from some cause or other, there was a pause of several minutes in theunseen street. mrs. thornton looked with wild anxiety at her son\"scountenance, as if to gain the interpretation of the sudden stillness fromhim. his face was set into rigid lines of contemptuous defiance; neitherhope nor fear could be read there.

fanny raised herself up:

\"are they gone?\" asked she, in a whisper.

\"gone!\" replied he. \"listen!\"

she did listen; they all could hear the one great straining breath; thecreak of wood slowly yielding; the wrench of iron; the mighty fall ofthe ponderous gates. fanny stood up tottering--made a step or twotowards her mother, and fell forwards into her arms in a fainting fit.

mrs. thornton lifted her up with a strength that was as much that of thewill as of the body, and carried her away.

\"thank god!\" said mr. thornton, as he watched her out. \"had you notbetter go upstairs, miss hale?\"

margaret\"s lips formed a \"no!\"--but he could not hear her speak, for thetramp of innumerable steps right under the very wall of the house, andthe fierce growl of low deep angry voices that had a ferocious murmurof satisfaction in them, more dreadful than their baffled cries not manyminutes before.

\"never mind!\" said he, thinking to encourage her. \"i am very sorry youshould hāve been entrapped into all this alarm; but it cannot last longnow; a few minutes more, and the soldiers will be here.\"

\"oh, god!\" cried margaret, suddenly; \"there is boucher. i know his face,though he is livid with rage,--he is fighting to get to the front--look!

look!\"

\"who is boucher?\" asked mr. thornton, coolly, and ing close to thewindow to discover the man in whom margaret took such an interest.

as soon as they saw mr. thornton, they set up a yell,--to call it nothuman is nothing,--it was as the demoniac desire of some terrible wildbeast for the food that is withheld from his rāvening. even he drew hackfor a moment, dismayed at the intensity of hatred he had provoked.

\"let them yell!\" said he. \"in five minutes more--. i only hope my pooririshmen are not terrified out of their wits by such a fiendlike noise.

keep up your courage for five minutes, miss hale.\"

\"don\"t be afraid for me,\" she said hastily. \"but what in five minutes? canyou do nothing to soothe these poor creatures? it is awful to see them.\"