cunning ever to manufacture such a thing without a 
 foundation of truth. If Mabel could forget him in a 
 
449 
 
 few short months, and their mutual promises of unend 
 ing affection, or if she could marry without loving her 
 husband, he felt that he had been sadly mistaken in 
 her. The scales seemed to fall from his eyes. At the 
 first he had not dared to trust her. Alas! love had 
 made him blind, totally blind, until too late to save 
 himself! 
 
 But there had been something in Nellie s missive 
 which was very perplexing. He could not compre 
 hend why she had referred to his visit home, when he 
 had never hoped for such a thing. He did not know 
 that the good news which had never reached him was 
 already old to Nellie, or that her letter would never 
 have been written but for his good fortune. He could 
 not surmise that she had grossly exaggerated an un 
 certain report concerning Mabel, to serve immediately 
 her own schemes. After vainly studying over it, he 
 concluded to let the matter rest. 
 
 Ah! those weary days that followed! Edward 
 scarcely realized how much hope he had placed in 
 Mabel s love until he had to give it up. All through 
 his hardest struggles it had sustained and cheered 
 him. But he had now no sweet and unsullied memo 
 ries, except those of his mother. 
 
 After a few more weeks of waiting and suspense, 
 Edward at length decided to start for one of the large 
 cities on the coast, and there await his mother s an 
 swer, which he had requested should be directed there. 
 He felt that she was all he had left, only one, his 
 dear mother, remained true to her poor, unfortunate 
 boy. He clung to the solace which that love gave him 
 with a desperation akin to madness. 
 
450 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 On his way to the city he went to the mining camp 
 where he had first found employment. There, in the 
 dingy little office, the postmaster handed him a for 
 eign letter, which made his heart beat wildly with 
 both hope and fear. It was from his mother, and she 
 was well, he hastily gleaned as he opened it, and then 
 he more calmly read the letter. 
 
 MY BEAR SON EDWARD, 
 
 Your constant letters bring me comfort, but since I have been 
 hoping for your i-eturn, the weeks are endless, and each day closes 
 in a bitter disappoia oment because you have not arrived. Pardon 
 rny impatience. It results from the longing of a mother s heart. 
 
 My yearning breast schools itself to quietness by the conscious 
 ness of your comparative comfort during the few remaining days 
 which you must spend in exile, for the first letter that reaches you 
 will toll you of your good fortune. 
 
 My con, I cannot forbear thinking that some of those letters with 
 their " tidings of great joy " must have been received, and that you 
 are even now homeward bound. The proof of your innocence all 
 came about through our dear little friend, Lois Warren. A friend 
 of hers, Dr. Knapp, has charge of the hospital at Tenayee, where 
 George Brooklyn took refuge; for he was terribly burned that night 
 of the fire, and besides, as the result of his wounds and the exposure 
 to which he was subjected while making his escape from Lucky 
 Streak, he contracted a fever which proved fatal. It seems that he 
 Was once an admirer of Lois, and Dr. Knapp, being Lois s warm 
 friend, took an unusual interest in him. Thus it came about that 
 he made a dying confession of his guilt to the Doctor, since he com 
 mitted the crime for which you have been so cruelly banished. He 
 gave Dr. Knapp papers which substantiate your innocence, but I 
 dare not send them for fear of their miscarriage. But come home 
 and receive these precious documents from the hand of your mother, 
 and read your welcome in the faces of all your old friends. 
 
 I am going to tell you some news. A queer little cart, drawn 
 slowly along by a pretty cream-white horse, stopped before our door 
 one afternoon, and I was surprised to see the same bright little Lois 
 of long ago spring out, assisted by a stout, dignified personage whom 
 
451 
 
 she introduced as Dr. Knapp. They broke the joyful news they 
 brought me with studied delicacy. The Doctor has such a kind face 
 and manner that I was glad to see the warmest friendship existed 
 between them, and when he told me that Lois had only that morning 
 promised to become his wife, we all had reason to rejoice tog other. 
 Practical, energetic little Lois blushed like a rose when I kissed her, 
 after my congratulations to the Doctor, and this explained the soft 
 brightness of her bluebell eyes, which usually are so merry and 
 shrewd, you recollect. 
 
 They stayed to dinner, but I could not prevail upon them to make 
 me a longer visit, so they drove off again about sunset. I suppose 
 the prospect of a long moonlight drive was too tempting under the 
 circumstances. They were going clear down to Robinson s, for 
 Lois was home several weeks on a visit. I shall never forget her 
 little farewell wave of the hand, as she smiled back at me in the 
 rich golden glow of the waning light. She is a sweet girl, Edward, 
 one whom I have long loved. Her frequent visits here before she 
 went to teaching were a great delight to me, as you know. But I 
 had almost grown reconciled to her absence when Mabel Willis 
 came, though I fear Mabel, with all her charming ways, has not the 
 deep feeling and constancy which make Lois such a blessing to all 
 who love her. 
 
 I have not received a line from Mabel since she left. Still, re 
 membering her sweet, artless ways, we will not think ill of her. 
 Her aunt may have been displeased, and you know it would be un 
 wise to scorn the opportunities the world offers to one so fair as 
 Mabel. 
 
 In Mrs. Dennett s letter there was a brief account of 
 an occurrence which merits a fuller description. 
 
 Ever since Edward Dennett s departure, trusty, faith 
 ful, old Mike Logan had been over to see to things at 
 the Dennett place every day, after his work-hours at 
 the mine, and his watchful care extended to the ex 
 hausted claim of the Golden Deep. When opportunity 
 permitted, Mr. Logan would wend his way over the 
 quiet hills to this lonely retreat, and spend hours in 
 
452 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 the dark, silent rooms where the rusting machinery 
 and gloomy solitude spoke to him in a welcome lan 
 guage of the half-forgotten past. He was given to 
 brooding, in those days, over his lost Nita, and the 
 hopeless loneliness and desertion of these once busy 
 scenes seemed in accord with his grief. 
 
 One day as he passed the old town on his way he 
 caught sight of a latticed arbor with its falling rafters 
 entwined by a luxurious climbing rose running wild 
 and rank in its unregarded growth over the decaying 
 supports. A vision of Nita in her babyhood, which 
 seemed to him but yesterday, holding out her tiny 
 hands for clusters of the same bright flowers that were 
 budding out so crisply now, came before his eyes, and 
 made them dim with sorrow. 
 
 Hastily he turned his back upon the place to control 
 his grief. What would he have thought could he have 
 known that beneath that vine in the moisture rusted 
 the small, glittering dagger which she had dropped 
 when the fierce purpose of a blind vengeance had been 
 subdued by Mabel s tears? 
 
 The dash of fire and restless ambition in Nita s 
 character had always been a blank to her father; 
 and even her husband, John Gloucester, never fully 
 comprehended it. He had become a son to Mike 
 Logan, who learned to love his daughter s husband for 
 her sake. The young man had wept with deep sorrow 
 for her loss, and to her reported errors his ear was 
 almost deaf, for his heart was still clinging to the 
 romantic attachment he had formed for her, and he 
 excused every fault on the ground of youth and child 
 ish innocence. So it was, to those who loved her, that 
 
EDWARD DENNETT S FORTUNES. 453 
 
 the memory of poor, unfortunate Nita savored of a per 
 fume like the rare fragrance that exhaled from those 
 brilliant wild roses. 
 
 On this quiet sabbath morning in the early spring 
 the poor fellow wandered out to the abandoned mill, 
 and after making his usual tour of inspection, sat down 
 on an old pile of crumbling rock to muse and dream. 
 It was a perfect day, just when the new life of trees 
 and flowers seemed budding forth under the sunbeams 
 that grow warm with coming spring, and he was far 
 more contented and happy than he had been for many 
 a day. His thoughts, instead of brooding over his 
 lost Nita, returned to the days when the old mine was 
 in its glory, and that slender oar of gold above the 
 mill looked to him, hurrying through the dews each 
 morning to his work, like an emblem of marvellous 
 wealth beneath the soil. He could scarcely realize 
 how suddenly the profitable workings had failed and 
 the mine had been closed. 
 
 He was looking thoughtfully up at the queer little 
 weather-vane, outlined against the emerald hills be 
 yond, and wondering how it had kept so bright through 
 the storms of many winters, when suddenly the ground 
 appeared to rise under his feet. Then the decaying 
 walls of the old mill began to shake and sway before 
 his stunned senses. The air was rent by a sound as 
 muffled and awful as if a score of thunder-bolts had 
 broken in the deep galleries of the mine beneath. The 
 sound swelled out, reverberating through the mountains 
 and along the gorges, echoing and re-echoing, until the 
 stillness that followed contrasted itself with the great 
 voice that had gone forth, and made it seem still more 
 terrific. 
 
454 ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 After considerable speculation about earthquakes 
 and the explosion of gases, he at last concluded that it 
 must have been caused by the caving of one of the in 
 clines, and later on he felt an uncontrollable curiosity 
 to pry into the secret. 
 
 He started for Lucky Streak, where he told his story 
 to the crowds of idlers in the saloons, but it only excited 
 loud bursts of laughter from the incredulous miners, 
 who attributed the sound to some blast from a neighbor 
 ing mine. At last, after he had interrupted the interest 
 in the games of cards, he prevailed upon a dozen or more 
 of the miners to go. They set out well provided with 
 ropes and chains for the repair of the cage at the mine, 
 but afternoon had begun to cast its shadows over the 
 eastward slopes of the pine-wrapped hills before they 
 had ascertained that the old machinery was in perfect 
 working order. 
 
 When all was in readiness, four men, Logan among 
 them, took their places in the cage, and were slowly 
 lowered into the well-like winze of the mine. At every 
 foot of the descent a pause was made, until a shout 
 from the men gave the order to go ahead. It was a 
 dangerous piece of work, they all knew, for another 
 explosion might occur, or the walls might bury them 
 under crumbling heaps of earth and rock, and they 
 who worked the machinery at the top looked down 
 with feelings of awe and wonder upon the flickering 
 torches that made weird shadows around the little 
 party far below in the deep shaft. 
 
 At length a shout from the dim underground cave 
 called u Halt," and the men had reached the first level. 
 As Logan sprang out of the cage, he stumbled over a 
 little mound of rocks, from the top of which a small 
 
EDWARD DENNETT S FORTUNES. 455 
 
 pocket-book fell. He picked it up, examined it to find 
 that it was closely written through with lead-pencil, 
 and placed it in his pocket unnoticed. After a few pre 
 cautions, and experiments for choke-damp with their 
 torches, the other men started boldly out on a tour of 
 investigation, singing gayly a queer old song, that an 
 swered back in soft, musical echoes from every passage 
 way and drift. 
 
 They were fearless fellows, who worked underground 
 at Lucky Streak, and felt no fear of earthy rooms; while 
 Logan was a mill-hand whose experience was limited 
 in such matters, so his nerves were quite unstrung for 
 a time, and he continually gave warnings to the others 
 about being too venturesome. "I ll be hanged if I 
 don t smell powder," said one miner, a middle-aged 
 man, sniffing the air, and cautiously peering about. 
 " I wonder if there hain t been an explosion. I once 
 hearn old man Dennett say, peace to his ashes! he 
 was n t much like the bad weed of that name who fol- 
 lered him, he once told me that a big lot of gun 
 powder was left in here after the closing of the mine. 
 It was said to be damaged, and they did n t have no 
 use for it, so they left it be. I recollect it, because a 
 lot of us had a notion of taking it for ourselves, but 
 we finally gave it up." 
 
 " Drat my heart! I smell it, too," said another, grow 
 ing more excited. a We d better wheel in and get the 
 cage ready to go back. There might be a right smart 
 of that thar stuff here that 11 blaze away afore we get 
 out, anyway." 
 
 "Be aisy, boys!" said Logan. "Yez nadent be in 
 such a rush. We 11 go slow, and foind the thing now 
 we re down." 
 
456 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 Into the long, dark drifts the red light of the smoking 
 torches pierced, resting now a moment on some brown, 
 damp, jutting rock, then sparkling in fitful ripples on 
 the black water pools underfoot, or glancing along some 
 swollen timber or broken pipe. The miners at last 
 grew discouraged in their slow, toilsome search, and 
 only groped carefully about, looking part way into the 
 musty drifts, from which even the damp, poisoned air 
 seemed almost exhausted, and always keeping near 
 the cage, till Logan, frightened and inexperienced as 
 he was, in his eager desire to fathom the mystery, felt 
 compelled to take the lead. 
 
 At length, over on one side of the mine, he discovered 
 a dark passage-way, which looked at a distance as if it 
 had been filled up with dirt and rubbish. On going 
 nearer, and steadying as much as possible the flicker 
 ing flame of his torch, he could see that a heavy clod 
 was slowly rolling down the side of the earth mound, 
 and that a sprinkling of fresh dirt covered the ground 
 around him. Carefully he ventured forward toward 
 the mysterious corner, calling to his companions to 
 follow him, until at last lie stood near the passage-way, 
 where the walls had been ploughed into a mass of 
 moist, powdered earth, where a ledge cropping out of 
 the wall was crumbled, and huge masses of rock, cleft 
 in twain, hung over fissures freshly torn out of solid 
 walls, and where flinty splinters scattered about bore 
 witness that some mighty blast had rent the strong 
 foundations of the earth. 
 
 "It s the powder," whispered the elder miner, draw 
 ing back. "You know, Logan, that was the place 
 where they used to put it first, he continued, pointing 
 
EDWARD DENNETT S FORTUNES. 457 
 
 toward the mass of debris in the drift. Most of the 
 men started back, muttering something about another 
 explosion, but Logan, dropping on one knee by the 
 shivered ledge of rock, picked out a piece of broken 
 quartz and examined it critically by the glare of bis 
 torch. 
 
 " Begorra, boys! " he cried quickly. "It s gold I m 
 after foinding here"; and he held up the broken rock 
 in a frenzy of excitement. The miners pressed nearer, 
 and took the precious stone from Logan s trembling 
 hands. Yes, there surely was a streak of gold embed 
 ded in the hard, glittering quartz; and lo! on the other 
 side, a great nugget, at one end flattened from a fan of 
 gleaming, lacy network into a soft, dim mass of heavy 
 yellow metal. Eager hands tore at the ledge, and loud 
 ejaculations echoed away into the dim recesses of the 
 mine, as yellow veins were laid open, showing glinting, 
 fern-like sprays, soft, thin, shiny flakes, and rich, round 
 nuggets, lying in the midst of long spikes and spar 
 kling grains, all hiding in the warm heart of the dull, 
 brown earth. Thoughts came too fast for words, while 
 the miners, heedless of scratches and bruises from the 
 sharp rocks, burrowed into the open fissure until the 
 last gold-gemmed stone was loosened, and the precious 
 harvest lay heaped in an open, cradle-like section of 
 broken pipe behind them. 
 
 No fear they felt of a second blast in the face of that 
 glorious treasure. They were even desperate to dive 
 farther; and one man, seizing a piece of wood from 
 the wrecked timber supports, plunged it with all his 
 strength into the harrowed pile of earth and broken 
 rock at the closed mouth of the drift. Others followed 
 
458 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 his example, until the little force were furiously scat 
 tering damp clods in all directions, and loose stones 
 that gave a promise of golden worth were tossed care 
 lessly behind them into a pile for future examination. 
 Even the loose, crumbled soil seemed heavy and rich 
 with that golden shower, and each stroke of their sticks 
 seemed to the half-crazed men about to open a pocket 
 lined with sheets of solid gold. 
 
 At length, in the midst of that wild confusion, one 
 stopped and looked earnestly at something white, half 
 buried in the mound before them. The others paused 
 a moment to look also, and one gave it a push with 
 his piece" of board. It was no rock, that soft white 
 thing; it was not stiffened paper, so wrinkled yet so 
 firm. Was it yes, surely, oh, horrible, ghastly 
 sight! it was a human hand severed from the body, 
 pale, and stained with earth, convulsively stretched 
 wide open, and stiffened in that strange position. 
 "Holy Virgin!" cried Logan, blessing himself and 
 throwing down his stick. "It s graves we re digging 
 into, boys, and it s bad luck we ll get of it all." 
 
 One miner lifted the terrible thing into the air, 
 while from it dangled long, pearly tendons and pieces 
 of mangled flesh. A profound silence fell over the 
 little party, and for some moments no word was ut 
 tered, and no sound broke the awful stillness, until 
 one miner said, in a loud, strained voice, " Let s look 
 closer; what s that on the finger?" Sure enough, 
 there was a ring on one of the shrunken fingers, a 
 pretty cameo ring, delicate, yet richly carved in an 
 tique fashion; and with one accord the miners looked 
 into each other s faces and said softly, "Knowlcs!" 
 
EDWARD DENNETT S FORTUNES. 459 
 
 " He was getting crazier every day," said one. " Some 
 thing 11 come out yet. He helped Brooklyn with the 
 fire, we can be mighty certain from the looks of things. 
 He never acted straight after it; and I ve been a-lookin 
 for suthin like this here to happen every day." 
 
 "He s been doing penance, the poor divil!" said 
 Logan. "And mighty good penance it was! " he added, 
 pointing to the ore heap, to explain his ghastly joke; 
 and thinking of the book in his pocket, he suggested 
 that they search no farther until they had gone above 
 ground to report their discovery of the body and Ed 
 ward Dennett s newly found fortune. The proposition 
 was readily accepted, so anxious were the miners to 
 disclose their strange story; and so, loading themselves 
 with their golden treasures, they seated themselves 
 again in the cage, and shouted for the men at the top 
 to " Hoist away." What wonder that excitement ran 
 high when the miners neared the top of the winze and 
 shouted up their great discoveries? It was almost 
 past belief, until the glittering quartz was displayed, 
 with its golden seams and nuggets; and the men, 
 once more upon the green, bright surface of the earth, 
 started breathlessly toward the town with their won 
 derful story about the Golden Deep. 
 
 That night in Mrs. Dennett s library the strange 
 pocket-book was read. On the fly-leaf it bore the 
 name of James P. Knowlcs, and on the first few pages 
 some unimportant accounts were set down, while far 
 ther over on the last blank leaves a strange diary had 
 been kept of a day s experience in the mine. After 
 the Doctor s visit to Mr. Sevenoakes, Knowlcs had 
 
460 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 gradually lost his mind, becoming morbidly fearful 
 that the secret of his crime would be divulged. Mr. 
 Sevenoakes had repeatedly assured him of his safety, 
 and advised him to leave the scenes around Lucky 
 Streak forever, with the resolution to retrieve his evil 
 life in a more friendly locality, but the poor wretch had 
 persistently refused. It was supposed that in an insane 
 freak he had wandered over to the Golden Deep, and 
 had formed the resolution to explore the mysteries of 
 the shaft. He had lowered himself into its black 
 depths, and when he had reached the floor of the first 
 level, hoisted the cage empty to the top again, leaving 
 himself hopelessly imprisoned in a living tomb. 
 
 The diary in the pocket-book explained somewhat 
 the terrible hallucination which had caused him to ex 
 plode the blasting-powder. 
 
 March 10th. 
 
 Oh what joy! My first impulse after thanking Heaven is to write 
 of the great peace I feel that I may at least die in the light. Though 
 I have no hope of deliverance, and perhaps no one may ever pene 
 trate to my dark underground tomb until both thb record and I 
 shall have been dissolved to earth, yet my wild brain must find 
 some relief, and I will write to give to the explorer after the world s 
 great motor gold something, though naught but a dead and un- 
 speaking wail of a human brother who lived and suffered and per 
 ished long ago. 
 
 I must explain how I came here. But my brain is clouded; my 
 thoughts whirl around like a vast wheel, so fast that I can catch 
 nothing until at last it stops, and I see everything plain, and its 
 tangled shape is made perfect again; but alas! the next moment all 
 is lost, and I am weakly striving to remember and understand, while 
 nothing rewards me but the consciousness that I am a human being 
 shut up in a deep, chill cave far under the earth, and my wildest 
 screams can only waken dull, hollow echoes from its terrible gal 
 leries. 
 
 Let me collect my thoughts. It seoms years ago that one pleas- 
 
461 
 
 ant day I came to this mine we called it the Golden Deep on an 
 investigating exploration. I descended to the first level, there are 
 two, and the lower one is partly filled with water, and began ex 
 ploring about until I came to a corner dug out, which was shut away 
 from the rest of the mine by a spring-door. It had been used to pro 
 tect blasting-powder, when it was not immediately used, after being 
 brought below surface. "After I explore this hole," I had said, "I 
 must go above-ground," but I missed my bunch of keys, and went 
 back to look for it in the powder-room, and the door springing back 
 by the prop which held it open falling, I was imprisoned behind thick 
 walls of earth in a damp and noisome place, stifled for want of air, 
 and with no hope except the shadowy one that some friend would 
 miss me, and finding that I had undertaken to explore the mine, 
 would think of the dark passage-way that led to my prison. 
 
 Ah! who could paint the agony of that hour ? The first moments 
 were terrible. The perspiration rolled from my forehead in rivers. 
 I tore at the slimy walls with my nails, I screamed, I roared; but 
 the door and the walls were solid. All was blackness above and 
 below, and all around me, until I wondered if I were really in the 
 flesh, or only a spirit without sight or consciousness, save that I was 
 suffering the torments of the damned in the darkness of the pit. I 
 was suffocating. A heavy weight was npon my chest, a thousand 
 clanging bells were ringing in my ears, and the vague thought came 
 to my mind through hundreds of other thoughts and feelings, the 
 relieving hope, that I was dying. 
 
 After long unconsciousness I awoke again, awoke, but I could 
 remember nothing for a long time, not even one thought about 
 the outside world, and lay as insensate and torpid as the crawling 
 reptiles that went sliding about the slippery floor with me. I was 
 lying on my face, so weak that I could not rise, but I reached out 
 to the walls, and my hands met with a heavy, wood-like substance. 
 Soon they came to what seemed to be the edge of this hard material, 
 and the soil beneath it felt more dry and smooth than elsewhere 
 about the walls. Then my thoughts came back to me with a sud 
 den rush, not to bring the blank misery of despair, but the blessed 
 realization that though death threatened, life was still mine, and 
 that this was the door under which there was a crack that let in air. 
 I might dig, then, with the surety that I was not working in the 
 wrong direction into the solid earth. With my knife I began, and 
 
462 AEOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 burrowed so rapidly that soon I had a hole large enough to sink 
 my arm in, and I knew by the relief I felt that the air was rushing 
 through. I drank ifc in with an unquenchable thirst for a time, and 
 then I could rise. Over in one corner I remembered to have seen a 
 rack on which the powder was often placed to keep it dry. It was 
 decayed and falling, but I found an iron prop fastened to a piece of 
 broken wood, so I firmly grappled both and tried to twist them off. 
 The wood was swelled and covered with blistering fungi, so that it 
 was hard to hold, but with the strength of desperation I wrenched 
 them loose. The iron had a pointed end, it was a good tool, 
 and so I found the door again, and just beside it I began my 
 work. What use to relate my toil ? I had no thoughts but to dig. 
 Rocks flew into my face and fell upon my feet; wet clods spattered 
 down and sometimes suffocated me, so that I was compelled to seek 
 relief and rest at my ventilator under the door; but still I worked, 
 until at length, after long hours, the final barrier crumbled, and I 
 was free. I was free for what ? Only one blessing, that of light; 
 for was I not deep down in the forgotten mine, where soon star 
 vation and the vile breath of the decaying timbers would destroy 
 me ? From a narrow passage I beheld a glow, and groping toward 
 it slowly, and feeling my way lest I should fall through some deep 
 winze or into a rotting pool, I found my torch all burned but the 
 final inch, which drew from me shouts of gladness, repeated by the 
 echoes back like thousands of dull groans and faint whispers from 
 the peopled blackness of the galleries beyond. By this ray of light 
 I found other torches; and now I satisfy my hunger with the loath 
 some creatures that share my abode. I write to keep away the burn 
 ing madness that creeps over me, and wait for death. 
 
 Yesterday a man, very thin and very tall, whose hair and face 
 and eyes were snowy white, only the latter burned like stars 
 when he spoke, came slowly up out of the black pool in the cor 
 ner of my cave, and stood before me. " What is your mission ? " I 
 asked. 
 
 "To show you all the great, strange mechanism of the under- 
 earth," he said, in a loud voice that shook the rocks from the crum 
 bling walls. And then a pure white fire burned around his feet, like 
 a cloud, and a faint music, sweet and rare, was struck from chords 
 far under the earth. 
 
EDWARD DENNETT S FORTUNES. 4G3 
 
 "Come," ne said; and immediately the ground fell away from 
 before him, where the white flame burned, and clasping me, 
 together we sank far underground, the solid rock even melting to 
 make us a path, but closing again behind us. We passed through 
 wonderful veins of gold hidden in ledges deep down in the bosom of 
 the soil, and now and then a garnet or rich frond like a diamond 
 fell into the burning fumes of fire that ploughed our way. After 
 long journeying we came at last to what the stranger told me was 
 the soil below the mines of Lucky Streak. I told him the name 
 sounded familiar; but he said, O no, I had never heard it before, 
 and we must keep very still, for we were soon to stand under a 
 boring where the voices of the miners could be heard. We listened. 
 Click, click, sounded a picking hammer. Finally a voice: "Put out 
 that light, boys, over in the tunnel to the left; water 13 dripping 
 there." Then again: " Hoist away, all ready." Presently came 
 a rumbling sound, that seemed to disturb even the ground around 
 us, and then a rattling, and I asked in wonder, "What is it?" 
 "Only the car coming down the incline." Silence for a long time, 
 and again a voice, oh Heaven! my Mabel s, sweet and clear, just 
 as I remember it so well, saying, "How lonely it is here when the 
 miners are gone! I do not like it so well. Tis not pleasant to 
 miss the lights on their hats, making the place bright, and the toil 
 ing army of men scattered into every nook and cranny." "No, 
 my dear, it is not pleasant; and besides, the air is getting chilly, so 
 I must take you up again; these mildewed fungi breathe malaria, 
 too; so come." Edward Dennett s voice ! Thank heaven, he always 
 guards her ! Something made me shudder and grow weak. "We 
 must go," said my guide. "The poison air that comes to us from, 
 the mine is making you ill. " 
 
 We travelled far, often for miles through solid rock, and after a 
 time came to where the earth was loose; and yet we travelled very 
 slowly. "Why do we not go faster when we can make our way so 
 easily ? " I inquired. We are coming to a cemetery, and are near 
 the surface, so I must be careful not to disturb the grass. I shall 
 let you look upon the faces of the dead in Locustville." He com 
 manded the fir to burn quietly, and it smouldered for a time, until 
 at length the fumes cleared away, retiring like a lining to the four 
 walls, and there glowed steadily in a bright, refulgent light. In 
 the centre of our square space was a long, black casket with 
 
4G4 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 withered flowers upon it. We stood in silence. I removed my hat, 
 and the Spirit of the Ground took off his crown, made of crisp, 
 bright crystals from the ice-caves. " Shall we look upon his face ? " 
 he said. I bent and read what was engraved upon the plate, 
 "George Brooktyn, aged 30 years"; and then I looked at the face. 
 He was lying partly on his side, and his expression was calm and 
 peaceful; his hands, white and cold and deathly, were laid upon his 
 breast, while around him were scattered dry and crumbling rose 
 leaves. One had fallen upon his face, and I tried to move him to 
 shako it off, and as I lifted up his head I saw that the whole side of 
 his face was scorched and scarred. "Alas ! " I cried to the spirit, 
 "we have burned him." And then my words dissolved the spell, 
 the scene had passed away, and the white flame spurted forth again 
 in a brilliant cloud of incandescent loveliness. Soon we were mov 
 ing on, our strange fire purifying all decay, past graves in which 
 were lying the young and fair, half fallen into dust, sometimes a 
 plump cheek gone, and sometimes the pale hands withered; past the 
 old, lying dead with silver locks grown long about their peaceful 
 faces, all wrapped in that breathless calm that enchains them till 
 the last great call. We began to sink deep again, and after long 
 silence and much journeying, the Ground Spirit said we were very 
 far down in the earth, travelling under the boundless ocean-bed, with 
 miles of purple waves tossing above us. We came upon old wrecks, 
 which the drifting, restless waters had buried deep in the settling 
 sands and matted sea-weeds until the waters rolled above. Thero 
 were queer things in them, bright jewels, human bones preserved, 
 the strange machinery of the olden times, and quaint little boats in 
 which the fishers long ago drifted over the smooth, sparkling waters, 
 and under the soft, azure sky, feeling as if they sailed between two 
 tender, gentle heavens. 
 
 "Only one thing more will I show you," said the spirit; and in 
 stantly we went crashing through a bed of rock that turned to a field 
 of diamonds as we sped on. Millions of brilliant gems were crushed, 
 the bright powder flying like sparks of fire, and making magnificent 
 halos of light all about the larger stones that were falling heavily, 
 yet glowing as suns, with glistenings of purple and scarlet and green, 
 into the fire around us. In dew-like showers they fell, shivered 
 sometimes to long splinters like needles, rounded at others like 
 smooth, lustrous pearls or drops of water. "This is part of my 
 
EDWARD DENNETT S FORTUNES. 4G5 
 
 work," said the Spirit of the Ground. "I always plough through 
 the diamond bowlders, to break and crumble them." After this he 
 breathed upon me, and I saw no more, until he said in a loud voice, 
 " Arouse ! we arc nearing the Golden Deep"; and I awoke just in 
 time to get a glimpse of our path as we were rising to enter the 
 mine. We rose from the powder-room, and I saw, as we passed up, 
 a marvellous pocket of gold, rich, heavy nuggets embedded in buried 
 ledges, which we loosened, cropping out even to the surface of the 
 excavation. I was entranced with wonder. "This mine is not a 
 useless one," I said; but the spirit answered not. He placed me 
 where I sat when he took me away, stood for a space in silent majesty 
 before mo, while sweet, harp-like music floated through the dark, 
 echoing tunnels, said a farewell that haunted me long with its awful 
 grandeur, and then disappeared into the pool whence he came forth. 
 
 There are gates of ivory in the heavens. One night it wag 
 night because the stars were shining when we rose from earth a 
 troop of spirits gave me wings to fly with them far into the vast re 
 gions of space. The stars that I have so often watched on balmy 
 summer evenings in my night vigils, or when sleeping out under the 
 clear winter skies, while they burned like constellations of diamonds 
 through the blackness of space, grew larger and more beautiful as we 
 flew toward them. Faint through the misty whiteness of unnum 
 bered worlds other stars appeared, that had never been revealed to 
 the naked eye looking upward from the world below. I looked back 
 to the earth whence we came. Morning must have broken over it 
 since we left, for all about it shone a white glory of light, reaching 
 far up to where the atmosphere merged into space, yet crystal as a 
 covering of water. There were its dark blue seas washing against 
 the shores of silver that quickly blended into green, the mountains 
 white tipped and gleaming, and the lakes and rivers purely bright, 
 shining in the new day. And then came that thought about the in 
 finite power of vision, and the slow travelling of light, that supposes 
 one to stand with these wonderful eyes upon a distant planet, and 
 the light from the world which must journey eighteen hundred years 
 to reach him bears pictures of scenes in the old Bible days. No ac 
 tion is ever lost; no deed is ever done that cannot be viewed from 
 some orb of the skies where this light can be seen. 
 
 We passed the moon. It was cold and white, and wrapped as in 
 
466 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 a veil with a silvery, golcl-lighte d inist. After that came the deep 
 serenity of space beyond, suns terrible in their destroying glare, 
 planets swinging in their unyielding orbits, constellations stretching 
 far out in a billowy cloud of whiteness. Nebula after nebula were 
 revealed. Countless thousands ay, myriads of worlds were 
 passed, systems great and small, with their planets and satellites, 
 and comets that shook their showers of flashing meteors through 
 illimitable tracts of space; until wearied, I asked of the spirits, 
 " Where is the roof of heaven ? " 
 
 "The roof of heaven," "the roof of heaven," they answered. 
 
 " Or where is the gate ? " 
 
 "The gate," "the gate," was all I heard. 
 
 " Tell me ! " I cried, in the agony of alarm, for we seemed floating 
 on forever through the boundless regions of the stars. As I spoke, 
 sheets of flame blew past us, and then darkness quenched the 
 light of all the stars, and we were lifted up and up, we knew nob 
 whither. Then I was in ecstacies, I was filled with raptures of 
 which I had never even dreamed before. We stopped, and a sudden 
 rolling sound came to us, and then as light broke dimly on our be 
 nighted senses, Paradise opened out before our entranced vision. 
 Light pure and holy and soft shed floods of glory over all, long 
 vistas, bright aisles, gorgeous streams of light, were there. Great 
 raptures of melody, such as satisfied all we miss in our earthly har 
 monies, drifted out to our charmed senses, for here the soul of music 
 dwelt. Far as the eye could see stretched the fields of glory, and 
 away down through the centre swept a broad pathway like a river 
 of glass leading up to the limitless gates of pearl, that opened into 
 heaven itself; they extended upward till their tops were hidden in 
 the unbearable light, the indescribable beauty of the everlasting 
 day; they reached far out on either side, till the mind could not com 
 prehend their immensity. 
 
 I looked again, and behold! two gates of ivory had rolled apart to 
 reveal this glimpse of Paradise; but we were still without. And 
 then a mighty angel, terrible in his majesty, said: "Man, what 
 dost thou here at the gate of Paradise in thy garb of fleshly world- 
 liness ? " But I could answer not; so he said again, "Ye, born Tipon 
 the earth, organic being from a world organic, how canst thou con 
 ceive of aught else but that things have still a beginning and an end ? 
 How can a mind chained to its prison of flesh grasp eternity iu ita 
 
4G7 
 
 understanding? Knowest thou not the rules of earth still bind 
 theo ? Over thee the law of gravitation yet holds its sway; thou 
 canst not comprehend what is not up or clown, below or above. The 
 bliss of heaven thou canst not enjoy in thy present temple of flesh; 
 no sense of the great glory rewards thee for being here. In the free 
 spirit come, and delights insufferable to thee now await thee cleansed 
 from thy taint of earth." 
 
 "Oh what shall I do to comprehend and reach that heavenly state ? " 
 I asked. 
 
 Then the angel looked very tenderly down upon me, shone with a 
 renewed loveliness, and said, what I had learned long years ago at 
 my mother s knee, "He that belie veth in Me I will in no wise cast 
 out. Haste thee back to earth again, for thou art coming soon. 
 Mark well the time, prepare! " And then the ivory gates closed 
 round, and we were left without in darkness; the torments of the 
 condemned seemed to seize me, weights of a thousand tons were 
 pressing on my frame; and yet I could not die, though excruciating 
 agonies racked me, though I could neither hear nor see, though my 
 brain seemed crushed to atoms. Long lines of white stretching far 
 across a black, immeasurable gulf presented themselves to a sense 
 within me rather than to my oiitward vision, and over these inter 
 minable, silvery cords I swiftly flew, borne on and on like light 
 ning through an unending cycle, till I roused myself with one last 
 wild effort of despair, and cried to the spirits who followed me, 
 "Oh! will this last forever?" 
 
 "Forever!" "forever!" they echoed. Along lament my sorely 
 wrought soul was forced to utter in its anguish, and the spell was 
 broken. The clear light of the stars broke over me again, the sub 
 lime perfection of the heavens unrolled itself to my released senses, 
 and soothed my unutterable tortures to an end. Far, far below, 
 through the mists of a hundred million spheres we journeyed, till a 
 bright little planet glowed beneath us, my world again, first like 
 a great brilliant moon outlined by the velvety blackness of space be 
 hind it, but growing larger and fairer, till its outlines were distinct, 
 and its rugged surface engraved with the old familiar pictures of ter 
 restrial beauty. The unsatisfied ambitions of the world came over 
 me, and we were indeed back again; and thoiigh I humbly begged 
 the spirits to leave me on the iair, green world, they only mockingly 
 repeated my request, and flew with me to my earthy den, and Lffc 
 
468 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 me to ponder on my wonderful journey skyward to explore the in 
 exhaustible splendors of the heavens. 
 
 If I could but follow the grave, majestic Spirit of the Ground! 
 He will never return, I fear; and yet if I had his power of plough 
 ing through the solid granite stretching in mountain chains across 
 the hemisphere, what gold and gems and wealth of prehistoric 
 times should be mine! But best of all, I could scatter showers 
 iloods of gold and treasure over the mining town, as we, like 
 liends, scattered the all-consuming flames that night. And then 
 they would forget their dire misfortune in this new gladness. 
 
 My torch is smoking. What a cold, sickly light! It nickers in 
 this noisome atmosphere, and longs, lingers, fairly thirsts, as I do, 
 for a bright, warm ray of sunshine. I wish the soft, bright beams 
 of the sun would fall upon me, making dry and glossy again this 
 clammy, dripping hair, which presses upon my head like the cruel 
 hand of an evil jinnee. Oh, that I could feel the sunshine folded 
 about me with its warm and clingkig folds of light. The soft 
 beams would press my forehead like dear, loving hands, and clear 
 away these mists and tangled webs that make me feel so strange and 
 terrible at times. Hark! I hear again the voices of the angels. Why 
 was it that I did not go with them ? Repent, they said, and come. I 
 have bitterly and sincerely repented, but I cannot go. Ah! why did 
 I not think of it before ? I will leave this nobe-book at the foot of 
 the shaft, for I will never return, since I have found wings, and can 
 at last escape. The end of this glimmering torch will set off the 
 powder in the powder-room, and on the wings of light which will 
 unfold from the dark mass I shall soar upward, straight upward, 
 beyond the starry systems of the suns, and the gates of ivory, to 
 the fountain-head of eternal light and peace. 
 
MABEL S JOURNEY. 469 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 MABEL S JOURNEY. 
 
 There is a comfort in the strength of love; 
 
 T will make endurable which else would break the heart. 
 
 WORDSWORTH. 
 
 THE winter came. Far away in their city home on 
 the coast, where the pearly fog-banks wrapped the earth 
 in a steamy mantle, arid over the wind-blown hills the 
 earliest rains fell like a shower of verdure, where the 
 wintry sun still beamed with a semi-tropical brightness, 
 and made snow-drifts out of the long white stretches of 
 sand, Mabel and her aunt scarcely realized that autumn 
 had not melted into spring. One day Mrs. Willis, after 
 a week s mysterious behavior, informed her niece that 
 they were on the eve of a journey East. "We are too 
 poor to stay here for the winter," she said. " The mite 
 we have loft would vanish entirely after half a season s 
 gayety. So we must hide ourselves from the reach of 
 fashion s demands." 
 
 Mrs. Willis did not add what her private reasons 
 were for this step, nor excuse her previous conduct when 
 she had been so inexorably averse to a life isolated 
 from society, on Mabel s suggestion that they find a 
 quiet home in her loved hills. She had reasoned it out 
 in this wise: that Mabel was young yet; she could not 
 afford to lose her darling for a year or so at least, and 
 hence a season in an old-fashioned Yankee town at the 
 
470 AROTJND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 quiet home of her grandfather would not be BO misspent 
 as to injure the young girl s prospects in life. Besides, 
 this course would be prudent for economical reasons. 
 But aside from these arguments in its favor, there was 
 another, more powerful than any of the rest. Edward 
 Dennett had risen up among Mrs. Willis s mental file 
 of traitorous villains ready to steal Mabel, the most 
 black-hearted and dangerous of them all. The others 
 dwindled into mere pigmies in comparison to him. She 
 had been ignorant in regard to the true state of affairs, 
 until Mabel s paling cheek had given warning that some 
 weighty trouble was the cause of it. She came to her 
 senses at once, and realized that the affair had already 
 gone on far too long, that Mabel really loved that young 
 man who had spent his life in the mines, and whose 
 name was disgraced by the charge of a heinous crime. 
 
 He would soon tire of his exile, and come hovering 
 around to get a glimpse of Mabel, or write to her, and 
 stir up matters afresh. 
 
 The best thing possible would be to get Mabel out of 
 the way, where no letter would reach her, and no mes 
 sages or even news could be exchanged. 
 
 Hence it was only on the eve of their departure that 
 Mabel was informed of their projected journey, lest 
 a clandestine correspondence might begin while the 
 plans were maturing. Mabel received the intelligence 
 in silence, and made her simple preparations without a 
 rnurrnur. What could it matter to her when her heart 
 would surely ache, whithersoever she might go? Would 
 it not be better to bury those haunting memories in new 
 scenes and a new life? And so they went. 
 
 The winter passed. It was a long, long, dreary one 
 
MABEL S JOURNEY. 471 
 
 to Mabel in their snow-bound retreat, and often there 
 came to her visions of her far-off California home, with 
 its flowery hills, its balmy air, its matchless beauties. 
 But when spring peeped up through the white coverlet 
 on the ground in the form of dainty May-flowers, they 
 prepared to turn their faces to that glorious land of 
 the setting sun, toward which Mabel s weary, homesick 
 heart turned with nameless longing. Hers was not a 
 love which loves lightly and forgets. Her whole faith, 
 the beauty, the poetry, the longing of her nature, were 
 expressed in it. Ah! then how could she cast it all 
 aside, and take up other joys, forgetful of the past? 
 She did not brood with inconsolable pain over her sor 
 row , but her delicate, sensitive heart had been touched 
 too deeply for the wound to heal with the balm of time 
 and absence; and so, although her spirits were light 
 and her manner as sweetly joyous as of old, there was 
 a memory in her heart too sacred for the outer world 
 to look upon, which brought her hours of tender long 
 ing and regret, and darkened all her inner life with a 
 melancholy shadow. 
 
 Mrs. Willis noted every indication of returning cheer 
 fulness in Mabel with satisfaction, and after a little 
 discreet questioning, decided that all the danger which 
 had so troubled her was past, and she could at last go 
 home. Mabel s heart thrilled with joy through every 
 mile of their westward journey. 
 
 Somehow in her mind her distant California home, 
 with its fair, blue mountains, its wide, sunny valleys 
 of grain, its semi-tropic bloom, and the dreamy atmos 
 phere of the old pastoral days of the Spanish dominion, 
 still breathing with luxurious quiet through the stir- 
 
472 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 ring life which later thronged its gold-browed hills, 
 seemed like a dream of Paradise, where life could not 
 be anything but sweet and peaceful. The first vision 
 of its snowy peaks, trembling like white clouds on the 
 low horizon, brought a rapture unspeakable. Perhaps 
 somewhere among those gleaming summits he whom 
 she loved BO fondly waited with strong courage and 
 patient fortitude that time when the blighted promise 
 of his earnest life should bloom; and then, ah! the 
 hope was sweet if vain, perhaps he might be waiting 
 with glad tidings for her anxious heart. 
 
 Home at last! Home that was dearer now than it 
 ever was before, with its old associations of her girlish 
 dreams, its calm delights, its welcome rest! 
 
 All the long winter Mabel had not received the 
 slightest message from those friends her heart held so 
 dear in the far-distant mountains; and after a little 
 conscientious deliberation, she decided to write to Mrs. 
 Dennett without her aunt s knowledge. It seemed so 
 cruel, she felt, to neglect them in their misfortune, and 
 it would not matter if Aunt Cynthia discovered her 
 act after the letter was sent. So she wrote a long mes 
 sage, describing her Eastern visit, and modestly put 
 ting in little touches of sympathy which yet scarcely 
 reminded Mrs. Dennett of her sorrow. After the let 
 ter had been sent two or three weeks, Mrs. Willis 
 handed a letter to Mabel, with the playful remark that 
 perhaps in it she might find a pleasant reminder of 
 a summer s flirtation. With trembling hands Mabel 
 opened it, and discovered that more than a week had 
 passed since its arrival. It was from Mrs. Dennett, a 
 pleasant letter, fraught with an undercurrent of cheer, 
 
MABEL S JOURNEY. 473 
 
 seemingly impossible to a mother whose best hope was 
 dead. Mabel read it through with eager joy. 
 
 MY DEAR MABEL, 
 
 Though months have passed siiice your bright face gladdened my 
 lonely home, sitting here in this long, low room as I do to-day, and 
 looking at the empty chair by the west window where you used to 
 sit, your very presence is with me, and your cheering influence dis 
 pels the gloominess of this chill March day. For though lighted by 
 a pale and wintry sun, the sky seems cold and cheerless, and the 
 signs of awakening spring do not serve to bring its spirit, though 
 we see ib coming in the budding trees and the white flakes from the 
 bee-haunted boughs of the almonds, the yellowish mosses and the 
 tender grasses crowding up through the damp, thick mats of dead 
 pine-needles in the woods, and the deep blue summits of the nearer 
 heights forsaken, by their coverlets of gleaming snows, save here and 
 there, in the sunless seams, a soft, white, foamy mass. 
 
 This world of ours, high up beyond the foothills, and shut out, by 
 many a purple fold of hills and many a wall of flinty rock and living 
 pine, from the busy, changing world in which you live, still has its 
 histories, humble and unwritten though they be, and its changes, 
 coming slowly day by day, that soon become as real as the varying 
 seasons of the year. For that great scene of desolation, ashes, and 
 destruction which you left has changed with the progress of the 
 months, until now the yellowish pine lumber of the new-built town 
 catches the first beams of the rising sun on scores of shining roofs. 
 
 We are almost proud of our new town; it haa risen under a hun 
 dred hammers that kept the hillsides echoing with their ring from 
 the early dawn until the last glory on the westward mountains 
 yielded to the dusky night. And now for all this toil the resonant 
 plank has risen into shape and order, and we have the stores and 
 shops, the cabins and the homes, as you once saw them, only they 
 are all more new and bright. 
 
 Where stood the Royal Regina on the hill-slope, its successor has 
 risen, taller and more majestic than the old, because robbed of its 
 surrounding sheltering groves. Long weeks passed before its great 
 naked beams and rafters received a covering of wall and roof, but 
 now it is rapidly iiearing completion, and all about it are laid 01^ 
 spacious grounds for lawns and gardens, and the slim Australian 
 
474 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 gum in a few years will substitute those majestic pines that went 
 down with all their secrets of the ages in clouds of smoke and fire. 
 
 The mines are in motion again, though it was some time after our 
 great conflagration before the broken aqueducts could be renewed, 
 and the scattered miners gathered to the work. Now the shrill 
 whistle wakes the slumbering canons with its piercing blasts; and 
 Mr. Sevenoakes perhaps you still remember him is struggling 
 to get his business into shape again. Edward s position has been 
 filled by a stranger, but times are dull yet, for the mines do not 
 promise the wealth they did before the fire. I fear that scorching 
 llame consumed the bright halo of prosperity that hovered over this 
 wild, mountainous spot. 
 
 But last of all, now that I have given you a brief outline of 
 affairs here, I am going to make a suggestion to you. Spring has 
 come; why cannot you come with it ? My home and my best love 
 are waiting. I cannot tell you what prompts this daring proposi 
 tion, for I woull not presume to make it without some sanction 
 from a more hopeful future, you know. I would not dare to tempt 
 myself with your sweet friendship, if all hope were past. I shall 
 write to your aunt, with the view of prevailing on her to make the 
 visit, and the time will pass wearily until your reply assures rne of 
 my anticipated pleasure. 
 
 Trusting that some things I much desire to tell you have nob 
 been needlessly withheld, and that soon I shall have the opportunity 
 of seeing you, that I may tell them better, 
 
 I remain, yours faithfully, 
 
 FRANCES DENNETT. 
 
 Mabel handed the letter to her aunt in silence, but 
 Mrs. Willis shook her head. * You may do as you 
 like about going/ she said; " I am willing, if you care 
 to make the trip." Mabel opened her eyes in wonder. 
 "I have written to Mr. Sevenoakes since I received a 
 letter from Mrs. Dennett," Mrs. Willis volunteered to 
 state, "I have discovered that I can allow it." 
 
 " Oh, Aunt Cynthia! " cried Mabel, impetuously kiss 
 ing her wrinkled cheek, "you look lovelier than ever 
 before in your life! " 
 
THE FULFILMENT. 475 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 THE FULFILMENT. 
 
 Love is represented as the fulfilling of the law, a creature s 
 perfection. All other graces, all divine dispensations, contribute 
 to this, and are lost in it as in a heaven. It expels the dross of 
 our nature; it overcomes sorrow; it is the full joy of our Lord. 
 HOOKER. 
 
 IT was twilight in the mountains. The sun had just 
 set behind the green and purple battlements in the 
 west, leaving gold-emblazoned banners of cloud resting 
 above the bright horizon. March was nearly over, so 
 its starry, golden pansies and glossy-petalled buttercups 
 were giving place to gorgeous banks and meadows of 
 spring-time s richest, deepest bloom. Bluebells nodded 
 on brittle stems from the shelter of overhanging rocks, 
 showing distinctly their delicate, fair hues against 
 heavy fronds of rank young ferns. Great clumps of 
 wild California poppies flamed from the rocky hill- 
 crests, their silken, pollen-dusted petals folding up after 
 the kisses of the twilight breeze. Musk blooms waved 
 gracefully from mossy, dew-gemmed banks by the 
 creeks, and rich, heavy vines trailed their brilliant 
 sprays of scarlet-lipped blossoms over the steep hill 
 sides, where only the slender fir and pine dared to climb 
 among the rocky ribs. 
 
 In the swales and on the gentle slopes, beds of gold 
 and white and azure hid the tender greenness of the 
 grass, or mingled their bright colors with its rich 
 growth in the deepest, dewiest hollows. 
 
47C) AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 Mabel Willis wandered out alone from Mrs. Dennett s 
 house for a breath from the fresh-scented wildwood and 
 the sweet, closing flowers, ere the twilight faded. She 
 and her aunt had just arrived. After a few minutes 
 spent in joyous greetings, Mrs. Dennett had shown her 
 guests to their rooms, saying that all news and good 
 tidings must be kept until they had relieved themselves 
 of the dust and weariness of travel. 
 
 But Mabel could not bear the thought of remaining 
 in-doors while the strange, wild beauty of the twilight 
 deepened. So hastily brushing her hair, bathing her 
 face with the clear spring water which Mrs. Dennett 
 had provided for her room, and changing her travelling- 
 buit for a dredS of soft, dark green material, as if to 
 wear the bright livery of spring, and fastening a scarf 
 of frosty lace about her throat, her simple prepara 
 tions were made. Mrs. Willis had only commenced 
 her toilet, so Mabel had stepped through the low-silled 
 window for a breath of the deep, sweet grass that grew 
 untrodden in the garden. 
 
 Roses of all descriptions flourished there: great bend 
 ing trees, with golden-tinted tea-roses bursting the firm 
 buds into showers of fair, broad petals over all the 
 wealth of new and glossy leaves; straight, thorn-girt 
 stalks, with scarlet velvet buds half blown blushing 
 brighter in the sunset gold; dainty, willowy sprays 
 with buds of white and blush hiding beneath a green 
 frost-work of moss; pretty vines of Baltimores climbing 
 unchecked over windows and lattice; and bushes with 
 long, nodding sprays on which the fair, pink buds of 
 old Castile breathed in their drowsy perfume some 
 thing of the dreamy romance of the elder Spain in this 
 
THE FULFILMENT. 477 
 
 strange, wild land of gold, unfolding like a mighty new 
 born empire before the startled world. 
 
 Mabel had walked through the long grass nodding 
 sleepily in the gentle wind, past each budding rose-bush, 
 to a gate which opened out on one side of the garden. 
 Stealing a glance back at the white house hiding behind 
 the green, spreading trees and clustering rose-bowers, she 
 had lifted the latch and ventured out. Only a glimpse 
 of that glorious sunset over the far-off hills, she had 
 longed for, but now she must go farther, for all around 
 her stretched a wide clover-meadow, and bright slopes 
 draped with broideries of nature s choicest art. A few 
 frolicsome calves galloped about in that valley-like 
 swale between the hills, while their soft-eyed mothers 
 lowed gently as they came homeward along the trail 
 that led across the slopes, and looked longingly toward 
 them from the pasture bars. 
 
 " This scene is just as Edward used to see it when a 
 boy," mused Mabel, wandering farther through the 
 damp, fresh clover, trying to realize how the years had 
 changed all but the spot itself, which was renewed with 
 each reopening of spring, and wondering if at twilight 
 his thoughts ever returned to his far-away mountain 
 home, to that little blooming meadow associated with 
 his happy, careless boyhood. Alas! to him that old 
 house gleaming through the trees was home no more ! 
 Memories he might have of his mother s dear face 
 smiling on him from that vine-shaded doorway, of her 
 tenderness as she stroked his fair hair from his boyish 
 face, of the old home s cheerful, glowing hearth, that 
 corner-stone of all love s sweetest, tenderest joy; but 
 these could be nothing more than memories to him now. 
 
478 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 Something more glittering than dew fell in the deep, 
 wild grass; but Mabel checked herself. All through the 
 weary months of the past winter she had gleaned com 
 fort from that vision when heaven seemed all around 
 her, and her vain hopes all fulfilled. " No wonder he 
 was strong. It is a little fort," she thought again, 
 looking away with a calm thrill of rapture. And then 
 came to her some realization of how high how near to 
 heaven she was in that little plateau among the moun 
 tains; how beyond the blue line of ranges in the west 
 green slopes unnumbered slowly descended to the great 
 inland valley country, where another world rolled on 
 with the heat and turmoil of crowded cities, the noise 
 and clashing of man against his brother, in a cruel, 
 never-ending warfare. Far away from it all, up there 
 in that spring-time twilight among the hills, there was 
 peace, peace in its gentle winds, its dreamy quiet, its 
 ever-changing, softened beauty. 
 
 She wandered on till she reached a gray fence of 
 logs, moss-covered and decaying, through which the 
 wild oats sent up sharp budding spears of satiny green, 
 and around which the grass grew thick and tall. An 
 old orchard on the other side bent its gnarled branches 
 as if to shelter that low, rude fence with a canopy of 
 nature s arches, filled in with the pearly beauty of clus 
 tering apple blossoms. Mabel could look far in and 
 see the long aisles of the orchard, dark and shadowy 
 on the ground, but lighted with a glory overhead from 
 a fluttering mass of snowy bloom. Long sprays and 
 branches swayed and nodded and rustled gently, and 
 sometimes from the white-crowned almonds a storm 
 of flaky petals fluttered out upon the breeze, sifting 
 
THE FULFILMENT. 479 
 
 through the dark trees till the last leaf fell upon the 
 tall orchard grass. Peach-trees lifted their blushy 
 bells to heaven, and showed their long pink stamens 
 like threads against the fair light of the sky; and pear 
 blossoms in rich, heavy clusters scarce trembled in tho 
 breezes, as if their dainty petals were carved from 
 ivory, and firmly set on branches studded with bud 
 ding leaves of silver. 
 
 Presently a breeze stirred along the grass, causing 
 the tall, elastic spears to bow and tremble as it passed 
 over, until it reached the spot were Mabel stood besido 
 the old log fence. It tossed about the loose brown 
 curls on her forehead, and played coquettishly with the 
 soft lace at her neck, as if it loved to linger around 
 so fair a flower, though free to roam at will through 
 countless miles of bloom. 
 
 Something in the wooings of that cool, fresh breeze, 
 the scent of pine, the fleeting breath of wild-rose 
 brambles, or the blended perfumes of a thousand flowers, 
 caught in its wanderings over those verdant slopes, 
 brought back to her a spell, that lingering, mourn 
 ful sweetness clustering around her memories of these 
 wild old scenes, like the ceaseless melody that echoes 
 in the heart after the trembling chords of perfect song 
 are stilled. Through the waving apple-boughs she 
 caught glimpses of the hard, red stage road winding 
 along the slopes, and then there flashed across her 
 mind the memory of one rainy night in winter when 
 she had watched a lonely horseman wend his way 
 along its gleaming track. Those showers had brought 
 a glorious crown of verdure for the bare, bleak hills. 
 Alas, for him who rode away that night the storms 
 
480 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 of life had nourished no seeds of joy to blossom into 
 spring-time! She bowed her head on the gray log be 
 side her, while a bunch of bluebells, growing in a shel 
 tered niche just below, swam in the cloud of tears that 
 veiled her eyes. Still that cool breeze lingered around 
 her, bringing its matchless odors, the low whisperings 
 of the leaves above, the rustling of its footsteps in the 
 grass; and once she thought she caught the low mur 
 murs of a song, "Home again," like the faint, harp- 
 like melodies of the pine-trees. And then the next 
 instant she heard another echo, more deep and strong, 
 and nearer, "from a foreign shore," swelling out 
 across the meadow, too clear and full of soul-like 
 harmony to spring from the moaning pine-leaves. 
 She looked up. No one was near; no singer followed 
 the narrow path from the house; no form darkened 
 the green meadow beyond. She turned her face 
 toward the orchard, but the crisp sprays only nodded 
 and whispered and fluttered, and the rank, untrodden 
 grass only shivered in the white glow that sifted down 
 through the flower-set boughs. 
 
 She stood musing thus, listening for another strain 
 of that mysterious song, breathing the sweet scents 
 of that breeze, dreaming again the by-gone dreams it 
 brought her, until the fiery splendor of the sunset 
 faded to a mellow glory, and she roused herself to go 
 back to the house. 
 
 One glance more she must bestow on that soft blue 
 heaven above her, tinged with gold, and filled with 
 scarlet-tinted, filmy clouds. She lingered, with her 
 eyes fixed afar on those brilliant deeps of heaven, till 
 the dark horizon below seemed to whirl and swim 
 
THE FULFILMENT. 481 
 
 around her, and she looked down on the blossoming 
 world again. 
 
 Then a strange sound in the orchard startled her, 
 and there, just beside the fence, standing where the 
 apple-boughs let in the richest light of sunset, was a 
 stranger, tall, bearded, travel-worn, leaning on a mossy 
 stake, and looking at her with tender, earnest eyes. 
 Ah, those eyes! Could she ever forget them? Could 
 they ever cease to beam with light for her? 
 
 That weary man, whose face had lost much of its 
 boyish roundness, much of its hearty cheer, that 
 sorrow-stricken man, who had come from afar, over 
 the seas, to his own little home among the mountains, 
 was Edward Dennett. 
 
 Their eyes met, and he knew her. Ay, he knew 
 more, he knew that she had been true to him; he 
 knew that her love, without which he realized that his 
 home-coming would be touched with shadow, was his 
 still. 
 
 "Mabel!" he said, hastening toward her, "what a 
 welcome is this! Are you a spirit? Am I dreaming 
 that I find you here to welcome me? I could not 
 realize it, I cannot believe it ! " Mabel held out both 
 her hands across the fence to the strong brown ones 
 that waited ready to clasp them. 
 
 " Can you believe it now? " she said, striving to speak 
 calmly through her tears. 
 
 Edward hurriedly sprang over the fence, and stood 
 at her side. "Nothing must separate us now," he said, 
 as he took her in his arms, " nothing but death, my 
 Mabel, for I can believe it; I can believe that, now I 
 am free to live, free to live, thank Heaven ! I still 
 
482 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 have something to live for. Ah, Mabel I little the world 
 held for me without your love! " 
 
 "Then you are free?" said Mabel, timidly. 
 
 " Don t you know?" he inquired, hastily. "Have 
 you not heard how the secret was divulged? It must 
 be old to every one but me." 
 
 " I did not know " began Mabel. 
 
 "Ah! then I will not tell you until I rejoice over the 
 greatest blessing life can ever hold for me, the assur 
 ance that you love me still through all depths of mis 
 fortune and disgrace. I was restored to my home, I 
 was blessed with riches, for untold wealth lies buried 
 in the Golden Deep, and yet until this hour life has 
 looked dull and colorless indeed. I count my trials 
 joys for this. Without them I should not have known 
 how true and changeless your affection is." 
 
 " Do not say that," said Mabel. " Did it need test 
 ing before you could trust in it? I kept my faith in 
 yours. Oh, Edward! I never entertained a thought 
 during all our hopeless separation which could mar that 
 meeting when our lives are done. That hope wherein 
 you and I found so much comfort has kept me loving 
 and constant still." 
 
 Each realized that the other was changed. They 
 had passed through the fires of trial;, they had met 
 Fate face to face, and had defied her, putting their trust 
 in a higher power, that reigns supreme over all our 
 destinies. 
 
 If youth was still theirs, they knew that its careless 
 mirth, its impetuous ardor, was over. But they were 
 better for it, their lives were broader, deeper, sweeter; 
 they were man and woman now, seeing with eyes that 
 
THE FULFILMENT. 483 
 
 look beyond the world s exterior of show, into the pur 
 poses, the aims, of life, knowing full well how to cast 
 aside its trifling frivolities, and accept its blessings 
 with ready, grateful hearts. 
 
 Now life lay before them, rich in its opportunities, 
 fair and promising in its prospects. They were young, 
 but they were wise. Through their misfortunes they 
 had learned how to be kind; through their blessings 
 they had learned how. to be charitable. 
 
 " God is good," said Edward, reverently, at last. "He 
 has given you back to me; he has given me my heaven 
 upon earth; and for this blessing we must spend our 
 lives in giving of our abundance to others. Oh, Mabel! 
 little did I think the fulfilment of your promise would 
 come so soon, that dear, sweet promise to meet me 
 in heaven, filled to the very letter here on earth, And 
 when at last he reaches home, tell him my love will 
 be waiting for him there. " 
 
484 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 THE MILLENNIUM OF THE HEART. 
 
 Devotion wafts the mind above, 
 But heaven itself descends in love; 
 A feeling from the Godhead caught, 
 To wean from self each sordid thought; 
 A ray of Him who formed the whole; 
 A glory circling round the soul. 
 
 BYRON. 
 
 IN the pleasant valley county, where the low, rolling 
 slopes are bright in spring and summer with billowy 
 seas of green and ripening gold; where the little towns 
 scattered about over the broad expanse of the great 
 wheat regions hide their gleaming spires in forests of 
 cork and locust trees; where the noisy trains rumble 
 hastily along, busily collecting their burdens of plump, 
 clean sacks of wheat from every wayside station; and 
 where the broad country roads lead in a curious net 
 work to farm colonies, with a cluster of neat houses, 
 high, spacious barns, and golden or weather-darkened 
 stacks of straw, forming the centre of broad acres 
 stretching out in vast, unbroken tracks, in that 
 almost boundless empire of golden grain, Lois found 
 her home. 
 
 The occasional stranger who wandered into the rural 
 shades of Locustville invariably asked who owned that 
 fine old place just outside the town on the road to 
 Tenayce, and the villager would reply with a good deal 
 
THE MILLENNIUM OF THE HEART. 485 
 
 of pride, as if he had a personal claim upon it, that Dr. 
 Knapp and his family lived there. Dr. Knapp was 
 " our doctor," and the place was absolutely the most 
 exquisite, comfortable home in all the country 
 
 The house stood back a little distance from the trav 
 elled road, from which a smooth, gravelled drive swept 
 through an arched gateway and across the dewy green 
 ness of the grounds, till it curved up to the wide side 
 entrance. The house was large, square-built, and home 
 like, with old-fashioned porches and balconies extend 
 ing all around it, suggestive of balmy summer evenings, 
 with guitars and white-robed ladies making little 
 poems of the hours spent in their vine-scented shelter. 
 Oleander and acacia trees blended their tropical odors 
 with the fragrant breath of roses, wild beds of migno 
 nette, and a hedge of honeysuckle, and over on one side 
 of the grounds a sparkling path led down across the 
 shaven lawn to a wild bramble of bloom, where the 
 flowers and bushes ran riot, and blossomed in charm 
 ing disorder wherever a bud could manage to shake out 
 its rosy petals to the kisses of the sun. 
 
 Something about this luxuriant tangle might remind 
 one of Mrs. Ilunman s queer old garden, but Dr. Knapp 
 certainly liked his own shady bower far better than 
 the one from which he modelled it. And whoever won 
 dered at it, when during the drowsy summer after 
 noons, while the day grew warm and the teams out on 
 the road rolled by only at long intervals, and then 
 chose the track under the wayside trees, they saw the 
 Doctor enjoying the dreamy shade of that fragrant spot 
 in some comfortable old wicker chair, or half reclining 
 in a gently swaying hammock, while Lois the very 
 
486 ABOUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 same bright little school-mistress who used to teach in 
 the red school-house tit Locustvilie, grown older cer 
 tainly, though not less charming and lovely read some 
 idle, sweet romance to while away the hours? Chil 
 dren s merry faces and gleeful laughter broke in upon 
 that sleepy peace just enough to bring the time and 
 place out of some old Arcadian land of poets dreams 
 into the sparkling light of breathing, joyous reality. 
 Ah! who could dwell in a shadowy past, when there 
 were two round-limbed, sweet-faced children about 
 them, fluttering here and there among the glowing 
 leaves, reaching up with soft, dainty hands to force 
 some bud into premature bloom, or exhibiting tearfully 
 a thorn-rent frill of lace on their cool white frocks? 
 
 The wanton breezes sometimes idly turned a leaf of 
 the painted picture-books, or blew a glossy curl into a 
 tangle of spun silk, thereby calMng forth from rosy, 
 pouting lips an impatient little laugh, which rang out 
 so full and clear as to scare away the gray linnets Hit 
 ting among the branches. 
 
 And if ever, when the full glory of summer had 
 come, a faint high hissing of a bee recalled to the Doc 
 tor a sorrowful summer day long ago when he had heard 
 that selfsame sound high up in the leaves of the apple- 
 tree which grew in Mrs. Hunman s garden, and it 
 brought back a remembrance of the old heartache he 
 had accepted as his portion then, he banished the 
 thought by a glance at Lois, kind, merry-hearted 
 Lois, sitting near him with a look of love which the 
 years had added on her fair face, whose earthly jour 
 ney now led step by step with his. Why should he 
 return, even in thought, to that other garden, marred 
 
THE MILLENNIUM OF THE HEART. 487 
 
 by the memory of a heartache, when here around him 
 was another bower, as wild and sweet and tangled, 
 which not only encompassed all the delightful associa 
 tions of the other, but held a charm besides, born of 
 the long, delightful years, which could never be effaced? 
 
 Behind that fine white house, and across a shadowy 
 back garden, where the grape-vines ran in riotous fes 
 toons over the arching trees, a commodious barn re 
 vealed a patch of its sloping roof. Whoever ventured 
 out of the cool, grassy precincts of the garden for a 
 nearer glimpse of it felt that the cows and horses had 
 not been deprived of many of the good things this 
 world could afford them, when looking upon the well- 
 stored granary, the gravel-bottomed tank overflowing 
 with pure, clear water, and the stacks of hay that 
 preserved in their gold-green masses the fading hues 
 and the fresh, sweet scent of the blooming pasture- 
 lands. And even the doves that described white cir 
 cles against the far-off blue of heaven, and gathered 
 with incessant cooing around the little dove-cot below 
 the eaves, seemed telling their contentment in those 
 soft, low sounds. Then there was the poultry-yard, 
 whence elarion crows in the early morning hours rang 
 out to wake the soft- voiced, bright-eyed calves in the 
 barn, and mingle their faint, far sounds with the 
 dreams of the slumberers in -the distant house. 
 
 But of all the favored occupants of the barn-yard 
 regions, Lady Snowdrop was the queen. She had a 
 etall in the clean, warm stables, where her crib over 
 flowed with cured meadow-grass and barley-hay and 
 grain, and every morning the hostler curried and rubbed 
 her till her white coat shone as glossjly as satin. 
 
488 AROUND THE GOLDEX DEEP. 
 
 The Doctor still drove about over the country roads 
 in his odd little shiny gig. And Lois, as might be 
 imagined, went with him very often. 
 
 And there were often journeys to Lois s old loved 
 home among the far-off hills, for a visit to Aunt Robin 
 son and the girls. But the "girls" gradually became 
 fewer and fewer in the old house, as one after another 
 called Lois and the sympathetic Doctor into high con 
 sultation about a prospective wedding, and at last 
 became queens in homes of their own. Still, the warm 
 fireside never lost its charm, never lacked for the old 
 familiar faces; for when Christmas-tide brought its 
 frosty winds, its whitened summits, and sparkling 
 pines, it also brought a grand home-coming, a sweet 
 reunion to all the tender hearts that never lost their 
 love for home. 
 
 John used to do the honors on those glorious feast- 
 days, the same mischievous John, with the old merry 
 twinkle in his eyes, only the experience and prosperity 
 of years had added something of dignity and gravity 
 to his manner, as if the light-hearted enthusiasm of 
 youth had not perished, but had given place some 
 what to a more stately, thoughtful mein. And surely 
 John had need of dignity, for after he had filled with 
 honor the position procured for him by the Doctor in 
 the mine at Lucky Streak, he had been called to be 
 manager of the far more prosperous mine of the Golden 
 Deep. Life held for him a bright promise, and his 
 grateful heart would surely use the blessing for same 
 noble end. 
 
 And on those visits home, Lois and the Doctor never 
 failed to drive again up the leafy grade that led along 
 
THE MILLENNIUM OF THE HEART. 489 
 
 the mountain-side in wayward, curious windings, till 
 its drowsy magic was dispelled by glimpses of the blue 
 smoke-wreaths and the shiny roofs of the new camp 
 at Lucky Streak, breaking suddenly upon the sight 
 between the pine-grown hills. To their hearts those 
 deep, wild canons, the plumy-pointed firs, the glinting 
 pine woods, the rugged stream-bed, and the soft blue 
 dome of heaven arching all around them, held a charm 
 the very deepest and sweetest in their lives. They 
 always loved it best in autumn, when the red leaves 
 showered the ground with October s gorgeous offering; 
 when the sparkling frost-work spread out its wonderful 
 white patterns in the shadow, and turned to diamonds 
 where the sunshine s golden floods poured warm and 
 mellow through the trembling leaves. It recalled to 
 them that sacred day of long ago, that starting-point 
 of their happy life-long journey. And even Lady 
 Snowdrop seemed to appreciate the time, for she al 
 ways trotted leisurely along as if she loved the soli 
 tude and the dreamy spell around them, and feared 
 to break it with unseemly speed. 
 
 These peaceful drives always brought them to a 
 pleasant destination. Just outside of the town of 
 Lucky Streak, grown large and noisy with the lapse 
 of time, and proud of its fine brick stores, its new 
 hotel, and its slender church-spires pointing heaven 
 ward through the unthinned pine groves, was a pleas 
 ant home, where Edward Dennett and his young wife 
 lived. All that wealth could purchase was combined 
 to make that stately country-house a dwelling-place of 
 elegance and comfort; and yet it possessed more, for 
 in it breathed the charm and inspiration of a home. 
 
490 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 Mabel reigned a gentle queen o\er her happy house 
 hold, while Mrs. Dennett and Aunt Willis looked on 
 with motherly pride, and gave their advice to smooth 
 out the rough places. 
 
 Edward Dennett had risen rapidly to the foremost 
 rank in his county, and the old troubles which had 
 once cast a cloud over his honored name almost faded 
 out of memory. 
 
 Among the guests who sometimes visited that lovely 
 mountain home was a slender woman with auburn 
 hair and a fine white face. The years scarcely seemed 
 to make any impression on her countenance; she was 
 ever the same, as willowy and sly as in her more 
 charming girlhood. She still wrote her name Nellie 
 Minton, adding with a low ripple of laughter to her 
 self sometimes when she did it, that there was only 
 one other name in the world better than that. Time 
 had wrought one change in Nellie, her scheming 
 days were over. To be sure, she was deceitful and 
 wilful still, and yet she had given up utterly as 
 defeated schemers usually do all hope of attaining 
 the one life object she had striven so desperately, by 
 artful means, to attain. There was a calm indifference 
 in the place of the old cunning watchfulness, only 
 broken by an occasional revival of crafty delight in 
 unfathoming some mystery her curiosity prompted her 
 to explore. 
 
 Edward and Mabel felt a strange sympathy for her 
 lonely hopelessness, and in various ways showed her 
 little kindnesses, which, coming from the source they 
 did, awakened all the friendship that dwelt in her 
 narrow, selfish nature. Poor Nellie! her life was de- 
 
THE MILLENNIUM OF THE HEART. 491 
 
 prived of its fullest expansion; but it was better so. 
 Her artful practices had failed in her greatest earthly 
 object, and so even she herself had lost faith in their 
 power. She was better for it. 
 
 But the most welcome guests of all to Edward Den 
 nett s home were Lois and the Doctor. The truest, 
 strongest friendship bound these friends together, which 
 could never be broken, as Mabel used to declare very 
 earnestly to Lois, " for it was through you, my dear, 
 that our troubles were unravelled, and we have our 
 happy home to-day." 
 
 To many a home the Doctor s charitable hand and 
 Lois s sympathetic heart brought a blessing. That 
 noticeable little rig coming along the road was always 
 a signal for rejoicings, since every one was happier in 
 more or less degree for its existence. And they who 
 in those later days saw Dr. Knapp and his charming 
 wife driving about over those hot dusty roads, yet look 
 ing eo comfortable iind happy in spite of all things dis 
 agreeable, often wondered that they did not foresee 
 this pleasant future when the school-mistress first con 
 sented to drive over to the hospital with the Doctor 
 in his little gig. And yet was it not the most natural 
 and the best possible ending? Certainly it seemed 
 rather too bad that Lois had to give up her school, but 
 then of course she could not be expected to teach al 
 ways. And her especial children did not miss her very 
 sorely, since their Saturdays were often devoted to a 
 regular festal time over at the pretty white country- 
 house which Lois now called home. And she never 
 lost her influence over them, even after they grew to 
 be fine, manly lads taller than herself, or slim, dainty 
 
402 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 girls assuming the airs and graces of young lady 
 hood. 
 
 And what mattered it if Lady Snowdrop was slow, 
 if she grew lazier and more independent as well as older 
 every day? Did not they who rode behind her then 
 have a longer hour to spend together on their drive, 
 an hour which held so much of bliss for both their 
 hearts? Naught could make them wish to have it 
 changed, since often when this very fault made them 
 late on their return, and the gathering evening shades 
 found them still upon the road, the balmy freshness, 
 the quiet charm, that stole around them, recalled some 
 thing of the beauty of those first drives they had taken 
 in the early spring-time of their love, and brought back 
 its modest, tender inspiration, like the dewy fragrance 
 of the April blossom amid the summer s ripe, delicious 
 harvest. 
 
 Every feature of those old scenes had a meaning for 
 Lois and the Doctor: under those solitary oaks Lady 
 Snowdrop used to stop and fall asleep in the drowsy 
 shade, while the Doctor watched the birds, and looked 
 out over the rolling hills, yellow with the summer s 
 ripened crown, through the meshes of a dream which 
 strained all evil and unrest out of the charmed life he 
 led; over on that slope when the spring s green young 
 grasses matted the earth with soft and fragrant folds 
 of nature s velvets, they used to stop to watch the sun 
 light flash in diamonds, crystal and purple and bright 
 red, from every trembling dewy spear; here they could 
 Bee more clearly than elsewhere that low blue line of 
 peaks along the far horizon s rim; and there they had 
 always stopped to get a spray of drooping creamy blos 
 soms from the overhanging locust-trees. 
 
THE MILLENNIUM OF THE HEART. 493 
 
 Ah, those long, quiet drives! How they linked heart 
 to heart and soul to soul ! How they knitted the 
 tender, haunting melody of the past to the sweet and 
 far-off harmonies of the future with the present s golden 
 bars of perfect song! There were the Doctor and Lois, 
 the little gig and Lady Snowdrop, all growing old 
 together. And yet again not growing older, either, 
 but growing dearer. Time cannot touch with its fatal 
 decay the sacred objects about which our love wraps a 
 halo of glory as impenetrable as it is magical. 
 
 Lois grew to think the big tall whip which the Doc 
 tor never used, and which she had once thought looked 
 like a fishing-rod angling in the green branches for 
 bees or humming-birds, she actually came to think 
 it looked far better than those slender, willowy things, 
 with tasselled ends, that graced the stylish turnouts of 
 the time. 
 
 Nor was she ashamed that the Doctor always wore 
 his yellow gloves. She did not grow so accustomed to 
 the sight of them that she forgot that they were odd; 
 but she was even glad of the fact. A depth of fondness 
 in her heart welled over every time she saw them, for 
 they seemed a token to her of the Doctor s innocent, 
 unselfish character. And besides, she felt so penitent 
 when she remembered how she once had laughed at 
 them, that she felt all her tenderness could never 
 make atonement for it. 
 
 And so, when sometimes the Doctor came home 
 from town with a pair of new gloves, and carelessly 
 tossing them into her lap, would say, innocently, that 
 the old ones were badly soiled, and he thought it 
 about time to replace them, so would she see if these 
 
494 AROUND THE GOLDEN DEEP. 
 
 were as good as the old, quite unconscious that he had 
 done or said anything unusual, or that she was smil 
 ing to keep the tears of love from overflowing, she 
 always touched them reverently, and said softly to 
 herself, " The dear old soul 1 I love them better every 
 time he brings them." And she even kissed them 
 sometimes when the Doctor was not around, as if to 
 give them a benediction from her love. 
 
 The Doctor scarcely appeared to grow much older; 
 he became a trifle stouter with advancing years, per 
 haps a shade more florid; but his eyes were clear and 
 steady, and his manner so much more jovial and 
 cheerful than of old, that the added silver to his 
 glossy hair seemed more like the foreshadowings of a 
 second youth s soft glories than the cold warning of a 
 hastening old age. And truly life had just begun its 
 best blessings for him. Why should he grow old, when 
 youth s delights, which he had never known before, 
 were all around him? His heart was in its summer, 
 so let the long years of experience and sorrow fall 
 away and be forgotten. The present was enough for 
 him. " A man scarcely knows what he lacks what 
 he needs in this world, until he has once found it," 
 he would say. "It is strange how one prospers when 
 he settles down in life. Everything tends to his ad 
 vantage then. Perhaps because a little secure happi 
 ness sweetens every burden in the way; if not, then 
 whatever else, it is strong enough to be recognized and 
 felt; and we who have found that great advantage 
 would not exchange it for anything else the world 
 contains." 
 
 Ah! who can put a price upon it, that sacred 
 
THE MILLENNIUM OF THE HEART. 495 
 
 thing which brings us nearer heaven? Can tongues 
 or pens describe it? Can deep research explain it? 
 Can sordid wealth purchase an iota of it? It tinges 
 all life with its rosy halo; it strengthens the aspi 
 rations, it sweetens every sorrow, it deepens every 
 joy. No one can feel it without being better; no 
 one can let it truly enter his heart without letting in 
 with it self-sacrifice and charity. Oh, holy Love! 
 most divine, most powerful of the passions, a light 
 from heaven to illuminate the soul, come to each 
 lonely, unsatisfied heart on earth, and heal its sor 
 rows with thy matchless riches, and the world will be 
 a glorious place indeed! 
 
 Then will there be no more perversion of love s 
 blessings; then they who sacrifice it to frivolities and 
 vice, they who hold it lightly, they who know it not, 
 will realize the dawning of the golden age of peace 
 and charity, the sweet millennium of the heart. 
 
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