The Storyteller

New Zealand Tablet, 5 November 1914, Page 3

The Storyteller

(By . John .Boyle < O’Reilly.) -.V

MOONDYNE

BOOK FOURTH.— CONVICT SHIP> ' r - iy**f! -h'h7-' "'"c —■/ •• • *V ; XII. W'l .■I:;! -HUSBAND AND WIFE. , j ' ‘ Hideous • incidents filled the days and nights as - the convict ship sailed southward with her burden ; ‘ of disease and death. • The mortality among the con- : victs was frightful.. Weakened 7 and depressed*fey 1 the ' long ;drought/: the continuous heat, and the - . poisonous atmosphere, they succumbed to the fever in its first stages. :. />:. The dead were laid in a row on the; port side, as they were carried frotn' the hold. Relays of ; > sailors forked at the • shrouding and . burial. The f, bodies were ■wrapped in sail-cloth, with a cannon- ■'.: Ball; tied at the feet. ■; As each coppse was - hastily shrouded, it was passed forward, -and the ghastly roll- was committed to* the deep. ' - : ' . There was no time for ceremony but Mr Haggett, as often as he could be spared from the hold, stood beside the opening in the : : rail, ; where the 7 ■ bodies "were launched, and , followed each 7 dull plunge with a /word of prayer.:; ;* : :/ .. r Mr Sheridan; said Mr Wyville, .as he came' from Captain Draper’s room : on the' first ; night : of | his . illness, :;* wijl you ; take i command of the ' ship ; until the captain recovery?* ,- 0> Sheridan assented; and Mr Wyville, calling the ship’s ..officers 'to the poop, : instructed them’ to obey- . Captain Sheridan as the eqmmander of .the vessel. . As. soon . as Sheridan took . command, he spread £ every -inch of canvas the ship could carry, and held her before the wind. ' &. ' : ' y 7 ■■ : r- w We shall : shake off this fever when we clear. 7. the Southern tropics,’ he said to Mr Wyville. * The cold wind round the Cape will kill it in an hour. ’ . " 9^7 Captain?.Draper lay in his stateroom, half coma-:■ tose, muttering incoherent words ; in low delirium of the fever. By his side sat Mr Wyville, giving him nbw and again the medicines prescribed. The-sick man’s face was a ghastly - sight. The . offensiveness ; of the protruding eyes and ; cracked ; lips was 7 hideously ■: exaggerated. And as he lay smouldering in the islow fire of: the sickness, he . mut--7 tered things even more repulsive than his physical vappearance.. ; f; ; _ . s' , The female hospital of the ship was filled with ;sufferers —indeed, the entire / held .of the vessel was , ; at once a hospital and charnel-house. There were no regular attendants among the male convicts ; those who had hot been attacked waited on those who had, till their own turn came. ; [-7: ■/■' ■ : • In the female:? compartment, which ' was., separated from the regular hospitkl, Alice Wklmsley had entire charge. Her healthy life enabled her tp bear, fsl%^ 0r 4 inar y Strain; day and-night she^ was ■ ministering to" the. stricken, 'and they blessed her : with, words ; and looks as ' she passed from sufferer to sufferer. The door leading thence to the hospital Sister Cecilia kept locked, and she herself carried . the key. a Sister Cecilia stood one day within the hospital, at the door of a small room. Kneeling before her, on;/the' floor, with streaming eyes and upraised hands, as if praying for a life, was a woman, in the : :i grey dress of a. convict. 7 777- •>. ‘ 0, for God’s sake, jet me send them ! O, don ’t v deny me—let me go and wait on the poor sufferers. poor heart is breaking when I think that I might

ha doing some good, - Don’t refuse -feel that God would-pardon me if I could : work but my, life ' caring for others. ’ ’ : It was Harriet Draper who supplicated the nun, | and wfyo had besought'her for days with the same ceaseless cry. Sister'Cecilia would gladly -Kaye 4 allowed' her to work for the sick, but she'feared that Alice would see her.. She had been compelled for days to refuse the heatrending petition. .3. . “ You shall have your'wish,” said the nun this day, with a kind look at Harriet," but hot in the ' , hospital. H\ v^' |tlsl • - r ‘/Anywhere, anywhere,’ cried' Harriet; rising ; with , a wistful face ;, ‘‘ only let. me tend some one ’ who is sick. I want to do some good. 1, 'd | C ~ “ Harriet,” said Sister Cecilia; t C you have told me your unhappy; story, arid 1 am sure you wish to be a good woman— ” . , . .-■• “I do—God knows I do! ” interrupted the unfortunate one. ; \ : . ■ .. ;.r “ As you hope to be forgiven, you must forgive \ you must forgive even your husband.” . - : : Poor Harriett covered her face in her hands, and made no - answer, only moved her head from side to «ide r as if in palm - ... .... ;\f ~;.; / if your husband were on board this ■ ship, sick and" dying of the fever, -would you tend him*and-forgive him before he died V • . * , **■ Wild-eyed the woman stared s at Sister Cecilia, .' as if she had, understood the - question. ' ■ ; ‘Heis on board—he is dying of the fever-r—will you hot take care of him ?’ - . : _ x : • ‘ Oh-Oh !’ wailed Harriet, in a ' long cry, sinking" on her;knees, and' clasping Sister Cecilia’s ; dress, u H^would drive me -awayhe -would not let me stay there—he does not love me V . 3 : 1 ; y 1 But you love him—you .tend him, and you will forgive him.f Will you not V . .d./v' V ; ;.- -‘Yes, I will—l will wait on him day and night, ; and he shall recover with my nursing, ’•;'- :. -" • ' She dried her weeping eyes, to show the Sister • , her immediate readiness and calmness. . ‘ Take me to him, ’ she; said, with only.quivering ; liph'V ‘ let me begin now. ’ ' ' d . • 4. Gome, then,’ : .said : Sister Cecilia ; and r she led Harriet Draper to the hatch,; and aft to the captain’s quarters. “- ’ - v>; : '■f* ■’ •, r , ; ' ■ . Mr Wyville rose as Sister Cecilia entered, followed by Harriet. As he did .so, the; sick man moved; ' and' muttered something, with ; upraised . feeble arm. - ; . . \ ' ! With a low sob or cry, Harriet darted-past Sis.ter Cecilia, and sank beside the bed." She; took the upraised arm and drew it to her breast, and covered the feverish hand with tearful kisses." At the touch the sick man ceased to wander, and turning : at one ; seemed, to fall into a peaceful sleep.' ' < V ' - . Harriet, seeing this, .after her first . emotion, turned to Mr Wyville and Sifter Cecilia with a smile of joy, and still holding hei r husband arui to her ..breast, ..pointed to his restful sleep. They Smiled at her iii return, were brimming with tears. I '. ■. ;.; ; ; w:. ; -.f" V - . : C Sister Cecilia instructed her asV.|p the '* attendance,. and then withdrew, leaving the guilty and Unconscious husband in his wife’s cafe. There was ; joy at least in one heart ,on board that night. From ; her low seat beside -the bed, Harriet Draper watched his face, murmuring soft and endearing, fwords, : and ■ obeying the doctor ’s instructions to - the letter and i second. - .T - . ‘He will recover, and he will know me, ’ she f \ whispered to her heart ; T I shall win back his /heart ’ by being faithiuL and ' forgiving. ’ .; ; The climax of the fever would not eonie till the sixth day;; and during these 'days Harriet watched her husband with scarcely ah hour’s test. Eypry hour that passed added to his chance ?of recovery,

SppiMiiiiii^^p^^ as the ship was -sailing-swiftly toward the cooler latitudes'.' ■■ .. i^^*'*£yvwm y ~ - TT **V -' (•; '*: ..' , :.- ■ ■ *.. ‘ 'i v £>.::■ :• ~' -■' One] day, While Harriet sat beside the bed, holding the feeble hand, as she loved to do, there dame a lucid interval; to her husband. She had been ; mur- # muring soft ;: Words as ; she . kissed his hand, when, looking, at his face, she-.rn.et-his eyes fixed-upon her. »••- For a moment there came a light of recognition and- . dismay in his ! look j but before he could speak his recairhis memory, the light faded; and be ; reverted to a state of sluggish delirium. 2 v.- For the first time since she came to his side, a ‘ chill of fear pierced Harriet’s heart. For *brie instant she knew he had-- seen : her. But there was .no love ip the look of recognition. , - What if the same cold- stare should return on his, recovery, and . continue ?', j'lWv ■ - r ' : :. w’-,; r\ <'/:•■..£,vl-i ~ r v * God will not let it be !’ whispered her heart. When he. recovers he will surely love me as of old!’ ' , v y V J.' .v|fe” V" ■ - V *•■ •„ C v fc •- _ . J* ' „ ‘r-fT XIIL ; . WOMAN’S - LOVE. AND ; HATRED. On the later days of Captain Draper ’s illness he .;• moaned and tumbled restlessly; One of the worst I symptoms of the fever was its persistent, hold on the brain. The sick man • raved constantly, carried on excited conversations, gave" Orders to' the sailors, and, in the ' midst of these \ wanderings, again and again reverted; to one dark subject that seemed to haunt his inflamed mind. ‘ ■ ; - ■: He lived over and over again,- day after day, terrible scenes, that had surely been rehearsed in his mind..before-the sickness. In his ? fantasy : he was standing by the raik of . the ship, while a boat was slowly lowered, in which sat Sheridan. As the boat swung over ;;the raging ; sea; suspended. by a rope at bow and stern, the bow rope parted, the boat fell ■ i perpendicularly, and Sheridan was flung - into the ocean and drowned. f /y ;• • •. > : V During this series of mental'pictures, the action -of the raying Ulan plainly showed that his hand had . r cut v the. rope ; and his, exultation at.-the, completion of the murder was horrible to sec.. He would tu*n his face- to the partition, away from the light, and ■ chuckle ; i with a vile sound, rubbing his hands in devilish delight. M: - : t : ;ci: ■ ~ V. t ; One ' day, Mr Wyviile sat beside the bed, intending to relieve the tireless Harriet for a few hours. But Harriet still lingered in the room. . ;; Draper had gone once more through" the hideous pantomime; accompanying every act with words .expressing the baleful intention. .Mr Wyville sat _ regardm^^im. With compressed lips. When s the -■ horrible culmination had ' come, and the' wretch chuckled over his success; Mr tty ville looked up and met Harriet ’s fearful' gaze. - > ... > ", ' kCurse hint;!’, whispered' Draper, :f he Was always in ray way. I meant it always—but this was the best plan. Ita; !ha ! better than pistol or poison —accident—ha ! ha ! drowned by accident !’ -4 w ‘Do you of whom he speaks ?’ asked Mr •ii Wyville of Harriet. . * ; .; , f- A man named Sheridan- ’ she answered ; ‘he | talks of him a great deal. ’ .- *' HT. - - r ~ ‘ A man named Sheridan !’ repeated Mr Wyville to himself. " , She speaks as if she did not know ■ him.” -, ; : \ ' - ; ' ' '.. He sat silent for a time, his eyes fixed oh the guilty man before him, who was unconsciously lavf ing bare the foul secrets of his heart. . At last he turned to Harriet and said— sD||- .1 ■ ? ’&y. ; Do i you hut know this man named Sheridan ? * ‘ No.’. . v : he answer surprised him, and he became silent M again. Presently he sent Harriet to her rest, « 4 Ido hot see the end, ? he wearily murmured, when he was alone with the sick man; ‘ but I f.pre-

7 bode darkly. Providence lias, kept this miscreant from a . deeper crime than he has yet committed. JEeaven-grant that he has also 1 been preserved for repentance and atonement! ’ 4 '-^;-v~^^^^; , . Mr Wyville had resolved to be at Draper’s side when the Hour of sanity returned, and to keep his unfortunate wife, out of sight until he had*prepared T r him -for her presence. : 77 .. o r '■:.,: : r}- *' > J-t was midnight when that moment arrived. Draper "had slept soundly for several hours. Mr Wyville first knew that he had returned, to con.r sciousness by the movement of his hands. Presently ' he spoke in a: feeble yoice. 51 J ’ - -j I have been sick, ’t I ? How many, days ? ’/ * Six days. ’ ;■ o: ‘ Are; we still becalmed?’ ;.. r . ' -7:/ 7 : 7 r : ii ‘ No; we are in. the Southern trades, ’ . Draper said no"more!' He moved his head from ■: side'to side, trying .to look around: the room, Mr Wyville remained still and silent. 7 -V?/: " 3/ . - ‘ Have you been here with me? ’ -he asked at "r length. /■ You couldn’t have been-here all -the time. ; : r ~ Not all the-time. ’ ' , / ,' t/ V^rnW/- ; ; . ‘ T suppose xIV spoke 0 aloud, ' and- and . -raved about people?’ f?: i'" : :/ V; Mr Wyville looked suddenly at him, and caught / .the - reptilian, eye -that watched i the effect ' of the : ■ question. ; He .was impelled to speak sooner, than he ' had intended, by the cunning of the fellow. ‘ Yes,’ he said, keeping his powerful look on k: Draper’s ace, as if he/ addressed" his inner soul as well as outward sense ‘ you have told the. whole t villainous purpose -of your heart. If you recover, you may . thank v God for striking you with sickness to keep you from murder and the murderer’s doom:_ Had you carried out your design nothing could have 7 saved you; for there are others here who knew your history and your motive.,’ /. ' ";. ,*;> . , Draper did not answer, but lay like a scotched snake, perfectly still, hardly breathing, but watching Mr Wyville with a cold eye.: _ / -. ‘ Do you know s who has nursed you through your sickness ? * ... : ; .'*y3® : Draper moved his head negatively. / ' IJ ‘. Would you like to know,?’ • ... : He only looked more keenly at Mr Wyville, hut there was a light of alarm in the look. ‘You have been cared for by one whom you have blighted—who owed you nothing but curses/ Day night she; has been with —and she has saved your life. ’ 7',-..;•• ■' • /. -■ 7 //. . Still Draper :did7npt move or speak, but only .100ked. ,% ; ..7 - ' - J . ,3 ‘ You know of whom I speak,’ said Mr Wyville. ■:. Are-you-ready now to ;; meet - your unhappy wife,/ and' to ask her forgiveness ? *7/ : r 7- 3 H Or/ ;. He-had risen as: he spoke. Draper’s eyes followed his face. - The slcength . of manhood, even or . facial deceit; having been drained by the fever, there was nothing left of Draper’s real .•■ self but his wily , nature. i '7./'7- ; -...'' ■■ ‘,S«n7 As Mr Wyville rose the door opened slowly, and Harriet entered, advanced a few steps, and stood X still in fear. She looked at her husband’s face. " For t one instant his cold eye glanced from Mr Wyville and tookher in, and then returned to its . former, _r. direction. ' J. / 3 : '37Harriet’s heart seemed to stop beating. A cold • and despair^mg^/ifumbhess ;; ; began to creep over her.. 3 She foresaw the r nature of the meeting .she knew now what would be her reception: Her limbs slowly - failed her, and she sank on the floor, riot heavily, but hopelessly and dumb. Mr Wyville,hearing*the 3; slight souhd, tu]^d -and read the story of despair like, an open page. With a rush of I indignation in hju blood,, to, wrath, he regarded. Draper. . ‘ Remember, * . he said : sternly, ‘ your guilt is known. - You still have one chance to escape the r s v / - . - . ■ _

punishment you deserve. It lies inher hands.’ He -turned from the bed andleftthe room’ s Draper lay c motionless for several'miHutes, "knowing ’ that his victim and wife was' grovelling in the room, waiting for his word. ’ •*« -i« h * Come here,’ he said at length, in a voice all the 7 colder for « its weakness. 7 .- crept to the bed and laid her head near : his hand* But he did not touch her. : U //^i-3 3 //?: ‘ I want to see you, ’ he said. ““ i. • The poor woman raised 5 her miserable . face till their eyes met. Hers were streaming with bitter tears. His were as cold arid dry as'a snake ’s. ‘ She / would have cried out his name, * but the freezing ".I 77 glitter ■of his eyes shivered impulse and : fixed - her in terrified fascination. „/ : - ; ‘You 5 ' and he!’ he l said slowly, *as if thinking ; aloud. -: And . after all, you would • have been left, - And so/I’m in your power at last?C : *? f •/• 7773 :> v\. 3331/ It was appalling to see the lips, and wasted s - lower face of the man - twist into a smile, while the - serpent glance above was intensified. r . - 1: Poor Harriet sank down slowly, the slow :sHudder creeping ' brer her once more. Her blood had a ceased to course in her veins at the cruel reception* She had no thoughts; she only felt that there was < no hope for her. ■' ■ /•'. /,- ;■ - : .. ft.. •/ • s lg; The first love of some women is mysteriously ;- tenacious. • It ceases to. be ..a passion, . > and becomes ‘iy a principle in life; "7 It is never destroyed until life ceases. It may change into a torture may become » * excited like white-hot : -iron;: burning the - heart It binds or it may take on a ; lesser fire, and change into red hatred ;' but it never grows cold—-it never loses its power -to command 'at a thrill the deepest motives, of her nature. ■ • • ' Vr ~■;/•.■/ ' - ' Through all phases but one had passed the love : of Harriet Draper. She knew -her husband was a villain ; that her hideous degradation had come from his hand; that he hated her .no w, and would be rid of her; and the-knowledge had only changed | her love to a torture, without killing it. ;?*•*-%£. % But the change from white heat to fierce red is not infinite. It is a, transition T rapidly made. At the white heat the.woman’s love burns herself; at the ; I red it burns the man - she loves. A Woman’s-hatred ?. isionly.her love on fire. . I didn’t think ,it was you,’ said Draper, making no pretence to deceive her t-I thought you were dead years ago. * . - r ■ .~. r Something stirred in Harriet’s heart at the em-- ... phasis—something like a; grain of resentment;- She had forgotten self ;j she now thought of herself, and. of what she had • gone through fOi* this ; man’s sake. . a.?a ‘ How did you come here?’ he asked. ‘Did—he bring you here? O, curse you, you’ve got me in the trap.. Well, we’ll see!’ 03 -, . • .._7 ‘I have made no trap,’ said Harriet. -. ‘No one brought me here but myself and—you. ? I am a prisoner.’ : ‘ • : Draper was evidently surprised at this news bpt it only momentarily checked his .rancour. 'V3'T J'fc -- I suppose you robbed someone or mur —V 1 As : : he spoke Harriet struggled to her knees with a pitiful gulping sound, and clutched at the. bedclothes, trying to gain her feet., . Draper looked at her for a moment, and; then^ebntitihedfsli^y^^: ‘ I suppose you robbed someone or murdered * v. With a spring like a tiger, and a terrible low 1 cry, Harriet was on her- feet, the a coverlet-in her ; i clenched' hands, her flaming eyes ; her husband’s X&C0;-" - vv.0'.0 ; :.~ ‘ Dare!’ she hissed; ‘ and I will tear the tongue from your cruel mouth!’ : • T J? Qr half a-minute the two regarded each other. In that half-mmutc the while heat of Harriet’s love became red. 'Hitherto, she had hated' the for . whom Draper had deserted her, and’ had hated her- ■ self. : ; Now, for the first time, she hated him. v /-> ' 'O' -V■ ■■:- ■ ■ ■ ■•• :■'

< TT-n • , i ! ' ' 0 * Villam! monster ! ’ she V cried, . throwing the coverlet front her with fierce : revulsion; / you speak of .'■■ murder to the murderess you made! ■ O, God, God ! is there no ‘ lightning to strike this man dead ! Murder I have , done in madness ’ — Shq paused, with upraised, hands, as if she saw aivisibh-9-‘ 0, merciful God! that innocent one !0; ' >;/., x r »^ > Harriet staggered across the room at the first dreadful thought’ of the bitter suffering endured by another for her crime! She had • partially repented, felt is true but, secretly, she knew that she had never . pitied her rival. . Now. she could have suddenly died with grief for Ijer .wrong. . Harriet did not know that a strong hand upheld her as she fell, and supported her from .'the: room. She recovered in the open air, and looked about her as if awakening from a terrible dream. ' Sister Cecilia came and led her back to her old solitary quarters in the hospital. ” . - v X Mr Wyville and the doctor stood beside Draper’s bed; ' He. had swooned.. » * " V--‘ls he dead?’. ' J ivAw v * No,’ said the doctor; ‘he has come out of the fever quite strong. He - will recover ' unless some/thing unforeseen interfere. He is out of danger. ’ •X' . XIV. ' ' THE DARKNESS OF DESOLATION. . _ The . recovery of Captain Draper was regarded as" a good omen by the sailors ana convicts and with h, return of confidence to them the fever daily declined. • f 'The.' average of recoveries grew larger, and there were few new 'seizures. ! ‘.• ;♦ - -X ?. \ From - the day of his interview with Harriet* Draper saw her no more. Neither did he see Mr Wyville. The steward alone attended him. He was forced to ponder on the future, and every new possibility was harder to accept than the last.”. During those days of convalescence, his coward soul preyed upon by his villainous imagination, Draper suffered almost the torments of the damned, a~. ~ / i., When the heartbroken Harriet recovered from the excitement of the dreadful interview, her soul had only one feeling— As one dying -of thirst might sit down on the burning sand, and commune with the devouring fire in the body, so this unhappy one sat upon her pallet in the hospital room, and communed for hours with the newlylighted consuming fire in her soul. : At last Mr Wyville entered the hospital with the physician. He approached Harriet, and spoke in a low tone, such as he had used when addressing her once before. ; = , : • > / • She ■ looked at him in surprise, at first; but asshe continued to 'gaze there rose in her mind a recollection that brought the blood strongly from her heart. She clasped her hands beseechingly ■ •, ■ I thought I had dreamt it in the cell—ldi not know that it was real. O, sir, did you Slot come to me and speak blessed words of comfort?^ Did you not say that he was guilty of part of my crime V ? ‘Yes, it was I who visited you in Waltbn-le-Dale. I come now to say the same words—tp ask you. to save the innocent one who has borne your penalty.’ - ~ : ■" - r-r- ......« 'I .* Thank Heaven, it is not too late! This moment let me do what is to be done. 0, sir, 1 know now' the whole of my prime; I never saw it till.this day; I pitied her nor - ; thought |if her ; but now, when I could ask - for even God’s pardon, I dare not ask for hers.’ ’ : liiSeeing ’ Harriet :in this repentant mind* Wy-- : ville lost no time in having her, confession formally •' taken • down and witnessed. , This >’ done, he spoke comforting; words to Harriet, who, indeed, was re- ; lieved by .the confession, and felt' happier than she had been for years. Assembling the officers, of ' the J .A& I-1 ' i. L ■ ; ; ‘5 HH * M H «M| 'f

• Convict Service in- the cabin, immediately afterward, Mr Wyville took his first step. as* ComptrollerGeneral/ announcing that Alice ; Walmsley was no logger a. prisoner, that her innocence had been fully , established ... by the’ confession of the real criminal, and that'henceforth, she was to be 1 treated respectfully*! as h passenger. . When this news was given to Sister Cecilia she almost lost her placid self-control in an outburst of happiness; v But she controlled herself, and • only . wept for very gladness. Then she started up and • almost ran towards her secluded, room, to break the tidings to Alice. V;!.;:. T" s? WhMz W&§k Mmmr. . Alice was sewing when Sister Cecilia entered. -, : ; U She had - acquired a habit of sewing -during her long solitary confinement, and now she was happiest while working at a long seam. She smiled plea- . , santly as Sister Cecilia ( entered. - / This kind little nun almost regretted that she bore news that would break the ,• calm stream . of Alice’s life. - ; She was happy as 'she was --would she ;be happier under better circumstances ? Would the awakened memories counterbalance or sink the ■ Xe . benefit ? v c ■:£, - si’ . . v ,-.v ..■ ... -X £ Good news; Alice!’ , ‘ Alice looked up from her*sewing inquiringly. - ‘ls the fever over at last ?’ she asked. v ‘Better than that, my child,’ said Sister Cecilia, sitting down beside her, and putting an arm v. around her-with tender affection. -- I have special good news, that will gladden every kind heart oh the ship. One of our prisoners, who has been in prison a long time, has been proved innocent, and has been made free by the order of the ComptrollerGeneral ! ” v : • i i As J Sister Cecilia spoke, she still embraced Alice' and looked down at her face. But there was no perceptible change, except a slight contraction of brow muscles denoting awakened interest. 'irt vf I ‘ And she, who was a poor prisoner an hour ago! , is now a respected passenger on the Queen’s ship if , continued Sister Cecilia lightly ; but in 'truth she was alarmed at Alice’s calmness. 1 f <*•*. It is a woman, then ?’ said Alice. *• ' - ‘Yes, dear ; a woman who has been nhle years in prison, suffering for another’s crime. : And that other has confessed Alice ! Alice !’ cried -Sister Cecilia, dismayed at the effect of her words. But Alice did not- hear-; she had slipped from her seat, pale as marble, fainting ; and were it not for the supporting arms of the nun she would have fallen headlong to the floor. Sister Cecilia did not alarm any one ; she was experienced in.emotional climaxes. She did the few things proper for the moment, then quietly awaited Alice’s recovery. ? - , In a few .minutes the pale face was raised, and . the mild eyes sought Sister Cecilia as if they asked a heart-rending question. r The little, Sister did not understand the appeal ; so she qnly encouraged ' Alice by a kind word to regain strength. ;j. ‘ And she-?’ whispered Alice with quivering lips, now speaking what she had looked ; ‘ where is she—the forsaken one ?’ .• , :L - ' . ‘ She is on board, my child ; she is a prisoner, . ' and a m’ost, unhappy one. She has no hope but the , peace of atonement. God send her comfort !’ 4 ‘ Amen ! Amen !’ cried Alice, paying her head on the Sister’s arm, and sobbing without restraint!' » >«?£ (To. be continued.) n & -i