WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 BY 
 
 MARY ATHERSTONE BIRD. 
 
 UNIV. OF CALIF. LIBRARY. LOS ANGELEb 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 H. N. McKINNEY & CO., 
 725 SANSOM STREET.
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by 
 
 H. N. McKINNEY & CO., 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 FREDA AND FREDDIE 7 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 SCHOOL LIFE 15 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 FREDDIE'S PUNISHMENT 23 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 CIRCUS LIFE 37 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 GILBERT BRACEBRIDGE 52 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 LORD TYTHERLEIGH 61 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE EARL'S DISCOVERY 71 
 
 3 
 
 2125572
 
 4 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 ELLEN TREVANIAN'S DEATH 85 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE 96 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 AN UNWELCOME VISITOR 102 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 FREDDIE AGAIN AT SCHOOL 113 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 OUT IN A STORM 125 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 FREDDIE DREAMS 135 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 CONFIDENCES 144 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 BROUGHT TO BAY 157 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 AN EXIT, AND AN ENTRANCE 168 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 FREDDIE'S SKELETON IN THE CLOSET 174
 
 CONTENTS. 5 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 SUDDEN MOVEMENTS 185 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 A TERRIBLE DISCOVERY 194 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 LIFE IN THE SOUTH 206 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 HORSE DEALING 219 
 
 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 A TRAP is LAID FOR FREDDIE 228 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 FREDDIE'S TWIN BROTHER 234 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 A Ku-KLUX PLOT 241 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 A NIGHT ATTACK 252 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 FRIENDLY ADVICE 263 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 Ku-Ki.ux LAW 271
 
 6 --.^ CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 THE INDIAN Bow 279 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 THE JOURNEY 286 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 DISCOVERIES 292 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 EXPLANATIONS - 301 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 FREDA'S Vow 308 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 FREDDIE'S CONFESSION 314 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 THE JEWEL CASE is OPENED ; 321 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 GILBERT'S JOURNEY 327 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 PANDORA'S Box 334
 
 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 FREDA AND FREDDIE. 
 
 ON the first of May, 1846, two children were born 
 into this world. They were both girls ; each was 
 the only child of her young parents ; and both re- 
 ceived the rather uncommon given name of Winifred. 
 
 In every other respect their destinies were as dif- 
 ferent as they well could be, though they were fated 
 at a distant period to meet and exercise a powerful 
 influence upon each other. One was born in India, 
 the daughter of a dashing officer of high family, 
 though but moderate fortune. 
 
 The father of the other child was a lawyer's clerk, 
 living in a small house in a London suburb. 
 
 The little Anglo-Indian, whom her parents called 
 Freda, was a lovely, fairy-like creature, gifted with 
 that pure and perfect, yet seemingly fragile beauty 
 which so often accompanies high birth. 
 
 The London child was chiefly remarkable for the 
 
 7
 
 8 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 extreme vigor and robustness of her constitution, and 
 the pranks which her overflowing vitality led her to 
 perform. Such a tomboy was she, that her father 
 called her Freddie in joke, until the name stuck to 
 her in earnest. 
 
 Having introduced my two heroines, I shall leave 
 Freda to grow up in her luxurious Indian home, the 
 almost spoiled pet of her doting parents and the idol 
 of the regiment, while I follow the more adventurous 
 life that fell to the lot of Freddie. 
 
 The first event that had a marked effect upon her 
 life was the occupation of the adjoining house by a 
 family which was connected with Astley's Amphi- 
 theatre. The father was a gymnast and acrobat ; his 
 wife was a " star rider ; " and their four boys, the 
 youngest of whom was three years older than 
 Freddie, were all training up in their father's pro- 
 fession. 
 
 With these boys Freddie quickly formed a strong 
 friendship ; and though she was but six years old, she 
 speedily learned from them to scale the six-foot wall 
 which divided the little back gardens belonging to 
 the respective houses, and thenceforward became a 
 constant sharer in their sports, and especially in their 
 exercises, which she looked upon as the most de- 
 lightful sports of all. 
 
 Her mother having ascertained by personal obser- 
 vation that the lads were well-behaved, and that 
 their language, though not the purest grammatically, 
 was free from all coarseness or vulgarity, offered no 
 opposition to this growing intimacy, for she had
 
 FREDA AND FREDDIE. 9 
 
 often felt that her little girl was too much secluded 
 from the companionship of other children. 
 
 Thus matters went on for three years. At that 
 period Mr. Wilson, Freddie's father, rendered a very 
 important service to his employer, by which he pre- 
 vented his being swindled out of a sum that would 
 have left him a beggar in his old age. In gratitude 
 for this act, Mr. Mason increased the salary of his 
 faithful clerk, and furthermore urged him to say if 
 there was anything else by which he could prove thq 
 esteem in which he held him. 
 
 " There is one thing, sir," replied Wilson, with 
 sparkling eyes, "that I should regard as the very 
 greatest favor ; but I fear it would be too much to 
 ask." 
 
 " I would refuse you nothing unless upon very 
 imperative reasons," said Mr. Mason, " and I don't 
 think you would want anything unreasonable. So 
 tell me frankly what it is." 
 
 "W'cll, sir, then it is just this," said the clerk. 
 " Ever since my little girl was born I have laid by a 
 small sum every year to insure her thirty pounds a 
 year from the date of my death till she is twenty- one. 
 This was to make sure that she shall have the means 
 of going to school without distressing her mother. 
 Then you see, sir, my wife may die too, and in that 
 case, what would become of our poor child ? I don't 
 know whether you are aware of it, sir," added Wil- 
 son, " but my wife and I were both brought up in 
 the Foundling Hospital, and we have neither of us 
 a relation in the world that we know of. And it is
 
 io WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 singular that we have no intimate friends ; so there's 
 not one person I could safely leave to manage 
 matters for my little girl if we should be taken from 
 her, unless I might make bold to ask you, sir, to take 
 charge of her little income, and send her to a good 
 school." 
 
 " Draw out your will, my dear fellow," said the 
 lawyer, with a good-natured laugh, " and appoint me 
 guardian and trustee to your little maiden. It will 
 satisfy you, and it wont cost me any trouble. You 
 are now about thirty, are you not?" 
 
 " Thirty-three, sir." 
 
 " Well, a strong man of thirty-three is not likely 
 to give a feeble man of sixty any trouble about car- 
 rying out the provisions of his will. I wish you had 
 asked me something that would have been of real 
 benefit to you." 
 
 " I think, sir, it is a real benefit to have one's mind 
 quite at ease," returned the clerk, with an air of so 
 much satisfaction that his employer could not gain- 
 say his assertion. 
 
 Wilson made his will that afternoon, and hurried 
 home to tell his wife the gratifying news of his em- 
 ployer's kindness. Mr. Mason retired to his com- 
 fortable bachelor chambers, and forgot all about it. 
 
 A few more months passed away, and one morn- 
 ing Wilson failed to appear at the usual hour. Such 
 an occurrence was unprecedented, and everybody in 
 the office began to fear he must have met with some 
 accident. In the course of the morning a short note 
 from Mrs. Wilson informed Mr. Mason that her
 
 FREDA AND FREDDIE. II 
 
 husband was sick, and that it was feared his malady 
 was small-pox. She added that she had sent her 
 little daughter to an acquaintance at Hampstead 
 without letting her see her father, for fear of infec- 
 tion, and gave him the address. 
 
 Mr. Mason saw his faithful clerk no more. His 
 daily inquiries were answered with reports of his 
 progress from bad to worse, ending with his death. 
 In a week more Mrs. Wilson followed her husband. 
 
 Then the good lawyer faithfully executed his 
 trust. He left the child with her new friends till the 
 bitterness of her grief was past; then sent for her to 
 his office in order to make her acquaintance, and 
 took her himself to a good school, forty miles from 
 town, where the kind, motherly proprietress prom- 
 ised to take the entire charge of her, and keep her 
 during the vacations for the thirty pounds yearly, 
 which formed her sole fortune. 
 
 Five happy years flew by, during which Freddie 
 became a tall, graceful girl, with much more than 
 the usual amount of ''intellectual training, due partly 
 to her own excellent abilities and love of learning, 
 and partly to those long quiet vacations spent almost 
 wholly in the society of the refined and highly cul- 
 tured Mrs. Tyler. 
 
 An event then occurred which once more effected 
 an entire change in the orphan's life. This was the 
 death of her second mother, Mrs. Tyler. The school 
 was sold, and Freddie, as a sort of fixture, passed 
 with it into the hands of the purchaser. 
 
 Mr. Mason was suffering under a severe attack of
 
 12 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 sickness at this time, and could do no more than 
 acquiesce in the transfer. When he got better, he 
 wrote to his ward requesting her to inform him if 
 she was at all dissatisfied with the change, in which 
 case he would remove her to another school. But 
 this letter never reached Freddie's hands. 
 
 Miss Crabtree had her own reasons for suppres- 
 sing it ; for the high-spirited girl, accustomed to be 
 ruled only by kindness and reason, had more than 
 once revolted against the many petty rules and regu- 
 lations that had been introduced under the new 
 regime, and such encouragement as Mr. Mason's 
 letter afforded would probably have elicited an open 
 expression of her discontent. 
 
 Without some strong inducement, it was very im- 
 probable that Freddie would venture to make any 
 complaint to her almost unknown guardian. She 
 had never seen him since he left her in Mrs. Tyler's 
 care; for, being a bachelor living in chambers in the 
 Temple, he had no home to which a young girl 
 could be invited during the holidays, and though he 
 often intended running down to see how " poor Wil- 
 son's little child " got on, yet Mrs. Tyler's accounts 
 of her welfare were so entirely satisfactory, that he 
 suffered more urgent business to detain him, until 
 he fell into a confirmed habit of not going to see her. 
 
 This apparent lack of interest, and the formal 
 stereotyped message which always accompanied the 
 quarterly remittance, that " he hoped she was a -good 
 child, and learnt her lessons carefully," had a very 
 repdling effect upon Freddie, and caused her to
 
 FREDA AND FREDDIE. 13 
 
 entertain towards her guardian a sentiment of awe 
 and almost of dread, which his real kindness little 
 merited. 
 
 Had she been able to look into the old gentleman's 
 thoughts for one moment, she would have been 
 much amused, and freed from every vestige of fear 
 or embarrassment in her relations with him. The 
 fact was that Mr. Mason, having no children of his 
 own, did not take in the idea that the little girl of 
 nine must, in the course of six years, have become 
 almost a young woman, and therefore she was still, 
 to him, only " poor Wilson's little child ; " and what 
 could a little child care for a visit from an old man 
 like himself? From this delusion resulted the formal 
 quarterly message, bidding her be a good girl ; and 
 when he wrote to her direct, after Miss Crabtree 
 purchased the school, he took great pains to form 
 every letter with the utmost precision, and to use the 
 simplest language, so that the little child should have 
 no difficulty in reading and understanding what he 
 wrote. 
 
 Though Miss Crabtree suppressed this letter, she 
 took care that Freddie should appear to answer it. 
 
 " Miss Wilson," she said, the day after its arrival, 
 " instead of writing an exercise to-day, I desire you 
 to write a letter to your guardian, and tell him how 
 happy you are, and how well you are progressing 
 with your studies." 
 
 " Bnt I am not at all happy, ma'am/' replied Fred- 
 die ; " how can I be happy so soon after dear Mrs. 
 Tyler's death ? "
 
 14 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " It is very becoming in*you to regret the loss of 
 your kind friend," said Miss Crabtree, in the tone 
 of cut-and-dried blandness that was peculiar to her ; 
 " but you must not suffer your feelings to make you 
 negligent of your duty to your guardian. You can 
 tell him that, with the exception of your grief for the 
 loss of your late excellent preceptress, you are com- 
 fortable and happy, and have nothing to desire. 
 Write as I tell you, my love, and show your letter 
 to me. I should be sorry if Mr. Mason discovered 
 an error, however slight, in either your orthography 
 or composition." 
 
 Freddie did as she was bidden, and Mr. Mason 
 was quite satisfied. Her letter caused him much 
 amazement, however, and he exhibited it to his head 
 clerk as a most wonderful performance for a child 
 of that age. 
 
 " What age, sir ?" was the reply. " It appears to 
 me to be nothing very remarkable. Wilson's daugh- 
 ter was nine years old when he died, that's six years 
 ago, so she must be fifteen now." 
 
 " Bless my soul ! She must be fifteen ! And I 
 have always thought of her as the little girl I took 
 down to Mrs. Tyler's. It is quite amazing ! I'll go 
 and see her as soon as I am better in health and less 
 harassed by business." 
 
 And so, once more, the visit that might have 
 changed the whole course of Freddie's life, was put 
 off indefinitely.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 SCHOOL LIFE. 
 
 UNDER Miss Crabtree's stringent rule, the girls 
 were deprived of many little indulgences to which 
 they had been accustomed during Mrs. Tyler's life. 
 In particular, their dietary was much reduced, and 
 the abundant supply of fruit which the large garden 
 afforded was sent to market instead of furnishing 
 their table with pies, and the most wholesome of all 
 food, ripe fruit. 
 
 The appetite of school boys is proverbial; but 
 healthy school girls will compare favorably with 
 their brothers in this, as in many other respects. 
 The girls were often hungry, and furthermore, they 
 looked upon themselves as the victims of tyranny 
 and oppression. None felt this more keenly than 
 Freddie, because she had lived the longest under 
 more genial government; and she became the ring- 
 leader in a series of exploits that were entirely con- 
 trary to order and discipline. 
 
 Many were the surreptitious feasts of fruit, cake, 
 or pies, held during play hours, or in the large dor- 
 mitory after the vigilant Crabtree had retired to rest ; 
 and Freddie was always mistress of the revels. She 
 
 15
 
 1 6 WINIFRED' S JEWEL S. 
 
 it was who coaxed the cook to smuggle in the con- 
 traband articles, collected the subscriptions, decided 
 on the quality of the treat, and presided over the 
 distribution. 
 
 It was in the spring that Miss Crabtree came to 
 the school, and for several months the girls carried 
 on their pranks without discovery. It is a long lane, 
 however, that has no turning, and towards the end 
 of the summer her suspicions were, by some means, 
 aroused. 
 
 One night, as the clock struck twelve, an awful 
 apparition might have been seen gliding with noise- 
 less step through the long passage that led to the 
 upper dormitory, which was occupied by twelve of 
 the elder girls, Freddie being one of the number. 
 The apparition was tall and straight as a slat, and 
 with about as much beauty of outline. It was draped 
 from head to foot in a scanty white garment, and 
 carried a lighted candle in its hand. Little of the 
 face was visible except a long, sharp nose, and a pair 
 of small, twinkling eyes, around which radiated a 
 dense array of curl papers, with their twisted ends 
 standing out in all directions. These were sur- 
 rounded and surmounted by a night-cap, with many 
 starched and fluted frills, and an immense spreading 
 crown, which gave the spectre's head the appearance 
 of being considerably larger than any other part of 
 its figure, and by adding several inches to its appa- 
 rent . height, imparted to it a grotesque and some- 
 what terrific appearance. This was Miss Crabtree 
 on the war path.
 
 SCHOOL LIFE. 17 
 
 Within the dormitory all was eagerness and active 
 preparation. Two of the girls held lighted candles, 
 and all had plates and spoons in readiness. 
 
 Freddie had just made the first incision into a 
 large plum pie. None of your little shallow plates, 
 with an under crust that absorbs all the juice ; but a 
 regular English pie, made in a deep dish capable of 
 holding two or three quarts of the ripe fruit, and 
 almost overflowing with the rich crimson fluid. 
 
 At this moment an alarm was given : " Miss Crab- 
 tree was coming ! " 
 
 Freddie popped the pie into the nearest place of 
 concealment an open bed not reflecting on the 
 probable consequences. 
 
 The occupant of this bed was a dull, inert girl of 
 German descent, by name Gertrude Thudichum. 
 She was generally slow and heavy in her movements ; 
 but under any extraordinary excitement had been 
 known to perform feats of awkward activity that 
 amazed her schoolfellows. 
 
 Freddie had no sooner deposited the corpus delicti 
 in Miss Thudichum's bed, and taken a flying leap 
 into her own, than by the last flash of the rapidly 
 extinguished candles she saw the consequences of 
 her act. 
 
 By one of her extraordinary efforts, Miss Thudi- 
 chum leaped backwards into her bed, and went 
 plump into the pie ! 
 
 In a moment all was still as the tomb, except a 
 smothered gurgling sound from Freddie, who was 
 nearly stifled by the violent efforts she made to sup-
 
 1 8 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 press a burst of laughter ; and when the grotesque 
 apparition already described glided into the room, 
 and commenced an inspection of- the different beds, 
 poor Freddie's risibility amounted almost to agony. 
 Involuntarily she uttered a low, tremulous groan. 
 
 The sound reached Miss Crabtree's ears. She 
 hastened to the spot whence it proceeded, and as she 
 came to Miss Thudichum's bed, what a sight met 
 her view! There, upon the white coverlet, lay a 
 blood-stained knife, while a stream of crimson fluid 
 trickled from the bed and formed a pool upon the 
 floor! 
 
 She raised a series of such unearthly yells that all 
 the girls started up in their beds, eagerly inquiring 
 what was the matter, and the servants, in a distant 
 part of the house, were roused from sleep, and rush- 
 ing upon the scene, added their cries and high-raised 
 voices to the confusion. In the midst of all, Fred- 
 die's ringing peals of laughter formed a strange 
 chorus to the wailings of dismay. 
 
 Miss Thudichum, meanwhile, lay with closed eyes 
 and immovable features, looking as calm as though 
 she were really sleeping the sleep of innocence, or 
 of death. 
 
 The cook, who had good reasons for suspecting 
 the truth of the matter, took up the knife, smelledP 
 it, tasted the red fluid with which it was stained, and 
 observed : 
 
 " Law, ma'am, that aint blood ; that's plum-juice." 
 
 Still Miss Thudichum stirred not a muscle, and 
 all the girls, except Freddie, suddenly subsided into
 
 SCHOOL LIFE. 19 
 
 their beds, and slept like dormice. As for Freddie, 
 she laughed louder than ever. 
 
 "Plum juice! "cried Miss Crabtree; " plum juice ! 
 Then what is this ? " pointing to the pool on the 
 floor. 
 
 Investigation proved what it was. Miss Thudichum 
 was with difficulty roused from sleep, and sate up 
 rubbing her eyes and blinking at the light in the 
 most natural manner possible. 
 
 When sharply questioned by Miss Crabtree con- 
 cerning her complicity in the crime of smuggling a 
 pie into the dormitory, she looked placidly at the 
 woful debris of the feast, acknowledged that it seemed 
 to have been a pie, and added that she had not seen 
 any one put it there, and did not know who had 
 done it, but supposed some one must have done it 
 for fun. 
 
 " Miss Thudichum," said the school-mistress, se- 
 verely. " I greatly fear you are prevaricating. How 
 could you lie there, in the very middle of that pie, 
 without being aware of it ? " 
 
 " I felt something odd," replied the young lady, 
 with an air of the utmost simplicity. " But how could 
 Isee what it was in the dark ? " 
 
 Another burst of laughter drew the attention of 
 the wrathful principal upon the delinquent Freddie. 
 
 " You evidently know all about this disgraceful 
 business, Miss Wilson. Will you cease your un- 
 seemly merriment, and tell me at once, and without 
 any falsehoods, what this all means?" 
 
 " I'll tell you all about myself / put the pie
 
 20 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 there," gasped Freddie; "and Miss Thudichum 
 jumped right into the very middle of it. Ho ! 
 ho! ho!" 
 
 " Will you stop this giggling ? " cried Miss Crab- 
 tree, sharply, -and the more sharply as she saw that 
 the cook and housemaid had great difficulty to pre- 
 serve their gravity. " So Miss Thudichum knew it 
 was there, did she ? " 
 
 " Why, no ; of course not. Would she have gone 
 into the very middle of it, if she had known it was 
 there ? She's not to blame. / put it there, and 
 she Ha ! ha ! ha !' " 
 
 And again Freddie rolled her head upon her 
 pillow, and laughed till it seemed she could laugh 
 no more. 
 
 " Compose yourself, Miss Wilson. I insist upon 
 it," said Miss Crabtree, with increased acerbity. 
 " And teU me, on your peril, who else was concerned 
 in this most disgraceful business ? " 
 
 " Miss Crabtree," replied Freddie, with a success- 
 ful effort to be serious, " I will tell you everything 
 that concerns myself, but not one word that can 
 throw the blame upon any one else. I acknowledge 
 that I had that pie ; I began to cut it, and when I 
 heard you coming, I put it in Miss Thudichum's bed, 
 and she and she and she" 
 
 Freddie was determined not to weaken the force 
 of her confession by unseasonable merriment, and 
 finding it utterly impossible even to allude to Miss 
 Thudichum's disaster with a serious face, she gasped, 
 and stopped short.
 
 SCHOOL LIFE. 21 
 
 " You may think yourself very determined, Miss 
 Wilson, but I flatter myself that I can make you 
 speak the truth, notwithstanding all your impudence 
 and obstinacy. It is too late to take any measures 
 with you to-night, but you may prepare yourself 
 for very severe treatment to-morrow, unless you 
 think well to tell me the whole truth, and nothing 
 but the truth." 
 
 Miss Crabtree would not diminish the terror of 
 this awful threat by adding another word, and stalked 
 in silence from the room. 
 
 " Oh, doesn't she look like a pair of tongs out on 
 a ramble ? " exclaimed the irrepressible Freddie, as 
 soon as the door closed behind the spectre. . 
 
 "Oh, for shame, Miss Wilson!" cried the cook, 
 as a suppressed giggle ran through the room. " You 
 might have set us all laughing out loud, and got us 
 all into trouble. I'm sure / must have laughed out 
 if it hadn't been for grieving over what will be done 
 to you to-morrow." 
 
 " Shall you tell about us ? " demanded one girl. 
 
 " Nothing shall make me. I promise you that." 
 
 " But suppose she should whip you ? " suggested 
 another. 
 
 " If she tries that once, she wont do it a second 
 time," replied Freddie, with a smile of conscious 
 superiority. " I'll never submit to be flogged." 
 
 " I wonder whether she means to punish us all," 
 said one, who was not remarkable for courage. 
 
 " Not she," replied Freddie ; " she'll be glad enough 
 to let you all off with a lecture, because you all have
 
 22 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 influential friends. But as somebody ought to be 
 punished for the sake of discipline, she'll make a 
 scapegoat of me, because I have no friends." 
 
 " Oh, what a shame ! " cried a chorus of young 
 voices. 
 
 " Don't fret about it, girls," responded the indomi- 
 table Freddie. " She dare not kill me, and she shall 
 not beat me ; and she can't deprive me of the fun of 
 seeing little Thud going with such a thud into that 
 pie. Oh ! it's fifty times better than having eaten the 
 pie. That would have been soon forgotten, but the. 
 recollection of Thuddy's jump will be a Joy forever. 
 How did you do it, Thuddy? And what a little 
 hypocrite you were to sham sleep so cleverly ! " 
 
 '' I didn't know what else to do," said quiet little 
 Miss Thudichum, nestling down into her bed, which 
 the two women had made up with clean sheets while 
 this conversation was going on ; " and it was about 
 the best I could have done, after all." 
 
 " Good night, young ladies, and mind you go to 
 sleep quickly ; there's dears," said the cook, as she 
 retreated. 
 
 They all followed her parting injunction; but 
 Freddie's dreams were frequently disturbed by 
 visions of Miss Thudichum taking impracticable 
 leaps into all sorts of utterly impossible places.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 FREDDIE'S PUNISHMENT. 
 
 A CONSCIOUSNESS of power always imparts courage 
 to its possessor. The martyr knows he can support 
 torture for . righteousness' sake, and smiles upon the 
 inventions of his persecutors. Even the conscious- 
 ness of possessing unusual physical strength inspires 
 an amount of courage beyond what persons of weaker 
 muscle possess. Thus it was that Freddie was en- 
 abled to treat all Miss Crabtree's threats of vengeance 
 and punishment with silent contempt. Her early 
 training with her young acrobatic playmates had 
 developed in her a degree of muscular power which 
 was perfectly marvellous, and as she increased in 
 years and stature, so did her strength of body. She 
 made no boast of it, for the fact was that the poor 
 child was ashamed of being so unfeminine, and con- 
 cealed her natural gift with as much solicitude as 
 though it had been a crime. Now, for the first time 
 in her life, she rejoiced in her abounding vigor and 
 activity, as she thought of the ease with which she 
 would overpower her tyrannical school-mistress, 
 should she venture to threaten her with a whip. 
 
 She stretched her tall lithe figure, and clenched 
 
 23
 
 24 WINIFRED' S JEWELS. 
 
 her small firm hands, and felt that she was mistress 
 of the situation. 
 
 As soon as prayers were over, on the morning 
 after the adventure of the pie, Miss Crabtree sol- 
 emnly summoned Freddie to her desk. 
 
 " Miss Wilson," she began, with the most awe- 
 inspiring air and voice that she could command; 
 " are you prepared to divulge the names of your 
 accomplices in the disgraceful proceedings of last 
 night ? " 
 
 " No, ma'am," replied Freddie, firmly, yet mod- 
 estly. " I will answer every question you choose to 
 ask about myself; but"! will say nothing about any 
 other person." 
 
 " How did you come by that pie ? " 
 
 " I came by it honestly. It was paid for, and the 
 money passed through my hands. I can say noth- 
 ing more about it." 
 
 " Did my cook make it for you ? " 
 
 " That is a question which I cannot answer, Miss 
 Crabtree. If I were to tell you the name of every 
 person who did not make it, you would easily dis- 
 cover who did make it ; and that I intend to conceal." 
 
 " Am I to understand that you are determined to 
 make no further disclosures ? " asked Miss Crabtree, 
 turning white with rage. 
 
 " Yes, ma'am," replied Freddie, respectfully, " un- 
 less they relate to myself." 
 
 " Then come with me to my parlor. I will not 
 disgrace you publicly before your companions." 
 
 All the girls turned frightened glances at each
 
 FREDDIE'S PUNISHMENT. 25 
 
 other, and tears started in many young eyes, as Miss 
 Crabtree stalked majestically out of the room, fol- 
 lowed without any show of reluctance by Freddie, 
 who cast back on them as she went a glance as ex- 
 pressive of contempt for all that might be in store 
 for her, as she dared venture on in presence of the 
 other teachers. 
 
 Arrived in her private parlor, Miss Crabtree took 
 in her hand a long and supple switch, prepared for 
 the occasion. 
 
 " Once more, I give you the option, Miss Wilson," 
 she said, in a voice that shook with anger, " of giving 
 up the names of your accomplices, or of baring your 
 back to -the waist, and receiving the chastisement that 
 your obstinacy merits." 
 
 " Miss Crabtree," said Freddie, looking her full in 
 the face, and speaking in a quiet and respectful tone, 
 " I will neither betray my friends, nor suffer myself 
 to be flogged." 
 
 " Take off your dress this moment ! " screamed 
 the vindictive woman, losing all self-command, and 
 shaking the switch close to the girl's face. . 
 
 Freddie never flinched, but she took the switch 
 from Miss Crabtree's hand without the slightest ef- 
 fort, twisted it into a small compass (it was too 
 tough to break), and put it into the fire. 
 
 Livid with passion, and oblivious of all decency 
 or self-respect, the school-mistress flew upon her 
 pupil and tried to tear her face and hair with her 
 long nails. Freddie easily kept her off with one 
 hand, while she completed the destruction of the 
 
 *
 
 26 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 switch. Then she imprisoned both the virago's 
 hands, and held them quietly, till she ceased her vo- 
 ciferations, and the young girl had a chance of 
 being heard. 
 
 " I do not wish to treat you with any disrespect, 
 Miss Crabtree," she said, " but you must not scratch 
 my face. If you will promise not to touch me, I 
 will let you go." 
 
 " Let me go," she gasped out. " I'll not touch you 
 again, I promise you. Let me go you frighten 
 me. You must be a man in disguise ! " 
 
 " Oh, no ! I am only a little stronger than most 
 girls, and you are very weak, ma'am. Now tell me 
 what punishment you mean to impose upon me, and 
 I will submit to it quietly, so long as it is not whip- 
 ping." 
 
 Miss Crabtree, though the strange girl released 
 her hand,s, felt herself wholly subdued ; yet roused 
 herself to exert an appearance of authority. 
 
 " You are to be locked in the lumber attic till you 
 consent to speak the truth," she said, though with 
 an inward dread of being again successfully set at 
 defiance. But Freddie only bowed her grace- 
 ful head, and asked humbly if she might be 
 allowed to continue her studies while she remained 
 there. 
 
 "All that you can, conveniently," replied Miss 
 Crabtree, glad to make any concessions that might 
 lure the wild creature into her prison. " Your music 
 lessons you must necessarily forego ; but I trust you 
 will come to your senses in a day or two, so the loss
 
 FREDDIE'S PUNISHMENT. 27 
 
 will not be great Your books shall be sent up to 
 you." 
 
 Freddie courtseyed in the formal fashion which 
 Miss Crabtree's notions of etiquette demanded of 
 her scholars on entering or quitting her presence, 
 and bounded up stairs to her place of imprisonment 
 as lightly as a midshipman under sentence would 
 run up to the mast-head. 
 
 " Well ! " she said to herself, as she surveyed the 
 .premises, " there will be some credit in 'being jolly 
 under these circumstances,' but with Mark T^apley's 
 example before me, I think I shall manage it." 
 
 It was a long room with a ceiling sloping on each 
 side to within a few feet of the floor ; in the centre 
 it was lofty, and three large beams crossed it, mid- 
 way between the floor and the apex of the roof. 
 Upon these the young prisoner looked with much 
 complacency, as furnishing the foundation for a gym- 
 nasium. 
 
 " I'll not die or grow stupid for want of exercise," 
 she said, half aloud ; " in fact, I think I shall rather 
 enjoy my captivity, if she don't keep me in too long." 
 
 Forthwith she set to work to make her habitation 
 as comfortable as possible, by arranging the miscel- 
 laneous articles of furniture that were piled in dis- 
 order on every side, and especially by opening the 
 two dormer windows. 
 
 While she was thus occupied, Miss Crabtree made 
 her appearance, followed by the housemaid, who 
 brought a slice of bread and a cup of milk and 
 water for the prisoner's breakfast. They retired, and
 
 28 WINIfRE&S JEWELS. 
 
 Freddie laughed on hearing the key turned in the 
 lock. She ate her breakfast contentedly, and again 
 set to work to tidy up her prison room. 
 
 A few hours later Miss Crabtree and her satellite 
 returned. 
 
 " Are you prepared to tell me the names of your 
 accomplices, Miss Wilson ? " demanded the school- 
 mistress, with less austerity than she had before used 
 in addressing her recalcitrant pupil. 
 
 " I should be very glad to oblige you, Miss Crab- 
 tree," replie'd Freddie, with a coolness that Mr. Mid- 
 shipman Easy might have envied, " but I cannot do 
 so. It would be quite contrary to my ideas of 
 honor." 
 
 " Stuff and nonsense ! " said Miss Crabtree. 
 " Make up Miss Wilson's bed, Jane. You are a wit- 
 ness that it is entirely her own fault and her own 
 choice that she remains here." 
 
 Freddie helped to make her bed with most pro- 
 voking alacrity, and when Jane began to set the 
 place in order, she begged her not to trouble herself, 
 as it would afford her occupation and amusement to 
 do it herself; but she requested to have the requisite 
 household utensils for giving it a good cleaning. 
 
 Jane looked for orders to her mistress. 
 
 " Let her have them," responded that lady, as she 
 quitted the room with an overpowering sense of her 
 utter inability to cope with the indomitable spirit she 
 had undertaken to subdue. 
 
 Freddie's imprisonment lasted for two weeks ; 
 during which time she had practised gymnastics to
 
 FREDDIE'S PUNISPfMENT. 29 
 
 such good purpose, that her health was unimpaired, 
 while her remarkable strength was greatly increased. 
 
 Her release was the result of no humiliating sub- 
 mission on her part, but was effected by a manoeuvre 
 of Miss Crabtree's own contriving. Finding that 
 Freddie's resolution was invincible, she began to be 
 fearful of the consequences, if it should become pub- 
 licly known that she had kept one of her pupils so 
 long under confinement. She, therefore, by a little 
 skilful insinuation gave one of the teachers to under- 
 stand, that if all the girls were to present to her a peti- 
 tion expressive of their own repentance for any share 
 they might have had in Freddie's offence, and pray- 
 ing for their companion's pardon, she might be pre- 
 vailed upon to give it a favorable consideration. 
 The teacher no sooner gave a hint to one of the 
 elder girls that she thought such a petition would 
 obtain Freddie's pardon, than the idea flew like 
 lightning through the school. 
 
 The important document was drawn up, signed, 
 and presented in due form. Miss Crabtree pretended 
 to require time to ponder well before granting their 
 wishes, and after keeping them in suspense for about 
 an hour, she caused Freddie to be conducted to the 
 school-room, where she delivered a long lecture to 
 them in a body, without mentioning Freddie in par- 
 ticular, pardoned them en masse, and swept out of 
 the room with an assumption of dignified superiority 
 that was exactly in inverse proportion to her con- 
 sciousness of having sneaked out of a ver>^ degrad- 
 ing predicament.
 
 3 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 From this time Freddie's life was embittered by 
 every petty annoyance that a small and malignant 
 nature could invent. * 
 
 Miss Crabtree did not venture on any open act of 
 oppression ; but she had the power of making the 
 poor girl feel that she was always under a cloud of 
 suspicion. Freddie often felt uncomfortable and 
 unhappy; and on one occasion this feeling urged 
 her to write to her guardian, and ask him if he 
 would remove her to another school. She received 
 no answer, for the excellent reason that her letter 
 never found its way to the post-office, but was quietly 
 consigned to Miss Crabtree's fire. 
 
 Miss Crabtree's malice went so far as even to en- 
 deavor, by underhand means, to prevent Freddie's ac- 
 companying the rest of the girls to witness the per- 
 formances at a travelling circus. Her wiles, however, 
 were overthrown, for this visit was a " breaking-up " 
 treat given by the wealthy parents of one of her 
 pupils, who would take no excuses for the absence 
 of even one of the number. 
 
 This performance was a source of intense delight 
 to Freddie, for it brought back vividly to her recol- 
 lection the merry times she had spent in attempting 
 such feats with her young neighbors, which her grief 
 for her parents' death, and the subsequent quiet, 
 studious life of the school, had almost obliterated 
 from her memory. She almost longed for a second 
 period of imprisonment, that she might try to imi- 
 tate sorge of the daring achievements of the arena. 
 She consoled herself with the thought that the
 
 FREDDIE'S PUNISHMENT. 31 
 
 * 
 
 Christmas vacation was close at hand, when, if she 
 was not invited to accompany one of the girls to her 
 home, which had sometimes happened, she would 
 steal up into the attic when the Crabtree was out of 
 the way, and practise to her heart's content. 
 
 But Miss Crabtree had other intentions respecting 
 the disposal of her time, which would materially in- 
 terfere with these designs. 
 
 She declined an invitation for Freddie to spend the 
 holidays with Miss Thudichum's family, but kept her 
 ulterior intentions in the dark till all the girls were 
 gone to their homes. The next day the housemaid 
 left, and the cook told Freddie that she too was going 
 by the end of the week. That evening Miss Crab- 
 tree summoned Freddie to her parlor. 
 
 " Close the door, Miss Wilson, and sit down ; I 
 wish to have a little conversation with you," began 
 the schoolmistress, in a dry, business-like tone. 
 " Have you any idea what arrangement was made 
 between Mr. Mason and Mrs. Tyler respecting the 
 expense of keeping you during the vacations ? " 
 
 " I believe, ma'am, it was understood that I was to 
 remain here all the time, and that Mrs. Tyler con- 
 sidered what Mr. Mason pays for me was to include 
 everything." 
 
 " It is only thirty pounds a year," said Miss Crab- 
 tree ; " and it was barely sufficient when you were a 
 little child. Now that you are older, and, of course, 
 eat more, and require more material for your clothes, 
 it is not by any means enough, even without the ex- 
 pense of keeping you through the holidays.''
 
 32 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 "Why did you not let me go to Mrs. Thudi- 
 chum's ? " exclaimed Freddie, half reproachfully. 
 
 " I had my reasons," replied Miss Crabtree, biting 
 her thin lips. " It is a very unfortunate thing for a 
 young girl to commence life by being dependent 
 upon charity, and I had reason to know that Mrs. 
 Thudichum invited you merely out of compassion." 
 
 Freddie's brow flushed, and she looked what she 
 felt deeply mortified. But she said nothing. 
 
 " Now, I have in my possession," continued Miss 
 Crabtree, " the letters which Mr. Mason wrote to 
 Mrs. Tyler upon the subject at the time you were 
 placed here, and I will read to you what he says." 
 She took a letter from the table and read : 
 
 " 'As the sum, which is all that I am empowered to 
 offer for the young lady's board and education (in- 
 cluding her clothing and her maintenance during the 
 holidays^ is very moderate, you will be perfectly 
 justified in doing as you suggest, and making her 
 useful in the school as soon as she is sufficiently ad- 
 vanced for her services to be of any value to you.' 
 
 " I require you to say, Miss Wilson, whether you 
 have hitherto been of any service to me." 
 
 " Only in teaching the junior class, ma'am," fal- 
 tered Freddie. 
 
 "A mere trifle, not worth naming," said Miss Crab- 
 tree, superciliously, " and of more advantage to your- 
 self than to me. But there is now an opportunity 
 for you to make yourself really useful, and that at a 
 time when you are not engaged in studies of any 
 kind. It is very desirable that every young woman
 
 FREDDIE'S PUNISHMENT. 33 
 
 should be acquainted with household management 
 and work in all its branches, and I mean to employ 
 you in such light work as will be required while 
 there are only two in the family, until such time as I 
 can replace my cook and housemaid, who are leav- 
 ing me." 
 
 " Will you not first write to mv^guardian, ma'am, 
 and ask if he would approve of my being employed 
 in menial work ? " asked Freddie, almost choking. 
 
 " This letter is quite sufficient authority," repliecT 
 Miss Crabtree. 
 
 " But he says there that I am to be made useful 
 in the school," persisted Freddie. 
 
 "And, I take it, this is the school, Miss," retorted 
 the principal, tartly. " Mr. Mason is in very bad 
 health, and is now on the continent travelling, so any 
 application to him would be too late. I give you 
 the option of earning your bread honestly ; but if 
 you refuse my orders, I shall dismiss you from the 
 school. I am not bound to keep you ; and where 
 will you go, I should like to know ? Where can you 
 go ? Unless, indeed, you can stoop to going to Mrs. 
 Thudichum's, or elsewhere, as a beggar a suppliant 
 for their charity ! " 
 
 " I will not do that, ma'am," replied the girl, with 
 great humility. " I will ask cook to teach me as 
 much as I can learn about cookery before she goes, 
 and I will do the best I can." 
 
 " I am glad to hear you say so," said Miss Crab- 
 tree. " Then from to-morrow morning you will begin 
 to keep the house in good order. It will not hurt 
 3
 
 34 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 you. I am sure you are strong enough. You may 
 now retire to bed. Good night." 
 
 " Good night, ma'am," said Freddie, as she with- 
 drew, apparently quite subdued. 
 
 " I have broken her spirit ! " thought Miss Crab- 
 tree, with inward triumph. " I have crushed out all 
 her pride ! And I will trample on her more as I go 
 on. How I hate that girl ! " 
 
 " The best I can," whispered Freddie, as she as- 
 cended the stairs. " Yes, I must do the best I can ; 
 and I think that will be the best. I can't stay here, 
 anyhow, and I wont go a-begging." 
 
 What this best thing was that had come into her 
 mind like an inspiration, and prompted her apparent 
 submission to Miss Crabtree's tyrannical orders, came 
 to light in due course. 
 
 Meanwhile she performed her new work with 
 cheerfulness and alacrity, though she was more 
 thoughtful than usual. She took regular instructions 
 in cooking, and promised to become a first-rate maid 
 of all work. 
 
 Miss Crabtree was completely thrown ofF her 
 guard, and ceased to watch over her intercourse with 
 the cook as jealously as she had done at first. 
 
 " Cook," said Freddie, the evening before that 
 functionary's departure, "will you do me a great 
 kindness ? " 
 
 " Why, Miss Wilson, darling, don't you know I'll 
 do anything in this world for you ? Haven't I lived 
 in this very house with you ever since you was 
 brought here ? And didn't we both love the dear
 
 FREDDIE'S PUNISHMENT. 35 
 
 angel that's gone to a better world, and that was so 
 kind to us while she was mistress here ? And don't 
 I see how you are put upon by this old crab-apple ? 
 As \iyou was made to do hard work like a servant." 
 
 " What I have done wont kill me," replied Freddie, 
 cheerfully. " Now, you must promise me, first of all, 
 never to say one word to anybody of what I am going 
 to ask you to do for me." 
 
 " My blessed child, you may reckon upon me. I 
 promise you, solemnly." 
 
 " Then I want you to give me an old dress and 
 ten shillings for my new merino, and an old bonnet 
 for my new hat, and your red tartan shawl for my 
 gray one. Don't ask me any questions, but just say 
 yes or no. But remember, if you say yes, it will save 
 me from from well I may as well say it right out 
 it may save me from drowning myself." 
 
 There was a depth of emotion in the poor girl's 
 voice and manner that carried conviction to the wo- 
 man's kind soul. 
 
 "I'll do it," she said, hurriedly; "yes, I'll do it. 
 But what if Miss Crabtree should have me taken up 
 for stealing ? " 
 
 "Never fear," said Freddie, confidently; "she'll 
 not do that, for she will never find it out. Oh, 
 thank you, dear Susan ! Thank you a thousand 
 times ! Bring the things to my room the first thing 
 in the morning, and I'll have the others ready for 
 you." 
 
 On the night of the second day from this, Freddie, 
 dressed in the clothes thus obtained, and with a bun-
 
 36 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 die on her back, quietly let herself out by a side door, 
 and quitted forever the house that had been her 
 home for so many years. 
 
 Miss Crabtree " moved heaven and earth," to use 
 her own expression, in her efforts to trace and re- 
 cover the fugitive ; but all in vain. Freddie had dis- 
 appeared as completely as though the earth had 
 opened and swallowed her in its depths.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CIRCUS LIFE. 
 
 IN the deserted tap-room of a small inn, situated 
 in the outskirts of a manufacturing town, about 
 ninety miles distant from Miss Crabtree's seminary, 
 sat a man, of some sixty years of age, sipping a glass 
 of gin and water, and gazing gloomily into the em- 
 bers of the expiring fire. 
 
 He was somewhat corpulent, and not over clean 
 in his general appearance. His clothes were shabby, 
 his shirt front was soiled and rumpled, his hair was 
 matted and unkempt, and his bloated features and 
 blood-shot, lack-lustre eyes would have told a keen 
 observer that he was too much addicted to the use 
 of the baneful stimulant he was imbibing. 
 
 A showy posting bill that hung on the smoky 
 wall announced the performances of Powell's Grand 
 Circus, and some hastily scribbled pencil memoranda 
 that lay at his elbow on the table referred to the re- 
 ceipts for the evening's performance, concluded about 
 an hour ago. This was, in fact, no other than Mr. 
 Powell himself, the proprietor and manager of the 
 circus. 
 
 " Muster Powle, here's a young 'ooman wants to 
 
 37
 
 38 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 see yer," said a slip-shod woman, looking into the 
 room. 
 
 " What does she want ? " demanded the person 
 addressed, looking wearily up from his contempla^ 
 tion of the fire. 
 
 " Don't know. She says she wants to see yer 
 very particular." 
 
 "Ask her to come to-morrow," he said, turning 
 again to the almost empty grate. 
 
 " Please, sir, let me speak to you to-night," said a 
 fresh, young voice, the owner whereof now entered 
 unbidden. " I have come a long way to see you, 
 and I shall be so disappointed if you- put me off till 
 to-morrow." 
 
 She was a neat looking girl, plainly dressed, and 
 with a bundle tied to her back. 
 
 "Well, well," said the manager, with a feeble 
 smile, " sit down and tell me what you want. But 
 if you want me to help you with money, my poor 
 lass, you have come to the wrong shop. Busi- 
 ness is very bad very bad, indeed; never was 
 worse." 
 
 " I am very sorry to hear you say that, sir ; not 
 because I 'want you to lend me anything, but I 
 should like you to be well off." 
 
 " That's ve'ry kind of you," he answered, with a 
 rather brighter smile. " Cometo the fire such a fire 
 as there is and tell us all about it. Can't you 
 afford us a few more coals, Molly ? " 
 
 "Well, I don't know, Muster Powle," said the 
 woman. "We be shut up, now, you see, and custo-
 
 CIRCUS LIFE, 
 
 39 
 
 mers is all turned out for the night ; but, well, I s'pose 
 I must." 
 
 She brought a small quantity of coal and a few 
 sticks, which soon roused the feeble fire into a blaze. 
 
 " If I were superstitious," said the manager, " I 
 should feel inclined to hope that your coming for- 
 boded some improvement in my fortunes, young 
 woman. I have been comparing this dying fire to 
 my own life, going out and fading away for want of 
 fuel. And then you come in, and there's a blaze 
 we've got ! " 
 
 " I hope your presentiment may be fulfilled, sir," 
 said the visitor, laying down her bundle, and drawing 
 near the fire, " for I want you to give me an engage- 
 ment in your company." 
 
 "What can you do?" asked Mr. Powell. 
 
 "I don't know; but I can soon learn." 
 
 " That wont do. My funds are too low to allow 
 of my taking any new beginners. Have you been 
 engaged in any company already ? " 
 
 " No, sir ; I have only practised in private." 
 
 "That can't amount to much. Where do you 
 come from ? " 
 
 " I don't wish to answer any questions, Mr. 
 Powell," replied the girl ; " so please don't ask me 
 any. You must be satisfied with knowing that I 
 have no relations, and that no person has any claim 
 upon me. I was very badly treated by a person who 
 was paid to take care of me, and so I left her." 
 
 " But, my girl, the person who paid for you must 
 have had some claims on you." 
 
 /
 
 40 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " Oh, yes, sir, he would if he had been alive ; but 
 it was my father, who left a little money to pay for 
 bringing me up, and he died many years ago ; and 
 then the lady who took care of me died too, and I 
 fell into the hands of another person, a stranger, who 
 ill-treated me, and I will never go back to her. And 
 that is all I can tell you." 
 
 " What induced you to come to me ? " asked Mr. 
 Powell. 
 
 " I once saw your company perform." 
 
 " Where ? " he inquired hastily, hoping to discover 
 something more about her. 
 
 " I can't tell you that, sir. It was some time ago ; 
 but I saw in a paper that you were here, and so I 
 came. If you wont engage me, I must go to some 
 other manager." 
 
 " I don't want you to do that," he said. " You are 
 very young, and might fall into bad hands. \Vhat 
 can you do ? " 
 
 " I can do several things that I saw your people 
 do; and then I am very strong." 
 
 "A girl's strength," he repeated, with good- 
 humored contempt. 
 
 " But just try me, sir. You have no idea how 
 strong I am. I believe I am as strong as most 
 men." 
 
 " Can you bend that arm ? " said the manager, 
 rising, and extending his right arm, which notwith- 
 standing his intemperate habits and advanced age, 
 was still remarkably muscular. 
 
 The girl pressed one hand in the hollow of the 
 \
 
 CIRCUS LIFE. 41 
 
 elbow, took a firm hold of his clenched fist, and 
 doubled up the strong limb, with an effort, indeed, 
 but without any very violent exertion. 
 
 " Whew ! " whistled the manager, in amazement, 
 " it's hard if something cannot be made of you. But 
 surely you must be a boy in disguise. Take off your 
 bonnet ; let me see your face." 
 
 A pretty, blushing, very intelligent young face was 
 disclosed to his view when the bonnet was removed, 
 and his suspicion respecting her sex was instantly 
 dispelled, while his hopes of " making something of 
 her " rose proportionately high. 
 
 Trial after trial of her astonishing strength and 
 activity was made by the delighted manager. His 
 praises inspired her, and she forgot the fatigue of her 
 long and hurried march ; she forgot the insults and 
 cruelty that had driven her from her only place of 
 shelter ; she forgot that she was friendless and 
 alone in the world ; and thought only of future 
 triumphs. 
 
 More fatigued than herself, he at length gave over, 
 after having promised again and again, that she 
 should have the best possible instruction and train- 
 ing, to place her at the head of the profession, a 
 position which she merited, in every respect. 
 
 " And now, my dear, tell me your name," he said. 
 
 " I suppose I must make up a name," she replied, 
 pretending to consider deeply a question on which 
 she had already made up her mind. " If my real 
 name were Frederica, my pet name might be Freddie, 
 and that would do very well to keep up the uncer-
 
 42 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 tainty about my being a boy or a girl. But mind, I 
 don't say that my name is Frederica." 
 
 " I'll ask no more about it, for I don't want to 
 know," he said, laughing. "I don't want to be 
 obliged to give you back to your friends. So I'll 
 get my glass filled again, and one for you, my girl, 
 and we'll drink ' success to the old circus,' and I'll 
 drink a health to Freddie the nondescript." 
 
 But. Freddie put her hand upon the glass, and 
 looked at him beseechingly. " Please don't, Mr. 
 Powell," she said ; " and as for me, I would not taste 
 the horrid smelling stuff on any account. You'll be 
 so much better without it, and would you not be 
 richer if you never took it ? " 
 
 " I believe you are right, Freddie. I know you 
 are. It is an infernal habit that I have fallen into, 
 but I'll try, I will indeed, to get the better of it." 
 
 He looked regretfully at the empty glass, notwith- 
 standing his profession of future reform ; but that 
 young pleading face overcame the unhealthful crav- 
 ing, and he went to bed without a further indulgence 
 in the baneful vice which had made, and still kept 
 him a poor man. 
 
 Apart from this one besetting sin, the manager 
 possessed many good qualities ; and though he had 
 become slovenly in appearance, and even careless of 
 personal neatness and cleanliness, his language and 
 manners bore unmistakable evidence of his having 
 once been a gentleman. 
 
 From the first, he felt a strong interest in Freddie, 
 which further acquaintance ripened into an attach-
 
 CIRCUS LIFE, 43 
 
 ment so powerful, that had she totally failed in her 
 public performances, he would have retained her 
 with him, and shared with her his last sixpence. 
 
 No such sacrifice was needed, however, for Freddie 
 took the public by storm, and the empty coffers of 
 the impoverished company were rapidly filled. Her 
 first appearance took place after very short prepara- 
 tion, on account of the manager's bankrupt condi- 
 tion, and was confined to an exhibition of feats of 
 strength. Her youth and beauty, united to such 
 almost miraculous physical power, excited un- 
 bounded admiration, and on the second night a large 
 number of applicants could not obtain admission. 
 
 A few more performances enabled the manager to 
 rest for a while, and give the neophyte a course of 
 training. She was so apt and courageous a pupil 
 that she soon became expert as a rider, while the 
 characters she assumed were Protean. Whether as 
 the goddess Diana, the very embodiment of the 
 celebrated antique statue, or as a sailor boy dancing 
 a hornpipe, she was equally charming. 
 
 Billets-doux, and costly presents of jewelry were 
 showered upon her ; but these were invariably inter- 
 cepted by the careful manager. The former he threw 
 into the fire, and the latter he returned in her name 
 to the donors, if they could be discovered ; and if sent 
 anonymously, he sold them and placed the proceeds 
 in a bank, in the name of Freddie Powell. 
 
 The young girl, in the meanwhile, lived a happy, 
 childish life, unsullied by the vicious surroundings 
 of the arena, and unconscious of the libertine glances
 
 44 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 that followed and feasted on her graceful movements. 
 She enjoyed the active motion; she enjoyed the ap- 
 plause that followed enthusiastically upon every feat; 
 she rejoiced in her success; but most of all, she was 
 delighted to see the improvement that took place in 
 her adopted father, and his approbation was her 
 crowning glory. 
 
 Mr. Powell was so careful of her, and excluded 
 with such jealous watchfulness everything which 
 might contaminate her perfect purity, or even arouse 
 her vanity, whether it came in the form of passionate 
 solicitations from without, or coarse language or 
 unmeasured admiration and praise from those en- 
 gaged with her in the circus, that at the end of three 
 years Freddie was quite as innocent, and as ignorant 
 of the vices of the world, as she would have been 
 had she passed the whole period at school. 
 
 For her. sake the manager became careful in his 
 dress and personal appearance. For her sake he 
 punished with instant dismissal, any violation of 
 decency in language among his subordinates. For 
 her sake he strove hard to vanquish his one griev- 
 ous failing, and succeeded so far that he was only 
 occasionally overcome by what we must, in charity, 
 call the malady of intemperance. When this oc- 
 curred, he would hide himself as much as possible 
 from his adopted child, by going to bed and pretend- 
 ing to suffer from a violent headache. 
 
 This artifice succeeded once or twice, but Freddie 
 speedily found out the real nature of these attacks, 
 and her saddened countenance and averted eyes re-
 
 CIRCUS LIFE. 45 
 
 preached him more powerfully than the loudest 
 remonstrances could have done. 
 
 fie knew, besides, that while he was unable to 
 guard her, she was left open to the attacks of her 
 enemies. Once he was much alarmed by finding 
 that she had received a letter containing a diamond 
 ring of great beauty and value, during one of his 
 attacks. It was some relief to learn that this had 
 been sent by a lady presumably of high rank with 
 an urgent request that the graceful young athlete 
 would meet her at a time .and place which she 
 appointed, and afford her the pleasure of becoming 
 personally acquainted with him ; for Freddie's sex 
 was still a mystery with the public. 
 
 Freddie regarded this as an excellent joke, and 
 wished much to meet her "lady-love," as she called 
 her, in either her masculine or feminine character ; 
 but this was so strongly opposed by her old friend, 
 that she yielded to his judgment, and even consented 
 to wear the ring only in private. 
 
 At the end of three years, while Freddie was in 
 the midst of a most successful and triumphant en- 
 gagement in London, Mr. Powell was struck down 
 by a dangerous attack of sickness. 
 
 Freddie threw up her engagement to attend upon 
 him, and passed day and night by his bedside. Her 
 strength and patience were sorely tried, but seemed 
 inexhaustible. ' 
 
 The doctors at length pronounced the case to be 
 hopeless, and advised him to prepare for death. 
 
 "My will is made," he replied, calmly; "and I
 
 46 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 have no care nor anxiety in the world, except about 
 this child. I must talk with her alone." 
 
 " Do not let yourself be troubled on my account, 
 dear father," said Freddie, in the deepest distress. 
 " I can always earn my living, thanks to your teach- 
 ing. Don't heed what the doctors say. Keep quiet, 
 and go to sleep. Perhaps you will get well again, 
 after all." 
 
 A faint smile passed over the sick man's face. 
 
 " The doctors have done their best, my child," he 
 said ; " and they are r\ot to blame if they could not 
 save me. But I know there is no hope for me. 
 Good-bye, doctor. Don't feel hurt at what this poor 
 girl said in her grief." 
 
 " Not at all not at all," replied the doctor. " I 
 will remain with you longer, if you wish it, Mr. 
 Powell ; or if you or your daughter desire to see me 
 again, you have only to send for me, and I will 
 come." 
 
 He pocketed his fee, and departed. 
 
 " Freddie," said the dying manager, eagerly turn- 
 ing towards her, " I have a great load of anxiety on 
 my mind, and only you can remove it." 
 
 " Tell me what I can do, father, and I will do it." 
 
 " I have never asked you a question concerning 
 your family, or friends, or former position in life, 
 since the night you first came to me, in a dress 
 which I knew did not belong to your real rank. 
 On my deathbed, you owe it to me to clear up 
 this mystery. But I also have a confession to make 
 to you, and perhaps if I begin, you will find it easier
 
 CIRCUS LIFE. 47 
 
 to tell me your history. Lock the door, my child, 
 and look round the room to see that no one is listen- 
 ing-" 
 
 Freddie obeyed, and when she was once more 
 seated by his side, he continued : 
 
 " I can tell my own sad tale in very few words; 
 because, for the sake of others, I must not enter into 
 particulars. Upwards of thirty years ago, I was a 
 prosperous London merchant. I had a wife and 
 children whom I dearly loved. The failure of an- 
 other firm threatened me with instant ruin. God 
 knows it was not to save myself that I yielded to the 
 temptation of doing wrong. Could I but stave off 
 the difficulty for a time, I was convinced I could 
 recover myself, and save my family from poverty. I 
 committed a forgery. Other losses prevented me 
 from keeping it a secret by meeting the bill when it 
 became due. I was tried, and sentenced to a long 
 term of transportation. I escaped from the convict 
 settlement in such a way that I was supposed to be 
 dead. I wandered about in different parts of the 
 world, and earned some money by hard toil in the 
 gold fields. My appearance was so changed that I 
 ran no risk of discovery, and besides that, a man 
 who has money is seldom an object of suspicion. 
 After twenty years I saw my -wife again ; but not to 
 speak to her. She was married to another man, and 
 had another family of children. I would not ask a 
 question of any one, lest my identity should be sus- 
 pected; but I examined a file of the Times news- 
 paper, from the period of my trial. There I saw
 
 48 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 that my youngest child, my only son, had died in 
 infancy. Then I saw an account of my own death. 
 Some years later came the notice of my wife's 
 second marriage ; and more recently still, the mar- 
 riage of my three daughters. I have seen, since 
 then, notices of the births of many grandchildren, 
 not one of whom must I ever hold in my arms ! 
 Not one of whom will ever call me grandpapa ! It 
 is foolish of me to feel this so deeply," continued the 
 old man, wiping the fast-flowing tears from his eyes ; 
 " but sometimes it seems almost more than I can 
 bear. It was this that first drove me to seek conso- 
 lation and forgetfulness in drink. I have tried hard 
 to overcome that vice for your sake, my child 
 whom I have loved more than you may have sup- 
 posed, my Freddie ! But it has been a hard, hard 
 struggle, and I have often been vanquished in it. 
 Can you forgive me, child ? " 
 
 " Oh, don't talk about forgiveness! " sobbed Fred- 
 die. " I know how you have striven, and how 
 ashamed you have felt afterwards ; and I have been 
 so sorry for you, poor dear, for I saw that you had 
 some sorrow gnawing at your heart that you would 
 not tell to any one." 
 
 " Yes it has generally been after reading of the 
 birth of one of those little grandchildren whom I 
 must never see, that the grief and misery have been 
 too strong for me. Only to think of that ! Never 
 see them. Never, never, never ! " 
 
 He sunk into a kind of doze as he murmured the 
 last word. But suddenly rousing himself, he ex-
 
 CIRCUS LIFE. 49 
 
 claimed, with brightening eyes: "Yes there are 
 some of them that I shall soon see ! Three dear 
 little ones are waiting for me on the other side, and 
 my own boy, too, and they will not be ashamed to 
 recognize their old grandfather. But, Freddie, I am 
 forgetting you, and I shall not rest in my grave if I 
 leave you unprotected. Tell me who you are." 
 
 " My name is Winifred Wilson," she replied, con- 
 quering her emotio'n, and telling her story as suc- 
 cinctly as possible. " My father died when I was 
 nine years old, and left me to the care of a lawyer, 
 who took me to a school, and left me there without 
 seeing me again. My first school-mistress was very 
 kind and good, but she died, and the school was 
 taken by a dreadfully cross, ill-tempered woman, 
 who treated me so ill, that I ran away and came to 
 you. Now you know all." 
 
 " What is the name of that lawyer ? Send for him 
 this moment say a dying man must speak with him. 
 You will not refuse me this last favor, will you, 
 Freddie?" And he pressed her hand, and looked 
 yearningly into her face. 
 
 " Not for the world would I neglect a wish of 
 yours at this time," she said, tenderly ; " I will send 
 Tomkins he will find him, if any one can." 
 
 " Yes yes send Tomkins ; tell him to take a 
 Hansom cab with a good horse, and bring him back 
 with him. Is it far ? " 
 
 " Only at Lyon's Inn that's not far, I believe." 
 
 In half an hour the messenger returned, accom- 
 panied by- Mr. Mason. 
 4
 
 So WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 The manager dozed again in the interval, but on 
 the entrance of the lawyer he woke up, and seemed 
 so much refreshed that poor Freddie was deluded 
 into the hope of his ultimate recovery. 
 
 " Father," she said, in a low voice, " Mr. Mason is 
 here." 
 
 " Eh ! What ? " he demanded, hurriedly ; " what's 
 that you are saying about Mr. Mason ?" 
 
 " The lawyer, you know, dear, whom you sent for." 
 
 "Ay, ay to be sure. I recollect now. I was 
 thinking of something else, I believe." Then, rais- 
 ing himself a little, he pointed to Freddie, and said : 
 " Do you know this young lady, sir? " 
 
 " To the best of my belief I never saw her be- 
 fore," replied Mr. Mason, " unless it were possible 
 but no ; it cannot be that she is poor Wilson's little 
 girl." 
 
 " It is all right," murmured the manager, sinking 
 back on his pillow ; "I can leave her safely in your 
 hands. She will tell you all about herself. I have 
 no time. It's getting very dark. Take these papers. 
 My will is among them. I have done the best I 
 could for her. Freddie ! don't go on the stage, nor 
 keep in the circus when you have no old father to 
 watch over you. Let her go to a good school, sir, 
 and learn to be a teacher. She has been a blessing 
 to me, and my blessing will be upon her. Break off 
 altogether from this life, my child ; it is not fit for 
 you. It will be hard to part from the horses, I 
 know ; but Tomkins will take care of them. You 
 will see to all that, sir ? "
 
 CIRCUS LIFE. 51 
 
 " I will faithfully carry out all the provisions of 
 your will," replied the old lawyer. 
 
 A short silence ensued, broken only by the terri- 
 ble rattle in the throat of the dying man, and by Fred- 
 die's suppressed sobs. 
 
 " Hark ! " exclaimed the manager, eagerly holding 
 out his arms ; " the little ones are calling me ! 
 Good-bye, Freddie my child bless you bless 
 you ! " 
 
 These were his last words ; and Freddie was a 
 second time left an orphan. 
 
 A change had passed over the countenance of the 
 dead man, restoring, probably, some of the appear- 
 ance of his younger days. 
 
 Mr. Mason gazed steadfastly upon him, while long 
 past scenes glided through his brain. 
 
 " Strange ! " he thought to himself, " very strange ! 
 I prosecuted that man fpr forgeiy more than thirty 
 years ago ! And now I am called upon to execute 
 his will. A pleasant predicament for a lawyer, to be 
 pledged to carry out the will of a felon a man dead 
 in law, and not able to make a will ! I am not bound 
 to know it, however, and probably no one else is 
 aware of it. Dead men and lawyers tell no tales.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 GILBERT BRACEBRIDGE. 
 
 TEN years previous to the events recorded in the 
 last chapter, a man who had landed from an Aus- 
 tralian vessel at an early hour in the morning, was 
 strolling through Covent Garden market, not with 
 the design of buying from the tempting stores of 
 fruit and vegetables there displayed, but simply to 
 pass away the time. His dress was coarse and much 
 worn, but his carriage was so erect, and his counte- 
 nance so frank and independent, that the most casual 
 observer could not have taken him for a mendicant. 
 Except that he wore his beard, which at that period 
 had not become general, he looked like a mechanic 
 out of work, or possibly a sailor. It was difficult to 
 guess at his age, he was so weather-beaten and sun- 
 burnt, but it could not have exceeded twenty-five years. 
 
 His figure was remarkable for its great height, the 
 breadth of the shoulders, and the general appearance 
 of strength. In fact, in every movement of his 
 athletic form, as well as in the free glance of his 
 calm grey eyes, power was the predominating attri- 
 bute. So he lounged about, unquestioned, though 
 not unobserved, occupied by no business,- but, from 
 52
 
 GILBERT BRACEBRIDGE. 53 
 
 the glance that he cast on the church clock when- 
 ever he passed it, apparently waiting for something 
 or some one. 
 
 An elderly woman passed him, carrying with great 
 difficulty a large basket loaded with vegetables, 
 while her capacious apron was also filled to over- 
 flowing with punnets of strawberries and paper bags 
 full of various other fruits. At this moment a large 
 cabbage fell from the basket, and rolled to the feet 
 of the lounger. 
 
 " You had better let me carry your basket for you, 
 ma'am," he said, as he replaced the truant vegetable. 
 " I have nothing to do, and I'll take it with plea- 
 sure." 
 
 "Are you looking for a job, friend?" she de- 
 manded, with a peculiar accent, which at once told a 
 practised ear that she was a native of one of the 
 western counties ; "I mostly fetch my errants myself, 
 for it takes a mortal sight of money to pay them 
 boys every time but if you be in want of a job " 
 and she cast a pitying glance on his shabby clothes. 
 
 " Not so hard up as that, mother," he replied, with 
 a good-humored laugh. " I'll carry your basket just 
 for the pleasure of it. I'm waiting about till the 
 banks open ; I was wrecked, coming from Australia, 
 and lost everything but a bank bill. That's why my 
 clothes are so out of sorts. But do let me have a 
 good look at your face. Your voice sounds as fa- 
 miliar to me as my own mother's." 
 
 " I'm sartain sure I never seed you before, hows- 
 ever," replied the woman, clutching her basket
 
 54 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 firmly, for she had heard of that fair-seeming 
 " British seaman," who beguiled the too-confiding 
 housemaid, Eliza Davis, and she feared to trust 
 her property in the hands of the courteous 
 stranger. 
 
 " Yet, if your name is not Mrs. Penruddock, I'll 
 swear that mine is not Gilbert Bracebridge," he ex- 
 claimed, as he caught a full view of her face under 
 the close bonnet that she wore. 
 
 " Goodness gracious me ! " she cried, nearly letting 
 fall the basket, and the contents of her apron, too, 
 in her surprise ; "you can't be little Gilbert Brace- 
 bridge, though, to be sure, he were a big boy of his 
 age, too, when he runned away. Why, you be a 
 man growed ! There get out with 'ee, do ! You 
 be a-making game of I ! " 
 
 " No, indeed, I'm not. Why should I not be a 
 grown man in nine years, though they've not altered 
 you very much. What can I tell you about old 
 Tytherleigh to make you remember me ? There 
 was the gay Countess, enjoying herself among her 
 fashionable friends in London, while the poor old 
 Earl was pottering about in his cabbage garden, and 
 feeding his pigs." 
 
 " Ay, my lad," said the woman, shrewdly, " but 
 many folks could tell of them things. Now, can 
 you tell I who drownded my torn cat ? " 
 
 " Why nobody drowned him ! " exclaimed the 
 man, bursting into a loud laugh. " Bill Parsons and 
 Jim Allen tried to drown him, but I gave them both 
 a good hiding, and brought poor Tom home, shiver-
 
 GILBERT BRACEBRIDGE. 55 
 
 ing in his wet coat. And you gave me a new six- 
 pence for doing it." 
 
 " Sure enough, then, you be Gilbert Bracebridge," 
 she said. " Bring the basket, and come along home 
 with I." 
 
 Mrs. Penruddock lived in one of the streets that 
 lead out of the Strand to the river ; and, like most 
 of the inhabitants of that region, she supported her- 
 self by letting lodgings. 
 
 She ensconced her visitor in an easy chair in her 
 little back parlor, beside the fire for, though the 
 summer was far advanced, that small, cellar-like 
 room was always so damp and dark, that a fire was 
 acceptable at all seasons in the mornings and went 
 down stairs to superintend the preparation of break- 
 fast for herself and numerous lodgers. 
 
 When she returned, she found him sitting with his 
 elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands, 
 in so deep a fit of abstraction that her entrance 
 failed to disturb him. It was only after repeated 
 summonses that he awoke from his reverie to a com- 
 prehension of the fact that an excellent breakfast was 
 on the table. 
 
 " The sight of you, Mrs. Penruddock," he said, 
 turning again towards the fire when the meal was 
 over, " has brought back the thoughts of old times. 
 I have been expecting, all breakfast-time, that you 
 would tell me something of what has happened 
 since I went away." 
 
 " Well a good deal has happened, but I didn't 
 like to begin talking about it till Sally had cleared
 
 56 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 away the things, and was safe at her own breakfast. 
 She's mortal curous, is Sally, and would listen at a 
 key-hole sooner than say her prayers, I do believe." 
 
 " Has anything' been heard of Ellen ? " he asked, 
 in a low tone, while his face sunk again upon his 
 hands. 
 
 " Not a word. But they say, as ought to know, 
 that My Lady always would have it that she's mar- 
 ried." 
 
 " It is likely the Countess would maintain that, 
 after she had consented to her own son's marriage 
 with the poor deluded girl. It would be a hard blow 
 to her pride to know that argirl would jilt Lord Ty- 
 therleigh for another man, unless she were going to 
 marry that other." 
 
 " Don't 'ee say nowt about jilting that be a hard 
 word for it," said Mrs. Penruddock, deprecatingly. 
 
 "What 'else can you call it," he rejoined, almost 
 angrily, " when all the preparations were made, the 
 guests invited, and the wedding to take place on the 
 morrow ? " 
 
 " I be older than you, and I were older then, and 
 I knows more about it nor you did. The poor young 
 thing ! She loved t'other one, but she thought he'd 
 played her false, and deserted her, and so she was 
 over-persuaded like, into consenting to marry his 
 lordship. But that very night before she were to 
 have married him, the old lover, he corned back, 
 and told her how he'd been just at death's door, as 
 one may say, and could neither write nor send to 
 her; and she went off with 'un, in his carriage, with-
 
 GILBERT BRACEBRIDGE. 57 
 
 out so much as coming into the house for a 
 bonnet." 
 
 " How came you to know all this ? " asked her 
 visitor, looking up eagerly. 
 
 " Why, you see, farmer Jolliff were a-courting of I, 
 and I'd gone down the lane a bit, to meet 'un, and 
 I stood back when the carriage came, and so I 
 heered summat of what they said." 
 
 " Did you tell the Countess what you had heard ? " 
 
 " I never told nobody nothing about it, till this 
 blessed minute. I-^or, thinks I, a still tongue breeds 
 no strife; it couldn't do no manner of good to tell 
 what I'd heered and seed, and, besides, I didn't want 
 to let out that farmer Jolliff, or any other chap, was 
 a-courting of I." 
 
 " Does the Countess ever speak of her ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " Speak of her! " echoed Mrs. Penruddock, in tones 
 of amazement. " Lord love 'ee ! don't 'ee know she 
 be dead ? " 
 
 " No, indeed. You forget that I have been in 
 Australia all these years, and have been out of the 
 way of hearing English news. When did she die ? " 
 
 "That's just what I've been waiting to tell 'ee 
 about, all along," said Mrs. Penruddock, lowering 
 her voice, and drawing her chair closer to his in a 
 confidential, but rather mysterious way. " You must 
 know that when Ellen went away, Lord Tytherleigh 
 took it to heart dreadful: He shut up her rooms 
 just as they was, and would never let any one go 
 into 'em. The shutters is barred over the winders,
 
 58 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 and there is her wedding dress lying on the sofy in 
 the dressing-room to this blessed day, no doubt ; and 
 everything else as she left it. He went on moping 
 for two or three months, and then came the election, 
 and into that he went heart and soul. And so he 
 was returned to Parliament, as was nat'ral he should 
 be, and a mighty fine Parliament man they say he 
 made. Then the old Earl died, poor old creetur, and 
 they gave him a grand funeral, but nobody missed 
 him. And he was hardly in his grave when the 
 Countess was struck down, all of a suddenty. It 
 seems she knew from the first how it would go with 
 her, and all she said was that she must see her son 
 before she died. So he was sent for back from Lon- 
 don, and they was shut up together for an hour or 
 more. Nobody could ever guess what it could be 
 that she had said to him ; but he was a changed man 
 from that day. He dismissed almost all the servants, 
 and sold all the horses but such as were used on the 
 home farm, and one saddle horse for himself; and 
 he gave up his place in Parliament, and kept no 
 company, but just lived on like a poor man, eating 
 the plainest food, and working on the home farm 
 himself, just as if that was all he had to depend on; 
 for he had sent away the steward along with the rest 
 and did all his business hisself. There was the cellars 
 filled with fine old wines, but never a drop did he 
 drink, nothing but water. He'd go away sometimes 
 to his other estates, for he. managed everything, and 
 never neglected any business ; but he never seemed 
 to care much for anything except sitting in the libra'y
 
 GILBERT BRACEBRIDGE. 59 
 
 and reading. Now, Gilbert, what do you think the 
 Countess could ha' said to he ? " 
 
 " Nay, if you could not guess when you were in 
 the house when it occurred, how can I form any 
 opinion on the subject at this distance of time ? Did 
 the Countess say nothing before her death that would 
 throw any light on the mystery ? " 
 
 " She never spoke again, after he called me and 
 the nurse into the room, except just at the very last, 
 when she opens her eyes, and she says, 'Tytherleigh,' 
 she says, for it seems she'd forgotten he was the 
 Earl then, and she says, ' Tytherleigh, wont you pro- 
 mise? Think of your sisters.' And he says, 
 1 Mother,' says he, ' I promise.' And with that she 
 just goes off like the snuff of a candle. Can you 
 make head or tail out of that ? " 
 
 " Yes, I think I can," he replied. " It seems plain 
 enough to me that as the old Earl had been unable 
 to make a will, and all the real property had conse- 
 quently fallen to the only son, the daughters were 
 not so well provided for as they might have been, 
 and their mother was naturally -anxious that he 
 should make this up to them." 
 
 " No ; it couldn't be that, no how," said Mrs. 
 Penruddock, thoughtfully ; " they all on 'em had a 
 sight of money when they was married, and the 
 Countess left all her property among 'em too. So it 
 couldn't be that." 
 
 " Then it must have been some family secret," he 
 said, laughing, u that neither you nor I have any 
 right to know."
 
 60 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 "That's what I've always suspected," she ex- 
 claimed, impatiently, "and that's just what I want 
 to get to the bottom of." 
 
 " You'd better make up your mind that you never 
 "will get to the bottom of it," said he ; " for when a 
 man like Lord Tytherleigh the Earl, I should say 
 makes up his mind to keep anything to himself, 
 you may be sure he'll do it." 
 
 He rose as he spoke, and stretched his huge frame, 
 that almost reached to the ceiling of the little room. 
 
 " Lawk-a-daisy me ! " ejaculated Mrs. Penruddock ; 
 " only to see how you've growed ! Why, name o" 
 goodness ! what age be you, mun ? " 
 
 " I am only twenty-two," he answered, " but I've 
 seen hard work and hard weather enough to make 
 me look ten years older. The bank is open by this 
 time, so I'll go and draw my money, and buy some 
 decent clothes." 
 
 He made arrangements to take up his abode for a 
 time with his old acquaintance, who had formerly 
 been the cook at Tytherleigh Court, and set off on 
 his errand.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 LORD TYTHERLEIGH. 
 
 No one ever knew what it was that the Countess 
 told her son upon her death-bed. The only words 
 that met the ears of the eager listeners at the door 
 were these, spoken in a loud voice by the young man : 
 " Thank God, I was never married ! " Therefore it 
 seemed unlikely that disappointed affection was the 
 cause of his abrupt retirement from society, and his 
 abandonment of the brilliant political career on which 
 he had entered. 
 
 Nevertheless he ceased not to prosecute a quiet, 
 though unremitting search for the lost object of his 
 early love ; not with any thought of renewing an 
 acquaintance with her, but under the idea that her 
 hasty flight might have involved her in some posi- 
 tion of difficulty from which he might, unknown and 
 unsuspected, be the means of extricating her. He 
 always resolutely thought of her as the wife of 
 another; yet underlying this chivalrously maintained 
 conviction, lurked a bitter doubt, fed by the mysteri- 
 ous nature of her flight, and the utter silence that 
 had followed it, that the unknown lover whom she 
 
 had preferred to him might have deceived her. 
 
 61
 
 62 WINIFRELTS JEWELS. 
 
 Goaded by this idea, which he would not, even to 
 himself, acknowledge as having the slightest founda- 
 tion, yet which he could not wholly stifle, he had 
 once employed a detective to search through every 
 class of the demi-monde in London and Paris for the 
 original of a pprtrait which he entrusted to the 
 officer, with the strictest injunctions to suffer no 
 other eyes than, his own to rest upon it. After the 
 lapse of two months he was rejoiced to learn that 
 no such person could be found. 
 
 It happened, that, on the very day when Mrs. Pen- 
 ruddock related to Gilbert Bracebridge all that she 
 knew concerning the elopement of the Earl's intended 
 bride, that melancholy man was walking to and fro 
 in his library, the only room, excepting his bedroom, 
 which he retained in use of all the magnificent apart- 
 ments in the fine old mansion. 
 
 His thoughts were, as usual, occupied by anxious 
 speculations concerning the fate of the loved and lost 
 one. He passed in review all the events of her 
 childhood, from the time when his mother adopted 
 her for her singular grace and beauty, to that night 
 of agony when she had so mysteriously vanished. 
 All was mere barren speculation. Nothing afforded 
 the slightest clue by which to unravel the tangled 
 web of mystery which surrounded her flight. 
 
 " Could she have drowned herself? " he asked 
 himself; "yet no. The ponds had been drained in 
 searching for her, and the river was not so deep nor 
 so rapid as to have hidden her in its recesses, or have 
 carried her away. Besides, what was the meaning
 
 LORD TYTHERLEIGH. 63 
 
 of that carriage which had passed through the village 
 with only one occupant, a gentleman, and had shortly 
 after returned, with the blinds closed, and going as 
 fast as the horses could gallop ? I have never yet 
 ventured to enter her room ; what if a careful search 
 might discover something ? " 
 
 He unlocked his desk, and took from it a key. 
 But after a moment's hesitation, he replaced it 
 hastily, saying: "I cannot, I cannot; her chamber 
 shall not be desecrated," and threw himself into a 
 chair. 
 
 But another train of thought passed through his 
 brain. He started up, and muttering, " If/ do not, 
 some other will," he snatched up the key, and 
 bounded up the wide oaken stairs. 
 
 The echoes of the old house were so seldom dis- 
 turbed that they seemed frightened as he went, they 
 answered so loudly to his footsteps. 
 
 He opened the door. All within was dark, except 
 for one slender ray of light that found its way through 
 a chink in the shutters, and fell upon some white 
 object that glimmered ghostlike in its feeble beam. 
 His heart beat as he stepped across the room gently, 
 as though he feared to waken its slumbering tenant, 
 and opening a window, admitted a flood of daylight 
 into the chamber that had been shut up in darkness 
 for so many years. 
 
 Every mute object around him told of the last 
 occasion on which that room had been occupied. 
 There stood a trunk, strapped and locked, ready for 
 the journey his wedding tour! Another stood
 
 64 WINIFRED'S JE WELS. 
 
 open, waiting for some final objects that were to find 
 a place in it. Within the open doors of the ward- 
 robe hung her travelling dress of delicate grey pop- 
 lin ; the toilet table was strewn with trinkets, gloves, 
 combs, and a host of little knick-knacks. The tall 
 wax candles, which had lighted up her young beauty 
 the last time she had gazed into that dimmed and 
 dusty mirror, still stood like sentinels guarding their 
 posts. The vases were still filled with flowers, dried 
 up and withered like his hopes. And, spread out 
 upon the couch, was her bridal dress of costly lace, 
 and the veil and wreath upon the cushion. But it 
 was not to sentimentalize over these things that he 
 had come, but to hunt up evidence by which to 
 trace her. 
 
 He spent hours in the sorrowful search. Nothing 
 to be found ! Not a word ! Not a name ! 
 
 At last, with his hand upon the shutter, ready to 
 resign all those relics of a bright young life to the 
 darkness that had shrouded them so long, he cast 
 his eyes once more round the apartment. There 
 was a scrap of half-burned paper lying on the hearth. 
 He shook off the accumulated dust and ashes, 
 smoothed it out, and tried to decipher the nearly 
 obliterated words. It was written in pencil, in 
 a man's hand, on what looked like the back of a 
 letter. 
 
 Alfthat he could distinguish were these detached 
 parts of sentences, which had been part of the right 
 side of the short note "been sick" "of my" 
 " the regi- " " to India " " moment's interview."
 
 LORD TYTHER LEIGH. 65 
 
 Then came the signature " -olph Trevanian." And 
 underneath was written, " -urn this at once." 
 
 Re-locking the darkened chambers, he went back 
 to the library, and sat for hours poring over this 
 scrap of faded manuscript. Here, no doubt, was a 
 clew, if he could only seize it. But it evaded him 
 persistently. He knew no Trevanian as a friend of 
 the family. What should he do ? 
 
 Suddenly a new idea struck him. In ten minutes 
 more he stood on the railway platform, waiting for 
 the night train to London ; and while it was yet 
 morning he was in a private room in a hotel near 
 Charing Cross, waiting the arrival of his friend the 
 detective. 
 
 A quiet-looking, keen-eyed little man was soon 
 after announced as Mr. Smith ; and the Earl turned 
 round with a look of annoyance. 
 
 " Oh ! It's you," he said, while the frown passed 
 away from his brow. " I thought the waiter said 
 Smith." 
 
 " So he did," replied the little man. " What's the 
 use of giving him my real" name, and setting all the 
 people in the house buzzing to find out what I am 
 here for ? " 
 
 " Very true," replied the Earl, smiling faintly as 
 he reflected that he was there himself as Mr. Robin- 
 son, and was only known as such even to the sharp- 
 witted officer. " Now to the affair on which I want 
 to ask your opinion. A young lady disappeared 
 some years ago, very mysteriously, and her friends 
 hitherto been quite unable to discover her," 
 5
 
 66 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " The same party as you were after on a former 
 occasion, I presume, Mr. Robinson, sir," interposed 
 the detective. 
 
 " The same," said the Earl. " The suite of rooms 
 occupied by that young lady in her guardian's house 
 has been locked up ever since her departure, until 
 yesterday, when a search was made, and this scrap 
 of paper was found. Can you make anything of 
 it?" 
 
 A pair of eyes, keen as gimlets, were instantly 
 fixed upon it, and the busy brain behind them went 
 to work. 
 
 " I think I can," replied the soi-disant Mr. Smith, 
 with great deliberation. " The last line, of course, 
 reads, ' burn this at once,' which she proceeded to 
 do, but in her haste, did not stay to do it thoroughly. 
 My theory, drawn from this paper, is that she eloped 
 with a gent named Trevanian, who might have been 
 in a regiment going to India. Now, we've only got 
 to consult an army list for that year, and we shall 
 see whether there was a Trevanian in any regiment 
 that was sent to India. After that, I can follow him 
 up, easily. Will you oblige me with the exact date, 
 Mr. Robinson, sir?" 
 
 " The date ? " repeated the Earl, looking slightly 
 confused; "the date of her departure, do you 
 mean ? " 
 
 " If you please, sir." 
 
 " It was the seventh of May, 1845," he answered, 
 with a sigh that was not lost upon the professional 
 observer.
 
 LORD TYTHERLEIGH. 67 
 
 "Thank you, sir," said the detective, making a 
 note of the date in his memorandum-book. 
 
 " Spare no expense," said the Earl, handing him 
 a bank-note, " and lose no time." 
 
 " I will do my best, Mr. Robinson, sir," responded 
 the detective, bowing low, as he received the liberal 
 fee, " and this evening, at eight o'clock, I will do 
 myself the honor of waiting upon you again." 
 
 So he bowed himself out, and the melancholy re- 
 cluse was left to pass away the weary day as best he 
 could. But if he was lonely in his library at Tyther- 
 leigh, or when wandering about the park, or attend- 
 ing to his self-imposed work on his farm, how much 
 more lonely was he in the bustling crowds of Lon- 
 don. Weary of meeting those everlasting streams 
 of unknown faces, he turned into the comparative 
 quiet of the Museum Sculpture Gallery, and strove 
 to forget his sorrow in contemplating the majestic 
 ruins of antique art. 
 
 The detective, meanwhile, was engaged in ferret- 
 ing out the mystery he had undertaken to fathom, 
 with all the eagerness and pertinacity of the terrier 
 (to which he bore some resemblance) while in pur- 
 suit of a rat. 
 
 He had time also to attend to another little affair, 
 not exactly belonging to his present pursuit, yet 
 growing out of it. This was the examination of a 
 file of the Times newspaper. 
 
 "Here you are," he muttered: "' Mysterious dis- 
 appearance of a young lady on the eve of her mar- 
 riage ; ' so, that's you, my Lord ! I knew there was
 
 68 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 something behind the Robinson. Well ! your secret 
 is safe with me. Though why he should want to 
 keep dark with me is more than I can understand." 
 
 He was punctual to his appointment at eight 
 o'clock, and the increased deference of his manner 
 was all that marked his knowledge of his unassuming 
 client being a peer of the realm. 
 
 " Well," said the Earl, as soon as the door was 
 closed, " have you succeeded ? " 
 
 "As far as we have gone, Mr. Robinson, sir, I 
 may say I have," replied the officer, producing his 
 note-book. " If you will have the goodness to cast 
 your eye over these mems., you will see that Cap- 
 tain Randolph Trevanian, of the th regiment, sailed 
 for India on the loth of May, 1845, accompanied by 
 his wife." 
 
 " His wife ! " repeated the Earl, thoughtfully. " It 
 would be a great satisfaction to prove that." 
 
 " Nothing easier, sir; she left home on the seventh, 
 and they sailed on the tenth. That leaves~only two 
 days on which they could be married, or three at 
 the outside, as they might have been married on the 
 tenth, before sailing. We'll call it three days, then. 
 They must have been married by licence, and most 
 likely in London." 
 
 " What a fool I have been not to think of that 
 before ! " exclaimed the Earl. " I'll inquire about 
 that to-morrow." 
 
 " You will excuse me, Mr. Robinson, sir," inter- 
 posed the detective in his blandest manner, "but as 
 I have undertaken to carry this business through, I
 
 L ORD TYTHERLEIGH. 69 
 
 should prefer to carry it through. I have my own 
 ways of going to work." 
 
 " You will not advertise ? " said the Earl, ner- 
 vously. 
 
 " Nothing so vulgar as that, sir. I work out of 
 sight, like a mole, Mr. Robinson, sir. Never show 
 above ground till I've got something to show." 
 
 " Perhaps you are right of course you are right. 
 Manage the business in your own way, then." 
 
 " I am obliged to you, sir, for your confidence," 
 said the detective ; " may I now trouble you for the 
 name of the young lady?" 
 
 " Her name ! " repeated the Earl, turning red and 
 pale by turns ; " oh, yes ! Her name was was 
 Ellen Bracebridge." 
 
 It was ten years since that name had last crossed 
 his lips ! 
 
 " Ellen Bracebridge," said the officer, entering it 
 in his book with as matter-of-fact an air as though 
 the agony of a human soul were not linked with its 
 sound ; " and her place of residence ? " 
 
 " Is that necessary ? " 
 
 " Why, you see, sir, if I don't find her in London, 
 I shall have to look for her between the two points, 
 that which she left, and that where she re-appeared, 
 which was Southampton." 
 
 " I see I see. It was Tytherleigh Court, in 
 Devonshire." 
 
 Another matter-of-fact entry levelled that agony 
 into the commonplace. 
 
 " I have one other item of intelligence respecting
 
 70 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 this Captain Trevanian," continued the defective, 
 consulting his note-book; "in '48 that is three 
 years after he went to India he sold out. That 
 will make it more difficult to trace him, and it will 
 consequently involve more expense ; but if you wish 
 it, Mr. Robinson, sir, it shall be done." 
 
 " My object in instituting the present investigation 
 is to discover her present residence," said the Earl ; 
 "the cost is of little importance." 
 
 " You speak like a gentleman, sir, and a man of 
 business, and you may rely on my doing my 
 utmost in your service. In case of my wishing to 
 communicate with you, sir, shall I always find you 
 here?" 
 
 " No, I think not. My stay is uncertain, and my 
 residence for some time will be so, too. I will give 
 you the address of a friend, who will forward a letter 
 from you at any time." 
 
 He wrote on a slip of paper, " Mr. Mason, Solici- 
 tor, Lyon's Inn." 
 
 "A highly respectable party, indeed," said the de- 
 tective, placing it carefully in his pocket-book; 
 " and whatever information I may gain, Mr. Robin- 
 son, sir, I will give to him, under seal, for you, sir. 
 I have the honor to wish you good evening, sir." 
 
 "Good evening," said the Earl; then throwing 
 himself wearily back in his chair, he added, to him- 
 self, " the little man is wonderfully deferential ; is 
 it the money, I wonder ? Or, does he suspect what 
 I am ? Suspect what I am ! " he repeated, with a 
 sardonic laugh. " No ! No one suspects what lam / "
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 THE EARL'S DISCOVERY. 
 
 THE Earl returned to Tytherleigh, and for six 
 weeks waited anxiously for the news which he began 
 to fear would never come. One letter he had re- 
 ceived from his agent a few days after leaving Lon- 
 don, which set his troubled soul at rest to some 
 extent. It contained a certificate of the marriage of 
 Ellen Bracebridge and Randolph Trevanian at 
 Southampton, on the gth of May. 
 
 A month ago, or any time previous to the finding 
 of that half-burnt paper, this would have been all 
 that he could wish for ; yet now, it seemed only to 
 increase his longing to learn more about her. He 
 wanted to gain some information concerning the 
 Trevanian family ; but he had shut himself so com- 
 pletely out of society that he knew not where to 
 seek for such intelligence. Through Mr. Mason he 
 ascertained that there was no Randolph among the 
 higher branches of the family; but there were a 
 few disreputable members (probably disreputable, 
 because poor) only distantly connected, and hardly 
 recognized by the more prosperous portion. 
 
 The idea of Ellen his Ellen, as he sometimes 
 
 71
 
 72 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 fondly called her being destitute, perhaps wanting 
 the necessaries of life, while he had the means and 
 the will to help her, was maddening to his impatient 
 spirit. Yet frequently, when fancy had taken her 
 wildest flights in depicting her imaginary sufferings, 
 he would check himself with the half uttered excla- 
 mation, " And yet, thank God ! she did not marry 
 me!" 
 
 His dreams and anxieties, however, did not divert 
 his attention from worldly affairs. As if his only 
 dependence for the means of aiding her rested on 
 his own earnings, he devoted himself more and more 
 assiduously to the cultivation of the home farm, even 
 working on it himself. 
 
 At length came a telegram, sent by the detective 
 through Mr. Mason. It only contained these words, 
 " Found. Please come to London." 
 
 He obeyed the summons without delay, and was 
 soon in close conference with his diligent emissary. 
 It is needless to detail the whole of their conversa- 
 tion. The officer, who knew Paris as well as he did 
 London, and following up some faint scent on which 
 he had alighted, went to the former city, and suc- 
 ceeded in finding Captain Randolph Trevanian, a 
 dissipated man who gained a precarious living at 
 the gambling table. He found no difficulty in culti- 
 vating an acquaintance with such a man. He ac- 
 companied him to his favorite haunts, lent him 
 money, and gradually wormed himself into his con- 
 fidence, till he obtained from him the information 
 that he had a wife, living in a small village near St.
 
 THE EAR US DISCOVERY, 73 
 
 Malo. " Mr. Smith " was soon after obliged, by 
 urgent business, to return to England; but he took 
 St. Malo on his way, and saw, at the village indi- 
 cated by his friend, a lady whom he believed to be 
 the original of the portrait which the Earl had placed 
 in his hands some years before. 
 
 Having rewarded the detective's diligence beyond 
 his utmost expectations, the Earl set ofif at once for 
 France. It was evening when he reached the vil- 
 lage, and he had only sufficient light to distinguish 
 the house by the description which had been given 
 to him, before night closed in, cloudy and moonless. 
 He had no intention of presenting himself before 
 the inmate of the cottage, who, if she were indeed 
 his former playmate and once affianced wife, would 
 certainly recognize him. All that he desired was to 
 identify her beyond the possibility of error. 
 
 The cottage was surrounded on all sides by a 
 garden, and through this he wandered, making him- 
 self acquainted with the various paths, and the spots 
 where he could best shelter himself among the thick 
 shrubs and evergreens, should he be discovered and 
 pursued. 
 
 A light at length glimmered through one of the 
 front windows, and he cautiously approached to 
 reconnoitre. 
 
 A fragile looking woman sat by a table on which 
 a lamp was burning. A small, much used workbox 
 stood open before her, and her wearied-looking 
 hands were employed in repairing a child's garment. 
 The Earl made no noise ; yet she seemed half con-
 
 74 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 scious that strange eyes were watching her, for she 
 looked round nervously, and shivered. 
 
 As she turned her face towards the window, he 
 beheld the countenance of his lost love. Pale, 
 indeed, and prematurely withered, and the features 
 sharpened by suffering, but still the face that had 
 been the light of his youth. 
 
 In that moment, the love that had burned in his 
 breast with undiminished fervor during all the long 
 years of their separation, passed away like the last 
 cloud of incense from an altar, and a deep and holy 
 pity took its place. He had come resolved to aid 
 her because he still loved her ; but now that resolve 
 took a ten-fold firmer hold upon his soul, because it 
 was founded upon a pure and divine compassion. 
 
 " Freda ! Freda ! " cried Mrs. Trevanian, in a weak 
 and rather querulous voice. " Bring me a shawl, my 
 child. I feel quite chilly." 
 
 " Yes, dear mamma ! " answered a sweet, clear 
 child's voice, and in a moment after, a girl of ten or 
 eleven years old entered, carrying a shawl, which she 
 wrapped tenderly round her mother's shoulders, 
 ending with a loving embrace and a kiss. 
 
 " Poor darling ! " said the mother, passing her 
 hand caressingly over her daughter's clustering 
 curls. 
 
 "Why do you say poor darling?" asked Freda, 
 kneeling on the stool at her mother's feet. " I think 
 I am a very rich darling, when I have such a mother 
 as you are, to make me happy all day long." 
 
 " But I cannot do for you what I want to do, my
 
 THE EARL'S DISCOVERY. 75 
 
 own," sighed Mrs. Trevanian. " You ought to go 
 to a very good school, and to have many things 
 besides, that I have not the means to pay for." 
 
 " I am very sorry you have so much trouble in 
 mending my clothes, dear mamma," said the child, 
 looking regretfully at the torn garment on her 
 mother's knee ; " but if it were not for that, I would 
 not mind wearing them after they get old. I was 
 not careless, indeed, when I tore that great hole." 
 
 " My pet, I know you were not," replied her 
 mother, pressing her to her bosom. " You have 
 grown out of all your clothes, my poor darling, and 
 then they are so very, very old, too, that I know you 
 cannot help tearing them." 
 
 The watcher at the window had heard enough, and 
 stepped cautiously back. He had nearly reached the 
 garden gate, walking close under the shadow of the 
 bushes, when he heard the latch rattle, the gate 
 swung back, and a man went hastily towards the 
 house, almost touching him as he passed. Who 
 could this be ? An authoritative knock at the door 
 seemed to intimate that the new comer had, or 
 assumed to have, the right of admittance. Were 
 there other occupants of that small cottage, besides 
 Mrs. Trevanian and her child ? Or was this Ran- 
 dolph Trevanian himself? 
 
 While these thoughts were passing through his 
 mind, the door was opened. The shrinking figure 
 of Freda, holding it wide as she retreated behind it, 
 was visible for a moment by the light of the lamp in 
 the parlor, and the stranger strode through, taking
 
 76 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 no notice of the child, entered the parlor without 
 ceremony, and shut the door, leaving poor little 
 Freda in the darkened passage. 
 
 To leave the premises now seemed absolutely 
 impossible. It was in vain that he represented to 
 himself that he had no right to remain there, the 
 self-constituted guardian of another man's wife and 
 child while their legal protector was present. Nature 
 was stronger than law ; and the very manner in which 
 he had pushed by that little terrified girl, and then 
 shut her out in darkness, was enough to arouse every 
 drop of chivalrous blood in the Earl's body. He re- 
 turned to the window, and with even greater caution 
 than before, peeped in through the tangled boughs 
 of a clematis that half-covered the rustic casement. 
 
 The stranger was seated" at the table, opposite to 
 Mrs. Trevanian, who trembled and cowered under 
 his fierce glance, like a bird under the gaze of a ser- 
 pent. Even at that critical moment the Earl was 
 struck by the wonderful personal beauty of the man. 
 His tall, symmetrical figure, exquisitely cut features, 
 clear dark complexion, brilliant eyes and teeth, and 
 dark curly hair, all were perfect. But the soul that 
 animated him was diabolical. He looked like a 
 beautiful devil. 
 
 " I tell you that I will have them ! " were the first 
 words the Earl heard him utter, and he struck a 
 fierce blow upon the table to emphasize his speech. 
 
 " Oh, Randolph ! " pleaded the terrified woman, 
 " remember they are my poor child's only dowry. 
 What will become of her when I am gone ? I know
 
 THE EARL'S DISCOVERY. 77 
 
 I have not very long to live, and I have kept these 
 few jewels so sacredly all these years to be a provi- 
 sion for her when I am dead." 
 
 " You are always talking some infernal nonsense," 
 he replied, contemptuously. " What the devil ails 
 you now ? " 
 
 " My strength fails more and more. And I get so 
 little for teaching, and have to work so hard and 
 walk so far." 
 
 " Grumbling as usual," replied the handsome 
 brute ; " but that's all nonsense. Walking is good 
 for you." 
 
 The listener ground his teeth. 
 
 " But not so much of it, and in all weather," said 
 the patient wife. 
 
 " Then why don't you give up your teaching, if 
 you don't like it ? " asked Trevanian, with an air of 
 supreme indifference. 
 
 " And starve ? " she suggested, reproachfully. 
 
 "Just as you like for that," he replied, with a 
 heartless laugh. " I leave you to manage your own 
 affairs as you choose. But I did not come here 
 to-night to discuss all these questions with you, but 
 merely to fetch those jewels. They will be safer in 
 my hands than in yours, for you would be robbed, 
 and perhaps murdered, if you were known to have 
 such valuables in the house." 
 
 " But nobody will know unless you tell them," 
 she answered, with some little appearance of spirit ; 
 "and if they were to come and murder me, neither 
 they nor you would ever be able to find them."
 
 78 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " I am not such an egregious ass as to set any 
 one on to murder you, you little fool," he said, con- 
 temptuously, stroking her under the chin with one 
 finger. " I should have to pay a larger annuity in 
 the shape of hush money than the present state of 
 my exchequer could well afford. Come now, Nell, 
 be reasonable," he continued, taking her hand, and 
 assuming an air of tenderness ; " give me those 
 jewels you will never want to wear them while 
 you remain here it is not safe for you to keep them 
 about you in this lonely place and I pledge you my 
 word of honor that Freda shall have the full value 
 of them when she marries, or is old enough to want 
 the money." 
 
 A very slight elevation of the eyebrows marked 
 her scornful appreciation of his appeal to his honor. 
 He saw it, and his dark eyes flashed with a vicious 
 light, yet his low, well-modulated voice lost none of 
 its insinuating sweetness. 
 
 " Come, now," he added, after a short pause, " will 
 you think better of it, Nelly, and let me have those 
 jewels ? " 
 
 " No, Randolph, never" she answered, firmly. " I 
 look upon them as a sacred trust for my child, and 
 nay conscience will not let me part with them:" 
 
 " Will you come with me to Paris or London, and 
 sell them for they are of no use to you, or Freda 
 either, in their present form and then lend me only 
 a small part of the money ? " 
 
 " I could not trust you, Randolph," she said, 
 sadly. " I know, too well, that in either of those
 
 THE EARL'S DISCOVERY. 79 
 
 places you could lawfully take from me anything 
 I possess." 
 
 " And that is your final decision ? " 
 
 " It is." 
 
 " Well, then, nothing more remains to be said," he 
 remarked, with the tone of one who entirely ac- 
 quiesces in the inevitable. " Will you excuse the 
 light for one moment ? " 
 
 He left the room, carrying the lamp in his hand. 
 The Earl heard him call Freda, in a mild tone, and 
 afterwards he distinguished the sound of his firm 
 tread ascending the stairs. 
 
 " All danger of violence seems past," thought the 
 unseen witness of the painful scene which had just 
 been enacted, *' and I have no longer an excuse for 
 keeping this undignified post of eavesdropper ; and 
 yet there was a devilish glance in that fellow's 
 eye as he went out ! No I cannot leave them yet." 
 
 In a few moments Trevanian returned with the 
 lamp and a large key. 
 
 " Now, Mrs. Trevanian," he began, but stopped 
 abruptly when he saw that his wife lay back in her 
 chair, pale and rigid. 
 
 " By the Lord Harry ! " he exclaimed, " if she's 
 dead, that spoils all ! " 
 
 On investigation, however, he found that she was 
 not dead, but in a death-like fainting fit. With con- 
 siderable skill and care he administered restoratives, 
 though he swore rather savagely when he could 
 find neither wine nor brandy in the " infernal hole." 
 
 Gradually she recovered without the aid of any
 
 8o WINIFREDS JEWELS. 
 
 other stimulant than water, and sat up, shivering, in 
 her chair. 
 
 " Are you sufficiently recovered to understand 
 what I say to you ? " he demanded, sternly. 
 
 She nodded assent. 
 
 " I must return to Paris by the next train, which 
 leaves St. Malo in two hours ; therefore I have no 
 time to waste, otherwise I would allow you a longer 
 space to recover yourself. Do you- recognize this 
 key?" 
 
 She stared at it with a bewildered look, and mur- 
 mured something that the Earl could not distinguish. 
 
 " Yes, you are right," said Trevanian ; " this is 
 the key of the garret. Your Freda is locked up 
 there." 
 
 He said this very emphatically, and paused. 
 
 " Why have you locked her there ? " whispered 
 the poor mother, sinking back. 
 
 " Command yourself, and do not faint," he said, in 
 a hard, cruel tone. "If you do, it will be the worse 
 for her. I must go back to Paris to-night, and if I 
 cannot have the jewels, I will at least have revenge. 
 Do you understand me ? " 
 
 " I hear what you say, but cannot understand 
 what you mean." 
 
 " I will soon make my meaning perfectly clear," 
 he replied, with a fiendish smile. " Freda is locked 
 in the garret, and this is the key. Give me the 
 jewels, and I give you this. You can let her out, 
 and no harm is done to her. Keep to your resolu- 
 tion and refuse to give up that box of gewgaws, and
 
 THE EARL'S DISCOVERY. Si 
 
 I set fire to the pile of pine wood under the stairs, 
 just wait till the stair-case is consumed, and then 
 leave you to get your child out as you can." 
 
 " It is not in human nature to do such a deed ! " 
 cried the horrified woman. 
 
 " Possibly not," he replied, coolly, " but it is in my 
 nature, as you will find if you persist in your obsti- 
 nacy; and, furthermore, I will only give you one 
 minute's time for deliberation." 
 
 He took from his pocket a box of matches, which 
 he displayed ostentatiously, while he observed the 
 hands of his watch. 
 
 Before he left London the Earl had provided him- 
 self with a small revolver, not knowing but that his 
 present quest might lead him into some position of 
 danger. He drew it forth with a feeling of deep 
 thankfulness ; for he was a slightly-built man, of 
 only middle height, and by no means fitted to cope, 
 unarmed, with the athletic savage with whom, he 
 felt convinced, he should be compelled to combat. 
 The poor distracted wife and mother might find it 
 impossible to believe her husband capable of such 
 atrocity ; but he read in the villain's handsome face 
 and gleaming eye a depth of malignity that would 
 carry out his vindictive threats to the utmost. 
 
 When the minute had expired, Trevanian quietly 
 returned his watch to his pocket, and quitted the 
 room, without so much as looking at his wife, who 
 sat motionless, staring at him with a vacant gaze. 
 At the sound of striking the matches, she rushed to 
 the door, exclaiming : " Oh ! No ! no ! no ! Stay, 
 6
 
 82 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 Randolph ! I will give them to you ! I will, in- 
 deed ! Come back ! They are here ! " 
 
 " Be quick, then," he said, returning hastily. 
 
 " Is the fire out ? " she asked eagerly, trying at 
 the same time to pass through the door. 
 
 " It is not kindled," he answered, pushing her 
 back ; " give me the jewels, and let me be gone." 
 
 She raised a corner of the carpet, removed a small 
 portion of the floor, and took a box from the recess 
 thus opened. 
 
 Trevanian snatched it from her, took one hasty 
 glance at the contents, and darted from the room. 
 
 "The key! Give me the key! " she cried, follow- 
 ing him. Then uttered a piercing shriek, and she 
 seemed to cling to him, while she continued to 
 scream out, " The house is on fire ! My child ! My 
 child ! Randolph, give me the key ! " 
 
 Then came the sound of a blow a heavy fall 
 and Randolph Trevanian rushed down the garden. 
 
 All had passed so rapidly that the Earl had only 
 time to reach the door at the moment when the 
 ruffian passed out. He followed quickly in pursuit, 
 but the other had so much the advantage in height 
 and swiftness that he had no chance of overtaking 
 him. 
 
 " Stop! " he shouted ; " Randolph Trevanian, stop, 
 or I will shoot you ! " 
 
 Trevanian turned, and the Earl was by his side in 
 an instant. 
 
 " Give up your plunder, and the key ! " he said, 
 presenting his revolver at Jrevanian's head.
 
 THE EARL'S DISCOVERY. 83 
 
 The answer was a shot that singed his hajr. To 
 hesitate now would be madness, for more lives than 
 his own depended on his immediate return to the 
 cottage. The Earl's shot took effect as his adver- 
 sary was starting forwards, and brought him to the 
 ground on his face. He fell upon his own pistol, 
 which exploded, probably completing the work of 
 death. 
 
 Without bestowing a thought upon him, who, if 
 dead, had brought his punishment upon himself, the 
 Earl snatched up the key and box, which lay to- 
 gether as they had dropped from Trevanian's left 
 hand, and ran back with all speed to the burning 
 house. 
 
 Mrs. Trevanian lay senseless or dead where her 
 brutal husband had flung her ; but that was no time 
 to attend to her, for the flames had made consider- 
 able progress, and Freda's situation was becoming 
 critical. 
 
 " Freda ! " he shouted, as he bounded up the 
 stairs, though half suffocated by the smoke, " knock 
 at the door to guide me ; I'm coming to let you out. 
 Knock loud ! " 
 
 Freda had been terrified by her mother's screams, 
 and afterwards by the smoke, but her dread of her 
 father was too great to allow her to cry out for help. 
 But this was the voice of a stranger that called to 
 her in kindly accents, and the poor child made such 
 a drumming on the door of her prison that her de- 
 liverer found it without difficulty. 
 
 Catching her up in his arms, and giving her hur-
 
 84 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 ried directions to hide her face in his neck and 
 breathe through his beard, the Earl commenced the 
 descent of the narrow stairs. But the smoke was 
 now so dense that he staggered and nearly fell when 
 he reached the landing. 
 
 " Go into mamma's bed-room," whispered a voice 
 in his ear; " it's just before you v/e can get out of 
 the window." 
 
 He stumbled into the room, half dead. Freda 
 slipped from his arms, and drew him to the open 
 window, where the fresh air partially restored his 
 disordered senses. 
 
 " Where is mamma ? " demanded the child, anx- 
 iously. 
 
 The question fully roused him. 
 
 " Safe, I trust, my child," he answered ; " but I 
 must go to her." 
 
 The descent from the window was easily accom- 
 plished by means of the trellis that supported the 
 climbing plants which covered the cottage walls. 
 Mrs. Trevanian was still insensible, and the Earl bore 
 her from the burning building and laid her on the 
 grass in the garden.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 ELLEN TREVANIAN'S DEATH. 
 
 THE alarm of fire had now spread through the 
 village, and first on the scene of action arrived seve- 
 ral of the good nuns from a neighboring convent of 
 Sisters of Charity. 
 
 To them the Earl briefly stated that he had seen, 
 in passing, that the house* was on fire, and had been 
 fortunate enough to rescue the lady and child. He 
 pressed Freda's hand as he said this, as a hint to her 
 not to be more communicative. 
 
 When Mrs. Trevanian began to show symptoms 
 of returning life, two of the nuns carried her away 
 to the convent, so that, on awakening to conscious- 
 ness, she might not behold the destruction of her 
 home. The Earl himself was so dizzy and sick that 
 he was fain to lean on the arm of a stalwart sister, 
 and seek the shelter of the same hospitable asylum. 
 Freda held his other- hand ; but, ill as he felt, he did 
 not forget, before leaving the garden, to ascertain 
 that the box containing Winifred's jewels was safe in 
 the pocket into which he had dropped it. 
 
 "Are you crying, Freda?" he asked, as a sob fell 
 on his ear.
 
 86 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " I can't help it, sir," replied the child, as though 
 she were pleading guilty to a fault. 
 
 " Don't cry, my brave little darling," he continued, 
 in a soothing tone, " your mother is not much hurt, 
 I hope, and will soon recover." 
 
 " I am not crying about that," said Freda, "because 
 mamma often faints like that, and always gets quite 
 well again. But, oh! what will poor mamma do, 
 now all her things are burnt ? We shall have no 
 home now! " 
 
 She ended with a burst of piteous weeping. 
 
 " My child," said the Earl, in a tone that carried 
 conviction with it, "you shall have a much better 
 home. Your mamma shall never again go out 
 teaching, nor ever again be obliged to mend your 
 clothes. She shall have a carriage and plenty of 
 money, and you shall have a pony." 
 
 "Oh, thank you! thank you, sir!" cried Freda, 
 wiping her eyes, though I am sorry to say it was on 
 the skirt of her frock. But a fresh gush came with 
 another convulsive sob, as she said, mournfully, 
 " And I'm afraid my poor little old doll is burnt, 
 too ! " 
 
 The Earl stooped, and folded the child in his 
 arms. 
 
 " Freda," he said, kissing her, " you shall have the 
 prettiest doll that can be bought in London." 
 
 "Oh, thank you, sir; how kind you are!" she 
 said, returning his kiss with child-like frankness. 
 Then, her ideas flying off at a tangent to another 
 subject, she caressed his beard with her small hands,
 
 ELLEN TREVANIAN'S DEATH. 87 
 
 and said, " How your beard smells of smoke ! The 
 dear beard that kept me from being smothered when 
 you carried me down those dreadful stairs ! " 
 
 The child's heart was completely overcome as 
 she thought of all this. She sprang at him, clasped 
 both arms round his neck, and kissed him, and 
 sobbed out in broken sentences her praise and grati- 
 tude, till the nun was obliged to interfere, and take 
 her from him before he was deprived of the little 
 breath that remained in his body. "To-morrow," 
 she said, "when Monsieur was quite recovered, 
 Mademoiselle might kiss him as much as she pleased, 
 but to-night she must have a little mercy." 
 
 Fresh water and rest soon restored the Earl, and 
 he then requested an interview with the Superior of 
 the community. 
 
 A graceful and gracious lady made her appear- 
 ance. She was somewhat advanced in age, and her 
 face beamed with sympathy and benevolence. She 
 had lived in the convent for forty years, yet her 
 manners had lost nothing of the easy, yet dignified 
 grace which they had acquired in the polished and 
 courtly society in which her early womanhood had 
 been spent. 
 
 The Earl was a quick and accurate reader of char- 
 acter, and a very brief conversation convinced him 
 that Mrs. Trevanian could have no protector so effi- 
 cient as this lady, provided she were put in posses- 
 sion of the exact truth of the case. He therefore 
 related to her the whole story from beginning to 
 end, suppressing only the one circumstance of Ellen's 

 
 88 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 engagement to himself. But this the quick-witted 
 Superior inferred when he confided to her his own 
 name and rank, under a promise to keep it a pro- 
 found secret from Mrs. Trevanian. He did not de- 
 sire, he said, that she should feel herself under obli- 
 gations to a family towards some members of which 
 she might be conscious of having acted with a 
 slight degree of ingratitude. 
 
 When he narrated Trevanian's horrible attempt to 
 burn his own child, the gentle nature of the Supe- 
 rior was roused to positive fury. He should never 
 take that child out of her hands, she exclaimed; 
 not even if he came armed with all the powers of 
 the law. She had friends in high places still, Dieu 
 inerd! and she would stand her ground against any 
 exhibition of civic authority. 
 
 Then the Earl hinted that the man was probably 
 dead ; whereat she crossed herself, and murmured a 
 prayer for his soul, and suffered her indignation to 
 subside. 
 
 In the morning, he observed, this doubt would be 
 set at rest, when they should hear whether a corpse 
 or a wounded man had been discovered on the road, 
 as he must have been seen by those who went to the 
 fire. Until then they could hardly decide upon the 
 steps which it would be desirable to take in order 
 to protect Mrs. Trevanian and Freda from further 
 injury. 
 
 The Earl returned to the little auberge where he 
 had left his valise, and sat for some time in the pub- 
 lic room, vainly hoping to hear some tidings of
 
 ELLEN TREVANIAN' S DEATH. 89 
 
 Trevanian. But though there was plenty of gossip 
 about the burning of Mrs. Trevanian's house, not 
 one word was uttered concerning a dead or dying 
 man having been found on the highway. He would 
 have gone out himself to investigate the matter, but 
 he feared to excite suspicion, and was, besides, still 
 suffering so much from the effects of suffocation, 
 that any exertion was painful. He came at last to 
 the conclusion that the ruffian had been only slightly 
 hurt, and had gone away. 
 
 It was not pleasant to reflect that Trevanian might 
 be still wandering round, intent upon working out 
 his fiendish designs upon that helpless woman and 
 lovely child ; yet, on the other hand, there was a 
 great satisfaction in knowing that he had not, even 
 in so just a cause, stained his hands with blood. 
 
 The Earl probably slept all the better for the be- 
 lief that Trevanian was still alive, though he could 
 not have felt any addition to his personal security, 
 should so unscrupulous and vindictive a man recog- 
 nize in him his antagonist of the previous night. 
 Such thoughts, however, failed to disturb him. He 
 slept calmly, and went early in the morning to in- 
 quire after Mrs. Trevanian and her child. 
 
 The accounts he received of her condition were 
 anything but satisfactory. She had suffered serious 
 injuries from the blow, and also from the fall, and 
 the good sisters were in great distress about her, for 
 they had known her well during the three years that 
 she had lived in the neighborhood, and to know her 
 was to love her. They were greatly exercised con-
 
 90 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 earning the way in which she could have received 
 such hurts, and appealed to the Earl to account for 
 them. Still anxious to hide her domestic wrongs 
 from the public gaze, as well as to keep out of sight 
 his- own share in redressing them, he replied by a 
 suggestion that, as Freda was up-stairs, her mother 
 might have tried to go to her, but fainted and fallen 
 down again. He had found her, he said, at the foot 
 of the stairs. Immediately an imaginative sister 
 proceeded to demonstrate exactly how she must 
 have fallen, so that her chest struck full upon the 
 end of the banisters, causing that dreadful bruise 
 as large as a man's fist. 
 
 " I wish I had killed him ! " thought the Earl, as 
 he followed a nun to the parlor of the Superior. 
 " The cowardly ruffian ! I would shoot him now 
 without compunction." 
 
 The kind brow of the Superior was troubled, 
 though she received him graciously. 
 
 " I see by your face," she said, " that you know 
 how much worse our poor friend is. Oh, to think 
 that a man could strike a woman such a blow ! And 
 she his own wife, too. We fear that her breast bone 
 is broken, but we dare not examine too closely, it 
 causes so much agony. When you left last night, 
 we supposed her to be suffering only from faintness 
 and the effects of fright; but when the sisters un- 
 dressed her, to put her to bed, they found that she 
 was severely bruised and shaken. Some of us re- 
 mained with her all night." 
 
 " I wish I had killed him ! " groaned the Earl ;
 
 ELLEN TREVANIAN'S DEATH. 91 
 
 " but I fear he has escaped. I have heard nothing 
 of him." 
 
 " I have heard a rumor this morning," she said, 
 " of a man having been found dead two or three 
 miles off." 
 
 " Where ? Tell me where, and I will go and see 
 if it be he ! " cried the Earl, starting up. 
 
 " Nay, my friend, that would not be wise," said 
 the lady, placing her soft white hand upon his arm ; 
 " our police are very suspicious, and our criminal 
 laws are not like yours in England, where a man is 
 held to be innocent until he is proved to be guilty. 
 You would be arrested on suspicion, though the 
 body were that of a man whom you had never before 
 seen, and you would be detained in prison until you 
 had proved satisfactorily who you are, and what 
 business brought you into this neighborhood. And 
 I assure you, it is often very difficult to convince 
 our country prefects, especially if they have formed 
 an idea of their own that is unfavorable to you. 
 Remain quite still. We shall know all that there is 
 to know in time, if we have patience. And make no 
 inquiries that may draw attention on yourself, /can 
 ask what I please, without suspicion, and I will find 
 out all, and tell you." 
 
 " Thank you, dear lady, thank you," he replied ; 
 " your advice is wise and friendly. And poor little 
 Freda, how is she ? " 
 
 " She is always with her mother, since very early 
 this morning. She is a most lovely child so gentle, 
 so tender, so thoughtful ! "
 
 92 WINIFREDS JEWELS. 
 
 "And to be the offspring of such a man ! " 
 
 "It is often so in nature, my friend," said the 
 Superior ; " a child resembles one parent much, and 
 the other not at all. And sometimes a child will 
 not resemble either, and we can but wonder where 
 all the good, or all the bad, ever did come from." 
 
 "Freda is- like her mother," sighed the Earl; "yet, 
 I think, with more depth of feeling and strength of 
 character than poor Ellen ever had." 
 
 " Do you wish to see Mrs. Trevanian? " asked the 
 Superior. 
 
 " It is better that she should not see me," he re- 
 plied, " for the reasons I stated to you last evening. 
 But, should her injuries prove fatal, it may comfort 
 her last moments to know that her child will not be 
 left without a friend who is able and willing to pro- 
 tect her. Therefore, dear lady, I will await the re- 
 sult, and- see her, if at all, only when all hope is past. 
 May I be permitted to ask after her at the gate, 
 twice or thrice in the day? " 
 
 " You shall always come in and speak to me," she 
 said, with a graceful air of authority that was almost 
 coquettish ; " or, if I am occupied, I will say so with 
 candor. And you shall come, not two or three 
 times to ask after news of your friend, but six, but 
 seven times, if you will." 
 
 He took his leave with the deferential courtesy^ 
 which her dignified deportment commanded, and the 
 Superior, leaning back in her chair, closed her eyes 
 and dreamed. 
 
 " Yes, he loved her once," so ran her thoughts ;
 
 ELLEN TREVANIAN'S DEATH. 93 
 
 "but now he. loves her no more. It is all compas- 
 sion. But that child but Freda in three or four 
 years she will be a woman. He is still a young 
 man, not much past thirty. Oh, quite young for 
 a man ! And he sees in her already more depth of 
 feeling and more strength of character than ever poor 
 Ellen had! Ah, my good friend ! Our sweet Freda 
 shall be a Countess yet." 
 
 Is, then, match-making so inherent in womankind 
 that it can find an entrance even within the sacred 
 shadow of the cloister? It would seem so. 
 
 The Earl paid regular visits to the convent during 
 the day, but heard nothing to cheer his soul. The 
 poor sufferer seemed to be sinking slowly yet surely 
 towards the grave. 
 
 The Superior told him, late in the day, that the 
 rumor she had mentioned in the morning had been 
 confirmed, and that there was now no doubt that the 
 body of a man had been found nearly six miles off; 
 but it caused no sensation in the village, because the 
 people were so pre- occupied with the burning of 
 Mrs. Trevanian's house and her present precarious 
 state, that they had not a thought to bestow on any- 
 thing else. 
 
 Another day was drawing to a close, when the 
 Earl rang at the convent gate to make his final 
 inquiries for the night. Without answering him, 
 the weeping portress ushered him into the presence 
 of the Superior. 
 
 " Is she dead ? " was his first question. 
 
 "Not yet But I was about to send for you. Come!"
 
 94 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 And that was his Ellen, the first love of his 
 youth so pale and wasted, with the awful shadow 
 of Death hanging over her. 
 
 Her eyes brightened with a momentary lustre as 
 they fell upon him. 
 
 " I thought you would come," she whispered ; " I 
 have been dreaming of you. Freda! My child 
 
 " I will take care of her, Ellen," he said, answer- 
 ing her look of wild entreaty ; " let your mind be 
 quite easy on her account; I have her jewels safe, 
 too, and she shall have them when she is twenty- 
 one." 
 
 A bright smile spread over her face when he be- 
 gan speaking, and when he ceased, the smile was 
 still there, though the spirit had fled. 
 
 A sad scene ensued when poor Freda was at 
 length convinced that her mother was no more. 
 The Eacl, after many attempts to lead her away, 
 took her with tender force out of the room, and 
 carried her into the quiet and shady garden. Sitting 
 there, within hearing of a little waterfall, he rocked 
 her gently, and suffered her to weep without inter- 
 ruption, till worn out nature claimed her dues, and 
 the young eyelids closed upon the child's greatest, 
 though, alas ! not her first sorrow. 
 
 Wild and strange were the day-dreams that filled 
 the brain of the lonely man as he sat there, pillow- 
 ing the child's feverish cheek upon his breast. He 
 saw himself in the far Western world, tilling the soil 
 that was to yield him bread, and dwelling in the 
 humble log cabin that his own hands had construe-
 
 ELLEN TREVANIAN'S DEATH. 95 
 
 ted. And Freda was with him as his one compan- 
 ion ; not, as the good Mother Superior had pictured 
 her, as the wife of a peer of England, but as his 
 child, and she would call him father. But when 
 other figures began to come upon the scene, he 
 shook off the dream, and murmured half aloud, "No, 
 no ! It must not be. My little blossom is made to 
 adorn society, and must not be buried in an anchor- 
 ite's cell to gratify my selfish love. I could not 
 bear to see her with no alternative but that of living 
 a lonely unloved life, or of becoming the household 
 drudge of some illiterate backwoodsman. She shall 
 have every advantage that I can give her ; and for 
 her sake I will continue for a few years more to be 
 a living lie. Young Clarence is but a boy, and I am 
 a faithful steward."
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 v, 
 
 THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE. 
 
 WORKMEN from London were busy one Saturday 
 afternoon under the Earl's superintendence, in the 
 little village church at Tytherleigh ; and the next day 
 the church going part of the population were amazed 
 by the sight of a simple mural tablet, inscribed : 
 
 " To the memory of Ellen Bracebridge, widow of 
 Captain Randolph Trevanian, late of the th Indian 
 Regiment." Then followed the names and dates 
 which told of her birth and death. 
 
 The Earl himself was present, as was his custom, 
 and all that the most curious observer could discover 
 in his manner and .appearance which might afford a 
 theme for gossip or commentary, was the total 
 absence of change. This was rather puzzling, espe- 
 cially to those who had been most eager in ascribing 
 his retirement from the world wholly to blighted 
 affection. 
 
 The solitary man was, in truth, happier than he 
 had been since Ellen's elopement. Not only was he 
 able to clear her name from every taint of slander, 
 but the love that had tormerited him so long, had 
 passed away like the flame of a lamp that has no oil. 
 96
 
 THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE. 97 
 
 It had not been killed or crushed out of existence ; 
 it had simply ceased to be. He had erected that 
 tablet that all might read and be convinced, and he 
 had placed her marriage certificate in the clergy- 
 man's hands, that all who wished might see it. He 
 did this in preference to talking about her, which 
 would have been painful to his shy, proud nature ; 
 yet he was too much accustomed to be "the observed 
 of all observers " in the village to manifest or even to 
 feel any embarrassment, though he knew that every 
 eye in the church was oscillating like a pendulum 
 from the tablet to him, and from him back again to 
 the tablet. 
 
 There was only one stranger present; atall.broad- 
 shouldered,-bearded man, who had looked steadfastly 
 at the Earl, without noticing the tablet, until the 
 subdued commotion of the people round him, the 
 eager eyes, the nudges, the half audible whispers, 
 drew his attention to it. As he read the inscription, 
 a pale hue suffused his face under the bronzing of 
 the tropical sun. He bowed his head upon his arm 
 as it rested on the top of the pew, and after a few 
 minutes leaned back with a calm unruffled brow. 
 No one remarked his movements, so absorbed were 
 all in the new wonder; yet in that brief space the 
 convulsion of a great grief, and the exultation of a 
 great joy had passed simultaneously through that 
 bowed head. 
 
 It is to be feared that no one, besides the Earl, 
 profited much by either the service or the sermon. 
 
 As the stranger sauntered back to the inn where 
 7
 
 9 8 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 he had slept the night before, he accosted a grave, 
 respectable looking man, who overtook him, and 
 requested an explanation of what he had witnessed 
 in church. The man, premising that he was the 
 parish clerk, and as such a more reliable authority 
 than any other person in the village, proceeded, noth- 
 ing loth, to relate all that he knew and much that he 
 surmised of Mrs. Trevanian's history. 
 
 " And her only brother," he continued ; " a fine 
 lad of twelve or thirteen, took her disgrace so much 
 to heari that he made away with himself." 
 
 " What, a boy of that age commit suicide ! " said 
 the stranger, incredulously. 
 
 " Indeed he did, sir," asseverated the clerk ; "there 
 can't be a doubt but what he drowned himself, 
 though his body was never found, for there had 
 been heavy rains and the river was much swollen. 
 It stands to reason now, don't it ? What else could 
 have become of him ? " 
 
 "Very true," acquiesced the accommodating stran- 
 ger. " What could have become of him ? " 
 
 "That's just what I say, sir," argued the clerk, as 
 if some new light had been thrown on the question. 
 " He must -have drowned himself, for one thing is 
 certain, he's never come back here no more." 
 
 " That is indeed conclusive evidence," said the 
 stranger, suppressing a smile. 
 
 " I am glad to have been able to give you this 
 information, sir, as you are a stranger," said the 
 clerk ; " but I must wish you a good morning now, as 
 I have to call in at the rectory. The rector he told
 
 THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE. 99 
 
 me just now in a confidential sort of a way, that he 
 had the poor lady's marriage certificate at his house, 
 and that it was his lordship's wish that anybody 
 should see it that liked. And he requested me to 
 make it known among the congregation in an infor- 
 mal, promiscuous kind of way ; but you see, sir, I'm 
 going to get the first peep, for it would never do for 
 a man holding the office in the parish that I do, to 
 let any one else be beforehand with me in such a 
 case. Now would it, sir ? I put it to you as between 
 man and man, would it ? " 
 
 " It is quite superfluous to answer such a ques- 
 tion," replied the stranger, with a ceremonious bow, 
 which was intended to express his sense of the other's 
 dignified position. " If you have no objection I 
 should very much like to accompany you, and after- 
 wards you will I hope do me the favor of taking a 
 glass of ale with me at the Tytherleigh Arms, where 
 I am staying for a day or two." 
 
 " By all means, come to the rectory with me, I 
 shall be happy to present you," said the clerk, pom- 
 pously ; " but, as for your hospitable offer, my dear 
 sir, a man in my position, you see, is obliged to be 
 very circumspect. It behooves me to be as a shin- 
 ing light to the common people, and it would hardly 
 look creditable for me to be seen to enter a house 
 of public entertainment on the Lord's Day. Our 
 worthy rector, too, is very strong upon the tempe- 
 rance question. But in the evening, if you are dis- 
 engaged " 
 
 " Oh, yes yes," said the stranger, hardly able
 
 loo WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 to repress a laugh ; " in the evening, by all 
 means." 
 
 They went into the rectory, and the certificate 
 was shown to them by the stately old housekeeper, 
 who snubbed the clerk unmercifully, and would no 
 doubt have treated his companion quite as disdain- 
 fully, had he given her the opportunity. But he 
 made no comment as he read the document, and left 
 the house without having uttered a word. 
 
 "Just the same sly old humbug as ever!" said 
 the stranger to himself as he watched the clerk 
 ambling away with his chin in the air. " Let him 
 come to-night, by all means ! I shall hear all the 
 news of the village, and then I'll go, unknown as I 
 came. There is no one now who would be much 
 rejoiced to see me. The Earl might, perhaps ; and 
 yet it wbuld give him more pain than pleasure. 
 What a different lot would mine have been, had I 
 suffered the Countess to carry out her kind inten- 
 tions ! A collegiate education, and one of the learned 
 professions, or a commission in the army; instead of 
 this rough-and-tumble existence ! Yet this wild life 
 has its fascination for me, too, and is perhaps better 
 suited to me than one of greater refinement and luxury. 
 If I had known the truth, I should have remained, 
 perhaps. But when I was told that my sister had 
 disgraced herself, why, then boy as I was I could 
 not be mean enough to accept her adopted mother's 
 bounty. Nor could I bear to associate, as I had 
 been used to do, with that generous Earl, who 
 treated me like the brother he was so fond of calling
 
 THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE. 
 
 101 
 
 me. I have looked my last upon his noble face, 
 and shall see him no more in this world. Were I 
 to make myself known to him, it would only 
 open his old wounds afresh. There is a load upon 
 his mind now. Can he still grieve about Ellen ? Or 
 is it that mysterious something that his dying mother 
 told him ? That I shall never know, so I need not 
 puzzle my wits about it." 
 
 His half-muttered soliloquy being at an end, Gil- 
 bert Bracebridge threw off his melancholy thoughts, 
 and strode into the Tytherleigh Arms.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 AN UNWELCOME VISITOR. 
 
 THE week after the tablet was placed in the church, 
 the Earl set off on a journey, taking with him three 
 large trunks, in addition to his own modest valise. 
 The villagers, who wondered at every thing, had 
 not done wondering at this, when one who had been 
 up at the Hall returned with the news that the suite 
 of rooms which had been locked up ever since Ellen 
 Bracebridge ran away, were now left open like any 
 other part of the house. 
 
 Everybody who could frame an excuse for paying 
 a visit to the Hall went there as early as possible. 
 Once there, they naturally begged to see the mys- 
 terious apartments. By favor of one or other of the 
 few servants, they obtained their desire ; looked, 
 saw nothing, and came away satisfied. 
 
 The Earl, meanwhile, had gone to London, whence 
 he despatched the trunks to the convent where Freda 
 remained at school, with a letter to the Mother Su- 
 perior, in which he requested her to exercise her 
 own discretion as to the application of the contents 
 to the use of his little ward. They had belonged, 
 he said, to Mrs. Trevanian, and his mother would
 
 AN UNWELCOME VISITOR. 103 
 
 have sent them to her long ago, had she known her 
 address. In a postscript he added, after much delibe- 
 ration and considerable hesitation how best to word 
 it, that she would find some articles of costly lace, 
 which, he begged to suggest, had better be converted 
 into money, as the sight of them would only excite 
 in Freda's mind curiosity regarding a painful subject 
 that had best be forgotten. 
 
 " No it would never do for her to wear it when she 
 marries him," said the amiable Superior, as she scru- 
 tinized the wedding dress with the eye of a connois- 
 seur ; " and yet it is a pity to sell it. It is superb. 
 Bah ! He can afford to buy her another still more 
 exquisite." 
 
 So the fate of the wedding dress was sealed, and 
 Freda was for some years clothed from her mother's 
 wedding outfit, which the Earl had sent to her, less 
 from motives of economy than because he regarded 
 all Ellen's belongings as sacred things which be- 
 longed of right to her daughter. The jewels 
 alone he retained, and added to those in the little 
 box. 
 
 When all this was accomplished, the Earl felt 
 more at ease than he had done for many a long 
 year ; and he cultivated his farm with a light heart, 
 inspirited by the thought that he was working for 
 his little Freda. 
 
 The summer and autumn had passed away, his 
 crops were harvested, and the product lay before 
 him in the shape of a little pile of gold and a roll of 
 crisp bank notes. It was the nest-egg for the small
 
 104 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 fortune which he intended to acquire for his ward. 
 Strange, it will be said, that he should act thus, in- 
 stead of giving her a dowry out of his own ample 
 possessions. It was strange, but such, nevertheless, 
 was his determination. 
 
 The night without was dark and tempestuous. The 
 wind howled round the many angles of the ancient 
 house, aud roared down the spacious chimney; and 
 if a distant door chanced to be opened, it sent a shrill 
 and ghost-like whistle through the key-hole. The 
 rain beat against the windows, and the large trees 
 groaned and shrieked as their branches were ground 
 harshly against each other. 
 
 Yet, dismal as were the outside surroundings, 
 the lonely lord of the domain had never felt more 
 cheerful. 
 
 The wood-fire blazed on the wide hearth ; and as 
 he stretched his feet towards the comfortable 
 warmth, he built many a pleasant castle in the air 
 for the benefit of his adopted child, Freda. 
 
 The opening of the door dispelled his reverie, and 
 the old gardener (the only man-servant he retained 
 in the house, so rigidly had he curtailed his expen- 
 diture) entered to announce that a stranger, who 
 would not give his name, wished to see him on par- 
 ticular business. 
 
 " A stranger on such a night as this ! " exclaimed 
 the Earl. " He must be be a lunatic. Show him 
 in, Ralph." 
 
 " If you please, my Lord," said Ralph, " I don't 
 like the looks of him at all. Wont you please to
 
 AN UNWELCOME VISITOR. 105 
 
 put that out of sight ? " And he pointed to the 
 money on the table. 
 
 The Earl smiled as he swept it into a drawer, say- 
 ing, " Now you can show him in, I suppose." 
 
 It was a bright, sweet, heart-whole smile, and old 
 Ralph often spoke of it in after times, for it was the 
 last he ever saw on his beloved master's face. 
 
 The visitor entered; and the Earl thought that 
 Ralph had good grounds for mistrusting him. A 
 more forbidding and repulsive-looking being he had 
 never beheld. He was apparently a tall man, but a 
 twist in his left shoulder gave him an awkward 
 stoop. But it was his countenance that was the 
 most revolting, if that could be called a countenance 
 where scarcely a resemblance to humanity existed. 
 Either from disease, or accident, or natural malfor- 
 mation, there was not a feature that would, singly, 
 have been recognized as belonging to man. The 
 left eye was covered by a black patch, which lay so 
 flat that it seemed the eyeball must be wanting. Two 
 orifices gaped where there should have been a nose. 
 The mouth was drawn up on one side out of all 
 shape, and showed the toothless gums within. Even 
 a portion of the lower jaw appeared to be absent. 
 The left side of his head was bald, and the skin on 
 that part, as well as over the rest of his face, was 
 scarred and puckered till it looked like shrivelled 
 parchment. Only the right eye remained intact, 
 though denuded of eyebrow and lash, and that 
 gleamed with a sinister lustre. 
 
 It must not be supposed that the Earl made this
 
 106 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 accurate analysis at first sight. A single glance 
 showed him a mass of loathsome ugliness, but a 
 delicate regard for the feelings of the unfortunate 
 being before him, prevented his looking at him 
 again, until the turn of the conversation compelled 
 him to do so. He merely bowed, and by a motion 
 of the hand invited him to be seated. 
 
 " My Lord," began the stranger, in a voice that 
 was on a par with his appearance, though he strove 
 hard to articulate distinctly ; " I cannot hold a long 
 conversation, so I shall come to the purpose of my 
 visit as briefly as possible. I am a soldier, or have 
 been, and have been nearly killed by a shell. You 
 see how it has left me. I was a friend of that Cap- 
 tain Trevanian whom you murdered near St. Malo, 
 in France. I was coming to him by appointment 
 when I found him, shot through the lungs, on the 
 road near his home. I assisted him to a place of 
 safety, and watched over him till he died. He be- 
 queathed to me, as I can prove in his own hand- 
 writing, attested by the Mayor of St. Malo, a certain 
 casket of jewels, of which you robbed him after you 
 had shot him down. You see I am a plain, blunt 
 soldier, and go straight to the mark, without any 
 humbug. I am come for those jewels, and you must 
 give them up to me without any palavering." 
 
 " What is your name, sir? " demanded the Earl, 
 calmly. 
 
 " I don't mean to tell that, at present. It will 
 come out, of course, if you are tried for murder, as 
 it seems likely you will be."
 
 AN UNWELCOME- VISITOR. 107 
 
 " I did not commit a murder. I fired in self-de- 
 fence, because the man first fired at me:" 
 
 " Come, come, that wont do. You threatened to 
 shoot him if he did not give up his property to you. 
 That was highway robbery to begin with." 
 
 " The property was not his it was his wife's, and 
 he had stolen it from her, and set her house on fire 
 into the bargain," said the Earl, warming in the dis- 
 cussion. 
 
 " When the wife died, it became his without ques- 
 tion, and you commit a felony in withholding it from 
 the party to whom he willed it." 
 
 " I do not understand all the intricacies of the 
 law," said the Earl, " but I will, give you the address 
 of my solicitor, and you can communicate with 
 him." 
 
 " I shall not take your solicitor's address," replied 
 the man, insolently. " If you drive me to take legal 
 proceedings, I shall appeal to the laws of France, 
 and have you tried for the murder and robbery of 
 my friend, Captain Trevanian. After you are con- 
 victed and executed, as you will be, for I was a wit- 
 ness of the whole affair, though I was not in time to 
 prevent it after you are guillotined, I say, it will be 
 an easy matter to recover my property." 
 
 " They are Winifred's jewels," cried the Earl, pas- 
 sionately, " and you shall not have them ! " 
 
 "Ha! ha!" gurgled the horrible spectre, with a 
 sepulchral attempt at a laugh ; " we are getting quite 
 excited ! Better talk coolly and rationally. It's a seri- 
 ous thing to be tried for murder in France. In America,
 
 io8 WINIFREDS JEWELS. 
 
 now, the case would be different There a man may 
 shoot down his friend in open daylight, and if he 
 has plenty of money, he may get off with, may be, 
 a short imprisonment. But, in France, you are not 
 so safe, and then the evidence in your case is strong 
 against you. However, I'll not be too hard upon 
 you at first I'll appeal to little Winifred, and tell 
 her all about it. She was not very fond of her 
 father, I'm afraid; but we know that the faults of 
 the dead are always forgotten ; and I don't think she 
 will grow very fond of the man who murdered him. 
 However, I can't help that ; and when she knows 
 the rights of the matter, no doubt she will give up 
 the jewels to their rightful owner." 
 
 " She cannot, for they are not in her possession." 
 
 " You own, then, that you have them ? " said the 
 stranger, casting his one eye sharply round the 
 room, as if in search of an iron safe, or some such 
 receptacle. 
 
 " I did not say that," was the prompt reply. " I 
 merely stated that they are not in her keeping." 
 
 " It does not much matter who has them," ob- 
 served the one-eyed man, carelessly. " The law will 
 bring them to light, if you compel me to resort to 
 it. But, on my honor as a gentleman and a sol- 
 dier, I have no wish to drive you to extremities, if 
 you will only be reasonable. If you wish to retain 
 the jewels for Winifred, you can do so by paying me 
 their value in money. I should but convert them 
 into money if I had them. What do you reckon 
 they are worth ? "
 
 AN UNWELCOME VISITOR. 109 
 
 " I am not a jeweller, sir, nor a pawnbroker," re- 
 plied the Earl, proudly. 
 
 " Don't be offended, my Lord," said the one-eyed 
 man, with a covert sneer; "but, without going into 
 that question, as you don't seem to like it, what 
 proposal will you make ? " 
 
 " I have nothing to propose," was the curt reply. 
 " I only know this, that Winifred's jewels, which 
 her mother died to save (as you know right well, if 
 you know anything about the affair,) those jewels, 
 I say, you shall not have /" 
 
 " And / say that I don't want them, if you will 
 enter into a compromise." 
 
 "What sort of compromise do you want?" de- 
 manded the Earl, fiercely. 
 
 " Nay, now, don't get angry, my Lord. It's not 
 what I want, but what I propose for your own good. 
 I wont even ask you to give me the money all at 
 once. Pay me a thousand pounds to-night, and I'll 
 wait for the remainder." 
 
 " I have not got it," was the moody answer. 
 
 " Begging your Lordship's pardon, I presume you 
 have a cheque book." 
 
 " I will not buy you off. The law may take its 
 course." 
 
 " And when it has taken its course when your 
 Lordship is executed (though I don't want your blood, 
 and shall try hard to have the sentence commuted 
 to the galleys for life even that will be hard enough 
 on a man brought up like your Lordship, and it will 
 be almost worse than death to be branded with the
 
 I io WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 T. F. P.* on your shoulder), when you are dis- 
 posed of by the law in one way or the other, what 
 will become of Winifred ? Who will take care of 
 her?" 
 
 The Earl winced at this implied threat. He wanted 
 time to reflect ; he wanted to be rid of this hideous 
 being, whose presence pressed upon his soul like a 
 nightmare ; yes, he would offer a compromise, if 
 only to gain time, and so be able to look the danger 
 fairly in the face. 
 
 " I will not give you a cheque," he said ; " but I 
 will give you five hundred pounds in cash. Will 
 that suit you ? " 
 
 " Can you not make it more ? " asked the man, 
 with an appearance of dissatisfaction, though his 
 heart leaped with joy at the proposal. 
 
 " I have told you all that I can or will do. It is 
 by a mere chance that I have even so much in the 
 house." 
 
 " I must be contented to take it then, I suppose, 
 and the sooner the better, so that I may catch the 
 night train." 
 
 So anxious was the Earl to be rid of his hateful 
 visitor, that he did not need this prompting to open 
 the drawer into which he had a short time before 
 laughingly swept the nest-egg of Freda's little for- 
 tune. It amounted to nearly the sum required. He 
 made up the difference from his purse, and pushed 
 it across the table to the one-eyed man, whose eager 
 
 * Travail* Forces d, Perf4tuil6.
 
 AN UNWELCOME VISITOR. in 
 
 hands closed upon it like the talons of a bird of 
 prey clutching its victim. The Earl then observed, 
 for the first time, that three of the fingers of his 
 right hand were gone, and that only the fore-finger 
 and a portion of the thumb did duty for the rest. 
 The maimed hand was active enough in taking up 
 the money, as its owner counted it rapidly, and de- 
 posited it in his breast pocket. 
 
 Then, rising and bowing to the Earl, he said : 
 " My name, my Lord, is Grainger Captain Grainger. 
 You see I have modified my demand very con- 
 siderably, in order to accommodate you, and have 
 taken only half of what I had a right to expect. 
 But when I find myself again in need of a little 
 ready money, I will address a line to you to that 
 effect, and I have little doubt that your good sense 
 will point out to you the expediency of attending at 
 once to my moderate requirements, without obliging 
 me either to trouble your Lordship with another 
 visit, or to have recourse to the arm of French 
 criminal law to enforce my claims. I have the honor 
 to wish your Lordship a very good evening." 
 
 Saying this with an undisguised sneer, he bowed 
 low, with mock ceremony, and withdrew. 
 
 The Earl paid no attention to his salutation, but 
 sat gazing moodily into the decaying embers of 
 the fire, which, before the coming of that ill- 
 om&ned beast of prey, had blazed for him so cheer- 
 fully. 
 
 Old Ralph brought in more logs to replenish it, 
 and while busily arranging them, he said :
 
 112 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " I sat in the hall, my Lord, till that a gentle- 
 man came out ; seeing he was a stranger, and " 
 
 " And you, not liking the looks of him, Ralph, 
 (which showed your good sense,) determined to 
 see him safe out of the house. I'm glad you did. 
 It would not be pleasant to see such a face as that 
 staring between one's bed-curtains, would it, Ralph ? " 
 
 " Oh, dear ! my Lord, you make my flesh creep 
 only to think of it ! " said Ralph, shuddering. 
 
 " Then go to bed, old friend, and don't think of 
 it. The man has been a soldier/ he tells me, and 
 was nearly killed by the explosion of a shell. It 
 would have been well had he been killed outright/' 
 he added, with a deep sigh. " Good night, Ralph." 
 
 " Good night, my Lord," said the old man, long- 
 ing to do or say something to solace his master, but 
 not knowing how. 
 
 Left to himself, the Earl took down Les Miserable s, 
 and was soon, in imagination, as hopelessly entan- 
 gled in the meshes of French criminal law as the 
 hero of Victor Hugo's wondrously pathetic romance.
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 FREDDIE AGAIN AT SCHOOL. 
 
 I HOPE my readers are sufficiently interested in 
 Freddie's fate to make them desire to hear more 
 about her. 
 
 She has been for two years in the school where 
 Mr. Mason placed her after Mr. Powell's death, the 
 first year as a pupil, and the latter as an assistant 
 teacher, though still taking lessons in music, French, 
 Italian, and German. In outward appearance, she is 
 a highly-polished and decorous young lady; but in 
 her heart she often longs for the excitement, the fun 
 and frolic, the daring feats and tumultuous applause 
 of the arena. For, poor girl, her wonderful strength, 
 though but little exercised at odd moments when 
 alone and unseen, has increased instead of diminish- 
 ing, and her abounding energy would be a torment 
 to her, but that she had discovered that she pos- 
 sessed a great fondness for gardening, and had ob- 
 tained permission to rise as early as she liked and 
 amuse herself for an hour or so among the flowers. 
 From flowers she quickly got to fruit and vegetables, 
 which afforded more scope for muscular exertion. 
 Then the gardener going away, much to hersatisfac- 
 8 113
 
 114 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 tion, she contrived to defer the engagement of a 
 successor until she convinced Mrs. Templeman that 
 she could do all the work herself, and that the exer- 
 cise was very beneficial, nay, absolutely necessary, 
 to her health. 
 
 Mrs. Templeman was a widow, with an only son, 
 who was seldom seen in his mother's house. She 
 was a highly educated and noble-hearted woman, in 
 every respect fitted for the important work she had 
 undertaken ; but her energies were crippled, and her 
 spirit bowed down by the greatest sorrow that a 
 mother's heart can know, the- utter worth lessness 
 and profligacy of her son. 
 
 Freddie had, from the first, attached herself 
 strongly to Mrs. Templeman, and with the keen in- 
 sight which affection gives, she had discovered that 
 she was unhappy; but the cause of this unhappiness 
 was only revealed to her when she had been a whole 
 year in the school. 
 
 It was during the Christmas vacation, and Ernest 
 Templeman was on a visit to his mother. Freddie 
 had never been accustomed to the society of young 
 men, and therefore had no means of contrasting his 
 conduct with that of others ; but she had read many 
 novels, and Ernest Templeman fell so far short of her 
 ideal standard, based chiefly on the model of 
 Scott's heroes, that she at first disliked, and after- 
 wards utterly despised and detested him. He pro- 
 fessed to admire her exceedingly. Perhaps he did ; 
 but his mode of expressing it was by a mixture of 
 coarse adulation and insolent familiarity which ex-
 
 FREDDIE AGAIN AT SCHOOL. 115 
 
 cited her unmitigated disgust. It was a great satis- 
 faction to reflect that, having learned the " noble art 
 of self defence " while with the circus, she had it in 
 her power to knock him down, should he carry his 
 audacity too far ; and sometimes it was out of con- 
 sideration for his mother's feelings alone that she 
 refrained from chastising him. But she determined 
 to bear with much before she would add a feather's 
 weight more of sorrow to the burthen of that suffer- 
 ing mother's soul ; so she treated him with the most 
 chilling reserve when compelled to be in his com- 
 pany, and at all times systematically avoided him. 
 
 It was not alone his behavior towards herself 
 that excited her disgust. He treated his mother 
 with the grossest disrespect, and never manifested 
 even the remotest show of affection for her, unless 
 with the object of obtaining money. 
 
 His stay was, fortunately, not. a long one ; though 
 it had already been too long for one poor creature's 
 good. 
 
 During the following summer, a pretty, though 
 vain and empty-headed servant girl, was dismissed 
 in disgrace, and Freddie gathered, from half sen- 
 tences dropped here and there, and from poor Mrs. 
 Templeman's agony, that Ernest Templeman the 
 man who had dared to profess admiration for her 
 was the author of this wretched simpleton's ruin. 
 The girl disappeared. She dared not return to her 
 father's house; and it came out that she had crone to 
 
 7 O 
 
 London, probably to seek aid and protection from 
 him whom she supposed to be her lover.
 
 Il6 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 Freddie's delicate and unobtrusive tenderness 
 during this trying period won greatly upon Mrs. 
 Templeman's affections, arid she loved her better 
 than any one except her own worthless son, while 
 she trusted her infinitely more. 
 
 The Christmas holidays had again come round. 
 The pupils had returned to their homes, and Freddie, 
 having refused invitations from two of her favorite 
 schoolmates, that she might help Mrs. Templeman 
 with the house cleaning and other work preparatory 
 to their return, remained at Ashford House. 
 
 " I cannot tell you how thankful I am that you 
 are here, my dear Winifred," said Mrs. Templeman, 
 as they sat at breakfast a few mornings after the 
 house was cleared of its lively young inmates. The 
 postman had just delivered the mail, and she held 
 an open letter in her hand. " I must go to London 
 immediately. Mr. Mason writes that he wishes to 
 place a young lady under my care, and that it will 
 be necessary for me to fetch her from town myself, 
 and without any unnecessary delay." 
 
 "What now?" exclaimed Freddie in amazement; 
 "just at the commencement of the holidays ! How 
 exceedingly singular ! " 
 
 " There are peculiar circumstances, he says, which 
 he will explain to me, but which he cannot very well 
 state in a letter," said the elder lady; "so, of course, 
 I must go ; and there is other business that I can 
 settle at the same time. Besides," she added, with a 
 sigh, " I can see what my naughty boy is about. He 
 has not written to me for several months."
 
 FREDDIE AGAIN AT SCHOOL. 117 
 
 As Freddie could find nothing pleasant or com- 
 forting to say on this subject, she continued eating 
 her breakfast in silence. 
 
 " It is such a satisfaction to me to leave the house 
 in your charge," continued Mrs. Templeman, " that 
 I really must express my gratitude to you, my dear, 
 for staying with me, instead of going on a visit to 
 your friends." 
 
 " Gratitude to me ! Oh, Mrs. Templeman ! " cried 
 Freddie, blushing deeply, " don't talk of gratitude to 
 me. What do I not owe to your kindness ? " 
 
 " I have endeavored to do my duty by you, Wini- 
 fred, that is all." 
 
 " Then give me credit for trying to do my duty, 
 too," said the girl, as, kneeling by Mrs. Templeman's 
 side, she put her arms round her waist, and leaned 
 her head lovingly on her shoulder. It was not often 
 that the widow bestowed a caress or mark of endear- 
 ment upon any of her scholars ; not from want of 
 affection, but because all her power of loving was 
 squandered and thrown away upon an unworthy 
 object, who received it with so much contempt that, 
 quite unconsciously to herself, she felt that the poor 
 fragments of what he spurned were not worth offer- 
 ing to any one else. 
 
 Freddie's action re-assured her. Half timidly she 
 passed her thin hand over the clustering brown curls, 
 and her mild eyes were suffused with moisture. 
 
 " So let it be, then, my love," she said ; " and after all, 
 duty is the highest motive that can govern our actions. 
 Now, before I go, I will consult you about a plan
 
 n8 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 that I have been turning over in my mind for some 
 weeks ; in fact, ever since Miss Hetley told me she 
 could not come back after Christmas. You are so 
 far advanced that there is no necessity for you to 
 continue any studies but music and the languages. 
 What say you to taking Miss Hetley 's place as junior 
 teacher, and receiving instruction in those higher 
 branches in lieu of remuneration ? " 
 
 " Oh, I shall be delighted ! " exclaimed Freddie, 
 tightening her arms rather forcibly to express her 
 pleasure. 
 
 " Oh, my child ! Don't squeeze me to death ! 
 Why, Winifred, how strong you are ! " cried Mrs. 
 Templeman, in amazement. 
 
 " I suppose it must be the gardening," said 
 Freddie, very much abashed ; " but indeed I cannot 
 help it." 
 
 " You are a dear, impulsive creature," said Mrs. 
 Templeman, kissing her on the forehead, " and if all 
 that strength is a sign of health, I am very glad you 
 possess it. Only you must have a little mercy on 
 such poor weak mortals as myself. I do not wish 
 you to decide too hastily on what I have proposed, 
 Winifred. Take a little time to consider the ques- 
 tion, and tell me before I go, so that I may engage 
 some one else, in case you change your mind 
 about it." 
 
 " There's no fear of that, dear Mrs. Temple- 
 man," rejoined Freddie, with a merry laugh; "it is 
 too good an offer to be declined. When shall 
 you go?"
 
 FREDDIE AGAIN AT SCHOOL. 119 
 
 " I cannot arrange to go before the afternoon 
 train, so I shall not reach London till late in the 
 evening." 
 
 Freddie assisted in her preparations, and. took 
 heed of all her directions as to what was to be done 
 during her few days' absence. She was in the mid.st 
 of packing Mrs. Templeman's carpet-bag, when she 
 suddenly exclaimed, " Oh, Mrs. Templeman ! What 
 have you done with all that money that you had a 
 few days ago ? " 
 
 " It is safe in my desk, my love." 
 
 " Oh, no ; it is not at all safe there ! " replied 
 Freddie. " Surely you wont go away and leave me 
 with such a sum in the house ! I am sure it is not 
 safe. Let me take it to Chester this afternoon, and 
 put it in the bank." 
 
 " It is too late, love. The train to Chester is just 
 gone." 
 
 " But I can walk ; it is only three miles." 
 
 " Why, you silly child ! There would be much 
 more danger in carrying it on foot than in keeping 
 it in the house." 
 
 " Not in broad daylight. No one should take it 
 from me ! Remember how strong I am," said Fred- 
 die, with a little boastful laugh. " Pray, dear Mrs. 
 Templeman, let me take it. I shall be miserable if 
 you leave it here." 
 
 " And / shall be miserable to think you may have 
 been robbed and murdered on your way." 
 
 " Then put off your journey till to-morrow, dear 
 madam. A few hours cannot make much difference.
 
 120 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 You will see Mr. Mason in the afternoon, instead of 
 the morning, that's all." 
 
 " I shall want most of that money to pay my 
 bills, as soon as I return," said Mrs. Templeman, 
 dubiously; " it is hardly worth while to put it in the 
 bank for so short a time." 
 
 " Can you not pay them just as well with cheques ? " 
 said Freddie ; and a look of such real disquietude 
 settled on her young brow that Mrs. Templeman 
 gave in, and immediately after an early dinner Fred- 
 die started off in high spirits, with the greater part 
 of the last half year's school money concealed in her 
 bosom, and her own light purse in her pocket, to 
 delude a possible highway robber. 
 
 A brisk walk brought her to the fine old city of 
 Chester in less than an hour. Her business was 
 soon transacted, and, disregarding Mrs. Templeman's 
 advice to wait another half hour and return by rail, 
 she set off to walk home again. 
 
 This exhilarating walk in a high wind was too 
 great a pleasure for her to forego for the sake of 
 being shut up in a stuffy railway carriage. 
 
 The latter half of her way homeward lay over a 
 wild, furze-covered common, ending in a narrow lane 
 about half a mile in length. 
 
 As she entered on the common she did not ob- 
 serve that a tall man, who was standing behind a 
 gorse bush, about to fire at a covey of partridges, 
 looked hard at her, and then, granting a respite to 
 the game, threw his gun over his shoulder, turned 
 into the path, and followed her at a short distance.
 
 FREDDIE AGAIN AT SCHOOL. 121 
 
 
 
 The noise of the wind drowned the sound of his 
 footsteps, and Freddie walked on, pleasantly occu- 
 pied with her own thoughts, and totally unconscious 
 of the colossal specimen of humanity who was 
 marching behind her, and who had to step out 
 pretty briskly, too, in order to keep up with her. 
 
 As she reflected with thankfulness that Mrs. Tem- 
 pleman's hard-earned money was now safe from the 
 rapacious attempts of her unprincipled son (for by 
 one of those mysterious intuitions which sometimes 
 warn us of impending evil, she felt sure that he 
 would attempt to rob his mother's house as soon as 
 he knew she was in town), she little suspected that 
 a pair of eyes were admiringly watching her firm, 
 elastic steps, and the easy poise of her tall, symmetri- 
 cal figure. 
 
 Ere the common was quite crossed, some sharp 
 points of sleet, mingled with rain, began to fall ; but 
 Freddie was not to be terrified into a run by such a 
 trifle. She was just reckoning what she would do 
 with her new accession of wealth, for, of course, if 
 she worked for her lessons, she would have her little 
 income to spend as she liked Mrs. Templeman had 
 assured her of that. She would make presents to 
 several of the girls who had been kind to her she 
 would buy several books that she had long wanted 
 she would head a subscription to buy a gold watch 
 for the drawing-mistress, whom the girls suspected 
 of being very poor. In fact, if she did all that she 
 wished to do, every pound she received would have 
 to be spent twice over. It is an error not always
 
 122 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 confined to the very youthful, that of spending ten 
 pounds out of five. And Freddie was enjoying the 
 full excitement of this agreeable process, and did 
 not care for rain or sleet. 
 
 Near the entrance to the lane before mentioned, a 
 high bank of earth, slightly hollowed out, afforded a 
 partial shelter. A rustic seat was placed in the re- 
 cess, and the branches of a spreading oak, that grew 
 on the top of the bank, extended over it. In the 
 summer, when these branches were clothed with foli- 
 age, it offered a very agreeable refuge from a shower; 
 but Freddie was shocked to see that the seat was 
 occupied, on this cold winter's day, by a miserable, 
 thinly-clad woman, whom she remembered to have 
 passed on the other side of the common, on her way 
 into Chester. 
 
 It was not in Freddie's nature to " pass by on the 
 other side," and leave such an object to her fate. 
 
 " Why do you sit here ? " she asked, kindly. 
 " You will be frozen to death." 
 
 " It don't much matter if I am," replied the woman, 
 in a hollow voice, that was broken by a cough. " I'd 
 be glad of it, if only my baby was safe." 
 
 " Can't you walk ? " asked Freddie. " Are you 
 tired, or sick ? " 
 
 " Both, miss. I'm near dying of consumption, 
 and I've walked till I can walk no farther." 
 
 Freddie unfastened her warm cloak and wrapped 
 it round the shivering woman. 
 
 " Come, now," she said, in a cheering tone, " try 
 once more. Give me your baby, and lean on my
 
 FREDDIE AGAIN AT SCHOOL. 123 
 
 arm. It is not very far to the village. Take courage, 
 and you will soon be there, and have warmth, and 
 food, and rest, and then you'll not talk any more 
 about dying." 
 
 "Don't put your cloak round me," screamed the 
 woman, trying to push it off. Then, raising her pale 
 and haggard face, she exclaimed : " Oh, Miss Wini- 
 fred ! Don't you know me ? " 
 
 "Is it possible?" said Freddie, scrutinizing her 
 features with eyes full of pity and astonishment. 
 " Can you be Kitty Reeves ? " 
 
 " That I am, miss ; so please take your cloak off 
 me. You don't want to put it on such as me." 
 
 "What nonsense are you talking?" demanded 
 Freddie, sharply. " You're a woman, aren't you ? 
 And a mother, aren't you ? " 
 
 " That I am, more shame for me ! " 
 
 " And you're sick, and cold, and perhaps starving ; 
 and what am I then? A brute, do you think, that 
 I'd leave you here ? Kitty, I always thought you a 
 foolish, vain girl ; but I should be something a great 
 deal worse if I could leave you here to die, because 
 a villain, a scoundrel, took advantage of your folly. 
 So wrap the cloak about you, and come along." 
 
 " But, Miss Winifred, you don't know how wicked 
 I have been, or you would not "speak to me. He 
 cast me off, and would not help me, and I was forced 
 to" 
 
 " Now, stop ! " interrupted Freddie, in a peremp- 
 tory tone. " You are a suffering woman, and that's 
 all I care to know about you. Whatever wrong
 
 124 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 you may have done rests between your conscience 
 and your God. I would rather not hear anything 
 about it." 
 
 She took the baby from its mother's arms, 
 wrapped it snugly in the folds of her dress, and then 
 helped Kitty to rise to her feet ; but finding that she 
 was really unable to walk, Freddie passed her strong 
 right arm round the poor creature's waist, and half 
 led, half carried her towards home. 
 
 "You'll tire yourself to death, Miss Winifred," 
 said Kitty, "and you'll catch cold without your 
 cloak. Only see how the rain is coming down ! 
 Better leave me here to die. If you'll only take my 
 poor baby to mother, I don't think she'll have the 
 heart to turn it away." 
 
 " I'm going to take you along, Kitty, so you need 
 talk no more about it And don't be uneasy about 
 me, either. Have you not heard that God tempers 
 the wind to the shorn lamb ? "
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 OUT IN A STORM. 
 
 FREDDIE had not gone many paces with her 
 double burthen, for she almost carried the poor 
 young woman who was half paralysed with the cold, 
 when her progress was arrested by a muscular brown 
 hand and a deep-toned voice that said, with quiet 
 authority, " I'll carry her." 
 
 She looked up and saw a remarkably tall, broad- 
 shouldered man, of about thirty years of age. His 
 complexion was bronzed by the sun and weather, 
 and his long beard, tossed by the wind, gave him a 
 wild and somewhat ferocious aspect. But his brown 
 eyes were calm and kind, and his voice had that 
 genuine ring that inspires immediate confidence. 
 
 Freddie took this in at a single glance, and drew 
 these favorable deductions afterwards. At the first 
 moment, her impulse was to drop her burthen and 
 run away from him as fast as her feet could carry 
 her. She checked this feeling, however, and suffered 
 him to take Kitty from her. 
 
 " Will you hold this a moment ? " he said, giving 
 her his gun, " or are you afraid ? " 
 
 Without deigning to reply, she took it, and placing 
 
 125
 
 126 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 it on her arm like a sportsman, muzzle downwards, 
 she walked onwards. 
 
 As he overtook her, she observed, with a feeling 
 of admiration, that he carried Kitty with as much 
 ease as she did the baby. 
 
 " Give me the gun," he said, " I can hold it easily 
 here," and letting his burthen rest on his arm, he ex- 
 panded his hand to receive it. " It is too heavy for you." 
 
 " I do not find it heavy," was her brief reply. 
 
 " You seem used to carrying a gun," he remarked. 
 
 " I have been used to do many things," was her 
 curt response. 
 
 Now Freddie wished him to talk to her; she liked 
 him for his kindness to poor Kitty ; she admired his 
 magnificent figure and handsome sun-burnt face ; 
 yet, for her life, she could not bring herself to speak 
 civilly to him, nor try to appear other than sulky 
 and unamiable. 
 
 The stranger, in whom my readers have probably 
 recognized Gilbert Bracebridge, remained silent for 
 some time ; and Freddie felt so angry with herself 
 for her'rudeness that the tears forced themselves 
 into her eyes. She had offended him, and he would 
 not speak to her again. Of course he would not, 
 only to be snubbed by such a young upstart as she 
 was ! What could have possessed her ? ^ Such was 
 the tenor of her reflections. 
 
 "This storm is pretty severe," he said, almost 
 shouting to make himself heard, but otherwise 
 speaking in quite a friendly tone; "but we have 
 much more severe ones sometimes in America."
 
 OUT IN A STORM, 127 
 
 "Are you an American?" asked Freddie, eagerly. 
 
 "No," he replied; " but I have lived several years 
 in the western world." 
 
 The chief wish of Freddie's heart had long been 
 to obtain some reliable information about America, 
 and here was an opportunity, if she could only 
 take advantage of it. But what would he think 
 of her if she began talking prettily to serve her own 
 purpose, when she had not had a civil word for him 
 before ? 
 
 He helped her out of the difficulty in the most 
 natural manner possible. 
 
 " Have you any friends out there ? " he asked. 
 * " No," she answered, rather sadly, " I have no 
 friends anywhere. No relations, I mean." 
 
 " Have you ever thought of going to America? " 
 
 He seemed determined not to let the conversation 
 drop, now that it was fairly started. 
 
 " I have wished to learn something about it, dif- 
 ferent from what one gets out of books and news- 
 papers," she replied ; " would you be so kind as to 
 let me ask you a few questions ? " 
 
 "The more 'the better," said he, so heartily that 
 she could not doubt his sincerity, "and I will answer 
 them to the best of my ability." 
 
 " Is it a good place for a woman to go to ? " 
 
 " That is rather a comprehensive inquiry," he re- 
 plied, with a smile, "and I fear my answer must 
 be somewhat vague in consequence. Women hold 
 a better position in America than in any other 
 country that I know of. They have not all that
 
 128 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 they want, it is true ; but they are working hard 
 for their rights, and will get them. Their very dis- 
 content with the present state of things is a proof 
 that their position is in advance of that of the more 
 tranquil women of other lands, since cheerful sub- 
 mission is the worst symptom of slavery. Therefore 
 I say that America is a good place for a woman to 
 be in. And now if you will tell me what the woman 
 you speak of is capable of doing, I may be able to 
 answer you more satisfactorily." 
 
 " She can do a good many things." 
 
 " So can most women. But the question is, what 
 sort of things ? " 
 
 " She can teach. She is now teaching in a first- 
 class school." 
 
 " Good. There is abundant employment for 
 teachers, but the American standard of excellence 
 is high." 
 
 " And she is a pretty good gardener." 
 
 " Excellent, too," said Gilbert, hardly able to re- 
 press a smile ; " that is, if she goes out West. Is 
 she married ? " 
 
 " Married ! " repeated Freddie, in amazement. 
 " Oh, no, of course she's not married." 
 
 This time he was obliged to cough to hide his 
 merriment. 
 
 " Has she plenty of energy ? " he asked. 
 
 " I think so," she answered, dubiously. " I know 
 she is not easily tired." 
 
 " And has she good health ? Is she young ? " 
 
 " Yes, she is young, and has excellent health."
 
 OUT IN A STORM. 129 
 
 " Young lady," said Gilbert, gravely, " I know you 
 have been speaking of yourself. You told me that 
 you have no relatives. Would it be wise or prudent 
 of you to go alone to a strange land, among strange 
 people ? " 
 
 " And if I am alone in the world," said Freddie, 
 proudly, " I am not a vegetable, to take root and 
 stay in one place till I die ! I think I shall go to 
 America. I am almost sure I shall." 
 
 " If you do go, and are inclined to devote a few 
 years to a good and noble work, you cannot do better 
 than teach a freedman's school in one of the Southern 
 States. The accursed system of slavery did not 
 fetter the body alone, but extended to the mind. 
 The slaves were kept in brutal ignorance that they 
 might not know their rights or wrongs ; and their 
 emancipation cannot be- completed till they have re- 
 ceived the blessing of education." 
 
 " Then do you believe that Uncle Tom's Cabin is 
 true ? " asked the girl, with more earnestness than 
 logic. 
 
 " Ay, every word of it ! " he answered, with fervor. 
 " I served in the Union army during the war, and I 
 taught a colored school afterwards ; and I heard and 
 saw enough to convince me that none of the horrors 
 of that book are overdrawn. And now," he added, 
 suddenly changing his tone, " don't you want to 
 know why I left a country of which I think so 
 highly ? I'll tell you. I, too, am all alone in the 
 world. When quite a boy, I went to Australia. I 
 there got together a little money, and started for 
 o
 
 130 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 home, intending to place a monument over the grave 
 of my parents. I was wrecked, and lost all but a 
 small sum. I then went to America. Soldiering is 
 not a profitable business, and school-teaching little 
 better; so it was several years before I was rich 
 enough to carry out my project. However, it is 
 done now. I have fulfilled what I consider a sacred 
 duty, as well as the dearest wish of my heart, and 
 now I am on my way back to the western world, 
 ready to begin life anew. Here is a house; had we 
 not better take her in ? She is either asleep or in- 
 sensible, I think." 
 
 " This is the place where I intended to bring her, 
 if she has nowhere else to go to. Kitty ! Kitty ! 
 Would you like to go to Widow Allison's ? " 
 
 But Kitty was unable to reply, and Freddie led 
 the way into the cottage. 
 
 " Dearie me, miss, what a day for you to be out 
 in, and no umbrella, and no shawl nor nothing !" ex- 
 claimed the widow as they entered. " Why, miss, 
 who have you got there, for mercy's sake ? Is she 
 dead ? " 
 
 " A poor creature to whom you showed kindness 
 when every one besides. turned their backs upon her, 
 Mrs. Allison ; Kitty Reeves." 
 
 " Laws a me ! you don't say so ! Where in the 
 world did you find her? " 
 
 "I'll tell you all about that, by and by. We 
 must get her into bed at once. She is not dead, but 
 insensible from cold and exposure ; and hunger, too, 
 no doubt." Then she added in a whisper, " I
 
 OUT IN A STORM. 13! 
 
 will pay you for your trouble, and bear all ex- 
 penses." 
 
 " Oh, miss, I'm sure I'd do all I could for her 
 without thinking about pay ; but I'm a poor, lone 
 woman " 
 
 " Hush ! " interrupted Freddie, hastily. " Get the 
 bed ready, while I try to warm her by the fire. We 
 must have hot water, and hot bricks, and flannels, 
 and no end of things." 
 
 Gilbert Bracebridge, meanwhile, had seated him- 
 self in front of the fire with his burthen, and having 
 thrown aside the dripping cloak, was alternately 
 chafing the hands and the spine of the unfortunate 
 girl. 
 
 Freddie placed the baby, which remained most 
 unnaturally quiet, in the snug recess of Mrs. Alli- 
 son's cushioned chair, and assisted, energetically, in 
 the work of resuscitation. 
 
 With a placid brow, that faithfully concealed the 
 agitation of his soul, Gilbert watched her, where she 
 knelt on the cottage floor and ministered, like a sis- 
 ter, to the poor lost creature. She drew off the old 
 worn-out boots and ragged stockings, and while she 
 warmed and rubbed the thin, soiled feet with her 
 strong hands, they looked so helpful and sympa- 
 thetic, that Gilbert thought he must have loved her 
 had he seen nothing of her but those hands. The 
 woman whom he held so tenderly on his knees 
 seemed to him like a myth, and the only real thing, 
 in this world, to him, was that kneeling girl. 
 
 He knew not how long this had lasted, when Mrs.
 
 132 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 Allison bustled in, bringing a blanket, which she 
 made hot by the fire, chattering all the time. Then 
 he was requested to carry Kitty up-stairs, which he 
 did mechanically, and returned to his place by the 
 fire, saying he would wait, in case they might have 
 to send for a doctor. 
 
 While Freddie and the widow were busy with the 
 invalid, he sank into a reverie, from which he was 
 aroused by Freddie, who came flying down the nar- 
 row stairs with a small phial in her hand. 
 
 " Look here ! " she exclaimed, her eyes flashing 
 with indignation ; " this is the cause of that poor 
 baby's heavy sleep ! Soothing Syrup indeed! Oh, 
 the wretch who sells such poisonous trash ought to 
 be shut up in prison" for life ! He is far more guilty 
 than a mere thief who only steals money, for he 
 steals the health and brains of helpless infants. 
 There, that's disposed of! " And she threw the 
 phial into the fire. 
 
 " It is indeed lamentable that such things should 
 be used," said Gilbert ; " but while mothers are so 
 ignorant as to be unaware that the,y are ruining the 
 health of their children, and training them to be 
 drunkards by creating an appetite for stimulants, 
 there will always be found druggists, scarcely less 
 ignorant, who will sell the poison to them. How is 
 the poor girl now ? " 
 
 " Better, thank you," replied Freddie, who was 
 now occupied with the baby. " She has had some hot 
 tea and some food, and is getting warm. But why 
 did you not hold this poor little thing to the fire ? "
 
 OUT IN A STORM, 133 
 
 " To confess the truth, I had forgotten its exist- 
 ence," he answered, with a sad smile. " I was very 
 brutal, I confess, to be so pre-occupied with a matter 
 of more than life and death to myself, that I over- 
 looked that small atom of humanity. Can I do 
 anything to make amends for my crime ? " 
 
 " No," she said ; "it needs only warmth, till it 
 sleeps off the effect of that horrible drug." 
 
 " Then I am wanted no more," he continued, with 
 a sigh. 
 
 " I am very grateful for what you have already 
 done," said Freddie. " I believe she would be dead, 
 but for you." 
 
 " Tut, / did nothing," said Gilbert. " / did not 
 take off my cloak to wrap her in. But I must go." 
 
 He rose, and stood for a few moments looking 
 down at her, as she sat on a low stool, holding the 
 baby's little shrivelled feet to the fire. 
 
 " Shall you come to America ? " he asked, at 
 length, with an obvious effort. 
 
 " I think so," she said, softly, as if ashamed of the 
 confession. 
 
 " And shall you go to the South say to South 
 Carolina to teach ? " 
 
 " I shall try to do so," she answered, in the same 
 voice. 
 
 "Take as many testimonials as you can, and 
 apply to the Freedmen's Bureau, in New York or 
 Boston. They will send you where you are most 
 needed. Good-bye ! " 
 
 He offered his hand. As she placed hers in it,
 
 134 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 she looked up. Their eyes met, and his were so full 
 of sorrow that her own brimmed with tears, and she 
 turned aside to hide them. He laid his left hand 
 lightly on her head, and bending over her, breathed 
 rather than uttered the words, " May God forever 
 bless you ! " then strode out of the cottage. 
 
 Suddenly recollecting that her own clothes were 
 wet through, she called to Mrs. Allison to take 
 charge of the baby, and hastened home. But it was 
 in vain that she looked up and down the road. The 
 tall figure that she hoped to see was nowhere visible. 
 
 Mrs. Templeman, who had flattered herself that 
 Freddie had escaped the storm by returning from 
 Chester by rail, and that she was even now waiting 
 at the station "till the dregs of the storm were past," 
 insisted upon putting her to bed immediately, and 
 so overwhelmed her with care and coddling that she 
 had no opportunity to relate her adventure. Subse- 
 quent reflection told her that it was as well to keep 
 silence altogether upon this subject, as Kitty's return 
 to the village must be anything but pleasant to Mrs. 
 Templeman. "So," thought Freddie, "if anybody 
 else likes to tell her, they may. I'll say nothing to 
 annoy her." 
 
 It was pleasant to lie in her warm bed, watching 
 the flickering firelight, and recall every word which 
 that interesting stranger had said : yet when, at last, 
 Freddie fell asleep, her pillow was wet with tears.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 FREDDIE DREAMS. 
 
 CONTRARY to Mrs. Templeman's predictions, Fred- 
 die suffered no ill effects from her drenching, but 
 was up as usual in the morning, and accompanied 
 her friend to the station. 
 
 On her way home, she called at Mrs. Allison's. 
 Kitty was unable to leave her bed, and the widow 
 was feeding the baby. Kitty was so sick that 
 Freddie fetched the doctor, who pronounced the 
 case to be utterly hopeless, and her death to be 
 only a question of time : a few weeks at most, or it 
 might be a few days. She was far gone in con- 
 sumption. 
 
 Freddie made up her mind at once. Kitty's pa- 
 rents must know of her condition, and must, if pos- 
 sible, be brought to visit and forgive her. It was a 
 hard task to undertake. For a young girl like her- 
 self, it was a hard and a delicate one, for the father 
 had denounced the most horrible imprecations on 
 the frail creature when she fled in disgrace from the 
 village. 
 
 But Freddie knew she was acting in a good cause, 
 and the touch of that tremulous hand upon her head,
 
 136 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 and the murmured blessing, inspired her with cour- 
 age to do anything that her conscience told her was 
 right 
 
 Mr. Reeves, Kitty's father, was a small farmer. 
 He was at work in the barn-yard when she came up, 
 but he turned away, pretending not to see her, for 
 he had looked no one straight in the face since his 
 daughter ran away. 
 
 " Mr. Reeves," said Freddie, " will you come into 
 the house ? I want to speak to you and your wife, 
 both together." 
 
 He looked about, as if trying to find an excuse, 
 but finally walked towards the house. It was easier 
 than speaking. 
 
 " I don't know how to begin," she said, when the 
 gloomy couple stood before her in the farm-house 
 kitchen. 
 
 " Please to be smart about it, whatever it is, Miss 
 Wilson," said the farmer, nervously, "for I've got to 
 cut turnips for the cows." 
 
 " It is something so dreadful ! " cried Freddie, sud- 
 denly realizing the full horror of her message to these 
 poor people, now that she was called upon to utter 
 it ; and, covering her face with her hands, she burst 
 into tears. 
 
 " O Lord, be merciful ! " exclaimed Mrs. Reeves, 
 " is my poor child dead ? " 
 
 Freddie, though crushed beneath the sense of her 
 utter incompetency to manage her communication 
 so as best to move the stern father's feelings, yet 
 saw at once the advantage she would gain if the
 
 FREDDIE DREAMS. 137 
 
 belief in Kitty's death drew from him any token of 
 sorrow. She therefore remained silent. 
 
 " May God forgive her ! " he said, solemnly. 
 
 "And cannot you forgive her, too? " said Freddie, 
 eagerly. 
 
 " It's too late," he replied. 
 
 " No, it is not too late ! She is not dead yet ; but 
 she is dying. She was out in that dreadful storm 
 yesterday, and if I had not found her, she must have 
 perished by the road-side. Another person carried 
 her to widow Allison's ; and there she lies, and can 
 never rise from her bed again. Oh, will you not go 
 to her ? If she has sinned, she has suffered and re- 
 pented. You hope that God will forgive her, and 
 are you more righteous than He is, that you cannot 
 forgive ? " 
 
 The farmer pulled his hat over his eyes, and 
 went out, muttering something about " cutting them 
 turnips." 
 
 Freddie wrung her hands and looked towards the 
 unhappy mother, who was vainly trying to untie her 
 apron strings. 
 
 " You will go to her," she said, loosening the knot 
 and helping her to put on her shawl and bonnet ; 
 "don't stop for anything else. She has every com- 
 fort, and you can take little dainties to her by 
 and by." 
 
 She led the poor woman down the road which, 
 having a few houses scattered here and there 
 along its sides, was called the village street, when, 
 behold, at some distance before them, walking with
 
 138 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 long strides towards Mrs. Allison's, they saw the 
 farmer ! 
 
 Freddie had gained her point. The parents were 
 reconciled to their erring child, and the short residue 
 of her life was made happy by their love and care. 
 Her mother took the baby, but the little creature 
 had been too often stupefied by the Soothing Syrup 
 (that real " blessing to mothers " who desire to be 
 rid of their children) which poor Kitty had given it 
 under the belief that it would save it from pain and 
 hunger; and in a few months it was placed by the 
 side of its mother. 
 
 After seeing the farmer and his wife enter widow 
 Allison's door, Freddie returned home, feeling con- 
 tented, and worked so hard at house cleaning the rest 
 of the day that she was tired when she went to bed. 
 
 The presentiment, or whatever the feeling might 
 have been, which had made her so urgent with 
 Mrs. Templernan to put her money in the bank, 
 had entirely disappeared during the excitement of 
 the previous evening, and the busy occupations of 
 the day had not tended to re-awaken it. 
 
 That night, however, she had a dream that im- 
 pressed her so forcibly by its realism that even the. 
 bright sunshine could not wholly dispel the unpleas- 
 ant effect 
 
 She dreamed that she was awakened from sleep 
 by a knowledge how acquired she knew not, for 
 she heard no noise that Ernest Templernan had 
 broken into the house, accompanied by another 
 man, whose face she could not see ; indeed, he
 
 FREDDIE DREAMS. 139 
 
 seemed to have no face. She saw them in Mrs. 
 Templeman's parlor, breaking open and ransacking 
 her desk, and every other place where money might 
 be concealed. They then cautiously mounted the 
 stairs. By some means they opened her door, 
 though it was locked, and Ernest Templeman en- 
 tered. At this moment she uttered a loud cry 
 and woke ; but, so powerful was the impression 
 left by the vision, that it was some time before she 
 could feel quite sure that the hated being was not in 
 her room. 
 
 It was only three o'clock; yet she obtained a 
 light and dressed herself. Then she emptied a 
 large trunk of its contents, and pressing a spring 
 that held it in its place, she removed a false bottom, 
 beneath which lay a variety of incongruous articles, 
 which, being very loth to part with them, she had 
 secreted in this manner before she came to Mrs. 
 Templeman's school. There was the Indian bow 
 and quiver of arrows, of exquisite workmanship, in 
 the use of which she had acquired extraordinary 
 skill, in the character of Diana. There was the suit 
 of sailor's clothes, in which she danced the hornpipe 
 so saucily that the women, taking her for a boy, fell 
 in love with her, though, thanks to good old Mr. 
 Powell's fatherly watchfulness, she saw but one of the 
 silly letters which they addressed to her. And there 
 lay her violin, on which she was a very good per- 
 former. And there, too, was the object of which 
 she was in search, a " gold-mounted Colt," her 
 beautiful revolver, with which she used to snuff
 
 HO WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 candles, and split its neat little bullets on the edge 
 of a knife, and perform other feats not often practised 
 by girls. She examined this little weapon carefully; 
 then loaded it, replaced everything in order, and 
 lying down again, with her revolver in her hand, she 
 slept soundly till daylight. 
 
 The dream haunted her all the day. She knew 
 she was in no danger while armed, yet as she had no 
 wish to be compelled to shoot the son of her dear 
 friend, however he might deserve it, she determined 
 during Mrs. Templeman's absence, to occupy a room 
 adjoining that used by the domestics. 
 
 Before retiring to rest, she paid a visit to" her own 
 room, carrying in her hand a packet of very sharp 
 iron carpet tacks. 
 
 " I dreamed," she soliloquized, "that he came up 
 stairs in his stocking feet, as it is most likely he 
 would do. So, if he comes, I'll make it pleasant for 
 him." 
 
 Saying this, she strewed the tacks thickly over 
 the carpet, and went to her repose with an unruffled 
 conscience. 
 
 The house was large, and the front part, being 
 much newer than the back, was entirely separated 
 from it, and only communicated with it by doors, 
 all of which Freddie secured over night. Conse- 
 quently, if the discordant sound that awoke her in 
 the " dead waste and middle of the night," was a yell 
 of pain from the front part of the house, it must have 
 been a very loud yell indeed. 
 
 To sleep again after such an awakening was im-
 
 FREDDIE DREAMS. 141 
 
 possible. She wrapped herself up warmly, opened 
 the window, and sat watching and listening, for she 
 imagined they would come and go that way, as it 
 was the easiest mode of gaining access to the pre- 
 mises. She had not been long at her post when she 
 heard the sound of shuffling feet on the gravel path 
 below, mingled with oaths, curses, and suppressed 
 cries of pain. The night was dark, for " the mooa 
 had gone down, and the stars were few," but she had 
 no difficulty in recognizing the voice of Ernest Tem- 
 pleman. 
 
 She slept no more till she heard the servants 
 stirring, and was soon after aroused by their terrified 
 voices at her door, assuring her that robbers had 
 broken into the house and carried off everything they 
 could lay their hands on. The latter part of the 
 story was, of course, an invention of their excited 
 imaginations. Finding no money, Ernest Temple- 
 man would take nothing else, would not even search 
 for anything worth taking, since he knew that all his 
 mother's silver plate had been sold some years 
 before to pay his debts, and its place supplied by 
 " electro." 
 
 After having hastily inspected the state of things 
 in the parlor, Freddie ran up stairs, and could not 
 help feeling a savage satisfaction on observing that 
 every step was stained with blood. By the door of 
 her room there was quite a pool, where he had 
 probably sat down to pick the tacks out of his 
 feet. 
 
 " It must have been a severe punishment," she
 
 I 4 2 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 thought; "yet no more than he deserved. And 
 after all, it was better than shooting him." 
 
 Freddie was in a considerable difficulty how to 
 act under the circumstances. It would never do to 
 denounce Mrs. Templeman's son as the perpetrator 
 of this outrage, neither could the affair be passed 
 over without notice. Again, it would be quite use- 
 Jess to alarm Mrs. Templeman by telling her about 
 it before her return home, and yet it would be as- 
 suming too much on her part if she refrained from 
 doing so. So Freddie put the burthen quietly off 
 her own shoulders by sending for the clergyman, 
 who was an intimate friend of Mrs. Templeman's. 
 
 Pie acted with promptitude to the best of his 
 judgment. The police were of course called in, and 
 they made a great many clever guesses, according to 
 their wont ; discovered many curious facts relating 
 to the way in which an entrance had been effected; 
 were positive that the burglars were not professionals ; 
 promised to do their utmost to discover the crimi- 
 nals ; and every night sent one of their number to 
 sleep on the premises, in case the attack should be 
 renewed. 
 
 The Inspector was rather disagreeably inquisitive 
 respecting the presence of the tacks on the floor of 
 Freddie's room, and asked many questions ; but 
 Freddie adhered to her first simple statement, which 
 was perfectly true, and he could get nothing more 
 from her. She was not going to tell her dreams to 
 a policeman ! 
 
 So the affair rested till Mrs. Templeman's return ;
 
 FREDDIE DREAMS. 
 
 43 
 
 and by that time, although the specified " nine days " 
 had not elapsed, it had ceased to be a wonder. 
 
 The young lady who accompanied her from town 
 was no other than Winifred Trevanian. Events had 
 occurred, which will be detailed in due time, render- 
 ing it imperative that a new home should be pro- 
 vided for her, and Mr. Mason, when applied to by 
 the Earl, had recommended Mrs. Templeman as a 
 suitable person to take charge of her.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 CONFIDENCES. 
 
 Now that my two heroines, whose fortunes are 
 destined, henceforth, to be closely linked together, 
 have at last met under one roof, it is time that I 
 should describe them. 
 
 Freddie was very tall, being much above the ordi- 
 nary stature of women. Her figure was the very 
 perfection of symmetry, and no one would have sus- 
 pected the immense strength that lay concealed un- 
 der its rounded and graceful contours. Her face was 
 not beautiful that is, the features were far from 
 regular; yet she was generally considered hand- 
 some. Her complexion glowed with health, and 
 her mouth, rather large, and always ready to laugh 
 or smile, when the full, red lips were parted, showed 
 a set of strong white teeth, " like a palace of pearls," 
 the lower set being supported by a well-moulded 
 jaw. Her hair, of a rich brown color with a tinge 
 of gold in it, clustered round her large, well-de- 
 veloped head and ample forehead, in a profusion of 
 short, natural curls. Her eyes were dark gray, 
 usually very calm and quiet ; though, when she be- 
 came animated, they beamed beneath the straight, 
 144
 
 CONFIDENCES. . 145 
 
 dark eye-brows, with light and intelligence. Her 
 nose was slightly retrousse; but, with the short upper 
 lip, gave an air of piquancy to her face, that was 
 better than more regular beauty. Her feet and 
 hands were finely formed ; , not too small for her size, 
 and strong, supple, and elastic, like the rest of her 
 harmonious frame. 
 
 Freda was very different. In stature she was little 
 above the common height, but her slender figure was 
 well proportioned, and exquisitely graceful. Hers 
 was one of those faces about which no two opinions 
 could exist. It was simply perfect in its high patrician 
 cast of beauty. Her long hair, fine and soft as silk, 
 though raven black, grew low upon her broad white 
 brow, while her large eyes, shaded by long black 
 lashes, were of that lovely violet blue that is seldom 
 seen except among the most favored of the daughters 
 of Erin. Her complexion appeared delicate from 
 its purity, but the rose upon her cheek was the sym- 
 bol of health, without which true beauty cannot 
 exist. Her nose was slightly aquiline, and fault- 
 less in its contour. Her mouth what a difficult 
 thing it is to describe such a mouth ! I'll say, then, 
 that the upper lip hacl the form of Cupid's bow, 
 (and so, by the bye, had Freddie's, on a larger scale,) 
 and that the under one was neither thin, nor very 
 full, and then I see how impossible it is for words to 
 convey an idea of that which the painter's art could 
 barely place upon canvas. I must leave that mouth, 
 with its small, regular teeth, rosy lips, and the Gre- 
 cian chin, with its central dimple, to be imagined.
 
 146 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 Her small feet were delicately arched, and her hands 
 were slender and dimpled, like those which Raphael 
 gives to his Madonnas. For the rest, she was a 
 warm-hearted, sweet-tempered girl, and not too con- 
 scious of her own loveliness. 
 
 Freddie's first emotion, on beholding her name- 
 sake, was that of such profound admiration that she 
 could have knelt to her. 
 
 " Can she be mortal ? " she exclaimed, the first 
 time she found herself alone with Mrs. Templeman ; 
 " I could not have believed it possible for any merely 
 earthly creature to be so lovely! It is a joy only 
 to look at her! Did you ever see any one so 
 beautiful ? " 
 
 " No, I never did," was the reply, " and yet, my 
 Winifred, there is a beauty in the soul which is wholly 
 free from every envious or selfish feeling that, to my 
 mind, is more attractive than any outward perfection 
 of form or feature." 
 
 " But, dear Mrs. Templeman, I am sure she is as 
 good as she is beautiful. Did you not observe how 
 sweet her smile is, and how winning her manners ?" 
 
 " My child, I believe her to be a very sweet girl, 
 and I am all the more inclined to love her, because 
 she is unfortunate and unhappy." 
 
 "She unfortunate ! She unhappy! " cried Freddie. 
 " The world must be altogether wrong, some way, if 
 that's the case. What can make her unhappy? " 
 
 " She is an orphan,^and almost friendless," replied 
 Mrs. Templeman. 
 
 " Why, so am I," said Freddie, " yet that does not
 
 CONFIDENCES. 147 
 
 make me unhappy; because I am used to it, I sup- 
 pose. And then I have always or almost always 
 had a kind friend, who was like father or mother to 
 me. And you will be a mother to her, too, will you 
 not, dear Mrs. Templeman ? " 
 
 " I will give her all the love that you do not mo- 
 nopolize, you rogue," said Mrs. Templeman, kissing 
 her warmly; "and now, will you go to her and help 
 her to unpack and arrange her things ? She is here 
 for the sake of being under motherly care, rather 
 than to study, for she is already highly accom- 
 plished." 
 
 Freddie was delighted to return to the contem- 
 plation of her idol ; but when more familiar inter- 
 course convinced her that that idol was merely a 
 girl like herself, and that she was even her inferior 
 in regard to general information and worldly wis- 
 dom, her feelings underwent a change, and though 
 she did not admire her less, she loved her more. 
 
 The discovery, which in their innocent girlish chat 
 was soon made, that their names were identical, 
 and the day of their birth the same, drew them 
 together still more, and they felt as if they were 
 twin sisters, though born so many thousand miles 
 apart. 
 
 They did not, it is true, interchange vows of ever- 
 lasting affection, in the orthodox young-lady style, 
 and each kept locked in her own breast some secrets 
 that she would not confide to any one; but they were 
 Freddie and Freda to each other from the first day 
 of their acquaintance.
 
 148 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 Mrs. Templeman was soon informed of Kitty's 
 return to the village, and Freddie, when questioned 
 by her, told her frankly all about it, including her 
 successful intervention with the hitherto obdurate 
 parents. On one point only was she somewhat reti- 
 cent ; she said merely that a man, a stranger, who 
 was going along the lane, had carried poor Kitty to 
 the cottage. This reticence was not the result of 
 cunning, but of maiden modesty; and Mrs. Temple- 
 man, with all her maternal shrewdness, failed to dis- 
 cover any connecting link between the fact of a 
 stranger having carried Kitty through the storm, 
 and Freddie's unusual devotion to the study of 
 American geography. 
 
 However, chance betrayed to Mrs. Templeman 
 another fact that Freddie was equally anxious to 
 conceal. The incident of the tacks had of course 
 been related to her, among the other circumstances 
 connected with the burglary; and when Freddie, 
 from deference for his mother's feelings, and not for 
 any interest she felt in himself, asked how she had 
 found Mr. Templeman, she replied, " He was out 
 in the country, shooting, when I first called at his 
 chambers. I had sent him a note the night I 
 arrived, to let him know I was coming, but 
 it seems he did not find it till his return. The 
 next day I went again, and found him in bed, 
 poor boy. He had lamed himself by stepping on a 
 spike " 
 
 Here she stopped, turned deadly pale, and left the 
 room.
 
 CONFIDENCES. 149 
 
 A few evenings later, in the twilight, she said to 
 Freddie, in a studiously unconcerned tone : 
 
 " I wish you would tell me, my love, why you 
 were so anxious that I should place that money in 
 the bank before I went to town ? " 
 
 " It was only a feeling that I had, ma'am ; a kind 
 of presentiment," replied Freddie. 
 
 "And what induced you to change your room ? " 
 
 " Oh, that was a dream," she said ; " I dreamed 
 that two men broke into the house, and afterwards 
 came into my room. The dream haunted me, and I 
 thought I should not sleep well there, so I moved 
 into one of the back rooms." 
 
 ".Why did you not mention this remarkable dream 
 to Mr. Benson ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes," said Freddie, laughing rather ner- 
 vously, " and get pointed at all over the village as a 
 seer of visions ! " 
 
 " Did you not scatter . those tacks on the floor 
 purposely? " 
 
 She had got to the point now that Freddie dreaded ; 
 but there was no escape. 
 
 " Yes, ma'am, I did," answered Freddie, in a peni- 
 tent tone, " and I am sorry for it, if the men were 
 much hurt." 
 
 " Whoever the man might be who went to your 
 room," said Mrs. Templeman, in a voice so stern that 
 Freddie hardly knew it, " he went for a villainous 
 purpose; and if he is maimed for life, he deserves 
 his punishment. Therefore, my child, do not regret 
 what you have done."
 
 150 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 No more was said at that time, but Freddie 
 heard, incidentally, some weeks later, that Ernest 
 Templeman had quite recovered from his accident. 
 
 The school re-commenced, and the months flew 
 by, as they always do when every day brings its 
 appointed work, until the first of May arrived, when 
 the two Winifreds attained their twenty-first birth- 
 day. 
 
 Mr. Mason wrote a letter to Freddie, resigning 
 his stewardship, and giving over to her own keeping 
 the sum that had accumulated in his hands during the 
 three years when she had been with the circus com- 
 pany, as well as Mr. Powell's legacy and savings from 
 the presents he had intercepted, so that she found 
 herself in possession of about six hundred pounds. 
 
 Freddie wrote a grateful and graceful letter of 
 thanks for all his kindness, but whether he received 
 it or not, she never knew. A few days later, Mrs. 
 Templeman was informed that the old gentleman 
 had died very suddenly. Freddie lamented his loss 
 sincerely. She had very seldom seen him, indeed, 
 but he had always been to her the distant some one 
 who represented her father. 
 
 She was sitting, in the twilight of a sweet May 
 evening, in a secluded part of the garden, indulging 
 in what was, to her, the very unusual occupation of 
 a sorrowful reverie. She had lost a faithful friend. 
 This was the third time in her short life that death 
 had left her with only one link to unite her with the 
 rest of humanity, and twice out of those three times 
 it was the old lawyer who had remained as the bond
 
 CONFIDENCES. 151 
 
 of union. Now he was gone, and she had only 
 Mrs. Templeman left ; and that poor lady's private 
 sorrows so completely absorbed her from all beyond 
 absolute duties, that Freddie felt she had but a feeble 
 claim upon her. The remembrance of the stranger, 
 his kind talk and gentle manners, and his parting 
 benediction, came to her, bringing a sense of com- 
 fort. Yet why should she take comfort from thinking 
 of him ? She would never see him again ! And 
 she rested her head against the back of the rustic 
 seat, and wept. She believed she was crying be- 
 cause her old friend was dead ! 
 
 Freda's arms around her, and her soft voice, 
 cooing consolation, roused her from her grief. 
 
 " It is so dreadful to lose a friend," she said ; "but, 
 
 Freddie, I remember when my mother died, and 
 the circumstances were so terrible ! It is all like 
 some fearful dream. Our house was burnt, and I 
 was told that the fright and agitation killed her. But 
 
 1 don't believe that. I believe she was murdered ! " 
 
 " Murdered ! " cried Freddie, starting up. " Oh, 
 Freda, who could have done it ? " 
 
 " That I must not say," replied Freda, sadly. 
 " That is the ' skeleton in the closet ' that I must 
 keep locked up all my life. He was related to my 
 mother, or had power over her, and that night he 
 locked me up at the top of the house, and then set 
 fire to it. I know he did, for I heard her scream and 
 beg him not. The smoke began to come through 
 the crevices of the door, when I heard a voice calling 
 me by name and telling me to knock on the door to
 
 152 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 guide him to it. That was my guardian. It was 
 the first time I saw him. He carried me down 
 through the stifling smoke, and we got through a 
 window, and escaped down the trellis. Then he 
 went in and brought my mother out. She was pale 
 and senseless, but I had often seen her faint, so I 
 was not frightened. We were taken to a convent 
 of nuns, and there my poor mamma lay in bed for I 
 do not know how long ; but she did not get up again, 
 and I am certain she was murdered. She was not 
 touched by the fire, and there was a great bruise 
 upon her chest. I never saw him again, and for a 
 long time I believed (though I 'know not what foun- 
 dation I had for it) that he had been tried for the 
 murder, and executed. But a short time before I 
 came here an attempt was made to take me by force 
 from the convent, where I have told you before that 
 my guardian left me to be educated, after my mother's 
 death. I did not see the man whose name I will 
 never mention, for they all wore masks ; but I 
 thought I recognized his voice ; and oh, unless you 
 knew all, you could not conceive a thousandth part 
 of the terror and loathing with which it inspired 
 me ! From what I heard my captors say, they were 
 searching my room for some jewels. Now I never 
 possessed any jewels, though I know my mother 
 had some, which she used to call my dowry. But I 
 supposed they were burnt in the fire that destroyed 
 our house. The ruffians had bound me, and tied 
 something over my mouth, so that I could not ciy 
 for help, but their delaying to search for those jewels
 
 CONFIDENCES. 153 
 
 saved me. One of the nuns heard them, and gave 
 the alarm. Many of those Sisters of Charity are 
 strong country women. They came armed with 
 sticks, and the men had to fight hard to get away 
 from them. My guardian came immediately from 
 England, and took me away with him. We re- 
 mained in London for a few days, and then Mrs. 
 Templeman came, and brought me here. And now, 
 dear Freddie, you see that there is at least one other 
 person in the world quite as lonely and friendless as 
 you are." 
 
 " How can you say so, Freda, when you have that 
 dear, kind guardian ! " cried Freddie, who had lis- 
 tened with the deepest interest to her friend's 
 recital. 
 
 " I cannot extract much comfort from my associa- 
 tions with him," answered Freda, sadly. "There is 
 grief and mystery there, too. He shuns me, Fred- 
 die ! His manner towards me is altered and es- 
 tranged. When first he used to come to see me at 
 the convent, he was kind and loving as as " 
 
 " As a father," suggested Freddie. 
 
 " I do not know what the love of a father is like," 
 said Freda, hurriedly, as a gloomy cloud passed over 
 her lovely brow ; " but my guardian was as kind as 
 ever he could be till about four years ago. Then, 
 just when I had discovered more and more all that 
 was good and lovable in his character, when I was old 
 enough to begin to appreciate him, when I had 
 begun to watch and long for his visits, and to count 
 the days till I might hope to see him again, then,
 
 1 54 WINIFRED' S JE WEL S. 
 
 suddenly, his manner became constrained, and his 
 visits were shortened, and a longer and longer time 
 elapsed between them. What I had done to alienate 
 him, I cannot imagine." 
 
 " Is he married ? " inquired Freddie, rather 
 abruptly. Her experience in novel reading was 
 coming into play, to discover a cause for this strange 
 change of mood. 
 
 " Married ! " repeated Freda, with a look of 
 alarm. " Oh, no ! no ! And yet," she added, cover- 
 ing her face with her hands, and sobbing, " how can 
 I say that he is not? I know nothing of him! 
 Nothing ! Not even his name, except his Christian 
 name of Rupert." 
 
 "That is very singular," said the judicial Freddie, 
 bent more than ever on fathoming the mystery. 
 " Did the Superior of the convent know who he 
 was ? " 
 
 " She must have known, for she wrote to him. 
 But she would riot tell me." 
 
 " There is a mystery about him, certainly," con- 
 tinued Freddie ; " but that does not necessarily mean 
 that there is anything wrong. The man you have 
 described is too noble for that." 
 
 Freda smiled her approbation. 
 
 " But, my dear Freda, you have betrayed one 
 thing, and that is, that you are in love with your 
 guardian Rupert." 
 
 Freda hid her blushing face in her friend's 
 neck. 
 
 " And you have convinced me of another thing,"
 
 CONFIDENCES. 155 
 
 proceeded Freddie, encircling her companion with 
 her arm, " and that is, that he loves you." 
 
 " No ! That is impossible ! " murmured Freda. 
 " He is so much my superior in all things ; he could 
 not love me." 
 
 "Now, just listen to that!" exclaimed Freddie, 
 appealing to the surrounding vegetation apparently, 
 for there was nothing else within hearing. " As if 
 any man could look at her and not love her ! Oh, 
 Freda, don't you know that you are beautiful beyond 
 any power of description ? " 
 
 " I know that you are a dreadful flatterer," said 
 Freda. " But, Freddie dear, tell me why you thjnk 
 that you know what I mean why you think as 
 you do." 
 
 " From his change of conduct, which is to be ex- 
 plained on no other grounds. From some motive, 
 he does not think it right or honorable to declare 
 his love. It may be only that he, being so much 
 older than you are, dares not aspire to the posses- 
 sion of so much loveliness. It is possible that he 
 may be married ; but, if so, it is to an uncongenial 
 partner, one to whom he could not confide the child 
 he rescued from the fire." 
 
 " You have thrown quite another light upon his 
 conduct, Freddie. Oh, I wish I could believe that 
 you are right ! " 
 
 "What name did he give Mrs. Templeman?" 
 
 " She did not see him ! " answered Freda. "It 
 was all arranged through Mr. Mason. When Mrs. 
 Templeman came to fetch me from the hotel, she
 
 156 WINIFRED" S JEWELS. 
 
 asked for the young lady in No. 16. I came out, 
 closely veiled, and kept my veil down, by Rupert's 
 desire, till I arrived here." 
 
 " When will he come to see you ? " 
 
 " Never, I fear." 
 
 The bell, ringing for evening prayers, interrupted 
 them ; but they were closer and warmer friends than 
 ever, after this confidential interview.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 BROUGHT TO BAY. 
 
 \ 
 
 THE Earl had not had a very pleasant time during 
 the nine years which had elapsed since Captain 
 Grainger's first visit. He worked on his farm as 
 assiduously as ever; but it was no longer with the 
 hope of accumulating a little fortune for Freda; it 
 was merely to save her jewels from the rapacity of 
 that unscrupulous extortionist. Sometimes he was 
 even compelled, though always with extreme reluc- 
 tance, to draw upon his inherited property to satisfy 
 his demands. 
 
 Since his mother's death, he had scarcely seemed 
 to look upon his ancestral estates as his own ; but 
 acting as steward, he lived upon the salary of one, 
 supplemented by his earnings on the farm. 
 
 Captain Grainger's demands were very irregular. 
 At times he would give his victim a respite of seve- 
 ral months, and again he would write for money 
 with scarcely a week's intermission. Occasionally 
 he repeated his threat of appealing to Freda ; but 
 the Earl paid little regard to these demonstrations, 
 not believing that the rascal was acquainted with 
 her retreat. When, however, after demanding a 
 
 157
 
 158 WINIFRED'S. JEWELS. 
 
 large sum, which the Earl could not, and would not 
 send, the attack upon the convent was made, Freda's 
 anxious guardian saw that she was no longer in 
 safety there, and removed her to Mrs. Templeman's 
 with every precaution to prevent discovery, as has 
 already been made known in the last chapter. 
 
 The persecution was then renewed with increased 
 vigor, and assumed a new form of annoyance ; for, 
 if a demand for money was not immediately com- 
 plied with, it was enforced by the appearance of the 
 Captain in person. Unfortunately, Captain Grainger 
 quickly discovered that this mode was a very effec- 
 tual one, as the Earl, besides the loathing he felt for 
 him, personally, was greatly annoyed by being 
 haunted by this mysterious and disreputable-looking 
 stranger. > 
 
 There is, however, a degree of tension at which 
 the toughest cord must break; and this Captain 
 Grainger discovered to his cost. 
 
 It was towards the end of June. The Earl was 
 pacing rapidly up and down his library, the in- 
 equality of his steps betraying the agitation of his 
 mind. On the table lay an open letter from Grain- 
 ger, containing an imperative demand for a hundred 
 pounds, though the Earl had sent him twenty only 
 a week before. 
 
 It was not the question of money that troubled 
 him, but the desperate step towards which this in- 
 cessant black-mailing was hurrying him. 
 
 " It must come to this at last," he soliloquized. 
 " However I delay it, it must come to this! I ought
 
 BROUGHT 7V BAY. 159 
 
 to have done it years ago, and should, but that I 
 had a duty to perform to that child. And now that 
 she is a child no more ; now that I have learned to 
 love her O God, how tenderly! how truly! now, 
 it is more than ever imperative on me to take this 
 irrevocable step. I dare not see her again, or my 
 resolution might fail me. Even at our last meeting, 
 I read that in her sweet eyes which might develop 
 into love. Love for me, old and ugly as I am ! 
 Poor child, she knew no others to compare me with ! 
 But she will ; she will, and then she will forget me. 
 That Mrs. Templeman is a woman to be trusted, I 
 am sure, and my Freda will go into a small but select 
 social circle ; that is what the good soul said to Ma- 
 son. My Freda's beauty and grace will do the rest. 
 Ah me, that I must never know her fate ! That seems 
 the sharpest blow of all ; but it must be borne. I 
 will take her jewels to her her mother's jewels 
 that I have struggled so hard to preserve for her. 
 I shall be once more under the same roof with her ; 
 but I must not see her. It is hard it is hard to 
 bear ! By to-morrow morning that fellow Grainger 
 will be here as usual. I shall have time to go to 
 London, make my arrangements, and then to Brigh- 
 ton. If he follows me there, so much the better. 
 Then comes the last scene of all. The Earl is dead ; 
 long live the Earl ! That will be the easiest part of it. 
 And finally, a certain Rupert Forester makes his 
 way to Australia, or New Zealand, or the Sandwich 
 Islands, 'or the United States, according to the ves- 
 sel that sails first Well, the world is wide enough."
 
 160 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 His first care was to destroy Grainger's letter; 
 and having watched it as it was consumed to the 
 last atom, he packed his valise with sufficient linen 
 to last him a week, placed the casket containing 
 Winifred's Jewels safely in it, and told his servants 
 he was going to spend a few days at Brighton. 
 There was half an hour to spare before the train 
 started, so he went to the stable and patted his 
 horse. He thought the creature had never been so 
 demonstrative in his affection. His dogs, too, came 
 round him with a look of yearning love in their hon- 
 est eyes that seemed to say they knew he was going 
 from them forever. 
 
 " I thought I could go hence without a pang," 
 said the Earl to himself, with a choking sensation 
 about the throat, " but I find I cannot. These crea- 
 tures are dearer to me than I supposed." 
 
 Then came the old gardener, wanting to carry his 
 Lordship's valise to the station. 
 
 " It isn't fit," he said, " that your Lordship should 
 carry your own luggage." 
 
 " And I am sure it would be far less fit were I to 
 burthen you, old friend, with what I am so much 
 better able to carry. Good-bye, Ralph; take care 
 of Rollo and the dogs while I am away." 
 
 He shook hands with his old servant, and pressed 
 something into his palm as he did so. Then snatch- 
 ing up his valise, he strode hurriedly away. 
 
 Ralph hastened after, anxious, he knew not why, 
 to keep him in sight as long as possible. "When he 
 could see him no longer, he looked at what he had 
 in his hand. It was a five-pound note.
 
 BROUGHT TO BAY. 161 
 
 " My mind misgives me," said the old man, while 
 tears rolled down his withered yet ruddy cheeks ; 
 " my mind misgives me that I shall never see him 
 again. I do hope there's nothing a-going to happen 
 to him ! He's been a good master, but there's been 
 a something a-weighing upon his mind this ever so 
 long. Ay, ever since his mother's death, it's been 
 a-weighing upon him, dreadful." 
 
 It was late that evening when the Earl presented 
 himself at Ashford house, and requested to see Mrs. 
 Templeman. 
 
 She was not at home, the servant said. To his 
 anxious inquiry when she would return, the girl 
 answered that it was impossible to say, as she 
 was gone to London to her son, who was danger- 
 ously ill. 
 
 " Is there any one else here ? " His heart beat 
 violently as he asked this question, for should the 
 reply be, " Miss Trevanian," he would be compelled 
 to see her. He should see her and speak to her 
 once more, and no blame would be his for seeking 
 her. But his wild hope was dashed to the ground 
 when the girl replied that " perhaps he would like 
 to see Miss Wilson ; she was one of the teachers, 
 and almost like Mrs. Templeman's own daughter." 
 
 Freddie was accordingly summoned. 
 
 When she entered the parlor, she found a man 
 of, as she imagined, about thirty-five years of age, 
 with a prepossessing, though by no means hand- 
 some face, a good, well-formed figure, and very gen- 
 tlemanly manner.
 
 1 62 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " Miss Wilson ? " he said, rising as she came in. 
 
 "I am Miss Wilson, sir," replied Freddie. " I un- 
 derstand you wished to see Mrs. Templeman ; but 
 she is unavoidably absent. I can tell you anything 
 you wish to know concerning the school." 
 
 " It is not that," said the Earl, nervously; "there 
 is, I believe, a young lady here, a Miss Trevanian ' 
 
 " Oh, you are her guardian, I am certain ! " cried 
 Freddie, joyously; " I'll fetch her this moment; she'll 
 be so delighted ! " 
 
 " Not for the world ! " he exclaimed, starting for- 
 ward as if to prevent her; " she must not know that 
 I am here. I dare .not see her." 
 
 " I cannot presume to judge of your conduct, sir, 
 not knowing your motives," said Freddie, gravely ; 
 " but permit me to say that I do not think you do 
 Miss Trevanian justice in denying her the pleasure 
 which it would afford her to see you." 
 
 " No," he replied, with a sigh so deep that it was 
 almost a groan, " you do not know my motives, nor 
 does she. They never can be known, for they must 
 go with me to the grave. Freda will think me ec- 
 centric mad, perhaps. But, oh, . young lady, can 
 you not persuade her that I am forced to act as I 
 do ; that I am impelled by no unworthy or dishonor- 
 able impulse ? " 
 
 " No persuasion would be needed to convince 
 Freda of that," said Freddie ; " she esteems you as 
 the very soul of honor." 
 
 " Thank you for that comfort," he said ; " the re- 
 membrance of your words will be like a gleam of
 
 BROUGHT TO BAY. 163 
 
 light in my dark future. And is she well ? Is she 
 happy? " 
 
 " She is well ; but not, I fear, so happy as she 
 might be." 
 
 " She pines for society, no doubt," said the Earl, 
 resolutely. " Mrs. Templeman has promised to take 
 her out, and she will be happy in a gayer life." 
 
 " She has refused all invitations hitherto," said 
 Freddie. 
 
 " That cannot last," said he. " At her age, plea- 
 sure always has attractions. She will meet with 
 some one who will make life bright for her, and God 
 grant he may be worthy of her love ! And now to 
 the business on which I came. This box," he con- 
 tinued, taking the jewel-case from his valise, " con- 
 tains some articles of value which belonged to her 
 mother. Be pleased to give it at once into her own 
 hands. And this .letter will explain all that I can 
 explain. Miss Wilson, will you be as a sister to her ? " 
 
 " I will, indeed, sir. I promise it freely, for I -love 
 her like a sister." 
 
 " She is so inexperienced in the world's ways," he 
 went on, "and" she may need a counsellor, even a 
 protector. You look resolute and courageous " 
 
 " I believe my looks speak truly, then," said 
 Freddie. 
 
 " You will hardly believe it possible," continued 
 the Earl, " that that lovely girl can have a mortal 
 enemy. I hope that, in placing her here, I have 
 baffled him ; but he has the cunning of a fox, and 
 the pertinacity of a bloodhound. Give me a sheet
 
 1 64 WINIFREDS JEWELS. 
 
 of paper, and I will sketch such an outline of his 
 face that you will easily recognize him, should he 
 track her. The name under which I have known 
 him is Grainger Captain Grainger. I know not if 
 it be his true name or not." 
 
 Freddie gave him some paper, and with a few 
 masterly strokes he produced an excellent likeness 
 of Captain Grainger. 
 
 " He has lost an eye," he said, " and wears a glass 
 one, and his face is scarred all over. He says it was 
 done in the army. Should such a man come here, 
 no .matter under what pretext, his true motive will 
 be robbery. Hide this from him," tapping the box ; 
 " and hurry Freda away to some place of conceal- 
 ment, or safety. Will you promise me this ? " 
 
 " I will," replied Freddie, resolutely. " And what 
 is more, if he breaks into the house by force, I will 
 shoot him. Some burglars got in once, and ever 
 since I have slept with a revolver under my pil- 
 low." 
 
 " That sounds well," said the Earl ; " but could 
 you hit a mark ? " 
 
 " It is not an accomplishment that I usually boast 
 of," said Freddie, modestly ; " but as it may afford 
 you some comfort to know it, I will tell you that I 
 had an opportunity, once, of practising a good deal, 
 and I won many prizes. But I think the best thing 
 Freda could do, would be to go with me to 
 America." 
 
 " To America ! " he repeated, while such a strange 
 mingling of emotions passed over his face, that
 
 BROUGHT TO BAY. 165 
 
 Freddie could not tell whether terror or joy pre- 
 dominated. 
 
 "Yes," she replied, with the air of one whose 
 plans were all settled long ago, though her resolution 
 had only been finally adopted within the last few 
 minutes. " I am going to teach in the schools for 
 the poor emancipated negroes in South Carolina; 
 and Freda could not do better than go, too, in my 
 opinion. Shall I tell her that you support my 
 recommendation ? " 
 
 " My opinion can no longer influence her," said 
 the Earl, sadly. " When she reads that letter, she 
 will know that she will never see me more." 
 
 " You are not going to commit suicide ! " ex- 
 claimed Freddie, clutching his arm with a vigor that 
 he afterwards recalled with astonishment. 
 
 " No ; do not suppose that for a moment," he an- 
 swered, so calmly, that her fear was instantly al- 
 layed. " You and Freda must be satisfied to take 
 my assurance that I am doing what my conscience 
 tells me is right. Though wholly guiltless in this 
 matter, I am involved in a net-work of falsity. I 
 cannot break out of this openly, without bringing 
 ruin and misery upon others. Therefore, I withdraw 
 myself quietly from the position, and shall be seen 
 no more." 
 
 " You are going to turn monk, and bury yourself 
 alive in a convent. Perhaps in that horrible La 
 Trappe ! " 
 
 " You must surmise what you please. Good-bye. 
 Be kind to Freda."
 
 i66 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 When the parlor door was opened, Freda's voice 
 was heard from the distant room where the two girls 
 had been sitting when Freddie was called away to 
 the Earl. The song she sang was one of Mrs. He- 
 mans', that wild, plaintive lament of the Highland 
 emigrants about to leave their native land forever, 
 and the wailing notes and sorrowful words, " We re- 
 turn no more," fell with fearful meaning on the ears 
 of the unhappy man. He raised his hand, entreat- 
 ing silence, and listened eagerly. Freda sang with- 
 out accompaniment, and her sweet, yet powerful 
 voice vibrated with emotion, for her soul was poured 
 forth in every note. The Earl leaned against the 
 door-post, and Freddie saw that his whole frame 
 trembled, and she heard his tears as they dropped 
 upon the flo.or. 
 
 "Let me call her!" she whispered, in a broken 
 voice. 
 
 " No no ! " he answered, " if it costs my life, I 
 must be firm." 
 
 He staggered to the door. 
 
 Freddie accompanied him. When he had passed 
 outside, she offered him her hand, and held his in a 
 firm grip for a moment. 
 
 " You have asked me many questions," she said, 
 at last, in a low, hurried tone ; " will you answer me 
 one, or perhaps two, and if they offend you, I can- 
 not help it." 
 
 "I will answer them if I can," he replied. 
 
 " Are you married ? " 
 
 " No; on my soul, I am not ! "
 
 BROUGHT TO BAY. 
 
 167 
 
 " Is there insanity in your family ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Good-night." And the strange girl stepped back 
 and closed the door. 
 
 "Then they will meet again," she said to herself, 
 as she walked slowly to the room where she had left 
 her friend. " I am sure of it. He is not going to kill 
 himself, and he has too much sense to become a 
 monk. What else he means to do, I cannot imagine. 
 But he will be alive somewhere, and if he does not 
 turn up in South Carolina before very long, he is 
 more of a fool than I take him to be. I have bound 
 myself to go to South Carolina now, just because 
 it was the first State I thought of. at the moment. 
 Poor Freda ! How it will grieve her to know that 
 he has been here, and is gone without seeing her! It 
 is a painful task to tell her, but it must be done."
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 AN EXIT, AND AN ENTRANCE. 
 
 AFTER travelling all night, the Earl reached Lon- 
 don in the early dawn. 
 
 Leaving his valise at the station, he sought out 
 one of those clothing stores where every article of 
 dress can be obtained on the shortest notice. There 
 he purchased a suit of strong dark grey cloth, suit- 
 able either for a mechanic, or for a gentleman going 
 on a pedestrian tour. A pair of boots, a few strong 
 shirts and socks, and various other necessary arti- 
 cles, including a leather purse, were packed into a 
 carpet-bag. He added to these a stout walking- 
 stick, and took a cab to London Bridge Station. 
 A train was just starting for Brighton, in which he 
 secured a place, and had the satisfaction of being 
 alone in a first-class carriage. 
 
 He left the train unnoticed among the crowds 
 who were pouring out in spite of the unfavorable 
 weather, for it was misty, and a drizzling rain was 
 falling, and, avoiding the town, walked quickly to a 
 part of the shore which he knew well in former 
 times. It was about a mile from Brighton, and was 
 easily distinguished by a rather bold projection of 
 cliff. 
 
 1 63
 
 AN EXIT, AND AN ENTRANCE. 169 
 
 He sat down on the shingly beach, at the base of 
 this cliff, and looked carefully around him. As he 
 could not distinguish any object twenty yards off, it 
 was very unlikely that he himself would be observed, 
 even should any one be loitering about in his vicinity. 
 He therefore proceeded at once with the work he 
 had in hand. In the first place, he half buried the 
 carpet-bag in the sand, and then covered it com- 
 pletely with shingle and sea-weed, placing a large 
 light-colored stone on the top to distinguish it from 
 other heaps. He next transferred from his own 
 purse to the new one, the sum of about two hundred 
 pounds, and buried that at a short distance, placing 
 marks about it with great care. 
 
 This done, he walked down the beach, and sur- 
 veyed the spot from the border of the sea. Hav- 
 ing by this means impressed all the landmarks 
 upon his memory, he went back to the station, took 
 the next train to London, fetched his valise from the 
 Great Western Station, where he had left it, and 
 suddenly recollected that he had eaten nothing since 
 the previous day. He called a cab, and drove to his 
 club. ; 
 
 " This is a good opportunity," he said to himself, 
 " to block out any unpleasant stories about suicide, 
 or desponding state of mind, or any such humbug." 
 
 Acting in accordance with the plan he mentally 
 laid down, he greeted with more than his usual 
 cordiality and cheerfulness every acquaintance he 
 met at the club. He talked freely upon general 
 subjects, and even extended to one or two such an
 
 170 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 invitation to Tytherleigh as was conveyed in the 
 expression that he would be happy to show them 
 his stock of short-horns, if they thought it worth 
 while to run down. He talked also of his intended 
 visit to Brighton, and his longing for a half-mile's 
 swim in the sea. 
 
 It was evening when he reached Brighton. He 
 went to one of the largest hotels, and found that 
 there was no room there. This he understood to 
 imply, " no room for a man who brought only a 
 small valise, and carried that himself." The presen- 
 tation of his card proved that he was right in his 
 conjecture, for one of the best rooms in the house 
 was immediately discovered to be vacant. He took 
 possession of it, and strolled out on the beach. 
 
 The weather had cleared up since morning, and 
 the sea was dancing and sparkling in the level rays 
 of the setting sun. 
 
 When he reached the bathing place he found the 
 machines were all drawn up. There was no one in 
 the water. The men in charge of the machines were 
 about going home. 
 
 j The Earl's request for a bath was answered by 
 " Too late, sir. We've done for to-day." A hand- 
 some gratuity, however, wrought an immediate 
 change in their views. One of the lumbering boxes 
 was pushed out to the sea, and the Earl entered. 
 
 Strange and conflicting were the emotions that 
 filled his breast. The irrevocable step was not yet 
 taken. Should\it take it ? he asked himself. Should 
 he not rather keep the rank and wealth which the
 
 AN EXIT, AND AN ENTRANCE. 171 
 
 law gave him, and which there was no one to dispute 
 with him ? Should he not return to Freda woo 
 her marry her place a coronet on her brow, and 
 see his children growing up around him ? Had he 
 not suffered enough to expiate another's fault ? 
 
 No, answered conscience, sternly; not while he 
 held that to which he had no right. Had he found 
 it so agreeable to act the part of an embodied lie, 
 that he must drag the noble and innocent Freda 
 down to share it with him ? The course he had 
 determined to adopt was the only honorable one, 
 and he would carry it out, or die in the effort. 
 
 He began to undress. It was strange how every 
 garment, as he removed it, assumed the character 
 of an old friend, and roused a feeling of regret at 
 parting with it. Yet it was not the clothes them- 
 selves, but the past life and associations which they 
 represented that aroused the sentiment. His watch ! 
 How well he remembered the time when he bought 
 it ! It was a few days before that which was to have 
 been his wedding day. As he looked at it his eye 
 was caught by a small gold key that was attached to 
 the chain. It was the key of Freda's jewel case*! 
 In his agitation he had forgotten to leave it for 
 her! 
 
 What could be done ? To send it to her now was 
 impossible ; to leave it was equally so. He would 
 keep it ! It would be a link between her and him 
 a link to bind him still to humanity. He tore a strip 
 from his handkerchief, and tied the key round his 
 neck. Yet another moment he lingered, gazing
 
 172 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 round to see if there was any other thing that he 
 had overlooked. 
 
 In this pause he heard some one ask the bath men 
 if they knew the name of the gentleman who was 
 bathing so late. It was strange that during the 
 whole of this agitating day he had hardly bestowed 
 a thought upon Captain Grainger; and here he was, 
 inquiring for him ! 
 
 With a feeling of joy that he was about to elude 
 him forever, the Earl dashed into the water, and 
 swam straight away from the shore. 
 
 There was no moon, and the sun set among clouds 
 which made the twilight short. When the swimmer 
 could no longer discern the' men on shore, he 
 shouted for help, and struck out vigorously on a 
 course at right angles from that which he had 
 hitherto pursued. 
 
 About two hours after the Earl had disappeared, 
 and while boats, with lighted flambeaux, were still 
 rowing about, seeking for his dead body, a man 
 dressed in a suit of dark grey tweed, with a cap of 
 the same, and a carpet bag slung over his shoulder, 
 entered a country station a few miles from Brighton, 
 and asked if there was a train to Southampton that 
 night. 
 
 The drowsy station master answered that there 
 would be one up in half an hour; whereupon the 
 man took a third-class ticket, and ensconced him- 
 self in a corner, where he appeared to fall asleep, till 
 the train came lumbering up, and he departed. 
 
 WJien he arrived at Southampton, he sought out
 
 AN EXIT, AND AN ENTRANCE. 173 
 
 a small public house, such as would be patronized 
 by mechanics and workmen, where he ordered sup- 
 per and a bed. 
 
 His sleep that night, in a small, scantily-furnished 
 room, on a hard coarse bed, was deep and dreamless. 
 He was troubled by no anxious doubts; his soul 
 was torn by no conflicts between the temptations 
 of love and happiness on the one side, and the stern 
 dictates of conscience on the other. His body was 
 wearied by great exertion and the wear and tear 
 of strong mental excitement; but his mind was at 
 rest. It might be the calm of apathy, but it was 
 calm. 
 
 No one asked his name when he went away in 
 the morning. He had paid his bill, and that was 
 all that was required of him. He walked down to 
 the docks, and after looking at the various steamers 
 lying there, he asked an old salt which vessel would 
 sail first. 
 
 " The ' Roarer,' " he replied ; " yonder she lays. 
 She's getting up her steam now, and she'll be off in 
 about an hour." 
 
 " Where is she going ? " asked the man in grey. 
 
 " Meriky," replied the tar, squirting out his 
 tobacco-juice, as though the very name of that land 
 of chewers had affected his salivary glands. 
 
 The man in grey passed on, found a boat just 
 carrying passengers to the " Aurora," went on board, 
 and engaged a berth in the steerage. 
 
 When asked his name, he said it was Rupert 
 Forester.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 FREDDIE'S SKELETON IN THE CLOSET. 
 
 FREDA had resumed her plaintive song when 
 Freddie came back to the parlor. She was sitting 
 at an open window that looked out on the side gar- 
 den, so that she could not see the visitor as he de- 
 parted. 
 
 Freddie stood with the box in her hands, uncer- 
 tain how to communicate her distressing news. 
 Freda was not conscious of her presence, but sat 
 with her lovely eyes fixed on the fast-darkening 
 scene without, and her thoughts with him whose 
 footsteps she could almost hear, as he hurried away 
 from her. 
 
 Unable to control her feelings any longer, Fred- 
 die sat down and began to cry. 
 
 " My darling Freddie ! What is amiss ? " ex- 
 claimed Freda, stopping short in her song, and 
 springing to the side of her weeping companion. 
 "Have you heard bad news of Mrs. Templeman? 
 Ah ! That box ! Did he bring it ? Where is he ? 
 Oh, tell me, quick where is he ? " 
 
 " A gentleman brought it," answered Freddie, 
 making a strong effort to control her sobs. " Stop ! 
 174
 
 FREDDIE'S SKELETON IN THE CLOSET. 175 
 
 stop ! dear Freda ; it's of no use running to the par- 
 lor. He is not there." 
 
 "Tell me tell me who was he? Not Rupert! 
 He would not go away without seeing me ! " 
 
 " He gave no name ; but he was your guardian, 
 Freda." 
 
 " And he did not wish to see me ! " said Freda, 
 her fine eyes flashing with indignation. 
 
 " If you could have seen his grief, and the strug- 
 gle that he had to do what he knew was right, 
 though it was so hard for him, you would not feel 
 angry with him, Freda. And when he heard you 
 singing that plaintive song, I thought his heart 
 v/ould break. I heard his tears patter like rain upon 
 the floor." 
 
 " Oh, why was he so cruel to himself and me ? " 
 sobbed Freda. 
 
 " I do not know why. He would not tell me. 
 But of this I am certain, Freda ; it is nothing wrong 
 nor dishonorable that makes him act in this ap- 
 parently cruel manner." 
 
 The warm pressure of Freda's hand bespoke her 
 gratitude for this defence of the man she loved. 
 
 " He said that if you could know all the circum- 
 stances, you would entirely approve of what he has 
 done, and is going to do ; which is, to disappear al- 
 together, and be seen no more." 
 
 "Not to kill himself!" said 'Freda, in a horrified 
 whisper. 
 
 " No, no certainly not that. It is very strange, 
 very mysterious. But mystery does not necessarily
 
 176 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 imply guilt, or even error. Though I have seen him 
 but once, I will never believe any evil of him. I am 
 sure that he is good and noble. Here is a letter 
 that he gave me for you, Freda, and here is your 
 box. I will get a light, and then I will tell you 
 what more he said to me." x 
 
 When the lamp was brought in, Freda eagerly 
 opened the letter. She perused it two or three 
 times, and then handed it to her companion. 
 
 " Read it, Freddie," she said; " I cannot under- 
 stand it ! I cannot believe that he means what he 
 says ! " 
 
 FREDA, MY BELOVED CHILD : It is with feelings of unutter- 
 able grief that I tell you I must never more look upon your dear 
 face. I am compelled to leave all that is most precious to me, and 
 wander, an exile, to some distant part of the earth. Where that will 
 be I cannot tell you, for I know it not myself. I have resolved to 
 trust the decision to chance, or Providence, by sailing in the very first 
 vessel that leaves England, after my arrival at a certain port. I 
 suffer for no fault, nor even error, of my own. I am crushed down 
 by a burthen that was laid upon me before my birth. My very exist- 
 ence has been a fraud upon others ; yet I cannot openly throw off 
 this entanglement of falsity without bringing ruin upon many inno- 
 cent heads. Honor and honesty alike demand that I should no 
 longer hold a name and property which are not rightfully mine ; and 
 by a supposed death all is made clear, and I alone am the sacrifice. 
 
 You doubtless remember the case of jewels, which I shall leave, 
 with this letter, in Mrs. Templeman's charge. I have guarded 
 them for you, loyally. They were your mother's, and she' designed 
 them for your dowry. 
 
 A person calling himself Captain Grainger has laid claim to them, 
 on the grounds that your father left them to him by will. But this 
 cannot be, for they did not belong to your father. Should this man, 
 Grainger, discover your present abode, and renew his efforts to ob-
 
 FREDDIE'S SKELETON IN THE CLOSET. 177 
 
 tain them, I think you had better appeal to the law for protection. 
 Tell Mrs. Templeman all, and she will advise you. 
 
 A law-suit might bring some things to light which now are hidden ; 
 but whatever you may discover, I trust to your honor to keep in 
 your own breast. 
 
 I go forth now a solitary exile, carrying with me from my old 
 life nothing but a clear conscience, and some tender memories of the 
 little girl whom I carried out of the burning house. I take nothing 
 not even a name ; except that I still am, and ever shall be, 
 
 Your RUPERT. 
 
 Freddie read this aloud, and sat staring at Freda, 
 while a hundred different fancies were working in 
 her brain. 
 
 " What do you make of it, dear ? " asked Freda, 
 in a tone of despondency. 
 
 " Make ! " repeated Freddie ; " I make so many 
 things of it that my mind is in a perfect confu- 
 sion. This I am sure of, however you will meet 
 again." 
 
 " You are too sanguine, Freddie. / feel sure that 
 we have parted for ever. What chance is there that, 
 in this wild, desolate world, we should ever meet 
 again?" . 
 
 " There are a great many chances," returned 
 Freddie, resolutely. "I told him, for one thing, that 
 I was going to America, and that I would try to per- 
 suade you to go with me, if Captain Grainger 
 should trouble you." 
 
 Freda's face brightened for a moment, but was as 
 quickly overcast. 
 
 " That first ship that he talks of may take him to 
 Australia," she said, with a sigh.
 
 178 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " Supposing it should take him to Australia or 
 China, or anywhere else, are there not plenty of 
 other ships, sailing from everywhere else to Amer- 
 ica ? " 
 
 " But, Freddie dear, what can you be dreaming 
 about ? In such an immense country as America, is 
 it likely, is it possible, that he could find out two un- 
 known strangers ? " 
 
 " I had the presence of mind to confine myself to 
 a State and an occupation," replied Freddie, de- 
 murely, for she was conscious that in this instance 
 her conduct had not been wholly disinterested. " I 
 told him I was going to South Carolina, to teach the 
 poor, ignorant black people." 
 
 " And are you going, Freddie ? " demanded Freda, 
 in amazement. " You never mentioned such an idea 
 to me before." 
 
 " I have thought of it for six months or more," an- 
 swered Freddie, " but I only decided upon it while 
 your guardian was talking to me. There was no 
 time for reflection, you see, Freda. There was he, 
 just ready to fly off at a tangent, or disappear from 
 the face of the earth like a vapor, and nobody able 
 to say where he was, nor even who he was. Our only 
 chance depended upon my being able, on the in- 
 stant, to throw out a bait which he might return to 
 after wandering about a while, and coming to his 
 senses. I knew he would never return to England, 
 so I named the place about which I had been 
 thinking." 
 
 " I don't desire to pry into his secrets," said Freda,
 
 FREDDIES SKELETON IN THE CLOSET. 179 
 
 with her eyes fixed abstractedly upon the letter, 
 " for which reason I will never consent to secure 
 my right to my mother's jewels by appealing to the 
 law, which, he says, might bring to light some cir- 
 cumstances which he has not thought fit to tell me 
 himself. But, O Freddie, my heart sinks when I 
 reflect that all this mystery and misery may arise 
 from his having contracted an uncongenial marriage, 
 as you suggested that evening when first I told you 
 about him." 
 
 " Would his own word satisfy you on that point? " 
 inquired Freddie. 
 
 " How can you ask such a question ? Do you 
 imagine I could doubt his word ? " 
 
 " Then you may rest satisfied that he is not mar- 
 ried, for I asked him the question, point blank, and 
 his answer was, ' No, on my soul, I am not.' " 
 
 " You asked him that ! " exclaimed Freda. " O 
 Freddie, how could you be so indelicate ! " 
 
 " There was no indelicacy at all about it," an- 
 swered Freddie. " I had seen him weep as he lis- 
 tened to your singing ; he had as good as told me 
 that he loved you, and his emotion, on tearing him- 
 self away without seeing you, was so violent that he 
 staggered in his walk. Now, it just turned upon 
 two questions, whether, in striving to re-unite you, 
 I should be doing a great wrong, or helping to re-\ 
 move one. These two questions were : was he mar- 
 ried, and was there insanity in his family ? There 
 was but a moment in which to make up my mind, 
 and to ask them, and I had to make that moment
 
 iSo WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 by holding his hand fast. But I did ask them, and 
 to both he emphatically answered ' No.' Now, where 
 was the indelicacy, and what harm is there done ? " 
 
 Freda responded by clasping her friend in her 
 arms and sobbing on her shoulder. 
 
 " You acted wisely and kindly, my best Freddie," 
 she whispered, humbly. 
 
 " You have not looked into your jewel case yet," 
 suggested Freddie, wishing to divert the conversa- 
 tion ; " there may be another letter inside." 
 
 " True, there may be," said Freda, wiping away 
 her tears. " Where is the key ? Mamma used to 
 keep it tied to the handle." 
 
 The strictest search failed to discover it. It was 
 neither attached to the box, nor was it in the envel- 
 ope of the letter. 
 
 " Now, I remember," said Freda, " that I have 
 often seen a key exactly similar to it attached to 
 Rupert's watch chain. No doubt it was the same, 
 but he forgot to give it to you. O Freddie, darling, 
 perhaps he will come back with it ! " 
 
 "I dare not hope that," said Freddie; "time was 
 evidently very precious with him. Can the lock be 
 easily picked, do you think ? " 
 
 " That is impossible, for it is one of Chubb's very 
 best ; and the box, though it looks so delicate, is 
 exceedingly strong. Mamma showed it to me one 
 day, and explained all about it. How shall we get 
 it open ? " 
 
 " Don't try," said Freddie, looking quite inspired ; 
 " keep it just as it is. He will discover that he still
 
 FREDDIE'S SKELETON IN THE CLOSET. 181 
 
 has the key, and some time or other he will bring 
 it to you. Time will allay the excitement of his 
 feelings ; he will take a soberer view of the difficulty, 
 whatever it is, that now interposes between you and 
 him ; and he will avail himself of the excuse afforded 
 by the key, to hover about and have a look at you, 
 if nothing more. Then, if once I get hold of him, 
 he wont escape very easily! " 
 
 "You are so kind and sympathetic, Freddie," said 
 Freda, smiling affectionately on her energetic friend, 
 " that I really believe you fancy you can become a 
 giantess in my cause. Most fervently do I hope 
 that the course of your love may be smoother than 
 mine." 
 
 " I shall never love," replied Freddie, almost sadly; 
 " that is, I must not expect to be loved." 
 
 " What, you, so lovely and lovable as you are ! " 
 
 " You think you are the only one who has a 
 skeleton locked up in a closet," said Freddie, with a 
 half comical, half sorrowful expression ; " but, I as- 
 sure you, I have an awful one. I have kept it care- 
 fully out of sight hitherto ; but now, I think I will 
 trot it out for your edification. My skeleton, you 
 must know, is clothed with a horrible set of muscles, 
 as strong as iron. You will promise secresy?" 
 
 " Certainly I will," replied Freda, looking slightly 
 alarmed. 
 
 " Then, what do you think of this ? " And Fred- 
 die, starting up, lifted her companion by the waist, 
 and poised her with the utmost ease, first on both 
 hands, and then upon one, at arm's length, above
 
 1 82 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 her head. Then, setting her down, she resumed her 
 own seat with perfect composure. 
 
 " It is my misfortune," she said, sadly, " to be 
 stronger than most men." 
 
 " But, Freddie," exclaimed Freda, recovering from 
 her amazement, " how did you do it ? " 
 
 " Just as any other fellow* would ; but that is 
 nothing to what I can do. This fatal gift is my 
 skeleton. It is of no use to me ; and if it were not 
 for the work I do in the garden, it would be a tor- 
 ment to me, for it naturally demands more exercise 
 than a young lady is likely to get in the course of a 
 fashionable education." 
 
 " I cannot understand how it can be," said Freda, 
 clasping Freddie's arm; "your arm is round and soft, 
 and your 'hand is graceful and womanly, yet you 
 lifted me as if I were a doll." 
 
 " Which proves that I am a mere lump of decep- 
 tion," replied Freddie, clenching her fist till the 
 muscles of her arm felt like iron ; " but, apart from 
 the deceitful appearance, do you suppose any man 
 could love, far less venture to marry a woman who 
 could knock him down, if he offended her ; and set 
 his lawful authority at defiance, not by strength of 
 will alone, for that's common enough, but by fair 
 strength of muscle ? " 
 
 " No true man will love you the less for this won- 
 derful gift, darling Freddie ; especially as you make 
 no unfeminine use or exhibition of it." 
 
 " Do you think it would be unfeminine to exhibit 
 it in a public circus, for instance?"
 
 FREDDIE'S SKELETON IN THE CLOSET. 183 
 
 " Oh, dreadful ! Don't speak of such a horror ! " 
 cried Freda, shrinking, as it were, into herself. 
 
 " If that is the light in which you view it," said 
 Freddie, moving to another seat, so as no longer to 
 be in loving contact with her friend, " I must tell 
 you the history of my life. I desire most earnestly 
 that you should go with me to South Carolina ; but 
 you must not go in ignorance of what may greatly 
 alter your opinion of me." 
 
 "Do you think I am so fickle, Freddie? Nothing 
 can alter my opinion of you." 
 
 " Don't be too sure of that," said Freddie ; and, 
 without further preamble, she related all that had 
 occurred after her flight from Miss Crabtree's 
 tyranny till her arrival at Mrs. Templeman's. 
 
 Freda listened in silence. When the narrative 
 was concluded, she exclaimed, "I knew that nothing 
 could lower you in my opinion, Freddie. You are 
 like fine gold, that passes through the fire and comes 
 out even purer than before. I will go with you to 
 America ; and, so far from thinking you unfeminine 
 for possessing this beautiful gift of strength, I shall 
 feel happy in knowing that you can protect me from 
 danger." 
 
 "And I," said Freddie, sadly, "must be thankful 
 for the strength and the courage which it imparts, 
 and which enable me to be your protector. But, ah, 
 Freda, you cannot imagine how I long and yearn 
 sometimes to enjoy the feeling of being protected ! 
 It is so much more womanly. However," she added, 
 rousing herself up and throwing aside her despon-
 
 1 84 
 
 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 dency, " it's of no use to lament over what cannot be 
 altered ; so, let us talk about business. As we are 
 of one mind about going to America, the only ques- 
 tion is, when shall we go ? " 
 
 " I think it would be well to go before Captain 
 Grainger pays us a visit," said Freda. 
 
 " Exactly my idea ; and we will not stop to in- 
 quire whether it is to avoid Captain Grainger, or to 
 be in the way of meeting with Mr. Rupert. Then, I 
 propose that we begin packing to-morrow, so as to 
 be ready to set off soon after Mrs. Templeman re- 
 turns. Poor Mrs. Templeman ! I shall be sorry to 
 leave her; but if that son of hers comes here, we 
 shall neither of us be able to stay. And now, dear, 
 let us go to bed. It is late already, and we shall 
 have plenty to do to-morrow in preparing for our 
 journey."
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 SUDDEN MOVEMENTS. 
 
 THE two girls proceeded cheerfully with their task, 
 the following day ; but with so little hurry for the 
 post had brought no letter from Mrs. Templeman, 
 and they could not leave before she came home 
 that their operations were not quite completed when 
 the evening mail brought a letter to Freddie that 
 filled them with grief and consternation. It was 
 dated from the house where Mrs. Templeman had 
 been lodging since she was summoned to London 
 by her son's severe attack of sickness ; but the 
 writing was not in her hand. 
 
 Freddie read it aloud : 
 
 MADAM, Mrs. Templeman desired me to write to you two days 
 ago, to tell you that she was taken very ill ; but before I had time to 
 do so she became so much worse that I had not a moment's leisure 
 until now. We called in the best medical advice, and did every- 
 thing we could for her. I was up with her two nights and never 
 left her all yesterday, but she had one attack after another, getting 
 worse all the time, and died at half-past five this morning. 
 
 The doctors say her complaint was spasms of the heart, brought 
 on by grief and trouble ; and /say it was all caused by the wicked- 
 ness of her son. If you loved her, Miss Wilson, as from what she 
 said of you I am led to think you did, you will thank Our Merciful 
 
 185
 
 186 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 Father for removing her from a world of sorrow, where she has long 
 enjoyed nothing but misery, and had no prospect of anything better 
 for the future. 
 
 Mr. Ernest Templeman is that wicked that I could almost have 
 believed he was possessed of a devil ; and his dear bosom friend, 
 named Captain Grainger, is almost worse, being old enough to know 
 better, and as ugly as sin, which I could really believe him to be the 
 Evil One himself. 
 
 Poor dear Mrs. T. was very anxious about the two young ladies 
 she had left at home, and spoke of you whenever she was at all her- 
 self, between the fits of pain. She wished you both to leave the 
 house as soon as possible, so that her son should not find you there 
 when he went down, which was a dreadful thing for a mother to 
 have to say. 
 
 I must tell you that his sickness was all a pretence. He was not 
 sick at all when he sent for her. It was just a plot between him 
 and that Captain Grainger to get money out of her, and when he 
 found it would not do, he came blustering here and worried and 
 frightened her into the illness that resulted in her death. 
 
 If I can tell you anything more I shall be happy to do so, but I 
 cannot think of anything at present, being quite ill myself with all I 
 have gone through these last few days. I hope you will have 
 plenty of time to get away, for I cannot but suppose he will have 
 the decency to wait till the funeral is over. 
 
 I remain, Madam, your obedient servant, 
 
 MATILDA WYBROW. 
 
 The two friends looked at each other for a few 
 moments, unable to speak for the conflict of emotions 
 that rushed through their minds. Then Freddie, 
 starting up, crushed the letter into her pocket, and 
 said, in a low, steady voice : " Finish your packing 
 quickly, Freda. I'll take the trunks through the 
 kitchen garden to the door that opens on the lane. 
 They'll be safe there, as the garden is always locked, 
 and I have the keys. He II not stop for his mother's
 
 SUDDEN MOVEMENTS. 187 
 
 funeral. We shall have him here to-night. I am 
 sure of it." 
 
 " You take down these heavy trunks, Freddie? 
 How is that possible ? Oh, let us leave them, and 
 go ! For heaven's sake, let us go ! " 
 
 " I'll not leave them," replied Freddie ; " you can 
 lock the door while I am gone, and open it to no one 
 but me. I will not abandon you, even if they should 
 come while I am away. Only, dorit be afraid. They 
 shall not harm you, and I have my revolver in case 
 of the worst. I am most anxious about our lug- 
 gage." 
 
 She lifted the heaviest trunk as she spoke, and 
 placed it on her shoulder. 
 
 " I hope the servants are out of the way," she 
 observed ; " but I must risk it." 
 
 In a short time she returned, triumphant. The 
 servants were at tea in the kitchen. Another and 
 another of the trunks was safely deposited behind 
 some bushes in the garden, near an^buter door which 
 was used only by the gardener, until all were safe, 
 and Freddie was springing up the stairs with a 
 light step and a light heart, when on the landing 
 she found herself face to face with Ernest Temple- 
 man. 
 
 With a haughty inclination of the head she at- 
 tempted to pass him ; but he rudely interposed him- 
 self in her way. 
 
 " So, I've found you at last, Miss Wilson, have I ? " 
 he began. " I've been banging at your door for half 
 an hour. Where's the other girl ? I want to see her.
 
 1 88 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 I've brought an admirer of hers to visit her. He's 
 a gentleman who is ready to follow her round the 
 world, for love of les beaux yeux de la cassette. Ha ! 
 ha!" 
 
 He was evidently intoxicated, and his appearance 
 and manner were as offensive as his speech. 
 
 " Is your mother buried yet, Mr. Templeman ? " 
 asked Freddie, with severe dignity, hoping to recall 
 him to some sense of decency by the mention of his 
 mother's name. 
 
 " I don't care a curse whether she is or not," he 
 replied with brutal bravado ; " I'd rather go to a 
 young lady's wedding than an old woman's funeral 
 any time, especially if the wedding is my own, too. 
 My friend Grainger says that marriage is an infernal 
 bore. He tried it once, and didn't like it; but I'm 
 going to do as I like, and not as he likes, so that's 
 settled. And I'm going to marry you to-morrow, 
 my little beauty. And you shall have this house to 
 live in and carry on the school, and we'll be as jolly 
 as sand-boys ! " 
 
 " Will you cease this offensive language, sir, and 
 let me pass ? " said Freddie, in a low measured tone, 
 while her eyes grew dark and flashed ominously be- 
 neath her knitted brows. 
 
 " My bride shall give me a kiss before she goes, 
 and then I don't think I can part with her at all to- 
 night " said the brute, advancing with a horrible 
 leer on his face, and his arms outstretched to em- 
 brace her. 
 
 There was no struggle, no scuffle ; but in another
 
 SUDDEN MOVEMENTS. 189 
 
 instant Ernest Templeman lay writhing and groan- 
 ing at the bottom of the well formed by the winding 
 stairs. " 
 
 " Open the door, Freda! " whispered Freddie. " I 
 am here. It is all right." 
 
 " O Freddie, I am so glad you are come ! " cried 
 Freda, opening the door with difficulty, she was in 
 such a violent tremble. " What is amiss ? you are so 
 pale ! What has happened ? Where is that dread- 
 ful man who came here and threatened to burst the 
 door open ? Why don't you speak ? " 
 
 Freddie was indeed very pale. She felt sick at 
 heart at the possibility of having taken a human life, 
 even in self-defence. 
 
 " It was Ernest Templeman who came to the 
 door, Freda," she replied. "I met him on the stairs; 
 he insulted me, and I threw him over. Perhaps I 
 have killed him ! It is an awful thing to think of. 
 Hark, there's a commotion down stairs ! They have 
 found him, and are taking him away somewhere. 
 I'll go out and listen. God grant he may not be 
 dead ! " 
 
 " Don't open the door, Freddie ; some one will get 
 in ! " cried Freda, in the-wildest terror. 
 
 " No one shall harm you, dear. No one shall 
 come near you," said Freddie; "but I must know 
 what harm is done." 
 
 As she opened the door, the housemaid came 
 running up stairs. 
 
 " O Miss Wilson ! " she began, " such a dreadful 
 thing has happened ! Mr. Ernest has come home,
 
 J9 o WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 and he was quite drunk, and he tumbled down 
 the stairs, and his leg is broken, and his head 
 is cut dreadful! And Sally and another man he 
 brought with him have carried him into Missis's 
 parlor, and there he is laying on the sophy, groaning 
 like anything." 
 
 " Who is the man who came with him ? " inquired 
 FreddTe. 
 
 "I don't know, miss; but he's the most heejus 
 creatur I ever set eyes upon." 
 
 " You had better go back and see what you can 
 do to help. And whatever happens, don't come to 
 us about it. I shall lock our room door, and will 
 not open it again to-night for anything. I don't like 
 to have strange men about the house." 
 
 The girl heard the resolute click of the lock as 
 she turned away. 
 
 " Now, take your hat and cloak," said Freddie, 
 " and we'll escape down the back stairs while they 
 are all busy in the parlor. I'll reconnoitre first, and 
 come for you if the way is clear." 
 
 As the two fugitives glided down the back stairs, 
 the . sound of voices was audible from the parlor, 
 mingled with groans and execrations from Ernest 
 Templeman. All Freddie's compunctious feelings 
 vanished as she heard him. He was not killed, and 
 a broken leg was no more than he richly merited ; 
 so she did not regret having hurled him over the 
 banisters. 
 
 They reached the garden unobserved, and locked 
 the door on the inside. Here Freddie also deposited
 
 SUDDEN MOVEMENTS. 191 
 
 the key of their bedroom, which she had brought 
 with her. Crossing to the opposite side of the large 
 garden, where a high wall separated it from an un- 
 frequented lane, they found their luggage safe where 
 Freddie had placed it. 
 
 A slight difficulty here arose. Freda would not 
 consent to be left alone while Freddie ran to the 
 station for a carriage to transport their trunks, and 
 the latter doubted her ability to keep up with her 
 own rapid steps. 
 
 " I'll run ; I'll fly, rather than be left alone for one 
 minute, Freddie ! That dreadful Captain Grainger 
 would come out and find me, while you were gone. 
 I'm sure he would. I shall die of fright if you leave 
 me!" 
 
 Though Freddie was inclined to ridicule such an 
 excess of timidity, which was wholly incomprehen- 
 sible to her large, strong spirit, she felt too much 
 compassion for her weak friend to desert her even 
 momentarily, though the delay might cause them to 
 miss the train. With a brief " Come along, then," 
 she seized Freda's hand and hurried her along at a 
 rate which soon brought her, panting and exhausted, 
 to the station. 
 
 All was now plain sailing. By Freddie's fore- 
 thought and excellent arrangement, in removing the 
 trunks betimes into the garden, they were carried 
 away unknown to any one in the house ; and while 
 the estimable Captain Grainger was keeping a sharp 
 watch upon their empty room, lest they should 
 attempt to escape and carry off Winifred's Jewels,
 
 1 92 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 the two fugitives were comfortably settled in a quiet 
 hotel in Liverpool, discussing the events of the day, 
 and shedding many sympathetic tears over the sad 
 fate of their kind preceptress, which they had hitherto 
 had no leisure even to think of. 
 
 They had also their future plans to arrange. By 
 consulting the papers, they found that a Cunard 
 steamer would sail the following day ; and on this 
 they decided to depart. 
 
 A few hours of the morning were occupied by a 
 visit to Chester, where Freddie drew from the bank 
 a sum sufficient for their voyage, and made arrange- 
 ments for the transmission of the balance of her 
 money to New York. They had agreed that 
 Freda should repay her when her jewels were 
 sold ; for though she knew not that Captain Grain- 
 ger's rapacity was the cause of it she had not 
 been so liberally supplied with ready money as 
 her guardian desired. 
 
 The afternoon saw them steaming down the Mer- 
 sey. In the evening they were out on the Atlantic, 
 Freda looking rather pale; but the irrepressible 
 Freddie, ruddy with the invigorating sea breeze, 
 awfully hungry, and alternately singing " Farewell ! 
 Farewell, my native shore!" and talking Tap- 
 leyan philosophy for the encouragement of her 
 companion, who, at every bound which the noble 
 ship took over the long rolling waves, felt less 
 and less disposed to be "jolly under the circum- 
 stances." 
 
 When within a day's sail of New York, Freda
 
 SUDDEN MOVEMENTS. 
 
 193 
 
 asked the name of a large steamer which was pur- 
 suing the same course as themselves. 
 
 "That's the 'Aurora/ from Southampton to New 
 York, miss," was the reply. 
 
 Alas, that no aerial telegraph could communi- 
 cate between two loving hearts that were " so near, 
 and yet so far ! " 
 13
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 A TERRIBLE DISCOVERY. 
 
 GILBERT BRACEBRIDGE went at once to California, 
 without lingering in New York, or any of the cities 
 along his route. His last dollar was gone by the 
 time his journey was accomplished ; but he was too 
 much of an American to be long without money 
 while he had hands to work with. 
 
 " I want a dinner," he said to the master of the 
 first large hotel he came up to, "but I have no 
 money to pay for it. Can you give me a job of 
 work ? " 
 
 " What can you do ? " 
 
 ."Well I can do most anything," replied Gilbert, 
 affecting a slight drawl and a Yankee mode of speech, 
 Which he suspected would secure him better treat- 
 ment and greater freedom from imposition than 
 would be accorded to him as an Englishman " car- 
 pentering, blacksmithing, plowing. What have you 
 got to do ? " 
 
 " Can you chop wood ? " 
 
 " Got a sharp axe handy ? " said Gilbert ; and 
 without waiting for an answer he walked off to 
 the wood-pile, which he saw at the side of the 
 194
 
 A TERRIBLE DISCOVERY. 195 
 
 house, and soon made the walls ring to his lusty 
 strokes. That was how he earned his first meal in 
 California. 
 
 Finding that labor was scarce and well paid for, 
 he continued working at San Francisco for some 
 months, during which time he acquired a large 
 amount of information respecting the gold fields, 
 from the miners who came back to sell their gold, 
 and indulge in the brutish dissipation of the city. 
 He profited by the knowledge thus gained, and 
 instead of purchasing a claim and becoming a miner, 
 he invested his savings in a horse and wagon, which 
 he loaded with provisions and such things as he 
 learned were most needed in the camps, and became 
 a trader. He found this more profitable than digging 
 would have been, unless he had proved to be one of 
 the favored few who find nuggets wherever they look 
 for them. But those chances were as one in a 
 thousand ; whereas the trade he had embarked in 
 was a certainty, if well conducted. He made 
 several trips with steadily increasing success, as 
 he comprehended better the wants of his cus- 
 tomers, and enlarged his means of supplying 
 them. On his return to " Frisco " he invariably 
 boarded with his first employer and friend, the 
 hotel keeper. 
 
 The warm season was far advanced, or, to speak 
 more correctly, the hot season, for it is a trifle more 
 than warm when the thermometer stands at 99, and 
 Gilbert meditated taking a journey to New York, 
 for the sole purpose of ascertaining whether an
 
 196 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 English lady, named Winifred, had applied at the 
 Freedmen's Bureau, to be sent as a school teacher to 
 South Carolina. 
 
 Strenuously did he argue with himself against the 
 folly of taking so long a journey with so vague an 
 object. The more Common Sense tried to prove that 
 it was utterly absurd and Quixotic, the more had Love 
 to say in its favor. 
 
 Was it at all likely that she would come to 
 America ? 
 
 Nay, had she not said she would come, and did 
 she look like a girl who would change her mind ? 
 
 Supposing she came to this country, it was highly 
 improbable that she would waste her talents on a 
 negro school. 
 
 On the contrary, nothing was more probable. She 
 had said she would apply to the Bureau for a school, 
 and that was equivalent to being appointed to one, 
 of course ; for would they not be delighted to secure 
 such a splendid creature for the work ? 
 
 Gilbert Bracebridge, you were never accused of 
 being a consummate coxcomb ; but do you not 
 prove yourself to be one, when you suppose that a 
 few remarks made by you, could have the power to 
 induce a high-minded girl like Winifred to take so 
 important a step ? 
 
 The answer came not in words, but in a thrilling 
 recollection of the tearful eyes that met his when he 
 bade her farewell. 
 
 Tush ! She was crying over the sick baby. (Com- 
 mon Sense was getting riled^)
 
 A TERRIBLE DISCOVERY. 197 
 
 But Love remembers distinctly that her eyes were 
 quite dry when she raised them to his ; so that ob- 
 jection wont pass muster 
 
 The idea of going to New York on this wild-goose 
 chase first entered his mind while he was at the 
 diggings, disposing of his last load of goods. It had 
 been working in his brain ever since ; and over and 
 over again had he discussed the question with him- 
 self, somewhat in the form given above; raising 
 objections, dictated by common sense, only to over- 
 throw them by refutations prompted by the uncon- 
 trollable passion with which that short interview 
 with Freddie had inspired him. 
 
 He had never been in love before had not even 
 imagined himself in that predicament ; yet he could 
 not mistake the nature of the emotion which over- 
 came him at the instant when his eyes first rested on 
 her glowing face, as she passed him on the common. 
 Had he seen no more of her than that, he would 
 have felt that a void was left in his existence ; but 
 having conversed with her, witnessed her active 
 benevolence, pressed her hand, and seen the tears 
 rush into her eyes under the influence of his own sad 
 gaze, to see her no more after all this, was to have 
 the best half of his being annihilated. Nothing that 
 earth could give besides, would compensate for her 
 absence. 
 
 Time, instead of weakening this feeling, only in- 
 creased its intensity. The contemplated journey in 
 search of her occupied all his thoughts as he travelled 
 back to San Francisco, and the " heathen Chinee "
 
 198 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 whom he employed to drive the large wagon which 
 his extended business required, was sorely puzzled to 
 account for the change in his employer's demeanor. 
 
 Arrived at San Francisco, he dismissed his hea- 
 then, and actually talked trade with a man who 
 wanted to buy his wagon and horses. It was only 
 talk, of course ; but when he went to bed he knew 
 very well that he could get a good price for them 
 in the morning, before the train started for the East. 
 
 And still the pros and cons played leap-frog in his 
 brain, and kept him awake half the night. 
 
 His sleeplessness was farther increased by an occa- 
 sional groan proceeding from an adjoining room, 
 which was separated from his, only by a thin wooden 
 partition. He had heard, casually, that there was 
 a sick man in the house, a miner who had recently 
 returned from the diggings ; but as he had probably, 
 like the generality of his fraternity, incurred his 
 sufferings by his own misconduct, Gilbert had felt 
 no particular interest in him. But Gilbert's heart 
 was too gentle to allow him to listen unmoved to 
 
 O 
 
 the moans of a fellow creature in evident pain ; and 
 with a resolve to " look after the poor devil " in the 
 morning, he at length fell asleep. 
 
 As will naturally be supposed, his dreams were 
 all about Freddie. Once more he was carrying poor 
 Kitty through the storm ; but instead of lying silent 
 and insensible, she uttered repeated groans, and at 
 last, in a tone of agony, she cried out, " Winifred ! 
 Winifred ! " so loud, that he suddenly awoke. 
 
 He started up and listened. He was quite posi-
 
 A TERRIBLE DISCOVERY. 199 
 
 tive that he had heard the name spoken, and in the 
 voice of a man. That there could be more than one 
 Winifred in the world was'out of the question; there- 
 fore, whoever the man might be whose cry had aroused 
 him from his sleep, he must be acquainted, and pro- 
 bably in love with his Winifred. 
 
 As he sat listening for a repetition of the sounds, 
 with his eyes glaring round upon the darkness, he 
 was very much alive to the fact that he had a bowie 
 knife and a revolver within reach. 
 
 The sick man moaned and tossed in his bed. 
 Then a faint, weary voice fell upon the listener's 
 ear: 
 
 " O Winifred," it said, " I am dying ; dying of 
 thirst in this pitiless desert ! Must I never see you 
 again ? Will you not come to me when I am 
 dying ? " 
 
 There was something familiar in the tone of the 
 voice. The sweat stood thick on Gilbert's brow as 
 he sprang out of bed and hurried on his clothes. 
 
 He knew the house well enough to get what he 
 wanted without disturbing any one ; and having ob- 
 tained a light, he went to the room where the sick 
 man lay. 
 
 Several other men occupied the apartment, but 
 they were all buried in heavy slumber, as their deep 
 breathing testified. The sick man was easily dis- 
 tinguished from these by his restless movements 
 and the low moans which he uttered from time to 
 time. 
 
 Gilbert held the light so that it fell upon his face.
 
 200 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " Tis he," he muttered; " I cannot be mistaken in. 
 that face which I know so well ! But, what mystery 
 can there be behind all this ? Or, did I dream 
 that I read an account of his death ? Yet, even 
 if so, why is he here, in this forlorn condition? 
 Be that as it may, I will take care of him. And, 
 first of all, I must get him out of this stye. Faugh ! 
 The smell of rum and tobacco is enough to poison 
 him." 
 
 He raised the invalid in his strong arms and bore 
 him to his own bed. The room was small, but it 
 was clean and well ventilated, and Rupert Forester 
 (for he it was) would have a better chance of recovery 
 there than in the larger room from which he had 
 been removed, where the atmosphere was tainted by 
 the foul breaths and unwholesome exhalations from 
 the spirit-clogged lungs and unwashed bodies of the 
 drunken diggers. 
 
 All the rest of. the night Gilbert sat by the bed, 
 now bathing the feverish hands and face with fresh 
 water, now pouring a teaspoonful into the parched 
 mouth, and always revolving the same questions in 
 his mind : " What can have brought him to this 
 plight? and, what can he know about Winifred?" 
 
 With the first blush of morning he sought the 
 landlord, told him he had discovered a friend in the 
 poor sick miner, and consulted what was best to be 
 done. 
 
 The result was, that they sent for a doctor, who 
 pronounced the case to be typhus fever, and pre- 
 scribed pills and potions, which were duly adminis-
 
 A TERRIBLE DISCOVERY, 201 
 
 tered, with the usual effect of still further weakening 
 the already enfeebled frame. 
 
 A week, two weeks, three weeks passed away, and 
 brought no improvement. The strong man tended 
 his friend with the thoughtful care of a woman, and 
 scarcely ever left him. On one of these rare occa- 
 sions, while Rupert slept, watched by the landlord's 
 daughter, Gilbert visited a place where the English 
 Times was filed, and eagerly consulted the numbers 
 issued two or three months previously. There it was. 
 " Fearful catastrophe at Brighton. A Nobleman 
 drowned while bathing." Then followed all the 
 particulars ; so he was satisfied that he had not been 
 dreaming. The solution of the mystery was as far 
 off as ever. 
 
 A few nights later, as he lay on the floor sleeping 
 " with one eye open," he was aroused by hearing his 
 patient trying to get out of bed, and talking hur- 
 riedly. 
 
 " Mother, mother!" he cried, "why have you suf- 
 fered me to grow up a living lie upon the face of 
 God's earth ? You had better have strangled me in 
 infancy. I will not, I cannot hold a title and estates 
 to which I have no right. I care not though your 
 reputation may suffer. You should have thought 
 of that before. I will do justice to the rightful heir, 
 and the world must find what excuse it can for you, 
 in the wretched marriage into which you were forced. 
 Ah, yes you say truly my sisters are innocent. 
 They would be ruined. Their husbands married 
 them as Earl's daughters, and such an Earl ! For
 
 202 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 their sakes I will be silent I will be a faithful stew- 
 ard of the estates till young Clarence comes of age ; 
 and then, I hardly know what then, but he shall 
 have his own, even at the cost of my life. Thank 
 God, I was never married! " 
 
 Rupert was so restless all this time, and made so 
 many attempts to get out of bed, that Gilbert was 
 compelled to hold him, and consequently to hear all 
 that he said. 
 
 This, then, was the secret which the Countess 
 confided to her son upon her death-bed. 
 
 " She had better have held her tongue about it," 
 thought Gilbert. 
 
 Another train of ideas soon possessed the sick 
 man's brain. 
 
 " Poor Ellen ! To die such a death ! Struck down 
 by her own husband! God of heaven, can a man 
 be such a brute as to burn his own child ! The 
 key he has it with him. I must have the key to 
 let her out ! Ah, I did not mean to kill him when I 
 fired! He threatened me; I fired in self-defence. 
 Ellen ! I have rescued your child, and here are 
 your jewels. Kind Mother Superior, is she dying? 
 No; I'll not see her till the last moment. Yes, 
 Ellen, I promise it ; I will protect your child ! " 
 
 There was another pause, and the patient seemed 
 to have fallen into an uneasy sleep. 
 
 Unconscious that he was thinking aloud, though, 
 in fact, the words were not more than breathed, 
 Gilbert whispered: "But where did he see Wini- 
 fred?"
 
 A TERRIBLE DISCOVERY, 203 
 
 The name, faintly uttered as it was, acted like 
 magic on Rupert's excited imagination. 
 
 " Winifred ! My Freda ! My only love ! " he cried, 
 " shall I never more look upon thy sweet face ? Oh, 
 it is so cruel, when I know, too, that she loves me ! 
 But I'll place her in safety. That school near Chester 
 is the very thing. He will not think of looking for 
 her there. She will be safe when I am no longer 
 able to protect her. I will not bid her farewell I 
 cannot my strength would fail me ! " 
 
 Winifred in a school near Chester ! Was any 
 further proof needed? It was for this that she wished 
 to come to America. To follow and reclaim her 
 wandering lover ! 
 
 And Gilbert, as he sat like a statue by the bed, 
 glaring with hot fierce eyes upon its helpless occu- 
 pant, felt, rather than thought, that he had but to 
 leave his rival to his fate, and he would die. 
 
 He was roused by the touch of Rupert's feverish 
 hand, so thin and wasted. He rushed out of the 
 house. 
 
 Was he, then, determined to leave the wretched 
 man to die ? No ; he went no farther than to the 
 fresh cold spring, from which he brought a pail of 
 pure water. The patient drank eagerly. Then the 
 nurse bathed his face and hands, and stood watch- 
 ing him. 
 
 " God forgive me for my evil thoughts ! " he said, 
 in a deep whisper ; " I will save him, if I can, for 
 the love I bear him, the love of old times, when 
 he was as a brother to me, and I will save him
 
 204 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 for Winifred's sake. He may return even yet, and 
 make her a Countess. For Winifred's sake, my 
 brother ! " 
 
 He pressed his lips to Rupert's brow as a pledge 
 of faith. 
 
 " Something more must be done for him," he con- 
 tinued ; " these drugs do him no good. He is more 
 soothed by a little cold water than by all the doctor's 
 physic. I'll pack him in a wet sheet, and throw the 
 medicine out of window." 
 
 With Gilbert, to resolve was to act. I need not 
 describe the process by which he treated his friend, 
 but it is necessary to mention that, just before the 
 patient fell into the delightful sleep which usually 
 accompanies the treatment, he spoke again. 
 
 " Gilbert ! " he exclaimed. " I thought Gilbert was 
 here. If I could find Gilbert, all would be well. He 
 would take care of my Winifred his sister's child." 
 
 For a moment Gilbert stood moveless as a statue. 
 Then he dropped on his knees beside the bed, and 
 bowed his face upon his hands. 
 
 The terrible convulsion that shook his soul while 
 he remained thus was hidden from sight, but its ef- 
 fect was visible on his countenance when he arose. 
 
 He seemed like one who had stood face to face 
 with something more terrible than death, and who 
 must carry the ever-present recollection of the horror 
 with him to his grave. 
 
 His face was deadly pale beneath its bronze, and 
 the bright cheery glance had passed from his eyes, 
 never, perhaps, to return.
 
 A TERRIBLE DISCOVERY. 
 
 205 
 
 Winifred was his niece ! 
 
 He would go to New York ; he would track her 
 wherever she was gone; with his own eyes, he would 
 see that she was really the same Winifred he had 
 once seen near Chester; he would re-unite these 
 severed lovers, and then go to the other end of the 
 earth, he cared not whither. 
 
 Rupert already slept the calm, untroubled sleep 
 that promised speedy recovery. 
 
 As soon as he could be safely left, Gilbert would 
 depart.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 LIFE IN THE SOUTH. 
 
 " DRIVE ! " exclaimed Freddie, " I should think- I 
 could, indeed. -I'll drive eight in hand if you'll 
 give me a good team. But, seriously, Freda, we 
 must have some means of getting across that 
 creek before a heavy rain falls. Even as it is, 
 you see, it wont do for me to carry you across 
 that old log every day. We should certainly 
 be seen sooner or later, and a pretty thing that 
 would be ! " 
 
 " Why are you so ashamed of this glorious gift 
 of strength, Freddie ? I should be so proud of it, 
 if it were mine, and you hide it as though it were a 
 crime to possess it." 
 
 " It is worse than a crime," replied Freddie ; " it's 
 a blunder. But that wont help us across a swollen 
 creek. Will you walk with me to that Mr. Roy's, 
 and see if he will hire his horse and buggy to us till 
 we can buy a couple of horses? " 
 
 "Why, Freddie, is not that the man who has 
 treated the poor black people so cruelly? who is 
 even suspected of having killed some of them ? " 
 asked Freda. 
 206
 
 LIFE IN THE SOUTH. 207 
 
 " Yes, dear ; but I never heard that his horse has 
 done them any harm ; and, as the man himself is 
 sick and confined to his bed, he is the more likely 
 to lend it." 
 
 " I'll go with you, if you think we can do so 
 safely. But, suppose we should meet some of those 
 men who have been threatening to shoot us, and to 
 burn the school house, and so many dreadful things 
 besides? Had we not better send a note, or a 
 message ? " 
 
 "There is a path through the woods, which has 
 been pointed out to me," answered Freddie, " where 
 we are very unlikely to encounter any unpleasant 
 characters. And, besides, I always carry this little 
 friend," producing her revolver from a carefully con- 
 cealed pocket. " There are six men's lives here, 
 Freda ; for I never miss my aim, and it is not pro- 
 bable that we should meet with more than two or 
 three at once. And perhaps they might be satisfied 
 with being knocked down. O Freda, would it not 
 be jolly if a couple of bush-whackers were to come 
 swaggering up to us poor unprotected females, 
 threatening to cow-hide us if we did not get back to 
 the North, and then to find to their cost that one 
 of the gentle creatures could hit out straight from 
 the shoulder, and knock them into the middle of 
 next week !" 
 
 " O Freddie, dear ! " cried Freda in dismay, 
 "what makes you use such dreadful slang expres- 
 sions ?" 
 
 " It's just the force of old associations," replied
 
 208 WINIFREDS JEWELS. 
 
 Freddie, laughing. " The celebrated pugilist who 
 had the honor of instructing me in his noble art, 
 was also a proficient in the elegant accomplishment 
 of talking slang, and I learned the two with equal 
 facility. Thus it happens that one always suggests 
 the other. Now, if you feel that you will be safe 
 with me, put on your hat and let us be gone. We 
 shall probably return in old Roy's buggy." 
 
 Their walk was a pleasant one, along a well-de- 
 fined path through a tract of woodland that was 
 probably a portion of the original forest. The trees 
 were beautiful, though not remarkable for size, and 
 the wood was quite destitute of the luxuriant 
 shrubby undergrowth, which is so marked a feature 
 in most English woods. 
 
 The air was delightful, for though excessively 
 warm, it was so dry that the effect was quite ex- 
 hilarating. 
 
 The house to which they were going was one of 
 a class that is often met with in South Carolina. It 
 was a frame building, containing four rooms, all on 
 the same floor, and raised upon brick piers about 
 three or four feet from the ground. A wide entry 
 clear through from front to back, formed almost 
 another room, being by far the coolest and pleasant- 
 est part of the house during the heat of summer. 
 The two front rooms were provided with fire-places, 
 but there were none in the back rooms, which were 
 also of a lower pitch, owing to the slope of the roof. 
 
 Mr. Roy was a widower, without children, so the 
 young ladies saw only colored people when they
 
 LIFE IN THE SOUTH. 209 
 
 arrived. A great number of these were standing 
 about in the yard behind the house, and hanging 
 round the doors of the wretched log cabins where 
 the servants lived. They made very little noise, 
 yet it was evident from their excited looks and eager 
 whisperings that something was taking place which 
 possessed an unusual amount of interest for them. 
 
 An elderly woman came out to receive them with 
 the form of salutation most usual among the black 
 women, shaking hands, and performing a sort of 
 courtesy by bending both knees, and, as it were, 
 presenting her stomach to the visitors. 
 
 " Glad to see you, ladies," she said ; " how is bofe 
 your helfs ? " 
 
 " We are quite well, thank you," replied Freddie. 
 " How is Mr. Roy ? " 
 
 " He's mighty bad, Miss Winifred, mighty bad. 
 I thought for sure de Lord had done took him last 
 night." 
 
 " How is your helf, Miss Winifred ? " inquired an 
 old man, joining in the conversation. " How is 
 your helf, Miss Fredy ? Thank you, miss, quite 
 well, bress de Lord ! Mas'r Dick has been very 
 bad, ladies, but I don't tink he'll die dis time. De 
 Lord is doing a great work upon him." 
 
 " What do you mean, uncle Benjamin ? " inquired 
 Freda. 
 
 " He's been mighty hard upon us poor black 
 
 folks, specially since freedom, and now de merciful 
 
 Lord have sent all dose poor cullud men what he's 
 
 done killed, and dey are round his bed, ebery one 
 
 14
 
 210 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 of 'em, and Mas'r Dick is talking to 'em quite sen- 
 sible, and telling 'em he couldn't help killing dem, 
 cos he was made to do it, and he asks deir pardons 
 and calls upon de name ob de Lord." 
 
 " He is delirious, out of his head, you know," 
 said Freddie, " and thinks he sees them, that's all. 
 His conscience wont let him rest." 
 
 " No, honey, no ! " insisted the woman, " he's as 
 sensible as I am. Just listen to him." 
 
 In fact they heard, in the silence that ensued, the 
 voice of a man speaking on the other side of the 
 wooden partition, in a tone of earnest' entreaty, but 
 with no sound of raving or delirium. 
 
 " I was not my own master," he said, " and I 
 could not help doing what I did. I was compelled 
 to it by those who were more powerful than I was. 
 Don't come and reproach me while I am lying here 
 helpless. I will never harm nor wrong any of your 
 people again if you will only go away and leave me 
 in peace." 
 
 " Bress de Lord ! " murmured uncle Benjamin. 
 
 " His voice sounds as if he were in his senses," 
 observed Freddie. " We came to see if he would hire 
 out his buggy to us for a few weeks. Do you think 
 you could ask him ? " 
 
 " Lord knows ! " replied the woman. " Look'ee 
 here, honey, he's been mightily set against you two 
 ladies for coming here to teach us poor folks, I 
 don't know what he'll say." 
 
 " Give him our message, any way," said Freddie, 
 " that can't kill him, and he can't kill us."
 
 LIFE IN THE SOUTH. 211 
 
 The woman still hesitated, when Mr. Roy called 
 to her, to know what strangers were there. 
 
 " It's the two school teachers, Mas'r Dick," she 
 answered, " wanting to know if you'll hire out your 
 buggy and horse for a week or two, for them to 
 drive to school in." 
 
 " Yes, yes let them have it, let them have it." 
 
 " What is the hire ? I will pay it now, if agree- 
 able," said Freddie, who had heard what he said. 
 
 " Nothing nothing they're welcome to it. And 
 now will you leave me in peace ? " The last ques- 
 tion was addressed to the spirits of his victims whom 
 he believed to be standing around him. " Tell Dave 
 to clean the buggy, and hitch up Brown Bob for 
 those ladies. Tell them they are welcome to it. 
 Give me a drink, aunt Becky. Oh, thank God ! 
 Some of them are going ! " 
 
 "Ah ! now don't you see how wonnerful de Lord 
 is working on his sinful heart ? " said uncle Benja- 
 min, " bress de name ob de Lord ! " . 
 
 " It is a fortunate delusion for us," said Freddie, 
 " and I hope, for the sake of your people, that it 
 will last after he gets well." 
 
 The buggy was soon ready, and Brown Bob, the 
 best horse in the penitent sinner's stable, took 
 them in fine style to their temporary home. 
 
 It would have been impossible for them to attend 
 the school on several occasions after the heavy 
 thunder storms that visited the neighborhood about 
 once a week, if they had not had the means of 
 crossing the swollen creek.
 
 212 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 One afternoon a storm of unusual severity burst 
 over the school-house, and detained them more than 
 an hour after the usual time of closing. Several of 
 the children lived, like themselves, on the further 
 side of the creek, and these the teachers promised 
 to take across in the buggy. 
 
 Freddie drove slowly down to the creek, followed 
 by the merry little troop, laughing, shouting, sing- 
 ing, and performing all sorts of antics. The water 
 was higher than they had ever seen it before, and 
 even Freddie was doubtful whether it would be safe 
 to attempt to cross over till it had subsided to a safe 
 level. Had she been alone she would probably 
 have dashed through and risked it; but Freda's 
 timidity, as well as her safety had to be consulted, 
 and she agreed to wait, unless Brown Bob, when 
 driven gently to the edge, should take the ford of 
 his own free will. 
 
 But Bob put his head down to the water, and 
 suddenly backed, snorting and showing the strong- 
 est signs of terror and repugnance. 
 
 " What's that in the water ? " exclaimed Freda. 
 " Surely it's a man ! I see his arm ! Charley ! 
 Harry ! " she called, to two of the biggest boys, 
 who were in fact almost young men. " There's a 
 man in the water ! Make haste and get him out ! " 
 
 The lads sprang forward, caught the arm which 
 she had seen, and drew to the bank a loathsome 
 and ghastly object. It was the body of a negro, 
 which had evidently been a long time in the water. 
 The hands and feet were bound with ropes, and
 
 LIFE IN THE SOUTH. 213 
 
 round the neck was fastened a heavy stone, tied up 
 in the end of a sack. 
 
 The girls screamed and huddled together, shrink- 
 ing with horror from the dreadful thing, yet im- 
 pelled by curiosity to approach and examine it. 
 The boys looked on in wonder and dread, and the 
 word " bush-whacker " was whispered among them, 
 as they tried to guess at the identity of the unfor- 
 tunate person, and the cause of his death. Freda 
 was silent, and Freddie's attention was taken up for 
 the moment in pacifying Bob, who tried hard to 
 break away. 
 
 " Don't go near it, children," she said, in a steady 
 voice, calculated to reassure them ; " the poor man 
 has been dead a long time, and you can do him no 
 good, and you may take some harm yourselves. I 
 am going to fetch some men to take charge of the 
 body, and when I return I will take you over the 
 creek, as I promised. We shall not be gone long." 
 
 " Stay, Freddie," whispered Freda, " let me get 
 out. It would not be right to leave these poor 
 children with no one to sustain their courage and 
 control their fears. I will remain with them." 
 Then glancing round to see that none of the chil- 
 dren were within hearing, she added, " I saw two 
 more corpses in the water ! Bring the men quickly. 
 I will show them where they are, but it is better to 
 conceal this fresh horror from the children." 
 
 "I knew there was true metal in you, Freda, 
 should the occasion arise to try it, and I see I was 
 right. Blood tells, they say."
 
 214 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 Nevertheless Freddie did not like to leave her 
 friend unprotected in that desolate spot, and Brown 
 Bob had to put forth his best paces to keep up with 
 her demands. 
 
 The place to which she was driving was a small 
 collection of huts, where she would probably find 
 several men driven home by the storm. As she 
 approached she saW" six or seven horsemen riding 
 quickly #way in the opposite direction. From their 
 general appearance she judged that they were white 
 men, and felt glad that she was spared the annoy- 
 ance of meeting them. 
 
 When she drove up she found the black popula- 
 tion in a great commotion. Many of the women 
 were weeping bitterly. One was addressing a small 
 knot of listeners with the most violent tones and 
 gesticulations; the old men seemed bowed down 
 by despondency, and the younger were all more or 
 less exasperated. All were, of course, talking at 
 the same time, or they would not have been genuine 
 Africans. 
 
 " If I'd been here I'd have had a shot at them ! " 
 exclaimed one young fellow. 
 
 " You are too venturesome, Tom Racket," re- 
 sponded an old man, "'you'd only get served worse 
 yourself if you tried to stop them in their deviltries. 
 The Lord help us poor black people ! We shall all 
 go back to slavery again ! " 
 
 " Here comes Miss Winifred ! Let's hear what 
 she says about it ! " said another. 
 
 " What is amiss, my friends ? " asked Freddie, as
 
 LIFE IN THE SOUTH. 21$ 
 
 she stopped in the midst of them. " What has hap- 
 pened to make all this disturbance ? No fighting, 
 I hope ? " 
 
 " No, no, Miss Winifred," replied the young man 
 on whom her eye fell as she spoke, " I'se done quit 
 fightin'. But I'd ha' fit if I'd ha' bin here dis even- 
 in', though, fore I'd ha" let my poor ole mother be 
 whipped ! " 
 
 " What is the meaning of all this ? " asked Fred- 
 die, with growing impatience, " I beg of you to tell 
 me." 
 
 A dozen voices answered, and from the con- 
 sequent confusion she at last gathered that the men 
 she had seen riding away, had come to the cabins, 
 pulled out the women, who tried to hide themselves, 
 and flogged them severely. 
 
 She learned, furthermore, that this was not by any 
 means the first time that these gentlemen, the much 
 boasted Southern chivalry (!!), had performed the 
 same dastardly outrage, and that for no fault the 
 poor creatures had committed, but, as they expressed 
 it, for mere devilment. 
 
 " And do you call yourselves men," exclaimed 
 Freddie, indignantly, " and would stand by and see 
 your women treated so shamefully? Go back to 
 slavery, do you say? You deserve it, for your 
 cowardice ! " 
 
 " Why, Miss Winifred, what could we poor cree- 
 turs do ? " said the old man who had spoken first. 
 
 " Show them that you are no longer slaves, but 
 free men, with the same rights as themselves," she
 
 216 WINIFREDS JEWELS. 
 
 replied. " Some of you have guns ; could you not 
 shoot the ruffians ? What ! Had you no cudgels 
 no knives no fists, even, to knock them down ? " 
 
 "They didn't whip me!" cried the woman who 
 had been talking when Freddie arrived. 
 
 "No," echoed the old man, "they didn't whip 
 aunt Caroline; she fit them manfully." 
 
 " Did they give you that bad cut on your face, 
 aunt Caroline ? " asked Freddie, observing that blood 
 was flowing from a wound on her cheek. 
 
 " Yes, Miss Winifred ; it was little Joe Atkins 
 threw a rock at me. But I don't mind ; I gave them 
 as good as they gave me." 
 
 " If you will all follow aunt Caroline's example, 
 these white rascals will soon learn to respect you. 
 But now, I want some of you men to come down to 
 the creek. There's a dead man that our boys have 
 pulled out of the water, and from the appearance I 
 am convinced he must have been murdered." 
 
 A loud wail arose from the women as they heard 
 this. But one of them demanded, "Is it a black 
 man, Miss Winifred ? " 
 
 " I am sorry to say it is. Come quickly, for Miss 
 Trevanian is there with the school children, and if 
 any of these white gentlemen should go by, they 
 would probably annoy and insult her." 
 
 The whole colony started off in a moment. The 
 men forgot the shame which had overpowered them 
 under Freddie's reproaches ; the women forgot their 
 wrongs and their bruises, and all hurried away at a 
 pace which kept Bob at a gentle trot.
 
 LIFE IN THE SOUTH. 217 
 
 When they arrived within a few hundred yards 
 of the creek, they all stopped with one accord, with 
 raised hands and open eyes and mouths, listening to 
 such music as they had never before heard. Sweet, 
 rich and powerful rose Freda's lovely voice, blended 
 with the fine, though uncultivated tones of the negro 
 children. She had assembled them on the driest 
 spot she could find, and, to withdraw their young 
 minds as much as possible from the horrible sight 
 they had been looking at, she had engaged them in 
 singing a beautiful and solemn hymn which she had 
 taught them. 
 
 " Sure nuff de angels can't sing no better'n dat! " 
 cried one old woman, while tears of delight dropped 
 from her raised eyes, and her withered countenance 
 assumed an expression of perfect beatitude. 
 
 But Freda saw them ; the hymn ceased, and these 
 impressionable children of the sun returned to the 
 terrible reality of life. 
 
 Loud cries and wailings- arose when they recog- 
 nized the corpse as that of a man who had disap- 
 peared a few weeks previously. Freda pointed out 
 the places where she believed she had seen two other 
 corpses. Some of the men waded into the water 
 and brought them out. They were a man and a 
 woman, unknown, but as evidently murdered, for 
 heavy weights were tied to their necks. 
 
 While they stood in consultation about the means 
 of moving the remains to the burial ground, they 
 were joined by another man in a state of the wildest 
 excitement, who told them that the dam of a mill,
 
 2f8 WINIFREDS JEWELS. 
 
 situated about half a mile higher up the creek, had 
 given way before the accumulation of water, and 
 upwards of twenty bodies, all bound and weighted 
 like these three, had been washed out into the 
 stream. 
 
 The dreaded name of Ku-Klux had not then at- 
 tained the notoriety which distinguished it a few 
 years later, but the outrages on defenceless women, 
 and the wholesale murders described above, were 
 some of the earlier works of that band of miscreants.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 HORSE DEALING^ 
 
 FOR several days the fearful sight of those poor 
 murdered people seemed to be ever-present to the 
 young school teachers, and oppressed their spirits 
 like a night-mare. Even Freddie was sobered down, 
 and could no longer extract amusement from the 
 eccentricities of their landlady, which had been an 
 unfailing source of delight to her ever since they 
 had taken up their abode in her house. Miss Fanny 
 Kitely was indeed a most remarkable female, both 
 in appearance and character. She was an elderly 
 spinster; excessively tall, and with about as much 
 variety of contour in her ungainly figure as is ob- 
 servable in a pair of tongs. Her features were sharp 
 and pinched, and her disposition was to the full as 
 angular as her body. At times she professed to be 
 extremely religious, but her boarders soon discovered 
 that her piety was of the intermittent type, and only 
 came on violently on the occurrence of a camp- 
 meeting or other sectarian jollification, when an 
 abundance of the good things of this world would 
 be obtainable, in addition to the means of grace. On 
 ordinary occasions, the chief points of her theology 
 
 219
 
 220 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 were a firm belief that at the day of judgment she 
 would take a flight up into the air, and a positive 
 c.onviction that God made "them niggers" to be the 
 slaves of the white race. When questioned regard- 
 ing the grounds on which she based the latter asser- 
 tion, her reply was, " Why, of course, it stands to 
 reason. What did God make them black for, if he 
 didn't mean them to be slaves?" 
 
 Her 'education was on a par with that usually to 
 be found among the "poor whites," as they are 
 sometimes called (otherwise white Irasli) ; that is to 
 say, she was very little in advance of the generality 
 of the freedmen, and more ignorant than some of the 
 school children. 
 
 She had been much out of humor since the dis- 
 closure of systematic murder made by the breaking 
 down of the mill-dam, for that was a stubborn fact 
 which could neither be denied nor palliated. She 
 had' at first attempted to treat it lightly, saying, 
 " I reckon they'd done something to deserve it," 
 but was silenced by such an eloquent burst of in- 
 dignation from Freda, that Freddie listened in silent 
 astonishment. 
 
 Miss Fanny liked the money that the young 
 ladies p^fc. her, though she hated, like poison, the 
 work on which they were engaged. " What's the 
 good of teaching them niggers," she would say, 
 " you can't never learn them nothing ! " And when 
 assured that they were as apt and intelligent 
 scholars as any white children, she retreated within 
 an inner fortification, which time alone could de-
 
 HORSE DEALING. 221 
 
 stroy, and comforted herself by saying that they 
 would never remember anything they had learned, 
 nor have sense.to do any good with it. 
 
 As she hated their work and scorned the negroes, 
 she was excessively riled when Mr. Roy lent them 
 his buggy. Gall and wormwood were as milk and 
 honey compared with her feelings when she con- 
 templated " them nigger teachers driving to school, 
 while she had to go on foot." 
 
 It was, therefore, with great satisfaction that she 
 informed them about a week afterwards that Dick 
 Roy had sent to say he wanted his buggy. 
 
 " I am afraid," said Freda, " from the wording 
 of that message, that Mr. Roy is returning to his 
 old sentiments of animosity towards niggers and 
 nigger teachers." 
 
 " Ay," replied Freddie, 
 
 ' When the Devil was sick, the Devil a monk would be ;' 
 When, the Devil was well, the' Devil a monk was he.' 
 
 That may be the case with our friend ; but I sus- 
 pect the fair Kitely curtailed the message somewhat 
 of its fair proportions. Miss Kitely," she added, 
 going to the door, " who brought the message from 
 Mr. Roy ? " P 
 
 11 It was Joe Racket." 
 
 " Is he waiting for an answer ? " 
 
 " I reckon," was the concise reply. 
 
 " Will you tell him to come in, if you please ? " 
 said Freddie. 
 
 " Ho ! Joe ! " shouted Miss Fanny. But how
 
 222 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 can I give in writing any idea of the way in which 
 they call any one in South Carolina ? At first the 
 two syllables were pretty equally emphasized ; but 
 as the summons was repeated the Ho became 
 lengthened out, and the Joe diminished, the vowel 
 sound being also altered from o to a, until the result 
 was " Ha w Jaw ! " 
 
 Miss Fanny's voice was more remarkable for 
 power and shrillness than for sweetness, but the 
 young ladies were pretty well used to its strident 
 tones by this time, and the Haw Jaw passed with- 
 out comment. 
 
 The summons was answered by a good-natured 
 looking black lad, who showed all his white teeth 
 in a friendly grin as he entered the presence of the 
 teachers, 
 
 " So you've come for Mr. Roy's buggy, have you, 
 Joe ? " said Freddie. 
 
 " Yes, Miss Winifred," replied- Joe; " Mas'r Dick 
 wants it to ride in it next week." 
 
 "What message did he send, Joe? Tell us 
 exactly what he told you to say," said Freda. 
 
 " He say to give his expects to bofe you ladies, 
 and say he be glad if you be convenient to let him 
 have de^Duggy de fust of de week, cos he better 
 now, and want to go to Gusty." (Augusta.) 
 
 " Well ! Isn't that what I said ? " bawled Miss 
 Fanny, from the entry where she had been listening. 
 " Did you think I'd told you a lie, Miss Winifred ? " 
 
 "Oh, no!" replied Freddie, with perfect good 
 temper; "you did not tell an untruth, Miss Fanny;
 
 HORSE DEALING. 223 
 
 but by leaving out a part of it, you turned a polite 
 message into a rude one." 
 
 " I told you the man wanted his buggy, and that's 
 about the long and short of it, I reckon." 
 
 Joe was dismissed with his message, and presently 
 Miss Fanny poked her white face and sharp nose in 
 at the window, saying, with a malicious chuckle, 
 " If you want horses, you'd better look out. There's 
 a string of 'em gwine down the road." 
 
 Freddie was out in a moment, closely followed 
 by Miss Fanny, and at a greater distance by Freda. 
 She stopped the man who was driving the horses, 
 saying she wanted to purchase one, and would like 
 to see if he had anything that would suit her. 
 
 " Certainly, madam," he replied. " Now here is 
 an animal I can recommend for a lady's use." 
 
 " You'll guarantee that horse not to run away, 
 will you ? " asked Freddie, very innocently. 
 
 " That I will, madam, upon my honor. I'll give 
 you a written guaranty if you prefer it." 
 
 " The poor creature is a sufficient guarantee in 
 himself," she said, in a tone of quiet sarcasm ; " a 
 blind horse is seldom known to run away, I believe." 
 
 The man looked sheepish, but quickly led out 
 another horse. 
 
 " Here then, madam, is one that I am pretty cer- 
 tain will suit you." 
 
 "My friend," said Freddie, laughing, "don't 
 trouble yourself to recommend any. Though I am 
 a lady, I know something about horses, and can 
 quickly see whether you have one to suit us."
 
 224 WINIFREDS JEWELS. 
 
 " Law ! Don't you go buying a horse without 
 asking somebody's advice," interposed Miss Fanny; 
 " what can a woman know about horses ? " 
 
 " And why should a woman not know about any- 
 thing that is useful ? " asked Freddie. 
 
 " Well, you'll get cheated, just see if you don't. 
 Why can't you wait and let my brother buy you a 
 horse, if you must have one ? " 
 
 " Simply because I prefer trusting to my own 
 judgment," Freddie answered, with a quiet tone of 
 superiority, that was always highly exasperating to 
 the fair Kitely, while it never failed to subdue her. 
 
 "Umph! You'll take your own way, I suppose, 
 in spite of salvation ! " she exclaimed, prefacing her 
 remark with a kind of snort. 
 
 " Trot put that little grey mare," said Freddie to 
 the horse dealer. He obeyed, and the animal 
 underwent such a critical examination as convinced 
 him that she at least knew how to appear to be a 
 judge of horseflesh. 
 
 " What do you want for her ? " asked Freddie, 
 carelessly. 
 
 " Well, madam," he replied, with the air of one 
 who makes a great concession to the person ad- 
 dressed, " I will let you have her for two hundred 
 dollars." 
 
 " Two hundred fiddlesticks ! " exclaimed Freddie, 
 quite thrown off her guard, and using a favorite 
 expression of her old friend the circus manager, 
 
 Freda uttered a warning cough, and was fain to 
 cover her laughing mouth with her handkerchief.
 
 HORSE DEALING. 225 
 
 Freddie bit her lips, and to hide her momentary 
 confusion, took the halter from the dealer's hand, and 
 sprang lightly on the bare back of the little grey. 
 
 " You'll tumble awf," screamed Miss Fanny. 
 
 But, without paying any regard to her, Freddie 
 cantered up and down, changing the mare's pace to 
 trot or gallop, and back to a canter, as if merely by 
 an effort of her will. 
 
 Freda was charmed by the perfect ease and grace 
 of her friend's movements ; she had never seen her 
 fine figure to such advantage. 
 
 Miss Fanny stared after her in wide-mouthed 
 wonder. 
 
 " If that aint the beat'emest thing ever / saw ! " 
 exclaimed the horse dealer. 
 
 " Oh, don't she ride bootiful ? " "Ah, Miss Wini- 
 fred can ride jest as well as de ladies in de show." 
 " See how easy she make de mar lope." 
 
 These and similar ejaculations were uttered by the 
 crowd of black folks who had assembled according 
 to their wont when anything is going on, just as if 
 they had risen out of the earth. 
 
 Freddie stopped, and sprang to the ground. Giv- 
 ing the halter to the horse dealer, she said, " I will 
 give you a hundred and twenty-five dollars for her. 
 If you will take that, you can bring her up to the 
 house yonder. But if you try to raise my bid by so 
 much as one cent, I will go down to a hundred." 
 
 "Jim," said the man to his assistant, "hitch this 
 here mar whar' she was, and git. I reckon that's 
 less'n I giv for her."
 
 226 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 He watched for the effect this order would pro- 
 duce upon Freddie ; but that astute young lady was 
 not so unwise as to suffer any chagrin to be visible ; 
 and Miss Fanny had, besides, just diverted her at- 
 tention into another channel. 
 
 " Them niggers is saying you ride like a circus 
 woman," she said, spitefully. 
 
 Freda's eyes flashed indignantly; but Freddie was 
 equal to the occasion. Fixing her eyes on a far 
 distant point, and waving her outstretched hand 
 horizontally, so as to give the idea of vast space, she 
 said, in a sepulchral tone, " In the wild expanse of 
 the Pampas of South America, in the boundless 
 Steppes of Russian Tartary, in the trackless soli- 
 tudes of the Great Sahara, the women are trained to 
 ride the untamed steeds of the desert without saddle 
 or bridle. Perhaps it was there that I, too, learned 
 to ride." 
 
 Having delivered this extraordinary speech, she 
 drooped her head upon her breast, and, with folded 
 arms, stalked solemnly back to the house with long, 
 slow, and majestic steps. 
 
 Freda involuntarily added to the effect by her 
 genuine look of consternation, for she really sup- 
 posed at first that her dear Freddie had suddenly 
 become insane. 
 
 The negroes buzzed their delight, for nothing ex- 
 cites their admiration more than a string of high- 
 sounding words. As for Miss Fanny, she for once 
 found herself completely silenced. 
 
 " She must have seen a deal in her life-time," ob-
 
 HORSE DEALING. 227 
 
 served the horse dealer, deferentially, as he prepared 
 to lead the mare up to the house. 
 
 " You aint a-gwine to take her at her word, are 
 you ? " exclaimed Miss Fanny, roused by this spec- 
 tacle ; " you'll be a fool for your pains, if you do. 
 You keep up to the two hundred dollars, and you'll 
 git it. She wants that horse mighty bad, and she's 
 got the money to pay for it. And what's she, I'd 
 like to know ? She's nothing but a Yankee school 
 marm, come down here to teach them black nigger 
 children." 
 
 " No, thank you, old lady," replied the man; " I'd 
 only lose twenty-five dollars by following your ad- 
 vice. I kin judge a woman pretty nigh as well as 
 that lady kin judge a horse, an'd that's saying some- 
 thin', I kin tell you. She's put her foot down. right 
 thar, and all I've got to do is to give in, or lose the 
 sale." 
 
 " Umph ! " snorted Miss Fanny ; " it's madam, 
 madam, for her, every word, and nothing better'n 
 old lady for me. It's all along of setting them nig- 
 gers free just flying in the face of Providence, who 
 gave them to us for slaves."
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 A TRAP IS LAID FOR FREDDIE. 
 
 THE grey mare was for Freda, but Freddie had 
 much greater trouble to find a horse to suit herself. 
 Several times she heard that one of the neighboring 
 " gentlemen " (!) desired to sell one ; but when she 
 sent to inquire about it, some insulting message was 
 invariably returned to the effect that the owner 
 would shoot the horse, or use it for plowing, before 
 any d d Yankee should have it. 
 
 One day, however, when they had just returned 
 from the school, Freda riding her docile mare, and 
 Freddie walking, running and leaping to her heart's 
 content, they saw an elderly negro leading into the 
 yard a remarkably handsome, but very wild-looking 
 horse. He would not hitch him up, but sent to ask 
 Miss Winifred to come out and speak to him. 
 
 Freddie went out, followed closely by Miss Fanny, 
 as a matter of course. The man informed her that 
 his master had sent him to offer her the horse, as he 
 heard she wanted one. Freddie knew the name of 
 this man, as that of a most determined rebel and 
 Democrat, as well as a suspected member of the 
 Ku-Klux Klan. Why he should design to render 
 228
 
 A TRAP IS LAID FOR FREDDIE. 229 
 
 her a service she could not comprehend ; but a very 
 slight survey of the horse showed her that the kind- 
 ness was but in outward show, and that the real 
 intention, in making her the apparently handsome 
 offer, was that she should have some broken limbs, 
 if not a broken neck. The animal had been rendered 
 wild and vicious by ill-treatment, but that that was 
 not his natural disposition she saw by the shape of 
 his head. In all other respects he was a splendid 
 creature, and the price demanded for him was not 
 exorbitant. 
 
 "That is just the horse to suit me," said Freddie, 
 "and I will buy him." 
 
 " Law ! What do you want with such a great 
 spirity-looking horse as that?" cried Miss Fanny, 
 offering her advice as usual, without waiting to be 
 asked for it. " That horse aint fit for a lady to ride. 
 You'll get thrown off, as sure as fate. Why, I've 
 seen Mr. Harding riding him, and it was as much 
 as he could do to keep on. You'll just go and make a 
 fool of yourself, if you buy him, that's what you'll do." 
 
 All this time the man who held the horse had 
 been looking eagerly towards Freddie, and making 
 signs that he desired to say something to her, un- 
 heard by Miss Fanny. Freddie took the bridle and 
 turned the horse round, saying, coolly, " You had 
 better keep clear of his heels, Miss Fanny. He'll 
 kick." 
 
 "And you've done pushed his heels right against 
 me ! " cried that lady, springing up the steps into 
 the house.
 
 230 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 11 What do you want to say to me?" said Freddie, 
 in a low tone, to the negro. 
 
 " O Miss Winifred, for Gor a-mighty's sake, don't 
 you buy dis horse ! I darn't let Miss Fanny hear 
 me say so, cos she'd tell, and I'd lose my house and 
 my crap and all ; but Mas'r Harding have ony sent 
 him to you out of nothing but cussedness ! Dis here 
 horse has done killed one man done broke his 
 neck and he's pretty near killed Mas'r Harding, 
 too ; he's done throwed him six or seven times, and 
 Mas'r Harding said he'd have him shot ; and then 
 his brother says, No, don't do that ; but sell him to 
 those damned Yankee school marms, and when they 
 hitch him in a buggy, he'll smash them both up. 
 That's just what he said, for my girl Sophrony heard 
 'em. So just let Miss Fanny hear you say you've 
 altered your mind, and I'll take him back again." 
 
 " But I have not altered my mind, my good friend. 
 I knew, before you told me, that the creature's tem- 
 per has been spoiled by ill treatment ; but he is not 
 naturally vicious, and in a few weeks, under proper 
 training, he will be as gentle as a kitten. Don't tell 
 Mr. Harding what I have said. I'll have the pleas- 
 ure of riding by his house one of these days, and 
 showing off a little." 
 
 The horse was taken into the tumble-down barn, 
 which served for a stable, and fed by Freddie herself. 
 The money was paid to the last cent, though old 
 Jacob gave her a hint that Mas'r Harding had told 
 him he might take fifty dollars less if she demurred 
 about the price.
 
 A TRAP IS LAID FOR FREDDIE. z~i 
 
 "No, Jacob," she replied, "that man has attempted 
 my life just as much as though he had fired a gun 
 at me, and I'll accept no concession from him. It 
 is not fifty dollars' worth of revenge that would sat- 
 isfy me, if I were going to take any revenge at all." 
 
 However, to preserve old Jacob from the tempta- 
 tion of telling a different tale, and putting the fifty 
 dollars into his own pocket, Freddie drew up a re- 
 ceipt for the amount, to which Jacob made his mark, 
 which was duly attested by Miss Fanny. She also 
 wrote the amount outside the envelope in which she 
 folded the bills, and counted them in Miss Fanny's 
 presence. Having thus secured poor Jacob from 
 temptation, she made him a present, and sent him 
 on his way rejoicing. 
 
 Freda had been in the garden gathering flowers, 
 and knew nothing of Freddie's purchase till Miss 
 Fanny sought her out, and gave her an exaggerated 
 account of it. 
 
 When they came into the house, Freddie was sit- 
 ting in the wide entry, rocking slowly, and looking 
 very thoughtful. 
 
 " Ah, you're beginning to repent already, I see 
 that ! " exclaimed Miss Fanny, triumphantly. 
 
 " On the contrary, I am very well satisfied with 
 my bargain. And I was just thinking how fortunate 
 it is that my brother is coming here in a day or two. 
 He understands Rarey's method, and will tame that 
 horse for me." 
 
 " Your brother ! Why, you never told me you 
 had a brother ! " screamed Miss Fanny.
 
 232 WINIFRED' S JEWELS. 
 
 " And I never told you I had six sisters, did I ? " 
 said Freddie, coolly. 
 
 " No ; but have you really got six sisters ? " 
 
 "You'll see, if they ever pay me a visit," said 
 Freddie, laughing; "but my brother my twin 
 brother will come probably to-morrow." 
 
 " Law ! I didn't know you'd had a letter since 
 you came here. When did you hear from him? " 
 
 " Miss Kitely," replied Freddie, gravely, " I be- 
 lieve you have not devoted yourself to the study of 
 the occult sciences ? " 
 
 " No ; what has that to do with it ? " said poor 
 Kitely, looking considerably puzzled. 
 
 " Ah, then you can form no idea of that recipro- 
 city of a sympathetic sensibility which enables twin- 
 born children, of peculiar idiosyncrasies, to commu- 
 nicate through the psychologic and magnetic power 
 of the od force." 
 
 " I don't know what you're talking about. Can't 
 you speak plain English ? Do you understand what 
 she says ? " turning abruptly to Freda. 
 
 " Oh, yes, perfectly," replied that young lady, who 
 had been very much amazed at hearing of Freddie's 
 brother, but would not thwart her friend's plans by 
 appearing to doubt her assertions. 
 
 " Did you know she'd got a brother?" asked Miss 
 Kitely. 
 
 " I have not had the pleasure of seeing him yet," 
 replied diplomatic Freda. 
 
 " Umph ! " grunted Miss Fanny, " there's no get- 
 ting a word of sense out of either of you."
 
 A TRAP IS LAID FOR FREDDIE. 233 
 
 And she took herself off in high dudgeon, greatly 
 exercised about Freddie's family relations. 
 
 " You wicked girl ! " exclaimed Freda, when they 
 were alone, " how could you talk such nonsense to 
 that poor woman, and mystify her so ? " 
 
 " What business had she to ask me so many im- 
 pertinent questions?" said Freddie; "she got no 
 more than she deserved." 
 
 " But, poor soul, she knows no better," said gentle 
 Freda; "so you should make some allowance for 
 her. She becomes really unhappy when you over- 
 whelm her with words that she cannot understand. 
 And now, do tell me what you mean about your 
 brother ? You told me you had no relations at all. 
 What do you mean ? " 
 
 " I'll not gratify your curiosity. You are becom- 
 ing as inquisitive as the Kitely herself. Wait till 
 to-morrow, and you'll see."
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 FREDDIE'S TWIN BROTHER. 
 
 THE morrow came ; and when it wanted about two 
 hours of sunset, Freddie, who had artfully decoyed 
 Freda and Miss Fanny to a distant part of the gar- 
 den, suddenly uttered a little cry of delight, and ran 
 into the house. 
 
 " Law ! What's amiss with her now? " asked Miss 
 Fanny. 
 
 " I should not wonder if her brother is come," re- 
 marked Freda. 
 
 " Let's go and see," cried the Kitely, starting off. 
 
 " Don't intrude upon them yet," said Freda, " the 
 brother and sister will like to be alone for a little 
 while, after being so long separated." 
 
 " I don't bother myself with no such fantastical no- 
 tions," rejoined Miss Fanny, striding away to the 
 house ; "/ want to see if he's there, and what he's 
 like ; and I'll say and do what I've got to say and 
 do, in spite of salvation ! " 
 
 With this favorite mode of asseveration, she gained 
 the house, but stared blankly around. No one was 
 visible ; but the sound of voices was audible through 
 the closed door of Freddie's room. 
 234
 
 FREDDIE'S TWIN BROTHER. 235 
 
 When Freda came up the steps she found Miss 
 Fanny with her eye at the key-hole and her ears on 
 the alert. 
 
 " There's somebody there, sure enough," she said, 
 no way abashed at being discovered eaves-dropping, 
 " and I suppose it's him. But there's something before 
 the key-hole, so I can't see good. And they're talking 
 some foreign lingo, too. Why can't they talk Eng- 
 lish, I wonder, so one could understand what 
 they're saying ? " Then applying her hard knuckles 
 sharply to the panels, she shouted, " Miss Winifred, 
 have you got your brother in there ? We want to 
 see him ! " 
 
 " I'll come out presently," answered Freddie, and 
 the conversation was renewed. 
 
 Very much edified would Miss Fanny have been 
 could she have understood what was said ; for it was 
 a scene from one of Moli5re's comedies, read with 
 dramatic effect. 
 
 Miss Fanny returned to where Freda was placidly 
 reading, and sat down in no very amiable mood. 
 
 Presently Freddie came out of her room. 
 
 " Is it not vexatious ? " she said. " Poor Tom can 
 only stop a few hours, and all that time I must do 
 nothing but write, write, write, to get ready some 
 important documents which he wants to take away 
 with him. I shall not even be able to look on while 
 he is taming Sultan. I must have a few minutes 
 more with him, and then he will come out and in- 
 troduce himself; but no one must disturb me for 
 anything."
 
 236 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 Freda could not understand it, but she said 
 nothing. As for Miss Fanny, she looked savage. 
 
 Presently a young man in a sailor's dress came 
 forth, but stood for a few moments, holding the door 
 ajar, and carrying on a lively conversation with 
 Freddie, whose voice was distinctly heard, answer- 
 ing him from the interior of her room. Her last 
 words were, "You tiresome fellow; I'll lock you 
 out." Then the key was turned in the lock, and 
 the young sailor approached with his cap in his 
 hand. He was a well-made young fellow, of middle 
 height, and bore a strong resemblance to Freddie, 
 except that his hair was black. His eyebrows, too, 
 were black and bushy, and a small black moustache 
 clothed his upper lip. 
 
 This was how he appeared to Freda and Miss 
 Fanny, for my readers have of course discovered 
 that it was Freddie herself in her sailor's costume. 
 
 " Good evening, ladies," he said, taking off his 
 cap, and making a bow that was rather more suited 
 to the stage than to the quarter-deck of a ship, 
 (I must speak of Freddie in the masculine gender 
 while she is thus travestied). " I want to see my 
 sister's horse. I am going to tame him for her, by 
 Rarey's method." 
 
 Miss Fanny, who had never been more than thirty 
 miles from the place of her birth, perceived nothing 
 incongruous in a sailor undertaking to tame a horse ; 
 but Freda, as she volunteered to show him the 
 stable, could not help quoting from the celebrated 
 Sairey Gainp, and whispered '"The bragian bold-
 
 FREDDIES TWIN BROTHER, 237 
 
 ness of that boy!' But I'll plague her a bit," she 
 said to herself, and tapped at Freddie's door as she 
 passed it, saying, in a loud tone, " Freddie, dear ! 
 I am going to take your brother to the stable ! " 
 
 She was quite taken aback for a moment at hear- 
 ing Freddie's voice answer from the inside, " Thank 
 you, Freda dear! Don't let me be disturbed for 
 anything, I am so awfully busy." 
 
 Glancing round she caught the sailor's laughing 
 grey eye, but did not dare to speak, for the Kitely 
 was at her heels, with her mouth agape like a 
 gudgeon, bent on catching every word. 
 
 Only at the stable door she whispered, " Be care- 
 ful ! " before she ran across the yard to take her 
 place in the back entry, whence, from the vantage 
 ground of the six or seven steps (the house being 
 built as usual upon pillars), she could witness the 
 operation in safety. 
 
 I need not describe Rarey's admirable mode of 
 taming horses. Those who have witnessed it, know 
 what it is ; and those who have not, would only find 
 a description wearisome. Suffice it, therefore, to 
 say that Tom Wilson manipulated Sultan with very 
 great success, to the amazement of Miss Fanny and 
 the large assemblage of negroes, who are always on 
 hand when anything unusual is going on. As for 
 Freda, her feelings went far beyond wonder; she 
 was utterly mystified. Could that be Freddie who 
 leaped so lightly into the saddle, and rode so grace- 
 fully round the yard, then made Sultan jump the 
 fence, and take a wider circuit, managing him with
 
 238 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 all the grace of a practised horseman ? No cer- 
 tainly, she thought, she must be mistaken. This 
 must be Tom, and not Freddie ; for the sun had set 
 before Sultan was finally consigned to his stable; 
 the short twilight was darkening into night, and 
 there was a light in Freddie's room ! Who but she 
 could have lighted it ? And how could she light it, 
 if she were not in the room ? 
 
 Tom went to his sister's door, and turned the 
 handle. 
 
 " Come, Freddie," he said, " why don't you let 
 me in ? I want to wash my hands." 
 
 " You know, Tom, I have not a moment to spare," 
 answered Freddie's voice from the interior of the 
 room ; " if I let you come in, you must be very quiet." 
 
 " All right," said Tom, rattling at the lock, which 
 was immediately opened, and in he went. 
 
 A brisk conversation was carried on between the 
 two, while Tom was washing his hands. The door 
 was then opened again, and Freddie called to Freda. 
 
 " Oh, Freda ! " she exclaimed, " I cannot write a 
 word while this boy is here ! If you will play a 
 hornpipe on your guitar he will dance for your 
 amusement, and perhaps he will play on his violin 
 too. Now go along, Tom, there's a good boy ! " 
 
 A lively altercation, followed by a playful scuffle, 
 took place, which ended by Tom's being forcibly 
 ejected, and the door banged behind him. He turned 
 and tried to get in again, making a considerable noise 
 with the handle ; but the door appeared to be locked 
 on the inside, and he walked away with his hands in
 
 I 
 
 FREDDIE'S TWIN BROTHER. 239 
 
 his pockets. This scene was performed so cleverly 
 that Freda could hardly believe that there was only 
 one actor in it. And then the lamp ! Who could 
 have lighted that ? 
 
 " Stupid that I am ! " was her next thought, " she 
 left it burning when she came out to tame Sultan, 
 and it was not seen while the sun was shining ! " 
 
 The guitar was tuned, and Freda played the horn- 
 pipe in spirited style. Then the young sailor, 
 having hitched up his waist-band in true nautical 
 fashion, performed that delightful dance with a grace 
 and finish that T. P. Cooke, or Davenport, could 
 not have excelled. 
 
 The windows and door were crowded with black 
 faces, beaming with delight, and uttering yells of 
 applause, and yet all could not see, especially the 
 children. So the performance was repeated in the 
 yard, by the light of blazing pine knots ; the firm 
 hard sand affording excellent footing. 
 
 The young sailor next played several airs on the 
 violin, making his susceptible audience (all except 
 Miss Fanny) laugh or cry at pleasure. After that, 
 the torches were lighted up again, and the hornpipe 
 was repeated, just because some more black folks 
 had arrived, and were bemoaning their ill luck in 
 having missed the spectacle. 
 
 The moment it was over, Tom rushed to Freddie's 
 room, and was instantly admitted. When he came 
 out the entry was in partial darkness, for Freda still 
 sat on the top step, playing the tune of the horn- 
 pipe, while several of the darkies were attempting
 
 240 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 to imitate the steps of the dance. Miss Fanny was 
 at full grin, enjoying the fun as much as any, and 
 scarcely heard the sailor's words as, in a voice 
 broken by sobs, he bade them good-bye, and 
 bounded away down the front steps, through the 
 garden and out into the darkness of the night. 
 
 Freda kept the negroes engaged for ten minutes 
 longer, and no one saw a figure that passed along 
 by the other side of the house, and lightly swung 
 itself up through the window of Freddie's now 
 darkened room. 
 
 Freda went to the door of her friend's apartment, 
 and receiving an invitation, went in, and found 
 Freddie lying on her bed, with her handkerchief to 
 her eyes. 
 
 "It is so hard," she sobbed, "to see so little of 
 one's only brother." 
 
 " Why didn't he stop longer ? " demanded Miss 
 Fanny, who had come in as usual without knocking. 
 
 "It was impossible," sighed Freddie, "his leave 
 of absence had expired." 
 
 "Freddie ! " said Freda, when they were alone, 
 " I did not suspect you of being such a dreadful 
 hypocrite ! " 
 
 " Not a hypocrite at all, dear ; only an actress."
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 A KU-KLUX PLOT. 
 
 GILBERT was placed in a very unpleasant predica- 
 ment in being the depository of a secret unconsci- 
 ously betrayed to him. But he knew that the most 
 honorable and straightforward course was to corne 
 to a thorough explanation and understanding on the 
 subject. This he did as soon as his patient was suf- 
 ficiently recovered to bear the excitement without 
 injurious consequences. 
 
 Rupert Forester, strange to say, seemed to be in 
 no way annoyed that his family secret was known 
 to another person ; nay, it seemed that half the bur- 
 then was removed from his mind, since it was shared 
 by one so noble and true-hearted as he knew Gilbert 
 Bracebridge to. be. 
 
 On one point only there was no confidence between 
 them. Gilbert could not bring himself to speak about 
 Winifred ; and Rupert, concluding from his friend's 
 silence that he had not mentioned her during his 
 feverish ravings, also forbore to allude to her; and 
 thus the mutual silence grew upon them until it 
 became almost an impossibility for either of them 
 to break it. 
 
 1 6 241
 
 242 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 Thus they went on, till Rupert could be left with- 
 out danger. Gilbert then exacted from him a pro- 
 mise that he would await his return in the quiet and 
 healthful abode which he had found for him a few 
 miles out of the noisy city, and started off to New 
 York. 
 
 On inquiring at the Freedmen's Bureau, he learned 
 that Miss Winifred Trevanian was in South Caro- 
 lina, teaching a colored school, within a few miles 
 of the place where he had himself been similarly en- 
 gaged immediately after the war. 
 
 ' A few days later he was wending his way through 
 a wild tract of forest land, with a knapsack on his 
 back, a revolver in his pocket, and a Winchester 
 rifle over his shoulder. 
 
 In the heart of the wood he came upon a small 
 clearing, on which stood a log hut rather more neatly 
 built than the generality of the negroes' cottages. 
 An acre of cultivated ground, which surrounded it, 
 was carefully fenced, and bore signs of unusually 
 skilful tillage. 
 
 At the sound of his footsteps a lean and wolfish- 
 looking dog ran towards him, barking furiously; 
 but he quickly changed his hostile demonstrations 
 into marks of delighted recognition, when Gilbert 
 spoke to him. 
 
 The man who lived in this hut, who in fact owned 
 it, having bought the solitary acre on which it was 
 built, had suffered grievous wrong from the oppres- 
 sors of his race, even beyond the lot of most of his 
 people. At the very moment when freedom seemed
 
 A KU-KLUX PLOT. 243 
 
 almost within his grasp, towards the close of the 
 war (for the slaves contrived to keep themselves 
 better acquainted with the progress of events than 
 their masters imagined), when he knew that by law 
 they were already free, his wife and children had been 
 sold to the speculators, and carried away to the far 
 South. His half-sister, too, a beautiful mulatto girl, 
 and the half-sister of the man who sold her, had 
 been taken at the same time. He had never been 
 able to find a trace of them, though what fate awaited 
 his sister and his pretty young daughters it was not 
 difficult to imagine. 
 
 Gilbert had been his friend during the period of 
 his deepest trouble. He had assisted him to buy the 
 bit of land, and had toiled many a day to clear it, and 
 help to build the simple dwelling. It was no won- 
 der that the dog knew and fawned upon him. 
 
 "Are you at home, Sam?" he called out, as he 
 approached the door, which stood wide open. 
 
 " Come in, come in, for God's sake ! " responded a 
 man's voice, interrupted by groans. " Who is it ? " 
 
 " Why, Sam, what ails you ? Have you got the 
 chills ? " 
 
 The owner of the cottage was lying on his bed, 
 apparently in great agony. 
 
 " Oh, sir," he exclaimed, as he recognized his visi- 
 tor, " God be praised that you are come ! I've not 
 got the chills, sir, but my leg is broken." 
 
 " That must be seen to, first of all," said Gilbert, 
 cheerily; " and don't be uneasy about it. It's not the 
 first broken limb that I have set, by many."
 
 244 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 With great skill and tenderness he reduced the 
 fracture, and bound up the injured limb with such 
 appliances as he could improvise. When all was 
 done, and his patient somewhat easier, Gilbert in- 
 quired into the cause of the accident. 
 
 It was one of those stories of cruelty, perpetrated 
 for no other object than the gratification of the most 
 devilish wickedness, so many of which are current 
 among the black population. 
 
 The poor fellow was returning home on the pre- 
 vious day, when he was attacked by four or five 
 men (white, I need hardly say), and dragged into the 
 midst of a dense mass of pine and cedar wood, on 
 the borders of a large and deep creek. Whether 
 their object was to hang or drown him, he did not 
 know. One of them had a rope, and they were 
 searching about for something, probably, he thought, 
 a stone, to which they meant to tie him, in order to 
 keep him down in the water, when he managed to 
 cut his bonds asunder, and ran for his life. He stum- 
 bled over a fallen tree and broke his leg, and, as he 
 lay behind it, they missed him. From his hiding 
 place he saw them lighting matches, and trying to 
 kindle a blaze by which to trace him, for the wood 
 was so thick that it was almost as dark as night. 
 They gave up the search at length, and went away. 
 
 He crawled out, and was fortunately seen by an- 
 other white man, who had compassion on his sad 
 plight, and cut for him a rude sort of crutch out of a 
 forked branch of a tree. With this he managed to drag 
 himself home, though suffering the most fearful agony.
 
 A KU-KLUX PLOT. 245 
 
 It had taken him all the night to accomplish the pain- 
 ful journey of about two miles, and he had begun to 
 think he should die there, unaided, when the Lord sent 
 him his best friend at the time of his greatest need. 
 
 Gilbert not only nursed and doctored, but he 
 cooked for him. He hewed wood and kindled a fire; 
 shot some game, made corn cakes ; and all the time 
 waited on his poor black friend with as much assi- 
 duity as he had shown towards the white gentleman, 
 Rupert Forester. The fact was, that Gilbert be- 
 lieved in the existence of black gentlemen as well as 
 white ones, and Sam Watson was a fine specimen 
 of the former class. 
 
 Finally, when night came, and the poor sufferer 
 slept, soothed by the cold water which Gilbert con- 
 stantly applied to the broken limb, the latter stretched 
 himself out on the bare floor, and slumbered soundly. 
 
 Day after day he continued his ministrations, 
 never leaving the cabin except in search of game. 
 One day the nearest neighbor looked in, and thence- 
 forward Sam had no lack of sympathizing visitors 
 and willing messengers, when any article was re- 
 quired from the stores. The presence of a white 
 man in the hut of a negro was, however, kept a pro- 
 found secret ; for, had such an enormity reached the 
 ears of the " chivalry," it is probable that nothirrg 
 short of the death of both the recreant white and 
 the presumptuous black would have satisfied their 
 outraged honor. 
 
 During all this time Gilbert heard not a word 
 concerning the Winifred of whom he had come in
 
 246 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 search. He was four long miles from the district 
 where her school was situated, which accounted for 
 her name not being mentioned by the people who 
 came to Sam's cottage ; and, as for uttering it him- 
 self, that was impossible. Even when he thought 
 of her, a burning blush overspread his honest brow, 
 and he would willingly have been buried a thousand 
 fathoms beneath the sea. Surely, he sometimes said 
 to himself, there must be some inherent, fearful de- 
 pravity in his soul, of which he was not otherwise 
 conscious, that he could have fallen in love with his 
 own niece, and even looked his passion into her 
 eyes, without feeling in his heart the remonstrances 
 of violated nature. Hj^ remorse was like a wolf 
 gnawing at his .vitals. He was, in his own esteem, 
 an outcast from humanity, with worse than the 
 brand of Cain upon him. At times his horror of him- 
 self was so great he was only restrained from suicide 
 by remembering the duty that he owed to others. 
 
 He alone could restore Rupert to happiness, for 
 he alone possessed a clew to Winifred's abode. 
 The purpose on which he was bent was to bring 
 them together, himself unrecognized by her ; to 
 exact from Rupert a promise to keep their rela- 
 tionship a secret from her (for would she not think 
 of him with loathing and shame ?) and then to go 
 among the most uncivilized of the Indian tribes, as a 
 social missionary. Not to cram them with sectarian 
 doctrines, or excite them to spasmodic conversions, 
 before they understood the nature of a moral obliga- 
 tion; but to commence with a foundation of social re-
 
 A KU-KLUX PLOT. 247 
 
 form, advance then to the moral, and let the religious 
 be, what it should be, the natural outgrowth of these. 
 
 Sam was now rapidly improving, and Gilbert saw it 
 was time to bestir himself, especially as many tales 
 were rife of outrages committed by a band of Ku- 
 Klux, or, as the negroes generally called them, Bush- 
 whackers; and of threats fulminated by various white 
 men of the Democratic party, against the Northern 
 teachers who persisted in giving instruction to the 
 despised colored children. 
 
 He therefore took the opportunity afforded by the 
 presence of a visitor who could remain till his return, 
 and went to make a reconnaissance. 
 
 As he drew near the school-house, the troops of 
 children, with their satchels and dinner-buckets, gui- 
 ded him on the way without inquiry. They were hurry- 
 ing home to escape an impending storm, which added 
 to the growing darkness of the November evening. 
 
 The school-house was a rough building of logs, 
 with a chimney built of stones and mud, from which 
 a smoke was still rising. 
 
 There was no fastening on the door, so he pushed 
 it open and entered, just as the storm of rain and 
 sleet came down in real earnest. 
 
 As the shutters were closed over the unglazed 
 windows, the interior would have been in total dark- 
 ness, but for a few rays of light that came down the 
 chimney and through the ill-fitting boards that com- 
 posed the roof. The floor was only the bare earth, 
 beaten hard by the children's feet; the seats were 
 benches of hewn pine, of the rudest construction. I
 
 248 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 Gilbert pushed the smouldering logs together, re- 
 solving to remain under shelter till the storm was over. 
 Placing a form before the hearth, he stretched himself 
 upon it and fell asleep, lulled by the monotonous patter- 
 ing of the rain upon the roof, and the whistling of the 
 wind through the thousand crevices of the building. 
 
 The sound of trampling hoofs, and the voices of 
 several men, speaking in cautious tones, awoke him 
 with a start. The fire was out, and the darkness was 
 impenetrable, but he remembered the position of the 
 forms well enough to enable him to find his way to' 
 the further end of the house without making any 
 noise. He there lay down close to the wall, where 
 only a powerful light, or very close inspection, could 
 discover him. 
 
 The door was thrown open, and several persons 
 entered. 
 
 " Can you get a light ? " asked one. " We had 
 better see that no one else is sheltering in the 
 damned old shanty." 
 
 Some matches were struck, and a hasty examina- 
 tion made, which satisfied them that no eaves- 
 droppers were present. The temporary gleam 
 showed Gilbert five men, four of whom bore the 
 unmistakable stamp of their Southern origin ; but 
 the fifth he could not so easily make out. As he 
 held a match and came near to him, Gilbert had a 
 good view of his face ; and a more" hideous counte- 
 nance he had never beheld. It was, in fact, that of 
 Captain Grainger. He had called in the aid of art 
 to conceal his deformity ; and a wig, a glass eye,
 
 A KU-KLUX PLOT. 249 
 
 and false teeth, beard, and moustache, did something 
 towards making him less repulsive; but the loss 
 of his nose could not be hidden, while the fixed 
 stare of the artificial eye contrasted strangely with 
 "the restlessness of the living one. 
 
 The brief glimmer of the matches expired, and 
 much to Gilbert's satisfaction, no more were lighted. 
 
 " It is understood, then, gentlemen," said one, 
 who appeared from his tone to exercise some 
 authority over the rest, "that we are to meet at the 
 cross roads to-morrow night, at eleven o'clock." 
 
 " We all understand that," replied the others. 
 
 " I propose, as an amendment, that we meet here," 
 said one, " it is nearer the place we are going to, 
 and is, besides, more retired." 
 
 " Very well," replied the leader, " let it be here, 
 then, and at eleven, punctually." 
 
 " Why wait till to-morrow night ? " demanded a 
 voice which Gilbert felt sure was that of an English- 
 man, and which from its snuffling intonation, he 
 had no hesitation in ascribing to the man who had 
 lost his nose ; " we have our disguises here, why 
 lose any time about it ? " 
 
 " Ay, why indeed ? " said another. " There are 
 five of us, our friend here says there is but one bull 
 nigger on the place, so we shall only have to deal 
 with the two women. Why wait till to-morrow ? " 
 
 " No, no, gentlemen," cried another, anxiously; 
 " remember your promise, and give me time to get 
 my sister out of the way. I'll take her to a revival 
 meeting to-morrow, and she will stay away all
 
 250 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 night. That will give you a good chance. You 
 would be but four, any way, if you went on to- 
 night, for I could not very well join in an attack on 
 my own house." 
 
 " It must be to-morrow, as we agreed," said the 
 leader; " four would be more than enough for the 
 work, but it is best to show an overwhelming force." 
 
 " I trust you will warn them all to be careful, and 
 do no injury to the house," said the man who had 
 objected to an immediate attack. " You may shoot 
 the Yankee school marms if you will, but don't 
 injure my property." 
 
 " Your property shall be respected, as I have 
 promised ; but those girls must be driven away. 
 Curse them ! I thought when I sold them that 
 fiery devil of a horse that I had as good as broken 
 both their necks. But that tall girl has him as 
 tame as a pet lamb. She came riding past my 
 house the other day, for nothing in the world but to 
 show him off." 
 
 " She rides splendidly," observed one. 
 
 " I wish she'd ride to hell ! " growled the leader. 
 " Is it not enough that we are taxed to pay for educa- 
 ting our own chattels, as if they were our equals, 
 but we must submit to be insulted by these upstart 
 minxes ? " 
 
 " Gentlemen, the rain is over," said the one-eyed 
 man ; " if we are not to proceed at once to business, 
 we had better be moving homewards. And here 
 let me beg that all who join our little expedition to- 
 morrow, may be duly notified that I have stipulated
 
 A KU-KLUX PLOT. 251 
 
 for time to overhaul the luggage of these women, 
 and take possession of a box of valuable documents 
 which belongs to me, and of which they have ob- 
 tained unlawful possession." 
 
 " I don't like to dirty my hands with anything 
 that looks like robbery," said one of the men, 
 haughtily. 
 
 " Nor I," said another. " I'll have nothing to do 
 with it." 
 
 " Gentlemen," said the leader, " he has explained 
 the case to me, and I have promised that we will 
 wait for him, while he looks for his papers. Nothing 
 more will be required of you." 
 
 They left the hut. Hasty " good-nights " were 
 exchanged, and the sound of their horses' hoofs was 
 soon lost in the distance.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 A NIGHT ATTACK. 
 
 THE two young teachers anticipated a quiet, com- 
 fortable evening, secure from the tiresome intrusion 
 of Miss Fanny Kitely, who had gone with her 
 brother to hear a revivalist preacher, and would not 
 return till the following evening. 
 
 The time passed quickly away, and they were 
 about to separate for the night, when a heavy foot- 
 fall was heard slowly ascending the front steps. 
 
 Freda turned pale, and Freddie put her hand on 
 her revolver. 
 
 They listened anxiously. There was one feeble 
 knock against the door, and that was all. 
 
 " I'll ask who it is," said Freddie, going out into 
 the entry; "no danger can come with such a feeble- 
 minded knock as that. Who's out there ? " she 
 demanded, resolutely. 
 
 " It's me, Miss Fanny," answered a quavering 
 voice, as of a very old man. 
 
 " And who are you ? " 
 
 " Don't you know me ? I'm Job Parsons. Can 
 you give me shelter for the night ? " 
 
 Convinced that the person outside was old and 
 252
 
 A NIGHT ATTACK. 253 
 
 feeble, Freddie opened the door, and beheld an old 
 white-headed man, whose bowed figure and shabby 
 clothes betokened his age and poverty. 
 
 " Will you tell Miss Fanny I'm here ? " he said, 
 and his weak tremulous voice sounded very pathetic. 
 " She'll not refuse me a shelter, I know. She never 
 does." 
 
 " Miss Fanny is not at home to-night," replied 
 Freddie, " but you had better come in and rest, and 
 I'll see if you can be accommodated with a lodging." 
 
 " For God's sake, miss, don't send me further this 
 night. I'm done tired out now, and I've got the 
 rheumatics so bad I can hardly walk." 
 
 In effect it was evident, as he hobbled into the 
 house, that his left knee was quite stiffened. Freda 
 had now come forward, and her tender heart was 
 greatly moved by the forlorn looks of the visitor, 
 and especially -by the shabby genteel appearance 
 which was imparted to him by a miserably ragged 
 old pair of cotton gloves which covered his trem- 
 bling hands. 
 
 " We can't turn him out on such a cold night," 
 she whispered to Freddie,- " poor old man ! He 
 would perish before he went another mile, so lame 
 as he is. If he is a friend of Miss Fanny's, let 
 him have her room. I'm sure she would not object 
 to it." 
 
 " I think I will call Hannah over to see if she 
 knows him," said Freddie. 
 
 " They all went to bed long ago, and you would 
 not be able to waken them," said Freda ; " let the
 
 254 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 poor man have Miss Fanny's room. It is quite 
 impossible to send him away. It would be enough 
 to kill him." 
 
 Thus then it was arranged. The offer of refresh- 
 ment being thankfully declined, the aged visitor 
 was inducted into the room made vacant by Miss 
 Fanny's absence, and the young ladies returned to 
 the apartment they had just quitted, where they sat 
 for a while talking over the fire. 
 
 Freddie had just concluded the narration of Miss 
 Thudichum's adventure with the pie, when the dogs 
 in the yard set up a vociferous barking, entirely 
 drowning the noise of horses' feet which would 
 otherwise have been audible in the front garden. 
 
 " I wonder what ails the dogs ? " said Freda. 
 
 " Coons or 'possums, perhaps," replied Freddie, 
 going to the window and peeping out beside the 
 curtain. 
 
 There was no moon, but by the dim light of the 
 few stars that were visible, she saw that the garden 
 was filled with horsemen, enveloped in white dra- 
 peries that descended from their heads to the ground, 
 concealing both horse and man completely. 
 
 " Be brave, Freda," she said, in a firm voice, "the 
 Ku-Klux are here. That man may be one of them. 
 I'll lock hirii in." 
 
 She ran into the entry, Freda following with the 
 lamp, very pale, but as collected as herself. She 
 locked the door where they supposed the old man 
 to be sleeping, and at the same moment a violent 
 knocking was commenced, accompanied by repeated
 
 A NIGHT ATTACK. 255 
 
 commands from those without to open the door. 
 But the old man was not secured. There he stood, 
 erect and vigorous, every trace of decrepitude gone, 
 excepting his silvery hair; his knee no longer stiff 
 with rheumatism, but a large rifle in his hands. 
 
 " Go in there, and keep quiet," he said, pointing 
 to the room they had just left; "don't bother me, 
 and I will protect you." 
 
 " I will protect, myself," cried Freddie, drawing 
 her revolver, and eyeing him fiercely; "if you play 
 us false, your life shall be the first to be sacrificed ! " 
 
 " Brave girl," he responded, calmly, " let it be 
 so ! But let me have a shot at these fellows first." 
 
 He opened the door a few inches, planting his 
 foot against it to prevent the ingress of any of the 
 assailants ; looked out for an instant, and then fired. 
 There was a cry and the sound of a fall. Again and 
 again the deadly report of the terrible breech-loader 
 rang through the midnight air. There were cries as 
 of pain, oaths and imprecations, and the confused 
 trampling of horses. The stranger flung the door 
 wide, and fired after the ruffians, now in full retreat, 
 though shooting back at random. Freddie came to 
 his side, and had the pleasure of seeing that more 
 than one carried away a memento from her revolver. 
 
 Freda acted with wonderful courage and presence 
 of mind. When his first shot convinced her that 
 their mysterious inmate was indeed a friend, and not 
 an accomplice of the enemy, she drew aside the cur- 
 tains from the front window, and held the lamp close 
 to the glass in such a way as to throw its light upon
 
 256 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 the white-robed figures, and render them a good 
 mark for the rifle of their brave defender. 
 
 In the space of two minutes from the first alarm, 
 nothing was left of the affray but a strong smell of 
 gunpowder, and the wounded man. 
 
 The stranger was gone; how or where, they knew 
 no more than they knew where the eddying wreaths 
 of smoke had vanished. 
 
 "He was here!" said Freddie, as though half 
 doubtful of her own senses. 
 
 " I am sure he was," repeated Freda, in much the 
 same state of mind. 
 
 They looked into Miss Fanny's room ; but found 
 no trace of him but the old cotton gloves, which 
 Freda took possession of, and carefully preserved 
 out of gratitude to their unknown deliverer. 
 
 Now that the danger was over, both the girls 
 were trembling violently, and seemed to have 
 lost the self-possession which had sustained them 
 in the time of actual trial. A groan from the 
 wounded man made them start, and Freda closed 
 the door hurriedly, and drew the bolt. 
 
 " It's the man that was shot," said Freddie ; " he 
 can't hurt us. We ought to see to him, though he 
 is a Ku-Klux. Perhaps our friend is with him." 
 
 She took the lamp and went out. The man was 
 lying where he had fallen, at the foot of the steps, 
 with his face upturned, and surrounded by a pool 
 of blood. Freddie lowered her lamp to look at him ; 
 but instantly started back, bounded up the steps, and 
 fastened the door.
 
 A NIGHT ATTACK. 257 
 
 A great horror was on her face as she turned and 
 looked at Freda, speechless and pale. 
 
 " Oh, what is it? Tell me, Freddie, what is it? " 
 
 " We must not have that man in here," whispered 
 Freddie ; " how could the wretch have tracked you ? 
 Oh, if he would only die there ! But we must call 
 for help, and have him sent somewhere, till the 
 police, if there be a police in this lawless region, can 
 take charge of him." 
 
 " But, Freddie, who is it ? Pray tell me at once." 
 
 " It's that horrible one-eyed man that Captain 
 Grainger against whom your Rupert warned me so 
 earnestly. We must make our escape while he is in 
 prison, unless he dies. Hark, they've come back to 
 fetch him ! I hear voices outside." 
 
 They listened anxiously, dreading a renewal of 
 the assault ; but the rich soft tones were those of 
 Africans, and consequently of friends. 
 
 The door was thrown open instantly. There were 
 about a dozen black men standing round the woun- 
 ded ruffian, many of them armed with guns. 
 
 "The Lord be praised," burst from several voices as 
 the teachers appeared, "the ladies is safe! We heard 
 the firing and came as quick as we could, but the 
 bush-whackers was all done gone when we got here." 
 
 " Did they shoot at you ladies ? Did they shoot 
 all the guns we heard ? Did they hurt you any ? 
 Thank the Lord, you are alive ! " 
 
 These questions and exclamations came thick and 
 fast, accompanied by fervent hand-shakings, laugh- 
 ter and tears. 
 17
 
 258 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " The best part of the shooting was on our side," 
 replied Freddie, " as that poor wretch proves. We 
 had a powerful friend to defend us ; a stranger, who 
 came and begged a night's lodging, saying he was a 
 friend of Miss Fanny's. He looked like a very old 
 man, and quite lame ; but his lame leg must have 
 been made by hiding his rifle inside his trousers, 
 for he came out, strong and active, and defended us 
 so bravely. Can you guess who he was ? " 
 
 " That must have been the tall man we met in the 
 road, who told us to come on here quickly." 
 
 " Who was he ? Which way was he going ? " 
 
 " It must have been one of themselves, I reckon, 
 and the Lord Jesus had done converted him." 
 
 " Mos' likely it was Mas'r Dick," said a young 
 fellow who had not yet spoken. 
 
 " What, Mr. Roy ! " exclaimed Freddie, con- 
 temptuously; "this man was head and shoulders 
 taller than Mr. Roy, and strong as a lion." 
 
 " No, no ! " repeated two or three of the negroes, 
 " the man we met was not Mr. Roy." 
 
 " Now, my friends," said Freda, " something must 
 be done for that man. We cannot have him in here, 
 Miss Fanny would not like it. If there is a con- 
 stable you had better fetch him, or carry the man to 
 his house." 
 
 " I reckon we can tote him. That'll be the 
 shortest way." 
 
 " Yes, by all means tote him away," said Freddie, 
 " and I hope that some of you who have guns, will 
 remain about the place the rest of the night."
 
 A NIGHT ATTACK. 259 
 
 All the women and children on the premises were 
 astir by this time. They had heard the trampling 
 of the horses, the loud voices, and the shots, but 
 had not ventured out, lest they should draw upon 
 themselves the malice of their vindictive oppressors. 
 
 The young ladies made free with Miss Fanny's 
 stores, and gave out a liberal allowance of coffee, 
 sugar, bacon, and flour, from which the women 
 proceeded to prepare a relishing supper for the 
 guard. 
 
 " And then," observed Freddie, " as Dan Fletcher 
 is there, they will be sure to extemporize a prayer- 
 meeting, which will keep them lively till morning." 
 
 " Does it seem credible," said Freda, looking at 
 her watch, " that it is only half an hour since we 
 sat here and said it was time to go to bed ? I have 
 not had time even to think of all that has hap- 
 pened ! How wonderful it seems that Captain 
 Grainger should have been amongst those those 
 demons ! " 
 
 " Birds of a feather flock together," replied Fred- 
 die. "And there is yet another wonderful fact, 
 Freda, that I 'have only just remembered. Before 
 our friend fired his first shot, he looked out, and 
 took a careful aim. That shot no doubt brought 
 down Captain Grainger." 
 
 " How could that be, dear, when they were alt 
 disguised so that they looked alike ? " 
 
 " Some of them were talking, I heard one of 
 them say, ' Remember your promise, gentlemen, and 
 wait for me,' and then the gun went off, and I
 
 26o WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 heard a yell, and a fall on the steps. Oh, Freda ! 
 When I heard that, I felt like fighting ! " 
 
 " You wild creature ! " said Freda, caressingly. 
 " And you did fight. I heard a pistol going off, as 
 well as a rifle." 
 
 " Don't you talk, Miss Propriety ! " cried Freddie, 
 breaking into a laugh ; " who held the light, I 
 wonder ? " 
 
 " And who, I wonder," said Freda, " is that noble 
 man who must have come here to-night, purposely 
 to protect us ? Why did he come in that disguise ? 
 How did he know the very time appointed for their 
 murderous attack? I can only account for it on 
 the supposition of his belonging to their gang, but 
 repenting of his participation in their crimes, and 
 resolving to atone for it by at least one good deed." 
 
 " No, indeed, you are wrong ! " replied Freddie, 
 warmly. r . " I am positive that he does not, and 
 never did, belong to them. Use your senses, Freda. 
 Does he look like a midnight assassin ? " 
 
 " My dear Freddie," said Freda, laying her hand 
 on her friend's shoulder, and looking earnestly in 
 her face ; " you are not quite frank with me. You 
 believe this stranger to be a certain somebody of 
 whose existence you have never yet told me, though 
 you know all the story of my love. Who is he ? " 
 
 " I don't know," sobbed Freddie, sliding on to 
 the floor, and burying her face in Freda's lap. 
 " There is nothing to tell. I only saw him once ! " 
 
 " Oh, Freddie ! Freddie ! You in tears ! This is 
 terrible ! " said Freda, as she tenderly drew her wet
 
 A NIGHT ATTACK. 261 
 
 cheek upon her bosom. " But there must be some- 
 thing to tell, if there is enough to weep about. 
 What is it, dearest ? Have you not comforted me 
 in my sorrows, and will you refuse me a share in 
 your own ? " 
 
 And then, amid sobs and blushes, Freddie con- 
 fided to her companion the story of her meeting 
 with Gilbert, and every word so carefully treasured 
 up in her memory that he had said to her. And 
 how she loved him, with a love that gathered 
 strength from its very hopelessness ; and how she 
 had never thought to see him again, but was resolved 
 to live and die unmarried, for his sake. In conclu- 
 sion, she told how for one moment, and one mo- 
 ment only, she had thought she recognized him 
 under the disguise of their white-haired visitor. It 
 was when, thrown off his guard by the urgency of 
 the situation, he had called her a brave girl, and 
 given her leave to shoot him after he had fired at 
 their assailants. 
 
 " But, after all," she sighed, " I don't believe it 
 could be he. How could he know where I was? 
 And is it likely he would follow me if he did know ? 
 And supposing he had followed me, why should he 
 disguise himself, and run the risk of being refused 
 admittance ? " 
 
 " After advising you to apply to the bureau, what 
 more easy than to inquire for you there? " 
 
 " But he did not know my name," said Freddie. 
 
 " Could he not have ascertained it before he left 
 the village ? "
 
 262 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 Freddie smiled. It is so pleasant to have such 
 objections overruled. 
 
 " Secondly, why should he give you all that- ad- 
 vice, and all those instructions, unless he wanted to 
 have a clew by which to follow you ? " 
 
 Another smile, accompanied by a sigh of con- 
 tentment. 
 
 " And for your last objection, I take it for granted 
 that he had good reasons for assuming that disguise, 
 which he will explain in due time. For, take my 
 word for it, Freddie, we have not seen the last of 
 him; and it is an immense consolation to me to 
 know that we have such a protector near us." 
 
 The smile was accompanied this time by a hearty 
 kiss. 
 
 " Crying makes my head ache," said Freddie, 
 very much subdued ; " let us lie down on your bed 
 awhile, dear, and rest, even if we cannot sleep." 
 
 Freddie, however, soon fell asleep; and Freda, 
 with a new-born sentiment of patronage and pro- 
 tection towards her strong and courageous friend, 
 lay awake till morning, brooding over her, in spirit, 
 like a maternal dove.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 FRIENDLY ADVICE. 
 
 FREDDIE'S first idea, on awaking, was that she 
 had been under the influence of a terrible dream ; 
 but the events of the past night quickly presented 
 themselves to her mind as realities, and Freda's com- 
 forting arguments also recurred to her; the natural 
 consequence of which was that she bestowed more 
 than usual care upon her dress and appearance. Her 
 trouble was thrown away, however, for nobody came, 
 except Miss Fanny, whose wonderings and question- 
 ings about the occurrences of the previous night 
 were as tormenting as an army of mosquitoes. 
 
 They did not think it safe to keep school, lest 
 their enemies, goaded by their recent defeat, should 
 carry out their, often-repeated threat of burning the 
 school-house, and they could only escape from Miss 
 Fanny's persecution by locking her out ; an expe- 
 dient to which her extreme ignorance of the usages 
 of civilized life, sometimes compelled them to resort. 
 
 One of Miss Fanny's peculiarities was a habit of 
 talking at the full pitch of her voice, which afforded 
 her inmates the opportunity of enjoying her intel- 
 lectual conversation whenever they chose to listen. 
 
 263
 
 264 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " What is she talking about now ? " said Freda. 
 
 " That don't make no difference, I reckon," Miss 
 Fanny was heard to say ; " give it to me, it's all 
 the same. No, nor you can't go in, I tell you, nor 
 you can't see 'em ; for the door's locked. And if 
 it's locked for me, it's locked for a nigger, I reckon. 
 What are you afraid of? " 
 
 " I wasn't to give it to nobody but one of the 
 ladies," was shouted out by a powerful young Afri- 
 can voice, with the evident intention of making 
 himself heard inside the house. 
 
 " Well, you needn't deafen one with your shout- 
 ing ! " screamed Miss Fanny. " Why don't you give 
 it to me, then ? Aint I one of the ladies ?" 
 
 A loud laugh was the only audible response. 
 
 " It must be something for us," said Freddie, 
 going out 
 
 A boy of ten or twelve stood in the yard, and 
 beside him Miss Fanny, in a wild state of excite- 
 ment. The moment Freddie appeared, the lad pulled 
 off his cap, and held out a paper to her, saying, 
 
 " Please 'm, here's a letter for you." 
 
 " Thank you," said Freddie, as she took it from 
 him ; " please wait till I see whether it requires an 
 answer." 
 
 " What is it about ? " demanded Miss Fanny, 
 running up the steps, and following Freddie to the 
 door df the room where Freda was, with the mani- 
 fest design of pushing herself in. 
 
 " Miss Fanny," said Freddie, turning on the 
 threshold and confronting her, " I cannot tell what
 
 FRIENDLY ADVICE. 265 
 
 it is about until I have read it. Neither do I yet 
 know whether it belongs to my friend or to myself. 
 But when we have read it, should we find that it 
 in any way concerns you, we will certainly inform 
 you of it." 
 
 She stepped backward, and by a quick movement, 
 closed the door, and drew the bolt. 
 
 " Well, I never ! " ejaculated Miss Fanny, and im- 
 mediately she proceeded to question the messenger, 
 and try to find out who had sent the missive which 
 so strongly stimulated her curiosity. 
 
 The note was written on a scrap of soiled and 
 rumpled paper that looked as if it had been the fly- 
 leaf of a book. It was written in pencil, in a fine 
 'bold masculine hand, but bore no signature nor 
 superscription. 
 
 The two girls read it at the same time : 
 
 " It is not safe for you to remain where you now 
 are. An imperative duty demands your presence in 
 California, though you know it not. Send a line by 
 the bearer, saying by what train you will set off, 
 and you will be protected on your journey by one 
 who has already served you." 
 
 " What shall we do ? " said Freda. 
 
 " Do ? " repeated Freddie, " do as he says, cer- 
 tainly. We are not safe here, there's no question 
 about that. And why should we not go to Cali- 
 fornia as well as anywhere else ? " 
 
 " How can we be sure that this is not a ruse of 
 the enemy ? " said the cautious Freda. " There is a 
 tone of mystery about that imperative duty which
 
 266 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 demands our presence in California, that I don't 
 like. A warning to us to leave this neighborhood 
 is nothing, for we have already determined to leave 
 it. But why try to induce us to go to California? 
 Isolated creatures as we both are, to whom can we 
 owe any especial duty ? /at least owe none, except 
 to Rupert, but that is utterly incredible and im- 
 possible." 
 
 There was a shudder in Freddie's voice, as she 
 whispered, " Ernest Templeman ! " 
 
 " Was he the man who defended us ? " exclaimed 
 Freda, in astonishment. 
 
 " No, no, no ! A thousand times no! " vociferated 
 Freddie, " but he may be here with Captain Grain- 
 ger, and this may be a plot contrived between them. 
 We must be very careful." 
 
 " I'll write a note," said Freda, " and if you agree 
 to it, we can send it." 
 
 She wrote as follows : 
 
 " We cannot place implicit confidence in a person 
 who, without any apparent reason, shrouds himself 
 in mystery. If the writer of the note will prove to 
 us that he is the friend to whom we are already so 
 deeply indebted, we will follow his counsel, though 
 we should prefer to know the nature of the duty 
 which, he asserts, calls us so far away." 
 
 " That's excellent," exclaimed Freddie ; " but 
 there's another difficulty in the way the horses." 
 
 "We cannot part with them," said Freda, "though 
 how to manage about them I don't know. I'll tell 
 him the difficulty. . He may suggest something."
 
 FRIENDLY ADVICE. 267 
 
 Forthwith she added to the note : " We are like- 
 wise determined not to leave our favorite horses to 
 the mercy of our enemies. It will take time to ar- 
 range for their transit, as money must be obtained 
 from New York." 
 
 Freddie took this note to the messenger, and saw 
 him start off at a rapid pace. 
 
 " You wouldn't tell me your secret, and now I 
 wont tell you what /'ve heard," screamed Miss 
 Fanny, close to her ear. 
 
 " You are very welcome to keep it to yourself," 
 replied Freddie, good-humoredly; "you know that I 
 don't trouble myself much about other people's af- 
 fairs, Miss Fanny." 
 
 Freddie did not bolt the door again, and was dis- 
 cussing with Freda whether she should write at 
 once to the New York bank for a remittance, or 
 wait till they heard again from their unknown ad- 
 viser, when Miss Fanny came in and sat down by 
 the fire. 
 
 " So you don't care to hear the news ? " she re- 
 marked. 
 
 " Not unless it is anything that concerns us," re- 
 plied Freda. 
 
 " Well, I reckon this don't concern you at all," 
 said Miss Fanny; "it's only about the poor fellow 
 that was shot last night." 
 
 Had Miss Fanny been a keen observer, she would 
 have seen that both her auditors gave a perceptible 
 start. 
 
 "Is he dead?" asked Freddie, quietly, as she went
 
 2 68 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 on with the piece of needlework on which she was 
 engaged. 
 
 " No, he aint dead. He's done got off." 
 
 Freda raised a white face, and stared at her in- 
 formant; but Freddie gave her arm a warning 
 pressure. 
 
 " How was that ? " she asked, in a tone of in- 
 difference, as if she did not care much whether she 
 got an answer or not, "did he break out of the cala- 
 boose? " 
 
 " Oh, no. He was bailed out, and he's gone to 
 his friends." 
 
 " Indeed ! Does he live in this neighborhood ? " 
 
 " I don't know exactly where he lives ; they've 
 took him to widow Benson's, I'm told." 
 
 After this the two girls maintained a profound 
 silence, which, experience had taught them, was the 
 surest means of getting rid of their tiresome land- 
 lady. Freddie hastened her departure by the simple 
 ruse of pretending to listen attentively to a conver- 
 sation that was going on among the black people in 
 the yard. 
 
 Miss Fanny went out to see what it was, and the 
 bolt was shot behind her. 
 
 " Is not this terrible ? " said Freda, " your enemy 
 and mine are probably both in this neighborhood, 
 working together for our destruction. What can 
 we do ? Now that I know Captain Grainger is 
 at large, I feel confident it was he who sent that 
 letter." 
 
 "We shall be able to judge better of that when
 
 FRIENDLY ADVICE. 26$ 
 
 the next comes," replied Freddie. " I hope it will 
 come to-night, and that we shall then find, beyond a 
 doubt, that our brave friend has not forsaken us. 
 Even though Captain Grainger is at liberty, we can- 
 not have much to fear from him. He was too 
 badly wounded to do much mischief for some time 
 to come." 
 
 " Nevertheless, I shall pack up, and be ready to 
 start at a moment's notice," said Freda. 
 
 ^Freddie agreed to do the same, as nothing would 
 be lost by being prepared. She was finishing her 
 operations by the last glimmer of twilight, when 
 Freda entered her room hastily. 
 
 " O Freddie," she exclaimed, " I fear something 
 dreadful is going to happen ! What can be done ? 
 A man is at my window, with a message from the 
 wounded Ku-Klux, begging Miss Winifred to go to 
 him, and speak to him before he dies. Of course, 
 it is me that he wants to see, but I dare not go. 
 And yet if I don't go, perhaps he will come here. 
 What can I do ? " 
 
 " Who is the man who brought the message, and 
 why did he come to the window ? " 
 
 " He is a man whom I have often seen at church," 
 said Freda, " and he came to the window to avoid 
 Miss Fanny. What shall I do ? " 
 
 " Keep up your courage, dear ; that's the best 
 thing you can do. Let me speak to this man. If 
 there seems any necessity for Miss Winifred to go, 
 remember / am Miss Winifred here, and I will 
 go."
 
 270 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " No, indeed, you shall not ! I will not let you 
 risk your life for me." 
 
 " If Captain Grainger is really dying, he may 
 have something to tell that it is important for 
 you to know. What if it should relate to that 
 hidden trouble that caused your Rupert to disap- 
 pear so strangely? I promise to be cautious, but 
 if the man is dying, I must and will go. I shall 
 take my revolver." 
 
 The messenger assured her that he had seen |he 
 wounded man lying in his bed ; that he said he was 
 dying, and that he looked as if he had not long to 
 live. 
 
 Freddie did not hesitate for a moment. She put 
 on a hat with a large and thick veil, which she tied 
 under her chin, in such a way as to conceal her 
 features as much as possible without exactly cover- 
 ing her face, and mounting her horse, with the negro 
 for a guide, she set off for Mrs. Benson's house.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 / 
 
 KU-KLUX LAW. 
 
 THE widow was one of the class of " poor white 
 trash " to which Miss Fanny also belonged, and 
 had given shelter to the wounded man from no 
 motives of Christian charity, but for the sake of the 
 money which she would get for it. This Freddie 
 learned from her guide, as he walked by her side. 
 
 The man being on foot, she was, of course, obliged 
 to walk her horse all the way, and it was quite dark 
 before they arrived. Leaving Sultan in the care of 
 her guide, she went in. Mrs. Benson, it seemed, 
 knew her by sight, for, without a word, she led her 
 into one of the front rooms, saying, " Here's Miss 
 Winifred, Captain." 
 
 A smoky lamp partially illuminated the chamber, 
 and showed its miserable and squalid furniture. 
 Freddie advanced towards the dingy-looking bed, 
 beside which a broken chair was placed. 
 
 " Are you Winifred ? " demanded a hollow voice. 
 
 " That is my name," she replied, " why have you 
 sent for me ? I came, because your messenger said 
 that you were dying." 
 
 " Leave the room, will you, Mrs. Benson ? " said 
 
 271
 
 272 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 Captain Grainger, " I have something of importance 
 to say to this young lady. See that the door is 
 shut," he continued, when the woman was gone, 
 "and then come back. Winifred do you know 
 who I am ? " 
 
 " I never saw you before. How should I know 
 you ?" 
 
 " You may well think that you never saw me 
 before," he answered, with a bitter laugh, "how 
 should you recognize in this scarred and mutilated 
 visage the features of the handsomest man that, 
 perhaps, ever walked this earth ? " 
 
 " Were you ever handsome ? " said she, incredu- 
 lously, " surely you are joking." 
 
 "This is no time for joking. I tell you I was 
 more than handsome I was magnificently beauti- 
 ful. Can you not remember the noblest-looking 
 man you ever saw ? " 
 
 "I certainly do not remember you," replied Fred- 
 die. " Was it to say this that you sent for me ? " 
 
 "Not altogether. Do you recollect your father, 
 Winifred?" 
 
 " I have no very distinct recollection of him," she 
 replied, with perfect truth. 
 
 " Your memory is not a very good one, it seems. 
 / am your father." 
 
 " You!" repeated Freddie, starting up, "that is 
 impossible ! " 
 
 " You recollect, then, what I was," he said, com- 
 placently, his intense personal vanity making him 
 attribute her astonishment to the change in his
 
 KU-KLUX LAW. 273 
 
 appearance. " It is indeed difficult to realize that 
 anything so perfect as my face once was, could ever 
 be reduced to this mass of deformity. Curses on 
 the hand that wrought the ruin ! But I will soon 
 convince you. Do you remember the night when 
 your mother's cottage was burnt down ? " 
 
 " I know something about it," responded Freddie, 
 evasively. 
 
 " Your mother had that evening given to me a 
 certain casket of jewels, which I was taking away 
 to sell for her, when I was attacked by a man who 
 had been her lover", whom she had discarded for me. 
 He shot me down before I could defend myself. I 
 fell with my face on my own pistol, which exploded, 
 and this is the result ! " 
 
 He paused, as if expecting her to make some 
 comment. Had she given utterance to her thoughts 
 she would have said, " and served you right ! " but 
 she remained silent, and he went on. 
 
 " He robbed me of the jewels, and then went 
 back and set the house on fire. Your angel mother, 
 as I learned long afterwards, when my terrible 
 wounds were healed, never recovered from the shock, 
 and your life, my adored child, was nearly sacrificed. 
 I had as you may perhaps remember playfully 
 locked you in your room, little suspecting that a 
 fiend in human form would fire the house. How- 
 ever, the neighbors brave French peasants as- 
 sembled and rescued you. I dare not think of that 
 period of misery. I merely allude to it to prove to 
 you that I am really your most unfortunate father. 
 18
 
 274 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 The robber and would-be murderer kept possession 
 of your jewels, for I always called them yours, my 
 child my Winifred's Jewels ; I could not recover 
 them by law, for I had no witnesses. But I haunted 
 him, and worked upon him, till at length I compelled 
 him to restore them to you. And I had my revenge 
 upon him at last, for I drove him to suicide. Ha! ha! 
 that was some consolation. Ah, I made him suffer, 
 though not a thousandth part of what he merited \' I 
 followed you from England to this country, my child, 
 a difficult task, which nothing but a father's doting 
 love could have accomplished. Here I fell in with 
 the body of brave and injured men who are bound 
 by the most solemn vows to restore their beloved 
 land to her former glory and prosperity. This can- 
 not be done if the wretched and brutal slaves are 
 taught to consider themselves equal to their rightful 
 owners. The Southern gentlemen cannot, in justice 
 to themselves, permit these creatures to be taught, 
 and therefore they resolved to frighten away the 
 teachers whom the bigoted tyrants of the North had 
 sent here. I joined the band who attacked the house 
 where you live, with the sole object of protecting 
 you from violence. Full of this sacred purpose, I 
 was in the foremost rank, and was shot, as you 
 know. And here I lie, unable to escape, though I 
 am now exposed to still greater danger. I have se- 
 cret enemies, who seek my life, and may come here 
 at any time and assassinate me while I lie helpless 
 on my bed of suffering. I have not the means of 
 making my escape, and therefore, my child, my
 
 KU-KLUX LAW. 275 
 
 Winifred, I sent for you, to tell you all and throw 
 myself on your mercy. Bring me that case of jewels. 
 I will dispose of them for you, and transmit the pro- 
 ceeds to you, only keeping enough to pay my ex- 
 penses back to Europe. There is no time for delay; 
 bring them back to-night, or it may be too late." 
 
 " Do you not, then, believe that you are dying, 
 as you said you were ? " demanded Freddie, in a 
 solemn tone. 
 
 " My life is in danger with every moment's delay," 
 he replied, " and I said I was dying to bring you 
 here. I could not tell that slave I was your father." 
 
 " Why have you never before made yourself 
 known to your only child ? " she asked again, in the 
 same tone. 
 
 " I could not bring myself to let you see the 
 miserable wreck of your once magnificently hand- 
 some father," he replied ; " but I have watched over 
 thee, my Winifred ! I have watched over thee, like 
 a guardian angel ! " 
 
 He put out his hand to caress her, but she drew 
 back with a shudder. 
 
 " You will fetch me the jewels, my darling, will 
 you not ? " he said, with a hypocritical whine. 
 
 Freddie could not trust herself to speak. She 
 was burning to denounce him as a liar and mur- 
 derer, but prudence kept her silent; and, ere she 
 could frame any more moderate and temporizing 
 sentence, their conference was rudely interrupted by 
 the entrance of four masked figures. 
 
 " Quit the room," said the foremost of the visitors
 
 276 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 to Freddie, whom he probably mistook for a nurse, 
 " we have business with your patient." 
 
 Freddie required no second bidding. She has- 
 tened out. No light was visible. In the front yard 
 she could hear (for it was too dark to see) the snort- 
 ing and panting of several horses. No one was 
 stirring within. Mrs. Benson seemed to have aban- 
 doned the place to the masked visitors. 
 
 Freddie groped along by the wall, and came to a 
 door which stood partly open. She pushed it and 
 went in. The sound of voices warned her that she 
 was in a room adjoining that in which Captain 
 Grainger lay, and separated from it only by a thin 
 wooden partition. Cautiously she drew near and 
 listened. 
 
 " You must decide upon our offer at once," said 
 the stern voice of the man who had ordered her out 
 of the room ; " there is a carriage at the door, which 
 will convey you safely, and with as little suffering 
 as circumstances will permit, to North Carolina." 
 
 " For God's sake, gentlemen," replied Captain 
 Grainger, " consider my condition ! It would kill 
 me to be removed for a day or two at least." 
 
 " We can consider nothing but our own safety. 
 You must be out of this State before to-morrow 
 night." 
 
 " Give me only one day; give me only till to-mor- 
 row morning ! " pleaded the wounded man. 
 
 " We cannot give you an hour. Agree to go at 
 once, or take the consequences." 
 
 " What consequences ? What do you mean ? You
 
 KU-KLUX LAW. 277 
 
 are all my good friends ; you would not harm me, I 
 am sure." 
 
 " Have you so soon forgotten your oath ? " 
 
 " No, no ; I have been true to you all. I have 
 kept the oath." 
 
 " Liar," said the masked leader, with suppressed 
 fury, "you have promised to betray us, if your own 
 miserable life is spared ! " 
 
 " Upon my honor upon my soul gentlemen " 
 
 " Have you forgotten that the penalty for breaking 
 the oath is death death DEATH ? " 
 
 " Gentlemen, think what you are doing," shrieked 
 the wretched man. " For God's sake ! For mercy's 
 sake, don't murder me ! " 
 
 In the midst of these entreaties, the stern voice 
 said, " Gentlemen, are you prepared ? One, two, 
 three ! " 
 
 At the last word, the report of several pistols was 
 heard. There was a deep groan, the sound of re- 
 treating footsteps, horses' hoofs and the wheels of a 
 carriage rattling for a moment along the road, and 
 then a dead stillness. 
 
 Horror-stricken and heart-sick, Freddie staggered 
 out. She must see with her own eyes that Freda's 
 persecutor was really dead ; she must, if possible, 
 take possession of his papers, which might be of im- 
 portance to her friend. 
 
 The smoky lamp was still burning. The ghastly 
 corpse was already stiffening. 
 
 A pocket-book lay beside the pillow, containing 
 money and papers. She pushed the money beneath
 
 278 WINIFRED'S ' JE WELS. 
 
 the pillow, and put the book into her pocket. Out, 
 then, through the silent house, which seemed to be 
 abandoned by every living thing. 
 
 Where was the man who had charge of Sultan ? 
 She tried to call him, but her voice failed her. She 
 looked out into the yard. Not a glimmer of light 
 was visible from the cabins of the negroes. Doubt- 
 less they were all hiding from the dreaded Ku-Klux, 
 as a brood of chickens hide from a hawk. The 
 stillness was so death-like that her own footsteps al- 
 most frightened her. 
 
 They were heard by other ears, however, which 
 they did not frighten. A gentle whinny told her 
 that Sultan was in the yard, and the noble creature 
 walked up to her. The man had run away and hid- 
 den himself, without stopping even to secure the 
 horse. 
 
 Full of gratitude to the sagacious creature who 
 had been so true to her, she mounted, and gave him 
 the rein, whispering, " Now, my Sultan, take me 
 home, for I know nothing of the way."
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE INDIAN BOW. 
 
 THE gallant horse bore his young mistress safely 
 home. 
 
 In strange contrast to the silent abode of death 
 which she had so recently quitted, the cabins and 
 yard at Miss Fanny's were alive with bright lights 
 and busy people. A marriage had taken place in 
 the little community that evening, and a "big sup- 
 per " had been got up, in honor of the event. 
 
 Miss Fanny would have refused, as an insult, an 
 invitation to the table of a " nigger," but she was 
 so anxiously looking out for a plateful of turkey and 
 other good things which she expected would be 
 sent to her from their table, that Freddie, after con- 
 fiding Sultan to the boy who acted as ostler, passed 
 her without question or interruption, on her way to 
 Freda's room. 
 
 " I have been so uneasy about you, dear ! " cried 
 the latter, starting up to welcome her. " What has 
 detained you so long ? And what has happened ? 
 Something dreadful, I fear, to make you look so 
 pale ! What about that man that Captain Grain- 
 ger ? What did he want ? " 
 
 279
 
 280 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " He is dead, Freda," replied Freddie, " don't ask 
 me any questions about it, please. It was very- 
 shocking, and I cannot bear to think of it. Some 
 other time I will tell you. Has anything happened 
 while I was away ? " 
 
 " Here is another letter from our friend. That 
 honest fellow, Dan Fletcher, brought it, and is wait- 
 ing for an answer. He says the gentleman who 
 wrote it has been living for nearly two weeks at 
 Sam Watson's, nursing him like a brother. Sam 
 broke his leg in escaping from a party of Ku-Klux 
 ruffians, and this gentleman set it. - He says Sam 
 Watson knew him years ago." 
 
 " He is the man I supposed, then, and we may 
 trust him implicitly, I am sure of that. What does 
 he say ? " 
 
 She took the letter and read : 
 
 " The bearer of this is known to you as an honest 
 and trustworthy man. He will give you Sam Wat- 
 son's assurance that all is on the square. Dan will 
 take your horses secretly to Watson's, where they 
 can remain in safety till sent for. He will also take 
 your baggage to the depot in the morning. Wait 
 for nothing. Money is provided." 
 
 " What shall we do ? " asked Freda. 
 
 " Go go by all means. I wish we could set off 
 to-night instead of waiting till morning, for I so 
 dread being called as a witness at the inquest on 
 that man. Let us send off the horses at once. It 
 will be such a comfort to know that the dear crea- 
 tures are safe. I love my Sultan better than ever
 
 AN INDIAN BOW. 281 
 
 after this night. He brought me home in the dark, 
 when I could not have found the road." 
 
 They bade an affectionate farewell to their dumb 
 friends, and wished Dan to take some money to 
 Watson, to pay for their keep ; but they could not 
 induce him to receive a cent. He assured them 
 repeatedly that it was all " done settled, and done 
 paid for" already. 
 
 " We must be patient, I suppose, till we get to 
 California," said Freda, " and then, I hope, every- 
 thing will be explained." 
 
 The stable stood apart from ?.ll the other build- 
 ings, and thus the horses were saddled and led 
 away without attracting the attention of the good 
 folks who were intent upon the supper, and the 
 dance that was to follow it. 
 
 Freda was so tired with the last night's vigil that 
 she went to bed, declaring that the noise would not 
 disturb her slumbers; especially as the number of 
 men assembled at the wedding would assure them 
 against another midnight attack of the " Chivalry." 
 
 Freddie left her to her repose, but her own mind 
 v, : as too much agitated to allow her even to seek her 
 pillow. The cold-blooded murder of the wounded 
 and helpless wretch, which she had all but witnessed, 
 thrilled her with horror. The death of twenty, or 
 any number of men, slain in fair fight, would not 
 have produced such a painful effect upon her. He 
 was an unmitigated scoundrel, no doubt, and he had 
 just before been telling her any number of lies; his 
 life was worthless, and Freda's was more secure now
 
 282 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 that he was gone ; but to be shot like a dog, while 
 he lay helpless in his bed, and by those who had 
 but yesterday been his friends and familiar com- 
 panions jt was too revolting. Then there was the 
 question could it be possible that he was Freda's 
 father? Much that he had said was, she knew, 
 untrue, and this relationship might only have been 
 assumed in order to grasp her jewels by working on 
 her filial duty. Ought she to tell Freda what had 
 passed ? It was her right to know it all, and she 
 was old enough to judge for herself. Still it would 
 be merciful to withhold such knowledge ; but would 
 she be justified in doing so? These confused 
 thoughts racked her brain ; but she could arrive at 
 no conclusion except that she would wait till they 
 arrived in California, where possibly something 
 might take place that would throw a new light 
 upon everything, and make the path -of duty plain 
 before her. 
 
 She extinguished her lamp, and opening a window 
 sat down before it, trying to cool her heated brow in 
 the sharp frosty air. 
 
 This window was situated in the gable end of the 
 house, and looked towards the stable, consequently 
 in a direction at right angles with the noisy yard. 
 
 As she sat, gazing out into the obscurity of the 
 starless and moonless night, a sound fell upon her 
 ears, unheeded at first; but which gradually aroused, 
 and finally riveted her attention. It came from the 
 direction of the stable, and at first seemed to be an 
 echo of the noise made by the dancers, for it kept
 
 AN INDIAN BOW. 283 
 
 time, stroke for stroke, to the thumping of their feet. 
 But it was a different kind of sound, more like a 
 hammer striking on something of a yielding nature, 
 like a wooden peg. She watched and listened; 
 curious, but not uneasy, for the horses were not there. 
 
 Suddenly a gleam of light fell on the stable door, 
 and revealed a man in the act of setting fire to a 
 heap of litter. The first attempt failed, and another 
 match was struck. As the man stooped to blow the 
 smouldering rubbish into a flame, Freddie had a 
 good view of his face. It was one that she knew 
 well by sight, and the recognition revealed to her, 
 like a flash of lightning, the object of his present 
 manoeuvres. It was that of Harding the chivalrous 
 gentleman who had sent her, as he thought, an 
 incurably vicious horse, in the hope that it would 
 kill her; and who now, finding that design frustrated, 
 was, in the utter malignity of his heart, attempting 
 to burn the horse in his stable. 
 
 Freddie, at that moment, knew what it was to 
 feel blood-thirsty. 
 
 Her hand was on her revolver - r but she withdrew 
 it, as another idea crossed her mind. Quick as 
 thought she tumbled the contents of her large trunk 
 upon the floor, raised the false bottom, and seized 
 her bow and arrows. 
 
 A sense of conscious power thrilled her nerves as, 
 with the same ease as of old, she strung the mighty 
 weapon a feat which many a strong man had 
 attempted in vain to achieve. 
 
 " If my eye and hand are still true," she said,
 
 284 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 fitting an arrow to the string ; " and if my arrow is 
 not warped, I'll give him a stinger, and he shall not 
 know where it comes from." 
 
 The fire was now thoroughly kindled. The brute 
 had pushed the burning straw and pine chips under 
 the broken door, and the interior of the stable was 
 lighted up. She saw him apply his eye to a crevice, 
 as if to gloat over his victim's agony. 
 
 At that moment the arrow sped, true to its mark. 
 
 A yell of pain followed, and she saw the wretch 
 writhing and twisting, yet not running away, though 
 the flames had swept out beneath the door, and 
 were lapping like waves around his feet and legs. 
 
 His shoulder was pinned to the door ! The pain 
 of the burning, however, gave him strength. By a 
 powerful effort he broke away, beat out the flames 
 from his clothes, and scrambled over the fence. His 
 horse's feet, at full gallop along the hard road, soon 
 told that he was beating a hasty retreat. 
 
 " That's what may be called a very neat little bit 
 of business," said Freddie, putting away her Indian 
 weapons. " I wonder whether he had time to see 
 that the stable was empty! I hope he had. It 
 would be such a pleasant subject for reflection." 
 
 Before the fire was discovered, the stable was 
 totally demolished. Miss Fanny bitterly bewailed 
 the loss of her property. Freddie and Freda pre- 
 tended the deepest concern at the destruction of 
 their horses, a report which they allowed to pass 
 uncontradicted, seeing how much the belief in it 
 would add to the security of the animals.
 
 AN INDIAN BOW. 285 
 
 Even the merciful Freda could not but be glad of 
 the ruffian's punishment, when an inspection of the 
 ruin showed, the pains he had taken to accomplish 
 his diabolical purpose. 
 
 One of the door posts and a portion of the door 
 had fallen outwards, and thus escaped complete 
 destruction. The door was firmly nailed to the 
 post, and beneath it lay a hammer and a piece of 
 thick leather, much indented by nail heads, which 
 had probably been used to deaden the noise made 
 by hammering in the nails. 
 
 Freddie chuckled as she pointed out the head of 
 the arrow still stictyng in the door, held there by 
 the barb. 
 
 " That arrow was shot with a good will, and by a 
 strong arm, whoever did it," she remarked, as they 
 walked away. 
 
 " If it were not for your sake, dear Freddie," said 
 Freda, " I could wish you had sent another after it. 
 He richly deserved it the monster!"
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 A JOURNEY. 
 
 " So you're going away, are you ? " was Miss 
 Fanny's greeting. 
 
 " Yes, Miss Fanny," replied Freda, " we don't like 
 being shot." f 
 
 "Well I reckon there wasn't much danger of 
 you being shot. Nobody would think it worth while 
 to shoot you. You needn't have been so frightened 
 of a parcel of young fellows that were out on a 
 spree." 
 
 " It's a kind of spree that has not much fun in it," 
 said Freddie. 
 
 " It wasn't much fun for the poor chap that got 
 killed, any way," said Miss Fanny. 
 
 " Have you heard that he is dead ? " asked Fred- 
 die, dreading that the next thing mentioned would 
 be the inquest. 
 
 " Yes he's done died, and done buried," answered 
 Miss Fanny, carelessly. 
 
 "Buried!" repeated Freddie, amazement at such in- 
 decent haste overcoming the sense of relief which 
 the information afforded; " buried SQ soon, and with- 
 out an inquest! " 
 286
 
 A JOURNEY. 287 
 
 " What's the good of bobbering about an inquest? 
 They knew what the man died of. And nobody 
 was acquainted with him, either. Seems he was a 
 stranger." 
 
 " So they buried him in the potter's field," said 
 Freddie, half mournfully, as she reflected that this 
 obscure burial might have been given to her dear 
 Freda's father. 
 
 " No, they put him in the white folk's symmetry," 
 replied Miss Fanny; and the impulsive Freddie ran 
 out to hide a laugh at this complacent piece of ig- 
 norance. 
 
 Dan Fletcher now appeared with a wagon, bor- 
 rowed from Mr. Roy, whose repentance had stood 
 the test of time. Dan was a tenant of Mr. Harding's. 
 
 " Seems there's Injins round some whar," he said, 
 as he carried out the trunks ; " Mas'r Harding was 
 riding home from his brover's last night, and was 
 shot right through his shoulder with an Injun 
 arrow." 
 
 "Where does his brother live, Dan?" asked 
 Freddie. 
 
 " Out yander, dat away, Miss Winifred," replied 
 Dan, indicating an extent of about ten miles of hori- 
 zon by a comprehensive sweep of his hand. 
 
 "That's a wide place to live in, Dan," she said; 
 " but Master Harding was not there when he was 
 shot. He told a falsehood about that." Dan's eyes 
 opened wide. " He was setting fire to Miss Fanny's 
 stable, and I was the Indian who shot him." 
 
 " You, Miss Winifred ! " cried Dan, bursting into
 
 288 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 a grin of intense admiration ; " and you seen him 
 setting fire to the stable ? " 
 
 " I saw him ; and, as I had an Indian bow and 
 arrow, I shot him." 
 
 " Now, dat's curus," said Dan ; " he jest wanted to 
 kill dat hos. When he seen you riding past dat 
 time wif de hos jest as quiet as a child, I tell you he 
 was mad ! He swore, and took de name of de 
 blessed Lord in vain, till he done freezed my blood. 
 But to come and try to burn de poor dumb beast 
 was de meanest thing ever I heard of." 
 
 " Everybody about here supposes the horses were 
 burnt to ashes," said Freddie, "and you must take 
 care not to let them know any better. When they 
 are safe away, you may tell the tale and have a good 
 laugh over it." 
 
 " You may trust me, Miss Winifred ; 7 wont tell 
 nobody." 
 
 The young ladies timed their arrival at the depot, 
 so that they were not compelled to wait long under 
 the insulting gaze of the white men who were loung- 
 ing about as usual. 
 
 Freddie looked eagerly round through her thick 
 veil, hoping to see the tall form of the friend who 
 had promised to guard them on their journey; but 
 he was nowhere visible. 
 
 The cars moved off, and she sank back in her 
 seat, silent and downcast. 
 
 A few miles further, as they were slowly ascend- 
 ing a steep gradient, Freddie suddenly clutched 
 Freda's hand, exclaiming, " There he is ! '" '
 
 A JOURNEY. 289 
 
 Freda also had caught a glimpse of a tall man, 
 standing by the track. She put her head out of the 
 window in a moment. " He is on the cars," she 
 said, as she withdrew it, " I saw him run by the side 
 a few steps, and put his gun on the platform, and 
 then he jumped on. I feel so safe now." 
 
 " So do I," said Freddie, and lapsed again into 
 silence ; but her heart was no longer downcast. 
 
 It was in vain that they looked for their protector 
 to enter the car where they were. He remained in- 
 visible; and Freddie questioned her companion 
 closely, several times, as to whether she was quite 
 sure she had seen him spring upon the platform. 
 Sympathetic Freda bore with angelic patience these 
 repeated doubts of the reliability of her eyes. And 
 still their evidence remained unconfirmed. 
 
 It was not till they reached Columbia that their 
 minds were set at rest. 
 
 " Ladies," said the conductor, "a train goes your 
 way in twenty minutes. You've just got time to 
 reach the other depot. Come this way, and I'll put 
 you into a carriage." 
 
 " Our baggage ! " suggested Freda, as she followed 
 him. 
 
 "All right, madam. That is seen to. You'll 
 have your checks on the other train." 
 
 Freddie had given no thought to the baggage. 
 She was looking in all directions for their protector; 
 but with no better success than before. 
 
 The second train had not long started when the 
 conductor entered the car, and after carefully eying 
 '9
 
 290 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 the passengers, approached our two heroines, and 
 respectfully inquired if one of them was named 
 Trevanian. Both eagerly answered " yes," where- 
 upon he presented them with checks for their bag- 
 gage, and tickets for some place of which they had 
 never heard. 
 
 " You will have to travel all night, ladies," he 
 added, " and all day to-morrow ; and then you can 
 have a night's rest." 
 
 Having said this he passed on, " staying no farther 
 question." 
 
 This was a fair sample of the way in which their 
 long and fatiguing journey was accomplished. 
 Whenever it was practicable they rested for the 
 night ; every care was taken off their hands ; every 
 want or wish was, as far as possible, forestalled. 
 Yet they felt that their position was a very anoma- 
 lous one, and desired to come to an explanation 
 with their unknown protector. It was in vain, how- 
 ever, that they endeavored to obtain an interview 
 with him, by every means short of taking the con- 
 ductors into their counsels. 
 
 When they started on this journey, acting on the 
 advice, and tacitly accepting the guardianship of the 
 unknown, they did so under the pressure of immi- 
 nent danger, but certainly not with the intention of 
 proceeding to the far West without coming to an 
 explicit understanding of his motives for urging 
 them to go there. Yet here they were, completely 
 carried away by the tide of circumstances, unable 
 even to remonstrate without compromising their
 
 A JOURNEY. 291 
 
 own dignity, and in a manner compelled to go on 
 under the direction of their singular guide, as that 
 seemed the only way they would have of repaying 
 him the cost of their journey. 
 
 San Francisco ! The journey was at an end. It 
 was night when they arrived. For an instant, Fred- 
 die felt a feeling of alarm. Why should two young 
 girls be brought thus mysteriously into the midst 
 of this wicked and dissolute city ? Then in imagi- 
 nation she felt a hand upon her head, and a mur- 
 mured benediction fell upon her ears, and she blushed 
 at her own evil thought. 
 
 A carriage took them to a quiet hotel. Here they 
 were received with the utmost respect. Every com- 
 fort was ready for them, and when she bade them 
 good-night, the chamber-maid recommended them 
 to take a long night's sleep, as the carriage was not 
 ordered for them till ten o'clock. 
 
 " Shall we refuse to go in that carriage till we 
 know where we are going ? " asked Freddie. 
 
 " It is too late to begin a rebellion now," an- 
 swered Freda, " we shall surely have this strange 
 business cleared up to-morrow. We should only 
 cause delay by refusing to go on." 
 
 " That's logical ! " laughed Freddie. 
 
 " Then don't talk to me. How can I be logical 
 when I am so sleepy ? " murmured Freda, as her 
 eye-lids closed over her weary eyes.
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 DISCOVERIES. 
 
 IN the early dawn, Gilbert Bracebridge rode away 
 from the hotel, while the two girls, unconscious of 
 the error under which he labored, and which a single 
 word might have rectified, were still enjoying their 
 much-needed repose. 
 
 He rode slowly and sadly. His task was well 
 nigh accomplished. A few words of explanation 
 with Rupert Forester, and all would be over. No 
 harm could come to the girls during their drive from 
 San Francisco ; he would be gone before their arri- 
 val, and so escape the shame of breathing the same 
 air with her whom he still so wildly loved. . 
 
 Yes, there was no disguising the fact from him- 
 self, he loved her still. The struggle to subdue 
 this feeling was well-nigh killing him. During the 
 whole of that terrible journey he had carried on a 
 mental warfare which only his iron frame could have 
 supported without sinking under the load. In his 
 waking hours he could command his ideas, and com- 
 pelled himself to think, calmly, of an abstract being 
 who was his sister's child, and whom it was his duty 
 to convoy to a place of safety to a husband who 
 292
 
 DISCOVERIES. 293 
 
 was worthy of her. This abstraction, it is true, never 
 presented herself to his mental vision under the form 
 of Freddie. Had she done so, he could hardly have 
 viewed her so coolly. 
 
 Such was the tenor of his waking thoughts ; but 
 no sooner did sleep close his eyelids, though but for 
 a moment, than Freddie was his niece no longer. 
 She was the girl he loved, and imagination ran riot 
 in inventing the wildest adventures in which they 
 were both engaged ; he always protecting her from 
 danger, and meeting his reward in a look of grati- 
 tude. Then he would gaze into her clear eyes, and 
 see the tears well up from their grey depths, and 
 the light of a dawning love shining through the haze, 
 and with a shudder he would wake, and face the 
 stern reality. 
 
 To escape what he considered the criminality of 
 these dreams, he tried to abstain from sleeping. But, 
 in spite of all, sleep sometimes seized him, and was 
 revenged. 
 
 The result of this continued struggle was, that he 
 was a very worn and wearied man when he alighted 
 at the house where he had left Rupert. 
 
 To his great chagrin, the latter was from home. 
 He had gone out shooting directly after breakfast, 
 the mistress of the house informed him, but she 
 guessed he would return before long, for he never 
 stayed out many hours at a time. He was always 
 looking for his friend's return. 
 
 In ordering the carriage for ten o'clock, Gilbert 
 had allowed a wide margin for contingencies. He
 
 294 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 was four good hours in advance of his niece and her 
 companion, and could afford to wait. 
 
 He strolled out into the garden. The air was soft 
 and balmy, and many early flowers were shedding 
 their fragrance around. He lay down on a rustic seat, 
 and listened to the songs of the birds and the hum- 
 ming of the bees. His pulses were tranquil, but it 
 was from the lassitude of exhaustion. His mind was 
 calm, but it was the calmness of despair. 
 
 He had not lain on the bench two minutes before 
 he was in a deep and dreamless sleep. 
 
 Meanwhile Fate, in the form of a boy, was prepar- 
 ing a little contre-temps for him. 
 
 The youth who had been appointed to drive the 
 carriage for Freda and Freddie was very anxious to 
 be off before an older and steadier driver, who was ab- 
 sent on a'journey, should return and deprive him of 
 the job. Therefore, when he saw the young ladies 
 walking about, soon after eight o'clock he approached 
 them with a well-assumed air of rustic stupidity, and 
 asked whether it was nine o'clock or ten that the 
 vehicle was to be ready. 
 
 " We are ready now," said Freda, " let us go at 
 once. It will be pleasanter than waiting here." 
 
 Freddie agreed, and the boy, as may be supposed, 
 lost no time in getting the carriage ready. 
 
 Thus it happened that just as Rupert had re- 
 ceived the welcome intelligence of Gilbert's arrival, 
 and was about to seek him in the garden, a carriage 
 drew up, and two ladies sprang out and advanced 
 towards him with outstretched hands.
 
 DISCO VERIES. 295 
 
 " This, then, is the surprise that was prepared for 
 us!" cried Freddie, for Freda was too much agitated 
 to speak, and Rupert, too, could only clasp their 
 hands in silence. "And where," she continued, glan- 
 cing round, " where is the gentleman who brought 
 us here ? " 
 
 " Yes, Gilbert, where is he ? " said Rupert For- 
 ester, like one just awaking from a trance,. and glad 
 to seize hold of a tangible idea; "he must explain all 
 this. I am bewildered. Let me retain your hands, 
 dear ladies, or I shall expect to see you vanish as 
 suddenly as you appeared." 
 
 "Did you not know that we were coming?" 
 asked Freddie. 
 
 " No, nor dared to hope it in my wildest dreams," 
 he replied ; " but where is Gilbert Bracebridge ? He 
 alone can throw a light on this delightful mystery." 
 
 The name of Bracebridge suggested another idea. 
 
 " O Freda!" he exclaimed, stopping short as they 
 were entering the garden, " were you not delighted 
 to find your uncle ? " 
 
 " My uncle ! " repeated Freda, as much mystified 
 as himself, " what do you mean ? I have no uncle 
 that I know of." 
 
 " Yes Gilbert Bracebridge your mother's bro- 
 ther. Did he not tell you ? " 
 
 "I know no one of that name," said poor Freda, 
 ready to cry with mingled grief and fear, for she 
 supposed her beloved Rupert must be insane. 
 
 " Then, in the name of wonder," he said, dropping 
 their hands, " how did you come here ? Who pre-
 
 296 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 pared f<fr you the surprise you spoke of? Who 
 brought you here, if it was not Gilbert Brace- 
 bridge?" 
 
 " We were brought here," said Freddie, whose 
 heart was now beating so wildly that she could 
 scarcely command her voice, " by a mysterious 
 being whose name we never heard, who concealed 
 himself from us during the journey, and who, unless 
 I am much mistaken, lies sleeping yonder ! " 
 
 Rupert took their hands again, and they crossed 
 the lawn together to the bench where Gilbert lay. 
 
 " Yes," said Rupert, " that is Gilbert Bracebridge ; 
 and he, dear Freda, is your uncle, your mother's 
 only brother." 
 
 " My uncle ! " she repeated, in accents of dove- 
 like tenderness. " I remember, now, having heard 
 my mother speak of him. And it was my own uncle 
 who saved us from those dreadful men ! " 
 
 Freddie was wonderfully sobered down all at once. 
 She had " laid the flattering unction to her soul " 
 that all that Gilbert had done was for her sake. But 
 it now occurred to her that she had been an egotistic 
 fool. It was his niece, concerning whose safety he 
 was so solicitous, and she was but thrown in as a 
 make-weight Still there was some consolation in 
 the fact that Freda was his niece. 
 
 Freda's last words elicited a question from Rupert 
 respecting the danger from which Gilbert had de- 
 livered them ; which Freddie's recovered self-posses- 
 sion enabled her to answer by a succinct narration 
 of all that had occurred since the visit that Rupert
 
 DISCO VERIES. 297 
 
 had paid to Mrs. Templeman's for the purpose of 
 leaving Winifred's jewels in her hands. 
 
 But the more all this was explained, the less could 
 any of them comprehend the motives of Gilbert's 
 behavior. 
 
 They talked without restraint as they stood 
 around the sleeper, for they wished him to awake, 
 yet would not actually rouse him. They com- 
 mented on his worn appearance ; and Freda admired 
 his manly style of beauty, and growing familiar 
 with him as she realized their relationship, gradually 
 drew nearer to him. 
 
 Like the hum of the bees which had lulled him 
 as he fell asleep, the sound of their voices came in 
 a confused murmur upon Gilbert's senses. Then 
 words and sentences shaped themselves into form, 
 without conveying any special meaning, though ever 
 becoming more and more connected and distinct. 
 
 " x Poor fellow ! How pale and thin he has be- 
 come ! I think he must have been ill since he went 
 from hence." 
 
 It was Rupert who said this, Gilbert recognized 
 his voice. 
 
 " He is my uncle, you know," said a young fresh 
 female voice ; " would it be very improper to wake 
 him with a kiss ? " 
 
 " No, no, no ! " Gilbert almost shrieked, throwing 
 out his arms to repel her, and struggling to free 
 himself from sleep. " Rupert ! Hold her back ! 
 She must not ! " 
 
 Bursting the bonds of slumber, he started up and
 
 298 WINIFRED'S JE WELS. 
 
 found himself face to face with Rupert, and a young 
 lady, of whom, beautiful as she was, he had only a 
 dim recollection. Freddie was standing behind him, 
 and consequently out of sight. 
 
 " Let me go," he said, in a hoarse voice ; " where 
 is she ? I must not meet her." 
 
 "Are you mad, Gilbert?" said his friend, seizing 
 him by the arm ; " you shall not stir till you have 
 explained your whimsical conduct." 
 
 " Dear uncle ! " said Freda, taking his other hand 
 in both her own, " what have I done that you will 
 not speak to me ? " 
 
 " You ! " he exclaimed, " are you my sister's child ? " 
 
 " I am Winifred Trevanian," she replied ; and her 
 ready tact, divining in a moment the mistake he had 
 been under, she added, " and my friend is a Wini- 
 fred also. Let me introduce you to Miss Winifred 
 Wilson. After taking so much care of us, and pre- 
 paring this delightful surprise, you must not remain 
 strangers." 
 
 But Gilbert did not yield to her attempt to draw 
 him towards Freddie, whom he had seen, out of the 
 corner of his eye, trying to look like an uncon- 
 cerned spectator, and failing therein most ludicrously. 
 
 " Tell me, Rupert ! " he exclaimed, in breathless 
 amazement and delight, " is this girl my niece ? Is 
 this my sister Ellen's daughter ? Is she your Wini- 
 fred?" 
 
 He held Freda at arm's length while he spoke, 
 scanning her features with eager eyes. 
 
 " She is your sister's child, without a doubt,"
 
 DISCO VERIES. 299 
 
 replied Rupert, " and she is the only Winifred of 
 whom I have any knowledge, though I saw Miss 
 Wilson, who, it seems, is also a Winifred, for a few 
 moments at Mrs. Templeman's." 
 
 " Dear child ! " said Gilbert, folding her in his 
 arms, and kissing her tenderly. " I did not know 
 that I had such a sweet young relative till a few 
 months ago, when Rupert told me." 
 
 " Then, my dear uncle, why were you so surprised 
 to see me ? " demanded Freda, with an air of so 
 much innocent naivete, that no one but Freddie sus- 
 pected the duplicity that lay beneath it. 
 
 " I I," stammered Gilbert, blushing like a girl 
 through his sun-burnt skin, " don't you ladies find 
 the sun unpleasantly warm ? You'll be tired, too, 
 with standing so long. Let us go into the arbor." 
 
 His exultation at eluding Freda's inconvenient 
 question by this brilliant piece of strategy was so 
 manifest, that Freddie turned away her head to hide 
 a smile. 
 
 " Yes, by all means, let us go into the arbor," 
 said Rupert, with nervous eagerness. 
 
 This arbor Was simply an arched trellis, over- 
 grown with vines and climbing plants, which af- 
 forded a delightful shade, though the foliage was 
 not, as yet, very luxuriant; but neither were the 
 sun's rays so fierce as to drive them to seek its shel- 
 ter, had not Freda's question compelled her uncle to 
 make the discovery. 
 
 The little retreat was furnished with seats, and a 
 small table.
 
 300 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 Freda clung to Gilbert's arm, as they moved to- 
 wards the arbor. 
 
 Rupert followed, nervous and unsettled, but with 
 his eyes fixed sadly on the graceful figure before 
 him. 
 
 Freddie felt as if she belonged to nobody, and 
 now Freda was taken away from her, nobody be- 
 longed to her; so she walked in first with a very 
 independent air, and an uncomfortable lump in her 
 throat, and sat down on an isolated seat at the back 
 of the arbor. 
 
 Freda and Gilbert took possession of a settee 
 that was just large enough for two; and Rupert 
 seemed to emulate Freddie in keeping as far from 
 any one else as the narrow limits of the arbor per- 
 mitted.
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 EXPLANATIONS. 
 
 WITH all his care and trouble, Gilbert had only 
 succeeded in bringing a very inharmonious party 
 together. 
 
 For his own part, overjoyed as he was to learn 
 that Freddie was not his niece, the reaction was 
 almost too much for him, following upon such a 
 long period of mental agony. Then he shrank from 
 an explanation of his strange conduct on the jour- 
 ney, and while he was so near them in South Caro- 
 lina, which must, he imagined, expose to all of them 
 the crime of which he had believed himself to be 
 guilty. Another reflection troubled him, would 
 Freddie ever be induced to look upon him with any 
 other feelings than loathing and detestation when 
 she learnt that, believing her to be his sister's 
 daughter, he had not been able to cease loving her ? 
 Did she not, even now, hold herself aloof, as though 
 his mere presence brought contamination with it? 
 Why should she behave so, unless she had detected 
 the disgraceful fact? As for attempting to hide 
 from her a thought, a feeling, or an act for the pur- 
 pose of putting a better coloring on his own short- 
 
 301
 
 302 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 comings, Gilbert Bracebridge was too honest and 
 straightforward even to dream of attaining happi- 
 ness by such crooked ways. 
 
 Rupert, when the first effervescence of delight at 
 seeing Freda had subsided, saw before him, in ten- 
 fold magnitude, all the impediments which would 
 prevent his ever asking her to be his wife. First, 
 there was his poverty. He had been to the gold 
 diggings, and had lost the little money he brought 
 with him. He had no prospect but that of labor- 
 ing, either with hands or brain, for his daily bread. 
 Was that a lot which he could ask that delicately 
 nurtured girl to share with him ? Had he been a 
 younger man, it might have been otherwise; but 
 his age (he was forty-three, poor fellow!) besides 
 rendering it the height of presumption in him to 
 woo so "young and beautiful a creature, made him 
 less facile in adapting himself to new modes of life, 
 as he had found to his cost when thrown among 
 a set of rude and illiterate miners. Gilbert had 
 been under some mistake about her, but he could 
 not stop to inquire what, for every faculty of his 
 soul was strained to discover some way out of the 
 fearful dilemma in which he found himself. 
 
 Freddie had her own causes of discomfort. She 
 felt mortified and humiliated as she recalled the con- 
 fidence with which she had appropriated to herself 
 the interest with which Gilbert had watched over 
 them on the journey. So far from this being the 
 case, she now thought, perhaps it was her presence 
 that had prevented his coming near Freda all the
 
 EXPLANA TIONS. 303 
 
 time ! She had been so immodest as to betray her 
 love for him, though she knew not how nor when 
 but then suddenly there flashed across her mind his 
 undisguised astonishment and delight when Freda 
 addressed him as her uncle, and poor Freddie's 
 heart beat wildly, and she hung her head, to conceal 
 her blushes, and cast one timid glance towards 
 Gilbert But the blushes soon vanished, when she 
 saw that his eyes were fixed upon Freda, and she 
 remembered, with painful acuteness, how he had 
 avoided an introduction to her. She wished she 
 was dead ! Or in the middle of a desert, with no one 
 but Sultan ! 
 
 Even Freda had her sources of disquietude. This 
 new-found uncle was truly a tower of strength, and 
 gave her, to a great extent, the command of the 
 situation. It was gratifying to find she had a blood 
 relation, after being so long alone in the world, yet 
 at the present moment she valued him chiefly as a 
 means of arresting the future flights of the truant 
 Rupert, and possibly of removing the secret sorrow 
 which oppressed him. For herself, to act in this 
 would be impossible. The change that had come 
 over him, after the first burst of delight on recog- 
 nizing her, was too palpable to be misunderstood. 
 Should he announce his determination to wander off 
 again to the uttermost confines of the earth, she 
 could do nothing to prevent it ; but Gilbert might. 
 And it was for this that she chiefly valued Gilbert. 
 
 It has taken some time to describe thus minutely 
 the state of mind and feeling of these four people.
 
 304 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 But it must be remembered that mental processes 
 take place with great rapidity ; and as all the four 
 brains were acting simultaneously, the time actually 
 consumed was only that which was occupied by 
 their taking their seats, and a silence of a few 
 moments' duration which then ensued. 
 
 It was a singular situation. It needed but a little 
 more estrangement, a little more doubt, a little 
 more diffidence, a little more self-condemnation, for 
 these lovers to part, and each go on their separate 
 ways, alone through life. 
 
 Like a chemical mixture, the ingredients of which 
 refuse to coalesce until a few drops of some other 
 element bring them into harmonious combination, 
 they remained apart, until Gilbert, throwing aside 
 his own troubles, and thinking only of his friend, 
 stirred a> few drops of unselfish sympathy into the 
 hitherto incongruous mass of thought and feeling, 
 and wrought a magical change. 
 
 " My friend," he said, addressing Rupert, " I see 
 that you have a burthen on your mind. It is pro- 
 bably somewhat that you think my niece ought to 
 know." 
 
 <l Why should I burthen her young soul with my 
 sorrows ? " said Rupert, despondingly. 
 
 " Because she has a right to hear them," replied 
 Gilbert. " Now, tell me frankly shall I, as her 
 uncle, be present at this conference, to give her my 
 counsel, if needful ; or shall I leave you to your- 
 selves ? Shall Miss Wilson go, or stay ? " 
 
 " I wish her to remain," said Freda.
 
 EXPLANA TIONS. 305 
 
 " And you, Gilbert, know all mine ; and further- 
 more, you know a great part of my sad history. Re- 
 main, therefore, and Miss Wilson likewise ; and tell 
 your niece all that she ought to know about me. I 
 will listen, and if your memory deceives you, I will 
 set you right. Only spare my mother's name, and 
 the title that she bore. Call her simply the Coun- 
 tess." 
 
 " His mother, my dear Freda," Gilbert immedi- 
 ately began, "belonged to a noble family. She loved 
 the younger son of a race quite equal to her own, 
 but he was not wealthy, and her relatives opposed 
 the match, and forced her to marry an old and al- 
 most imbecile man for his title and estates. It is a 
 sad story, but not without precedent where girls are 
 compelled to marry contrary to their inclinations. 
 Her lover became the friend of the family, and 
 and well he was the father of all her children. 
 Rupert was the youngest. The rest were girls, who 
 married well when they grew up. Rupert, when 
 little more than a boy, fell in love with a beautiful 
 girl whom his mother had adopted. The Countess, 
 knowing by experience the misery of a crossed af- 
 fection, gave her consent to their marriage ; but it 
 seems that she had not been as thoughtful for the 
 young lady as for her son, for on the very eve of the 
 wedding-day, the bride disappeared, no one knew 
 whither, nor with whom. The Countess' lover, who 
 was in the army, fell, bravely fighting, in the cele- 
 brated cavalry charge at Balaklava. The Countess, 
 true to her first and only love, sickened and died of
 
 306 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 grief. But, before she died, she confided the whole 
 truth to her son, no doubt supposing that he would 
 be prouder to be the son of such a brave and noble 
 man than of the drivelling, half-idiotic old man 
 whom he had been accustomed to call father." 
 
 " No, Gilbert, I never called him so," said Rupert; 
 " my sisters did, but to me he was always ' Your 
 Lordship/ and ' the Earl.' " 
 
 " But our dear Rupert has a very tender consci- 
 ence," continued Gilbert, "and from the moment 
 when the death of the old Earl put him in possession 
 of the title and estates, he felt that he was defraud- 
 ing the rightful heir, and was constantly devising 
 plans for restoring all to him without blackening his 
 mother's fame, or injuring his sisters. The heir was 
 still a boy, however, so there was no need to hurry; 
 and meantime, Rupert was a faithful steward of the 
 estates, and lived a life so retired that he took little 
 from the property beyond the wages of a steward." 
 
 Freda had cast many a glance of loving compas- 
 sion upon Rupert, as he sat with his face buried in 
 his hands; but now she rose and sat beside him, with 
 a glow of enthusiastic admiration on her lovely face. 
 
 Her uncle smiled his approbation, and went on. 
 
 " Yes, for conscience' sake, he submitted to let the 
 world call him a madman and a miser, while he was 
 simply a hero. Another duty soon claimed him. 
 He discovered that the object of his boyish love was 
 living in France, in great poverty. He went to her 
 aid and " 
 
 " Gilbert, let me speak now," said Rupert, rising.
 
 EXPLANA TIONS. 307 
 
 " You remember that night, Freda, when your house 
 was burnt. You know something of what happened. 
 I followed that man and shot him. Not in cold 
 blood, but to obtain from him the key, and save 
 your life. Freda, I love you I have loved you for 
 years but, can you give your heart to the man who 
 shed your father's blood, cruel and unnatural though 
 that father was ? " 
 
 "Stop," cried Freddie, suddenly; " had you cer- 
 tain proof of his death ? Did you see him, dead ? " 
 
 " I did not ; but I was told that he survived only 
 a short time." 
 
 "Did Captain Grainger tell you that?" asked 
 Freddie; "but, no matter. I must tell you all I 
 know, and you will, I hope, be able to sift out the 
 truth." 
 
 Then she narrated, almost literally, all that had 
 been said by the wounded Ku-Klux, and produced 
 the pocket-book, which, on examination, contained 
 abundant proofs that Captain Grainger and Randolph 
 Trevanian were identical. 
 
 As she proceeded, Freda shrank downwards, till 
 she seemed to have collapsed into a heap. But 
 when Freddie had ended, she rose up, dignified and 
 calm. Her face was very pale, but it wore an ex- 
 pression of high and holy resolution which seemed 
 more than human. Her companions looked at her 
 in mute reverence, for, in its intensified beauty, her 
 face was as the face of an anerel.
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 FREDA'S vow. 
 
 " OH, RUPERT ! " said Freda, in a low but distinct 
 tone, as she placed both her hands in his, and looked 
 in his face with an expression of mingled love, com- 
 passion, and inflexible resolution, " a little while ago 
 my highest hope was that I might hear you say you 
 loved me; for I am not ashamed to own, in the 
 presence of my one dear friend, and of my uncle, 
 who is to you like a brother, that I have loved you 
 for many years." 
 
 "Then why do your looks assure me that you 
 have resolved to refuse me?" exclaimed Rupert, 
 passionately. " Yet, why need I ask ? I am pun- 
 ished for my mother's fault." 
 
 " Not so, dear Rupert," continued Freda, with 
 increasing tenderness of tone and manner ; " it is 
 not for your mother's fault (if the fault were hers), 
 it is not because you aimed at my unworthy father's 
 life, nor is it because your boyish love was given to 
 my mother, that I tell you I must not be your 
 wife." 
 
 " Oh, Freda ! Do not be so cruel ! " exclaimed 
 Freddie. 
 
 308
 
 FREDA'S VOW. 305 
 
 " Winifred ! What is this nonsense ? Explain 
 yourself," said Gilbert, angrily, while Rupert uttered 
 a cry of despair. 
 
 " It is neither cruelty nor nonsense," replied Freda, 
 turning towards them a face that was pale with sup- 
 pressed anguish ; " but obedience to what I know is 
 right." 
 
 "Explain yourself," repeated Gilbert; then mut- 
 tered between his teeth, " the girl is either a fool or 
 mad ! " 
 
 " And supposing that my father had been mad," 
 said Freda, who had caught the drift of his words, 
 " or that he was the victim of some dreadful heredi- 
 tary disease, would it be right for his child to marry, 
 at the risk, nay, with the certainty, of transmitting 
 such evils to an unborn generation ? " 
 
 " Rupert, what do you know of this ? " said Gil- 
 bert, still frowning. " Was her father insane ? " 
 
 " No ! " exclaimed Rupert, catching eagerly at 
 the hope this question suggested, " neither insane 
 nor diseased. Freda, my beloved one, your fears 
 are groundless. The disfigurement of his face pro- 
 ceeded from accident, and not, as you suppose, from 
 disease." 
 
 "Alas!" sighed Freda, "is there no disease but 
 that of the body ? Was not his soul diseased, till it 
 was one mass of crime and baseness ? " 
 
 " Freda is right ! " cried Freddie, starting up. 
 "And you would pay dearly for a few years of 
 happiness, were you to have such a son as Ernest 
 Templeman."
 
 310 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " But Freda is all goodness," persisted Rupert. 
 
 " So was Mrs. Templeman," rejoined Freddie ; 
 "she was as good a woman as ever lived. Her 
 husband was an honorable, upright man ; but his 
 father was a dissipated wretch, a gambler, a dueltist, 
 and everything that is vile and dishonorable. His 
 grandson inherited all his vices, and sent both his 
 parents, prematurely, to their graves. Could you 
 endure to see Freda the mother of such a son ? " 
 
 " Freda, my poor child," said her uncle, drawing 
 her towards him, and pillowing her pale cheek upon 
 his breast, "the course you have determined upon 
 is the right one. I have myself known cases where 
 similar sense and firmness would have saved an 
 immense amount of wretchedness ; and yet, in not 
 one instance, was the apparent danger so great as in 
 yours." 
 
 " Are you too against me, Gilbert ? Then I have 
 no longer a hope, nor a friend ! " 
 
 As Rupert said this, he flung himself on a seat, 
 and sobbed wildly and bitterly. 
 
 Freda struggled to leave her uncle's encircling 
 arms, to go and console her unhappy lover; but 
 Gilbert restrained her when he saw that Freddie 
 had started forward and was whispering to him. 
 
 " Let her talk to him," he said ; " her words are 
 sure to do him good." 
 
 All that Freddie said was, " Oh, Mr. Forester, can 
 you not control your emotions ? Don't you see 
 that she suffers more than you ? " 
 
 This appeal to Rupert's noble nature was not
 
 FREDA'S VOW. 311 
 
 made in vain. After a brief mental struggle, he 
 raised his pallid face, still quivering from the effects 
 of the past tempest, and said, " Freda, you are 
 right; and I will loyally abide by your decision. 
 My life has hitherto been one long sacrifice to what 
 I held to be my duty, and so it must continue." 
 
 " A sacrifice to duty brings its own reward," said 
 Freda ; " thank you, dear love, for supporting me in 
 mine." 
 
 As she said this, she impressed a kiss upon her 
 lover's marble brow. 
 
 " On my lips, Freda," he whispered, imploringly, 
 " only this once." 
 
 " Not once only, dear Rupert," said she, sweetly 
 complying, with a wife-like dignity, " it would be 
 foolish to deny ourselves such a harmless pleasure. 
 In spirit, I am your wife." 
 
 " And I am happier in having such a wife, even 
 on those terms, than to be wedded to a less perfect 
 creature in an earthly union," said Rupert, inspired 
 by her enthusiasm. 
 
 " Be as contented as you can with your bad bar- 
 gain," said Freda, " but don't spoil her by flattery. 
 Now, let us talk of what we are going to do. Uncle, 
 can we all live together ? " 
 
 " I I hope so," replied Gilbert, with his eyes 
 fixed on the ground. He felt very humble at that 
 moment, and doubted much whether Freddie would 
 ever consent to be the wife of such a criminal. 
 
 " Then, I propose that we join together, and buy 
 a farm," said Freda, looking bright and happy,
 
 312 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 though there was a difll aching pain at her heart all 
 the time, that might be hidden, but could not be 
 subdued. 
 
 " You are too hasty, Freda," said her uncle ; " Miss 
 Wilson may object to such an arrangement." 
 
 Had he looked up, he would have seen Freddie's 
 eyes fixed on him, very wide open, and full of tears. 
 
 " I do not think Freddie will desert me in my 
 happiness, after we have suffered so much together," 
 replied Freda. 
 
 "Happiness!" sighed Rupert, derisively; "then I 
 suppose Tantalus was happy." 
 
 " Shall we live apart, then, Rupert ? " 
 
 " No, no ; I am a thankless brute ! " he exclaimed. 
 " I will learn to bear my lot more patiently, my love. 
 And, after all, it would be folly to dream of any 
 other for some time to come ; for, dearest Freda, I 
 am little better than a pauper. You must, therefore, 
 leave me out of your calculations. I cannot join 
 you in purchasing a farm, but if you will employ me 
 as a laborer " 
 
 " What nonsense are you talking, Rupert," cried 
 Freda, with vivacity, "are there not my famous 
 jewels ? " 
 
 " I have no claim on them," said he. 
 
 " You have exactly the same claim that I have. 
 But they may not be worth quarrelling about," she 
 added, with an attempt at a laugh ; " what is their 
 value ? " 
 
 "I have no idea," he replied; "have you not 
 shown them to a jeweller ? "
 
 FREDAS VOW. 313 
 
 " No, for I have not seen them myself," answered 
 Freda ; " you did not leave the key, and I would not 
 have the box broken except in a case of dire neces- 
 sity. That time has now arrived ; so, if you will 
 help me to unstrap my trunk, I will produce it, and 
 uncle Gilbert will break it open." 
 
 " I can save him that trouble," said Rupert, taking 
 from his neck the ribbon to which the little gold key 
 was attached ; " here is your key, my Freda. It was 
 the only link that connected my old, false existence, 
 as a sham Earl, with the newer and truer life of Ru- 
 pert Forester." 
 
 " How singular ! " cried Freda ; " that is almost 
 the same idea that occurred to Freddie. She said 
 this little key would be a bond to draw us together 
 again. Now, let us open this Pandora's box of mine, 
 and see what mischief we can set loose from it." 
 
 " Do not call it a Pandora's box, love," said Ru- 
 pert, as he left the arbor, with Freda on his arm, 
 " for Hope was left at the bottom of that, and what 
 hope is there for us ? "
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 FREDDIE'S CONFESSION. 
 
 IT was not without design that Freda drew Rupert 
 away from the arbor. 
 
 Poignant as was her own grief at being compelled 
 by conscience to pronounce the fiat that must for- 
 ever preclude her from becoming Rupert's wife, and 
 deep as was her distress for her lover's suffering, she 
 still felt sympathy for others, and generously desired 
 to see them enjoying the happiness from which she 
 was debarred. 
 
 She saw that both Freddie and Gilbert were em- 
 barrassed, and wisely concluded that they would be 
 more likely to come to a mutual understanding if 
 left alone, than if she or Rupert, with the best in- 
 tentions, in the world, were to attempt to clear the 
 way for them. She knew that Freddie loved Gil- 
 bert ; and entertained a shrewd guess at the blunder 
 which, if Gilbert returned her love, would fully and 
 naturally account for his apparently capricious con- 
 duct during and preceding the journey. 
 
 She did not confide her thoughts to Rupert, but 
 talked to him cheerfully (though her own heart 
 was sad enough) about the happiness of being 
 3'4
 
 FREDDIE'S CONFESSION. 315 
 
 always together, and laid out many a plan for their 
 future life ; till Rupert, recalling the dreary prospect 
 of a lonely life, which had been his only out-look 
 but a few hours before, blamed himself for rinding 
 aught to complain of in his present lot. 
 
 Gilbert sat with his eyes fixed on the ground, 
 trying to frame a sentence in which to address Fred- 
 die, and feeling that every minute passed in silence 
 augmented the difficulty of speaking. 
 
 Freddie, after glancing round to see if there was 
 any way of escaping from the arbor, and finding 
 there was none except the regular entrance, through 
 which she could not pass without brushing against 
 her silent companion, determined to dash out of the 
 very embarrassing silence, if she could not out of 
 the arbor. 
 
 " Mr. Bracebridge," she said, in a composed and 
 matter-of-fact tone. 
 
 Probably the report of a pistol in his ear would 
 not have startled him so much as the sound of his 
 name, spoken by her. He blushed, and turned pale 
 by turns, stammered out a few incoherent words, 
 and finally succeeded, by an inclination of his head, 
 in making her understand that he was listening. 
 
 As might be expected, these symptoms of dis- 
 quietude on his part, inspired her with fresh courage. 
 
 " When Freda proposed to buy a farm," she con- 
 tinued, "you appeared to have some objection to 
 my joining in the enterprise, and " 
 
 " You ! " he exclaimed, interrupting her. " O Miss 
 Wilson, what could induce you to think so ? "
 
 ' 
 
 316 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " I only judge from your own words and manner," 
 she replied; "but at any rate, there are circum- 
 stances in my life with which you ought to be ac- 
 quainted, before you give your sanction to a closer 
 bond of intimacy between your niece and me." 
 
 " What can you mean ? Freda knows and 
 esteems you." 
 
 " Your superior knowledge of the world may in- 
 duce you to view my errors in a different light from 
 that which Freda's indulgent affection gives them," 
 said Freddie, rejoicing to see how miserable he 
 looked. 
 
 " I will not hear you say anything against your- 
 self," said Gilbert; "what wrong can you have 
 committed ? " 
 
 " You must hear what I have to say," persisted 
 Freddie ; " many people would consider it a disgrace 
 to associate with me." 
 
 " For God's sake, do not tell me ! " he said, bow- 
 ing his face upon his hands; "if Freda knows, that 
 is enough. What am I, that you should tell your 
 faults to me, if yon have any? You may have 
 committed some foolish action but let it rest." 
 
 " It is of no use trying to dissuade me," she said, 
 "you are Freda's uncle, and I am determined to 
 tell you all that happened in my past life, which you 
 might find objectionable in your niece's friend and 
 companion." 
 
 Gilbert groaned, and said no more. 
 
 Freddie's heart beat violently, for she knew that 
 to have been a Circus performer would stamp her in
 
 . 
 
 FREDDIE'S CONFESSION. 317 
 
 the eyes of many a man as an outcast from all re- 
 spectable society. Every word that he uttered, and 
 his very reluctance to hear her confession, told her 
 that he loved her, and made her the more anxious 
 to put him in possession of her past history, before 
 he could commit himself by any direct avowal, which 
 would render it so much more painful for him to 
 retract. 
 
 Having reduced him to silence, she dashed at once 
 into her subject. 
 
 " When I was fifteen," she began, " I was cruelly 
 treated at school, so I ran away and joined a travel- 
 ling Circus. I staid with the company three years, 
 performing in public all the time." 
 
 Her voice was choked with tears, and she was 
 obliged to stop. 
 
 " Have you nothing worse than that to tell ? " 
 asked Gilbert,gin a low voice that trembled with 
 emotion. 
 
 "There are many other things, but that's the 
 worst," said Freddie, humbly. 
 
 " It did you no harm, I am certain," he said, as, 
 taking a deep breath, indicative of satisfaction, he 
 leaned back in his seat, and watched her with a smile ; 
 " now, tell me some more of your horrors. They'll 
 be amusing, to judge from the sample." 
 
 " I learned to play on the violin," said Freddie. 
 
 "Excellent! We shall have plenty of music." 
 
 " And I learned to shoot." 
 
 " Ho ! Don't I know that ? " he said, laughing ; 
 "and you can threaten to shoot your friends, too.
 
 318 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 Well, that accomplishment may be serviceable in case 
 we have rough neighbors. What's the next crime?" 
 
 " I learned to box," said Freddie, almost vexed at 
 having thrown away her penitence on such an im- 
 perturbable being. 
 
 " Whew ! That's formidable," ejaculated Gilbert, 
 his eyes dancing with fun. 
 
 "And I know a great deal about horses, and how 
 to tame them by Rarey's plan." 
 
 " Very useful, indeed," he said, with provoking 
 seriousness, " I shall ask you to teach me." 
 
 "And I can turn somersaults," said Freddie, bent 
 upon ruffling his equanimity. 
 
 "Not so useful, certainly; though highly am us- 
 irig." 
 
 Freddie was furious, and threw her trump card, 
 as she said, almost choking with shame and self- 
 reproach : " I am horribly strong ! ^w men are so 
 strong as I am. I am altogether dreadful and un- 
 womanly! " 
 
 " Strength is a great blessing," he replied, calmly, 
 " and appearances are often fallacious. You look 
 like a very finely developed woman ; but you may 
 be, as you say, a Hercules in petticoats. Can you 
 release your arm ? " 
 
 He encircled her wrist lightly with his fingers as 
 he said this. 
 
 A sneer of petulent defiance curled her lip, and 
 she gave her arm a wrench that would have freed it 
 instantly from the grasp of even a strong man. But 
 Gilbert's hand seemed like a band of iron.
 
 FREDDIE'S CONFESSION, 319 
 
 All the hardness and defiance and self-condemna- 
 tion passed at once from her face, and a deep blush, 
 and an air of humility overspread it. 
 
 " Have I lost my strength ? " she whispered. 
 
 "No," he replied, "you have only found your 
 master." 
 
 She looked up at him, just as she had done in 
 the cottage, so long ago, and again their eyes met. 
 But his gaze was no longer sorrowful. He was not, 
 now, bound to leave her without a word of love. 
 He knew, on the contrary, that if he spoke, his 
 words would find the response that he desired. Yet 
 he did exactly what he had done before. He laid 
 his hand upon her head, and blessed her. 
 
 " Come ! " said Gilbert, after a short silence, " let 
 us see if those two people have found their box of 
 treasure." 
 
 Freddie rose, and accompanied him without a 
 word. 
 
 " Theirs is a sad lot," he continued, " and I feel 
 that it would be selfish to enjoy our own happiness 
 while their grief is yet so new. Do you not feel as 
 I do, Freddie ? " 
 
 There was a loving lingering upon her name 
 which he pronounced for the first time, that was 
 not lost upon Freddie. 
 
 " Certainly I do," she replied, though hardly 
 knowing what to say. 
 
 " You have confided to me all your little pecca- 
 dilloes, or what you imagine to be such," said he, 
 "but I have a confession of a much graver character
 
 320 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 to make to you, when the time comes for speaking 
 on another subject. But they are so inter-linked 
 that they must both wait. I am somewhat hopeful 
 of a favorable construction ; for one, so ready to 
 condemn herself for no faults at all, will not be a 
 very severe censor of other people's sins." 
 
 They met Freda and Rupert coming from the 
 house, bringing the little jewel case with them. 
 
 " Can you guess at the value of your possessions, 
 Freda ? " asked her uncle. 
 
 " No, we have not yet opened the box," she re- 
 plied, " it is an affair that concerns us all, so we 
 ought all to be present at the examination. We 
 are going back to the arbor to investigate it, so 
 come along." 
 
 Freda walked on, leaning on Rupert's arm. Gil- 
 bert looked after them, and then drew Freddie's 
 arm within his own. 
 
 " Ah ! This hand ! " he said, reverentially raising 
 it to his lips, " how well I remember watching it, as 
 it chafed and warmed the soiled feet of that poor out- 
 cast woman! Do you recollect that time, Freddie? 
 Do you remember that we met once in England?" 
 
 " What a stupid question ! " exclaimed Freddie. 
 
 "It's all right, then," said he, laughing softly. 
 " I feared my vanity might have misled me."
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 THE JEWEL CASE IS OPENED. 
 
 " BEFORE opening this box," said Rupert, when 
 they were once more seated in the arbor, " my dear 
 Freda wis*hes me to recount to her and her friend, 
 Miss Wilson, the rest of my adventures up to our 
 most unexpected meeting here this morning." 
 
 Gilbert would gladly have deferred this recital, 
 dreading lest he too might be called upon to ex- 
 plain; but while he was seeking for an excuse, 
 Rupert took up the thread of his story, and, avoid- 
 ing any allusion to Captain Grainger, otherwise 
 Randolph Trevanian, related briefly all the circum- 
 stances of his supposed death, and subsequent expe- 
 riences during his departure from England, and his 
 short and unsuccessful attempt at mining. 
 
 " Gilbert left me here to recruit my health and 
 strength," he said in conclusion, " while he started 
 on a mysterious expedition to New York. But if 
 his departure was mysterious, his coming back was 
 tenfold more so. Now I think we all have a right 
 to demand an explanation of this conduct. It was 
 natural enough to keep me in the dark, for the morbid 
 feelings under which I then labored would probably 
 21, 321
 
 322 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 have sent me off on my wanderings again, before he 
 could get back. But that he should affect all this 
 mystery in his relations with you, Freda, is what I 
 cannot, by any means, comprehend. Prisoner at 
 the bar, what have you to say in your de- 
 fence ? " 
 
 Gilbert folded his arms on the table, and rested 
 his forehead on them, thus effectually concealing his 
 face from his inquisitor. 
 
 " It was all a confounded blunder," he said ; 
 " and now, oblige me by letting the subject drop." 
 
 "Your conduct also was most unaccountable, 
 Freda," continued Rupert. " How came you to 
 trust yourself to the care and guidance of an utter 
 stranger ? " 
 
 " He won our confidence by protecting us in a 
 time of great danger," replied Freda; and forthwith 
 she related the nocturnal attack of the disguised 
 ruffians upon the house, and the gallant defence 
 which Gilbert had made. 
 
 " Every attempt at explanation only increases the 
 confusion," said Rupert, when she ceased speaking. 
 "Why did he come in disguise? Why did he not 
 say he was your uncle, and assert his right to pro- 
 tect you ? " 
 
 " He was acquainted with Freddie in England," 
 said Freda, demurely, but suggestively. 
 
 " Deeper and deeper still ! " said Rupert, grow- 
 ing more and more bewildered. " That gave him a 
 right to protect her also." 
 
 " But," continued Freda, with the same Quaker-
 
 THE JEWEL CASE IS OPENED. 323 
 
 like simplicity, '"probably he did not know there 
 were two Winifreds at Mrs. Templeman's." 
 
 Gilbert moaned, and Freddie, who had hitherto 
 succeeded in looking quite composed, blushed to the 
 roots of her hair. 
 
 Rupert was silent for a few moments, while the 
 truth gradually dawned upon him. 
 
 " Give me your hand, my boy," he said, in a low 
 tone, " and forgive me for having pressed my ques- 
 tions so closely. You acted nobly. Now for this 
 box," he continued, changing his tone and manner ; 
 " my Freda has convinced me that even to me it 
 may prove to be a Pandora's box, since it gives me 
 the hope of a life of quiet usefulness, brightened by 
 the sunshine of her companionship. May you, my 
 friends, be equally blessed, both through the con- 
 tents of this casket, and with every happiness this 
 world can afford you." 
 
 He raised the lid, and taking out the trays, dis- 
 played a selection of beautiful ornaments, which, 
 little as any of them knew of such things, they were 
 sure must be worth several thousand dollars." 
 
 "And now*," said Gilbert, " let us talk about busi- 
 ness. Which of these pretty things do you wish to 
 sell, Freda ? " 
 
 "All" replied Freda, emphatically, " except this 
 little ring which my mother used to wear. I will 
 keep that, and I wish Freddie to accept one." 
 
 " Let it be the plainest you can find, Freda," said 
 Freddie ; " because it is not for its marketable value, 
 but as your gift that I shall prize it."
 
 324 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 Freda selected a beautiful turquoise, which, after 
 Freddie had put it on the third finger of her right 
 hand, Gilbert begged leave to inspect. While doing 
 so, he slipped it on his own little finger, before re- 
 turning it. 
 
 " Why do you wish to sell them all, Freda ? " 
 asked her uncle ; " would it not be better to sell only 
 a part of them at first, and keep the rest, in case you 
 might wish to wear them ? " 
 
 " I shall never wish to wear them," she replied, 
 with tears in her eyes and voice, " how could I, with 
 so many painful associations connected with them ? " 
 
 " You are right, love, quite right," he said ; " the 
 next question is, where can they be sold to the best 
 advantage? I think they should be taken to^ New 
 York ; and, if you will intrust the matter to my man- 
 agement, I will start off at once." 
 
 This offer was joyfully accepted, and the following 
 morning was fixed for his departure. 
 
 The day passed quickly away. Freda was con- 
 stantly by Rupert's side, talking hopefully of the 
 future. The appearance of a shadow on his brow, 
 or the sound of a suppressed sigh, was the signal 
 for renewed cheerfulness on her part. Freddie 
 seconded her with consummate skill and tact ; but 
 the two girls, as though by mutual consent, avoided 
 being left tete-d-tete for even a moment. 
 
 Gilbert was puzzled, and even felt rather annoyed 
 that Freddie should show so little regret at the 
 prospect of his absence for three, or possibly four 
 weeks.
 
 THE JEWEL CASE IS OPENED. 325 
 
 " Freda must be blessed with a remarkably buoy- 
 ant disposition," he took an opportunity of remark- 
 ing to Freddie, when he found himself alone with 
 her; " she seems to have entirely got over the shock 
 which she experienced this morning at the disclos- 
 ure of her father's villainy, and to think no more of 
 all the pain and disappointment which she felt bound 
 to inflict, in consequence, upon the man who loves 
 her so passionately. She was quite right in acting 
 as she did, I cannot deny that ; yet I should have 
 expected she would have grieved about it a little ; 
 that is, if she had loved him. She seemed pleased, also, 
 to find she had an uncle in the world ; yet she don't 
 care much about his going away for a month or two." 
 
 The gist of this speech lay in the closing sen- 
 tence, which was aimed at Freddie herself. 
 
 " Are you so blind ? " she said, looking reproach- 
 fully in his face ; "if Freda gave way to weeping and 
 wailing, what would become of Rupert ? She does 
 it for his sake ; can't you see that, you owl ? And 
 I heaven help me! I'm trying all I can to support 
 her, though I am miserable myself. And it's very 
 cruel of you to say such things." 
 
 " Will you forgive me ? " he asked, very humbly. 
 
 "You spoke unkindly about Freda; how can / 
 forgive wrongs inflicted upon her?" retorted Fred- 
 die, beginning to fence. 
 
 " Are you sorry I am going away, Freddie ? " 
 
 " You have no right to ask that question, Mr. 
 Bracebridge," replied Freddie, with a great assump- 
 tion of dignity.
 
 326 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " Will you give me the right ? " 
 
 "Certainly not," she said, dogmatically; then 
 added, sotto voce, " without being asked for it." 
 
 " Then I'll ask for it when I come back from New 
 York," he said, taking one of Freddie's hands, and 
 fondling it in both his own ; " our poor friends will 
 have got over the first smart "of their sorrow by that 
 time, and it wont be so confoundedly selfish to be 
 happy. We understand one another, and that must 
 suffice for the present; must it not, dear Freddie ? " 
 
 " Mr. Bracebridge, you are extremely enigmati- 
 cal," said Freddie, trying to look unconscious. 
 
 " Now, Freddie," exclaimed Gilbert, in a tone of 
 grave reproof, " don't begin that sort of thing. Na- 
 ture did not make you a coquette, but a noble 
 woman, as strong and beautiful in soul as you are in 
 body. Don't try to undo her work by affecting 
 pettinesses of character that are unworthy of you, 
 and altogether foreign to your true disposition. Will 
 you give me one moment's private interview to- 
 morrow before I start ? " 
 
 " Yes," she answered, decisively. 
 
 He pressed her hand, and strode away.
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 GILBERTS JOURNEY. 
 
 GILBERT, understanding the role which the two 
 girls were playing, aided them considerably that 
 evening, as they sat in the moonlight on the piazza. 
 
 He gave the little party such a glowing descrip- 
 tion of a ranche which he had seen some months 
 before, and which, before leaving San Francisco that 
 morning, he had ascertained was stifl in the market, 
 that even Rupert was roused to take an interest in 
 his plans for purchasing and settling on it. 
 
 He dilated on the fertility of the soil, the pic- 
 turesqueness of the landscape, the beauty of the 
 cascade, and the value of the water-power, the abun- 
 dance" and size of the timber, and the facilities for 
 building a house on an elevated plateau, where a 
 delicious climate reigned throughout the year. 
 
 " The house of the present proprietor," he con- 
 tinued, " is built at the foot of the hill, so that he 
 suffers from the intense heat of the summer; but 
 we can let Sam Watson have that, and teach him 
 how to cultivate tropical fruits for us, which we can 
 enjoy in our eyrie." 
 
 " Sam Watson ! " exclaimed Freda, " is he coming ? " 
 
 327
 
 328 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " Yes, as soon as his leg is well enough to allow 
 him to travel, he will bring on your horses. He 
 wishes to settle here, and I promise'd to get work 
 for him. I knew that Rupert would employ him, 
 if I asked it. And, by the bye, Rupert, I gave 
 him a whole packet of envelopes addressed to you, 
 in which he is to send letters from different points 
 of his journey, to acquaint you with his safety, and 
 that of his precious charge. So you will probably 
 have something to keep you lively while I am gone. 
 Sam is an excellent house carpenter, and if we 
 make him boss, and work under him, we shall not 
 require much help besides." 
 
 " Make him what ? " said Freda, in amazement. 
 
 " Boss," repeated her uncle. 
 
 " And what is boss ? " asked Freda again. 
 
 There Was a general laugh at her simplicity, and 
 the meaning of the mysterious syllable was ex- 
 plained. 
 
 " You and I and Sam," continued Gilbert, " will 
 have to rough it a little, and live in the old shanty 
 till the house is up." 
 
 " And where are we to be all that time ? " said 
 Freda. 
 
 " You will have to stay where you are, I guess," 
 replied Gilbert. 
 
 "And /guess we wont submit to such treatment; 
 will we, Freddie ? " 
 
 " Decidedly not," responded Freddie. " I want 
 to have a share of the fun." 
 
 " Here's a pretty state of affairs ! " exclaimed
 
 GILBER TS JOURNEY. 329 
 
 Gilbert ; " a regular woman's rights meeting got up 
 on the first opportunity ! What do you say to this, 
 Rupert ? " 
 
 " I second everything that they propose," said 
 Rupert ; " and beg that affairs may be so managed 
 that we shall not be deprived of their society. In 
 such a climate as you describe, with the shade of 
 luxuriant trees, I think we might all live very com- 
 fortably under canvas until the house is built." 
 
 " Excellent ! " said Gilbert. 
 
 " Delightful ! " murmured Freda. 
 
 " Oh, Jolly ! " exclaimed Freddie. 
 
 " Then I suppose you girls will be glad to see 
 me back again," said Gilbert, rather maliciously; 
 " though you are not disposed to break your hearts 
 over my departure." 
 
 " Oh, uncle ! " exclaimed Freda, " it is positively 
 wicked of you to say that. How can you expect 
 me to appear anything but cheerful, and light- 
 hearted, when you must know how happy I am in 
 being once more with Rupert, after his going away 
 and saying I should never see him again ! Indeed 
 I am very sorry that you should have to leave us so 
 soon, and on my business too ! Can you forgive 
 me for being happy ? " 
 
 " I can, and do, my child," he replied, tenderly, 
 for he detected a quaver in her voice, which con- 
 firmed Freddie's assertion that her gayety was as- 
 sumed for Rupert's sake. " Be as merry as you 
 can, and take care that Rupert does not get another 
 attack of fever. Your hands are hot and dry now,
 
 330 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 my friend. As your doctor, I prescribe a warm 
 bath, and bed. As your nurse, I'll go and prepare 
 them for you. And you, young ladies, get you off 
 to bed likewise, and secure your beauty sleep." 
 
 He hurried Freda's parting from her lover, under 
 the pretence of carrying him off to the bath-room, 
 and the two girls went into the chamber they were 
 to occupy in common. 
 
 The murmur of voices from the adjoining room, 
 which was that allotted to the use of Rupert and 
 his friend, warned them to stifle their sobs, and to 
 let no sound of grief be heard through the thin par- 
 tition wall. 
 
 But their pantomime was expressive; and poor 
 Freda's whispers were not the less heart-rending in 
 their misery, because they were so low that Freddie 
 could scarcely catch their meaning. 
 
 They were no sooner alone than Freda threw her- 
 self into her friend's arms, and wept convulsively, 
 though in silence, while Freddie's sympathetic tears 
 fell fast for company. 
 
 " O Freddie ! How long is this dreadful struggle 
 to go on ? If Rupert would only loathe me, as I 
 loathe myself, for being the child of such a man, then 
 he would cease to love me, and I could die. But I 
 must live on for his sake, though I know I have no 
 right to live ; for all that man's wickedness must be 
 latent in my nature, and will show itself when the 
 occasion calls it forth." 
 
 " Freda ! Hold your tongue, or talk common 
 sense ! There is no wickedness in you ! You are
 
 GILBERTS JOURNEY. 331 
 
 an angel ! A dear, suffering angel, cruelly punished 
 for faults she never could so much as imagine could 
 be committed by others far less commit them her- 
 self." 
 
 " Oh, the shame seems more than I can bear!" 
 moaned Freda. 
 
 " Think of your mother, darling ! You resemble 
 her Rupert said so ; and he said too that you were 
 more beautiful, and had a superior mind, and more 
 firmness of character than she had, good and beauti- 
 ful as she was." 
 
 " He should not say such things," sobbed Freda, 
 a little comforted nevertheless. " How can there 
 be any good in me, with such a father? " 
 
 " He only spoke the truth," continued Freddie ; 
 " for Gilbert entirely agreed with him, and uncles 
 don't flatter." 
 
 " If I were the only sufferer, I could bear my 
 cruel lot more patiently," whispered Freda. " I had 
 long suspected that he caused my mother's death, 
 but until to-day I never realized all his villainy, nor 
 thought that I inherited the disgrace of it. But 
 when Rupert asked me to be his wife, I remem- 
 bered Mrs. Templeman, and the image of that man 
 seemed to rise up between him and me, and the 
 shadow of his criminal life came over me, like a 
 black cloud." 
 
 "When the first bitterness is past, the sacrifice 
 will bring its own reward," said Freddie ; " you will 
 feel more and more that you have done right. And 
 Rupert, when he is quite strong again, will help you
 
 332 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 to be cheerful, instead of depending altogether upon 
 your exertions, as he has done to-day." 
 
 " Poor Rupert ! " sighed Freda. " When I think 
 that he has to suffer for that other's crimes, my 
 heart swells with rage and vindictiveness ! " 
 
 " Then try not to think of it. Think, instead, 
 how delighted you would have been, about this 
 time last night, if you had known that you were 
 within a few miles of Rupert, and that when once 
 re-united, you would be his companion for the rest 
 of your lives." 
 
 "And my dear uncle Gilbert would also have 
 been delighted," said Freda, smiling, "could he 
 have known that he had two Winifreds under his 
 care, and that the one he saw at Chester was not his 
 niece." 
 
 " Do you suppose he was under that mistake ? " 
 said Freddie, looking shy. 
 
 " How else can you account for his straifge con- 
 duct throughout the journey? If we had not 
 arrived here some hours earlier than he arranged it, 
 and caught him asleep in the garden, he would 
 have been off, no one knows where, and we might 
 not have been able to find him, after we had dis- 
 covered his mistake. Oh, there is still much 
 very much to be thankful for in this world, Freddie, 
 darling ! I have found a dear uncle, and my life 
 with Rupert will be happy, as soon as I see him 
 looking really cheerful ; and you and Gilbert will 
 be so blest that some of the sunshine from your lot 
 will fall upon us, and crown us with joy. I have
 
 GILBER 7" S JO URNE Y. 333 
 
 been selfishly occupied with my own sorrows all 
 this time have you nothing to tell of your happi- 
 ness, Freddie ? " 
 
 "Not much," answered Freddie, blushing; "he 
 said it was selfish to be very happy when one's 
 friends were miserable ; and I agreed with him, of 
 course ; and I managed to tell him all the bad about 
 myself." 
 
 " The bad' What bad ? " demanded Freda. 
 
 " About the Circus and all that," replied Freddie. 
 
 " What did he say ? " asked Freda, anxiously. 
 
 " He just made fun of it altogether, and said it 
 had done me no harm; and and he asked me 
 to grant him a short interview to-morrow before he 
 goes." 
 
 " Now I think I shall be able to sleep," said 
 Freda, "for I have something pleasant to think of." 
 
 When their heads were on their pillows, Freddie 
 kept up*a gentle buzzing on the same topic until she 
 fell asleep, and it was not long before Freda followed 
 her example. 
 
 All were astir early in the morning. Rupert, 
 much benefited 'by Gilbert's treatment, was going to 
 accompany him to the city. 
 
 The horses were saddled ; the jewels were placed 
 in a gold-digger's belt, and fastened securely round 
 Gilbert's waist ; Freda and Rupert were talking, on 
 the piazza, when Gilbert took Freddie's hand, and 
 led her into a vacant room. 
 
 "Freddie," he said, "tell me frankly, do you 
 know why I kept out of your sight on the journey?"
 
 334 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " I think," she stammered out, " you believed me 
 to be your niece." 
 
 " Do you hate and scorn me for thinking so ? " 
 
 " No, you acted honorably," she replied, with a 
 burst of enthusiasm, " that is, if " 
 
 " That's enough ! Don't spoil it with an if" he 
 exclaimed ; then caught her in his arms, pressed one 
 fervent kiss upon her lips, and was off without an- 
 other word. 
 
 When Freddie recovered from her astonishment, 
 and joined Freda on the piazza, the two horsemen 
 were at some distance on the road.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 PANDORA'S BOX. 
 
 THREE months have passed away, leaving in their 
 train all the glories of the California!! spring. 
 
 A partially finished house stands on a plateau 
 among the foot-hills of the Sierras, and beside it are 
 two spacious tents. 
 
 A swing, that is half a hammock, hangs from the 
 boughs of a magnificent red-wood tree, and in it 
 lolls Freddie, toying with the empty jewel-case, and 
 watching, almost sadly, the figure of Gilbert Brace- 
 bridge, as, mounted upon Sultan, he rapidly recedes 
 along the road to San Francisco. 
 
 Watching the same object, but concealed by 
 the trees and bushes from Freddie's sight, stand 
 Rupert and Freda. He has recovered strength both 
 of mind and body, and is now consoling and sup- 
 porting her, as she leans, weeping, on his breast. 
 It is the first time that she has given way, in his 
 presence, to any violent exhibition of grief at their 
 sad lot, and the present occasion may well excuse it. 
 
 Gilbert will bring back with him a marriage 
 license and a minister, and he and Freddie will be 
 married that evening. 
 
 335
 
 336 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 It is no wonder that poor Freda feels, with double 
 intensity, the bitterness of her own lot. She whis- 
 pers, " Don't let Freddie know how mean and envi- 
 ous I am ! " And Rupert wipes away her tears and 
 tries to comfort her. 
 
 Freddie herself is not half satisfied. She feels as 
 though she were taking an unfair advantage of her 
 friends. 
 
 " Pandora's box ! " she soliloquized. " I wish I 
 could find any hope for them in the bottom of it. 
 Nothing but crimson velvet ; not even the color of 
 hope ! The bottom is very thick. I really think 
 there must be something hidden there." 
 
 The false bottom in her own trunk had, no doubt, 
 given her some skill in such matters, for, after 
 manipulating the sides and ornaments for a short 
 time, she pressed a spring, and the bottom of the 
 casket sprang up. 
 
 She looked eagerly into the cavity thus revealed, 
 expecting to find some costly jewel, but she saw 
 nothing but a letter, addressed to Winifred Trevan- 
 ian. Knowing that this must have been written 
 and placed there by the mother, for her daughter to 
 read after she was dead, Freddie forbore to touch it, 
 but carried the box to Freda, told her briefly, how 
 she had discovered it, and turned to go. 
 
 "Stay, Freddie, dear," said her friend; "this can 
 contain no secret that I would withhold from you." 
 
 She read it with a puzzled and frightened air. 
 
 Suddenly she burst into a wild fit of laughter, 
 Jmd pushing the letter into Rupert's hand, cried :
 
 PANDORAS BOX. 337 
 
 " Read ! Read ! And tell me what it's about ! It 
 is too good to be true ! I can't believe it ! " 
 
 Rupert encircled her with his arms, and she leaned 
 on him, laughing and crying like a child. 
 
 " This was written by your mother, Freda," he 
 said, solemnly. 
 
 " I know it ! What is it she says ? I cannot 
 believe it ! " 
 
 Rupert read as follows : 
 
 MY BELOVED CHILD : May our merciful Father in His own good 
 time, reveal to you the hiding-place in which I shall conceal this 
 paper, and the two certificates which will prove the truth of what I 
 state. Your father died in India when you were little more than 
 three years old. His distant cousin, who bore the same name, in- 
 duced, or I may say compelled me to marry him a few months after- 
 wards. I was not to blame for this haste. I was in my soul faith- 
 ful to the memory of my beloved husband ; but I was alone among 
 strangers, in a strange land, surrounded by enemies, and in terror 
 for the safety of my child, I was in Randolph Trevanian's power. 
 He was a wicked man, and I feared, but never loved him. He 
 exercised a power over me which I could not resist. He made me 
 promise never to tell you that he is not your father. I did not 
 promise never to write it, and I pray to God that He will lead you 
 to the discovery, for you will be happy in knowing that your real 
 father was as good and noble, as this supposed one is vile and dis- 
 honorable. I write in dread of discovery. Your father collected 
 these jewels for you. They were to be your dowry. Oh, that I 
 may be able to preserve them for you ! I keep them hidden in a 
 secret place, for he uses every artifice to obtain possession of them. 
 May God bless and protect my child, is the prayer of 
 Her unhappy mother, 
 
 ELLEN TREVANIAN. 
 
 "Thank God for this great mercy !" exclaimed 
 Rupert. " Freddie ! How can we thank you "
 
 338 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 But Freddie was gone. There lay the box, how- 
 ever, and in it the certificates, which proved the two 
 marriages one at Southampton, between Ellen 
 Bracebridge and Randolph Trevanian, and the 
 other, four years later, in India, between Ellen Tre- 
 vanian, widow, and Randolph Ellerton Trevanian. 
 
 Freda had barely comprehended the full extent 
 of her happiness, when a succession of wild outcries, 
 accompanied by the firing of guns, drew them to 
 the space in front of the house. 
 
 "Are we attacked by Indian savages?" cried 
 Freda. 
 
 " No, no those are not Indian voices," replied 
 Rupert, hurrying on. 
 
 "Oh! (with tremendous crescendo), Mas'r Gilbert 
 (diminuendo)," was uttered in the stentorian tones 
 of Sam Watson. 
 
 Bang bang bang went Gilbert's Winchester 
 rifle, which was in Freddie's hands. 
 
 "Oh! Mas'r Gilbert !" with the usual crescendo 
 and diminuendo effects, proceeded from the scarce 
 less powerful lungs of Lindy, otherwise Luanda a 
 sable damsel of whom Sam had become enamoured 
 on his journey, and whom he had persuaded to 
 marry him after a few days' courtship. 
 
 Bang went Sam's old gun. Then the rifle and 
 the yells went off together, and Gilbert looked 
 round. Shouts and firing were repeated. Seeing 
 that something was amiss, he turned and re-ascended 
 the steep road. 
 
 Half way up he met Freddie, wild with excite-
 
 PANDORA'S BOX. 339 
 
 merit, and either unable, or perversely unwilling, to 
 utter a coherent sentence from which he could 
 divine the cause of the tumult. 
 
 " No harm has happened, I can see that in your 
 face; but, in Heaven's name, what is it, Fred- 
 die?" he said, leaping from his horse, as he met her. 
 
 " ' Glory ! Glory ! Hallelujah ! ' " sang Freddie, as 
 she sprang into the vacant saddle. '" Could anybody 
 have imagined such a thing ! ' We'll go marching 
 on ! ' It's all right at last ! And I found it ! " 
 
 " Found what, you provoking monkey ? " said 
 Gilbert, trying to snatch her down. But Sultan had 
 caught the infection of her high spirits, and eluded 
 his grasp by bounding forward, and carrying his 
 mistress up the hill at a canter. 
 
 Gilbert followed with all speed, but only arrived, 
 breathless, at the top, to be half smothered by 
 Freda's embraces, while his right arm ran some risk 
 of being dislocated by Rupert's energetic hand- 
 shakings. 
 
 The truth -at length dawned upon him, and then, 
 for the first time, they comprehended how 'deeply 
 he had sympathized with his niece and friend in 
 their past trouble. His gravity sobered them all, 
 for his heart was too full for loud rejoicing. 
 
 He read his sister's letter with deep emotion, and 
 replaced it carefully in its hidden receptacle. Then 
 the usual bright smile came back to his face, as, 
 returning the casket to Freda, he said, "You 
 thought you had sold all your jewels, Winifred; 
 but the most precious one was left behind."
 
 340 WINIFRED'S JEWELS. 
 
 " I hope, Master Gilbert," said Sam, who was 
 not without the feelings of inquisitiveness common 
 to humanity, whether black or white, " that there 
 was some very good news in that letter." 
 
 " So good, old friend," replied Gilbert, clapping 
 him on the back, " that the result of it is, we shall 
 have two weddings to-morrow, instead of one to- 
 day." 
 
 THE END.
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
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