Part 61 (2/2)

The soldier struggled to his feet; it was never good to be slow in obeying the citizen agent's com sitting still; to accelerate his ed incontinently out of the coach

Then the door was slaust of wind, Marguerite could not tell; she heard a cry of rage and one of terror, and Heron's raucous curses She cowered in the corner of the carriage with Arainst her shoulder, and tried to close her ears to all those hideous sounds

Then suddenly all the sounds were hushed and all around everything became perfectly calm and still--so still that at first the silence oppressed her with a vague, nameless dread It was as if Nature herself had paused, that she ht listen; and the silence becauerite could hear Ar close to her ear

Thenearest to her was open, and as she leaned forith that paralysing sense of oppression a breath of pure air struck full upon her nostrils and brought with it a briny taste as if from the sea

It was not quite so dark; and there was a sense as of open country stretching out to the liht suffused the sky, and the wind swept the clouds in great rolling banks right across that light

Marguerite gazed upith a ht, though so wan and feeble, was thrice welcome after that inky blackness wherein shadoere less dark than the lights She watched eagerly the bank of clouds driven by the dying gale

The light grew brighter and faintly golden, now the banks of clouds--storm-tossed and fleecy--raced past one another, parted and reunited like veils of unseen giant dancers waved by hands that controlled infinite space--advanced and rushed and slackened speed again--united and finally torn asunder to reveal the waningas if froht spread over the wide stretch of country, throwing over it as it spread dull tones of indigo and of blue Here and there sparse, stunted trees with fringed gaunt arhbourhood of the sea

Marguerite gazed on the picture which the waning azed with eyes that knew not what they saw The ht--there lay the east--and the coachdue north, whereas Crecy

In the absolute silence that reigned she could perceive fro the ht hour; and now it seemed to her supersensitive senses that a fir the soft earth, a footstep that drew nearer--and then nearer still

Nature did pause to listen The as hushed, the night-birds in the forest had gone to rest Marguerite's heart beat so fast that its throbbings choked her, and a dizziness clouded her consciousness

But through this state of torpor she heard the opening of the carriage door, she felt the onrush of that pure, briny air, and she felt a long, burning kiss upon her hands

She thought then that she was really dead, and that God in His infinite love had opened to her the outer gates of Paradise

”My love!” she e and her eyes were closed, but she felt that firers removed the irons from her wrists, and that a pair of warm lips were pressed there in their stead

”There, little woet hold of poor old Armand!”

It was Heaven, of course, else how could earth hold such heavenly joy?

”Percy!” exclaiuerite feebly; ”we are in Heaven you and I--”

Whereupon a ringing laugh woke the echoes of the silent night

”In Heaven, dear heart!” And the voice had a delicious earthly ring in its whole-hearted merriment ”Please God, you'll both be at Portel with me before dawn”

Then she was indeed forced to believe She put out her hands and groped for hiroped, and felt hisacross the body of the coach, while his fingers busied themselves with the irons on Armand's wrist

”Don't touch that brute's filthy coat with your dainty fingers, dear heart,” he said gaily ”Great Lord! I have worn that wretch's clothes for over two hours; I feel as if the dirt had penetrated to esture so habitual to hi her to hiht froazed his fill into her eyes