you may beat me to death--you will never move me from what i hāvedetermined upon--not you!\" he stood amongst them, with his armsfolded, in precisely the same attitude as he had been in on the steps.

but the retrograde movement towards the gate had begun--asunreasoningly, perhaps as blindly, as the simultaneous anger. or,perhaps, the idea of the approach of the soldiers, and the sight of thatpale, upturned face, with closed eyes, still and sad as marble, though thetears welled out of the long entanglement of eyelashes and droppeddown; and, heāvier, slower plash than even tears, came the drip ofblood from her wound. even the most desperate--boucher himself-drewback, faltered away, scowled, and finally went off, mutteringcurses on the master, who stood in his unchanging attitude, lookingafter their retreat with defiant eyes. the moment that retreat hadchanged into a flight (as it was sure from its very character to do), hedarted up the steps to margaret.

she tried to rise without his help.

\"it is nothing,\" she said, with a sickly smile. \"the skin is grazed, and iwas stunned at the moment. oh, i am so thankful they are gone!\" andshe cried without restraint.

he could not sympathise with her. his anger had not abated; it wasrather rising the more as his sense of immediate danger was passingaway. the distant clank of the soldiers was heard just five minutes toolate to make this vanished mob feel the power of authority and order.

he hoped they would see the troops, and be quelled by the thought oftheir narrow escape. while these thoughts crossed his mind, margaretclung to the doorpost to steady herself:but a film came over her eyes-hewas only just in time to catch her. \"mother--mother!\" cried he; \"edown--they are gone, and miss hale is hurt!\" he bore her into the dining-room, and laid her on the sofa there; laid her down softly, and lookingon her pure white face, the sense of what she was to him came uponhim so keenly that he spoke it out in his pain:

\"oh, my margaret--my margaret! no one can tell what you are to me!

dead--cold as you lie there, you are the only woman i ever loved! oh,margaret--margaret!\"

inarticulately as he spoke, kneeling by her, and rather moaning thansaying the words, he started up, ashamed of himself, as his mother camein. she saw nothing, but her son a little paler, a little sterner than usual.

\"miss hale is hurt, mother. a stone has grazed her temple. she has lost agood deal of blood, i\"m afraid.\"

\"she looks very seriously hurt,--i could almost fancy her dead,\" saidmrs. thornton, a good deal alarmed.

\"it is only a fainting-fit. she has spoken to me since.\" but all the blood inhis body seemed to rush inwards to his heart as he spoke, and heabsolutely trembled.

\"go and call jane,--she can find me the things i want; and do you go toyour irish people, who are crying and shouting as if they were mad withfright.\"

.xiaoshuotco。

0 0