again, as he struck prompt to defend her honor in
the hall, resenting a ruffian's soiling hand stretched
out to her ; she saw him lying wounded and senseless
there at her feet. She saw him stretched prone on
that shattered deck, on that ruined ship, pale« blood-
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stained, senseless again, again unheeding her bitter
cry. She would have called once more upon him>
save that she knew humanity has no voice which
reaches out into the darkness by which it may call
back those who are once gone to live beyond. She
did not weep, — that were a small thing, a trifle;
she sat and brooded. What had she lost in the ser-
vice of her country? What sacrifices had been ex*
acted from her by that insatiable country! Alas»
alas, she thought, men may have a country, a woman
has only a heart.
Four short months had changed it all. How young
she had been! Would she ever be young again?
How full of the joy of life ! Its currents swept by her
unheeded now. Why had not God been merciful to
her, that she could have died there upon the sea, she
thought. Ah, poor humanity never learns His mercy ;
perhaps it is because we have no measure by which
to fathom its mighty depths. She saw herself old and
lonely, forgotten but not forgetting. But even then
lacked she not opportunity ; woman-like, in spite of
her constancy, she took a melancholy pleasure in the
thought that there was one still who hungered for
the shattered remnants of her broken heart, who
lived for the sound of her voice and the glance of her
eyes and the light of her face. One there was, hand-
some, brave, distinguished, gentle, of ancient name,
assured station, ample fortune, who longed to lay all
he was or had at her feet.
But what were these things? Nothing to her,
nothing. There was but one, as she had said on the
ship to Desborough : " I love a sailor ; you are not
he." And yet her soul was filled with pity for the
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gallant gentleman, and she thought of him tenderly
with deep affection.
Presently she heard quick footsteps on the floor of
the boat-house, and turning her head she saw him.
He held a letter, an official packet, with the seal
broken, open in his hand.
" Oh, Miss Wilton, you here? " he said. "I have
looked everywhere for you. Do you not think the
evening air grows chill? Is it not too cold for you
out here in the boat-house? Allow me; " and then,
with that gentle solicitude which women prize, he
lifted the neglected cloak and tenderly wrapped it
about her shoulders.
" Thank you," she said gratefully, faintly smiling
up at him, " but I hardly need it I do not feel at all
cold. The air is so pleasant and the sun is not yet
set, you see. Did you wish to see me about anything
i^ecial, Lord Desborough?"
"No — yes — that is — Oh, Mistress Katharine,
the one special want of my life is to see you always
and everywhere. You know that, — nay, never lift
your hand, — I remember. I will try not to trespass
upon your orders again. I came to tell you that —
I am going away."
** Going away," she repeated sadly. " Has your
exchange been made?"
"Yes; a courier came to the Hall a short time
since, and here it is. My orders, you see ; I must
leave at once."
" I am sorry, indeed sorry that you must go."
He started suddenly as if to speak, a little flash of
hope flickering in his despondent face; but she
continued Quickly, —
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" It has been very pleasant for us to have you here,
except that you have been a prisoner; but now you
will be free, and for that» of course, I rejoice. But I
have so few friends left," she went on mournfully, " I
am loath to see one depart, even though he be an
enemy."
''Oh, do not call me an enemy, I entreat you,
Katharine. Oh, let me speak just once again/' he
interrupted with his usual impetuosity; '' and talk not
to me of freedom 1 While the earth holds you I am
not free : ay, even should Heaven claim you, I still
am bound. All the days of my captivity here I have
been a most willing and happy prisoner, — your pris-
oner. I have looked forward with dread and anguish
to the day when I might be exchanged and have to
go away. Here would I have been content to pass
my life, by your side. Oh, once again let me plead !
My duty, my honor, call me now to the service of
my king. I no longer have excuse for delay, but
you have almost made me forget there was a king.
Now that I must go, why should I go alone?" he
went on eagerly. " I know, I know you love the —
the other, — but he is gone. You do not hate me,
you even like me ; you regret my going ; perhaps as
days go by, you will regret it more. We are at least
friends ; let me take care of you in future. Oh, it
kills me to see you so white, and indifferent to life
and all that it has or should have for you. You are
only a girl yet, — I cannot bear to see all the color
gone out of your sweet face, the light out of your
eyes ; the sight of that thin hand breaks my heart
Won't you live for me to love, — live, and let me
love you? Your father goes to-morrow, so he says,
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and you will be left alone here; why should it be?
Go with me. Give me a right to do what my heart
aches to do for you, — to coax the roses back into
your cheek, to woo the laugh to your lips, to win
liappiness back to your heart; to devote my life to
you, darling. Have pity on me, have pity on my
love, — have pity ! "
His voice dropped into a passionate whisper; as
he pleaded with her, he sank down upon one knee by
her side, beseeching by word and gesture and look
that she should show him that pity he could see in
her eyes, that he knew was in her heart, and to which
he made his last appeal ; and then, lifting the hem of
her dress to his lips with an unconscious movement
of passionate reverence, he waited.
She looked at him in silence a moment So young,
so handsome, so appealing, her heart filled with
sorrow and sympathy for him. There was hope in
his eyes which she had not seen for many days ; how
could she drive it away and crush his heart ! It might
be cruel, but she had no answer, no other answer, no
new word, to tell him. Her eyes filled with tears ;
she could not trust herself to speak, she only shook
her head.
" Ah," he said, rising to his feet and throwing up
his hands with a gesture of despair, " I knew it
Well, the dream is over at last This is the end. I
sought life, and found death ; that, at least, if it shall
come I shall welcome. Would God I had gone down
with the ship ! You have no pity ; you let a dead
image — an idea — stand between you and a living
love. Will you never forget?"
" Never/' she said softly. " Love knows no death,
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He is alive — here. But do not grieve so for me;
I am not worth it You will go away and forget,
and — "
" No ; you have said it, * Love knows no death/ I,
too, cannot forget. As long as I live I shall love ^
and remember. How if I waited and waited? Kath-
arine, I would wait forever for you," he said, sud-
denly catching at the trifle.
"No, it would be no use. My friend, we both
must suffer ; it cannot be otherwise. I esteem you,
respect you, admire you. You have protected me,
honored me; my gratitude — " She went on brok-
enly, " You might ask anything of me but my heart,
and that is given away."
" Let me take you without it, then. I want but
you."
*' No, Lord Desborough, it cannot be. Do not ask
me again. No, I cannot say I wish it otherwise."
His flickering hope died away in silence. " Kath-
arine, will you promise me, if there ever comes a
time — "
** I promise," she said ; " but the time will never
come."
He looked at her as dying men look to the light,
there was a long silence, and then he said, —
** I must go now, Katharine. I suppose I must bid
you good-by now?"
"Yes, I think it would be best."
"I shall pass this way again on my journey to
Alexandria in half an hour ; may I not speak once
more to you then?"
"No," she said finally, after a long pause. "I
think it best that we should end it now. It can
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do no good at alL Good-by/ and may God bless
you."
He bent and kissed her hand, and then stopped a
moment and looked at her, saying never a word.
" Good-by, again," she said.
On the instant he turned and left her.
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CHAPTER XL!
Into the Haven at last
TWO weary horsemen on tired horses were slowly
riding up the river road just where it entered
the Wilton plantation. One was young, a mere boy
in years ; but a certain habit of command, with the
responsibility accompanying, had given him a more
manly appearance than his age warranted. The
other, to a casual glance, seemed much older than
his companion, though closer inspection would show
that he was still a young man, and that those marks
upon his face which the careless passer-by would
consider the attributes of age had been traced by the
fingers of grief and trouble. The bronzed and weather-
beaten faces of both riders bespoke an open-air life,
and suggested those who go down upon the great
deep in ships, a suggestion further borne out by the
faded, worn naval uniforms they wore. In spite of
the joy of springtime which was all about them, both
were silent, and both were sad ; but the sadness of
the boy, as was natural, was less deep, less intense,
than that of the man. He was too young to realize the
greatness of the loss he had sustained in the death of
his father and sister ; and were it not for the constant
reminder afforded him by the presence of his gloomy
companion, he would probably, with the careless
elasticity of youth, have been more successful in
throwing off his own sorrow. The man had not lost
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a father or a sister, but some one dearer still. He
looked thin and ill, and under the permanent bronze
of his countenance the ravages wrought by fever,
wounds, and long illness were plainly perceptible;
there were gray hairs in his thick neatly tied locks,
too, that had no rightful place there in one of his
age. The younger and stronger assisted and watched
over his older companion with the tenderest care and
attention.
They rode slowly up the pleasant road under the
great trees, from time to time engaging in a desultory
conversation. Philip endeavored to cheer his com-
panion by talking lightly of boyhood days, as each
turn of the road brought familiar places in the old
estate in view. Here he and Katharine and Hilary
had been wont to play ; there was a favorite spot, a
pleasant haunt here, this had been the scene of some
amusing adventure. These well-meant reminiscences
nearly drove Seymour mad, but he would not stop
them. Finally, they came to the place where the
road divided, one branch pursuing its course along
the river-bank past the boat-house toward the Talbot
place, the other turning inland from the river and
winding about till it surmounted the high bluff and
reached the door of the Hall. There Philip drew
rein.
" This is the way to the Hall, you know. Captain
Seymour," he said, pointing to the right. Seymour
hesitated a moment, and said finally, —
" Yes, I know; the boat-house lies over there, does
it not, beyond the turn? I think I will let you go up
to the house alone, Philip, and I will go down to the
boat-house myself. I will ride back presently."
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"Well, then, I will go with you," said Philip. "I
really think you are too weak, you know, especially
after our long ride to-day, to go alone."
" No, Philip," said Seymour, gently, " I wish to be
alone for a few moments."
The boy hesitated.
" Oh, very well," he said, beginning to understand,
" I will sit down here on this tree by the road and
wait for you. I '11 tie my horse, and you can leave
yours here also, if you wish. There is nothing at the
Hall, God knows, to make me hurry up there now,
since father and Katharine are gone," he continued
with a sigh. " Go on, sir, I 'U wait You won't
mind my waiting?"
" No, certainly not, if you wish it I shall be back
in a few minutes anyway. I just want to see the —
the — ah — boathouse, you know."
" Yes, certainly, I understand, of course," replied
Philip, bluntly, but carefully looking away, and then
dismounting from his tired horse and assisting Sey*
mour to do the same from his.
** Poor old fellow ! " he murmured, as he saw the
man walk haltingly and painfully up the road and
disappear around the little bend.
Left to himself Seymour stumbled alone along the
familiar road over which a few short months before
he had often travelled light-heartedly by the side
of Katharine. As he pressed on, he noticed a
man leave the boat-house and climb slowly up the
hill. Desirous of escaping the notice of the stranger,
who, he supposed, might be the factor or agent of
the plantation, he waited in the shadow of the trees
until the man disappeared over the brow of the hilly
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and then he staggered on. A short time after, he
stood on the landward end of the little pier, and
then his heart stood still for a second, and then
leaped madly in his breast, as he seemed to hear a
subtle voice, like an echo of the past, which whispered
his name, " Seymour ! Seymour ! " Stepping to-
ward the middle of the pier so that he could see the
interior of the boat-house through the inner door, his
eyes fell upon the figure of a woman standing in the
other doorway looking out over the water, stretching
out her hands. The sun had set by this time, and
the gray dusk of the evening was stealing over the
river. He could not see distinctly, but there was light
enough to show him a familiar scarlet cloak at her
feet, and although her back was turned to him, he
recognized the graceful outlines of her slender figure.
It was Katharine, or a dream ! But could the dead
return again? Had the sea given up her dead
indeed?
He could not believe the evidence of his bewildered
senses. It might be an hallucination, the baseless
fabric of a vision, some image conjured from the deep
recesses of his loving heart by his enfeebled disordered
imagination, and yet he surely had heard a living
voice, " Seymour — John — Oh, my love ! " Stifling
the beating of his heart, holding his breath even,
stepping softly, lest he should aflfright the airy vision,
he staggered to the door and stood gazing; then he
whispered one word, —
"Katharine!"
It was only a whisper she heard, but it reached die
very centre of her being.
''Katharine," he said sofUy again, with so much
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passionate entreaty in his wistful voice, that under its
compelling influence she slowly turned and looked
toward the other door from whence the sound had
come. Then as she saw him, lifting one hand to her
head while the other unconsciously sought her heart,
she shrank back against the wall, and stared at him
in voiceless terror. He dropped unsteadily to his
knee, as if to worship at a shrine.
" Oh, do not go away," he whispered. " I know
it is only a dream of mine — so many times have I
seen you, ever since the night the frigate struck and
I sent you to your death on that rocky pass, in that
beating sea. Ay, in the long hours of the fever —
but you did not shrink away from me then, you
listened to me say I love you, and you answered."
He stretched out his hand toward her in tender
appeal. She bent forward toward him. He rose to
his feet, half in terror.
"Kate," he said uncertainly, "is.it indeed you?
Are you alive again? "
She was nearer now. One glad cry broke from
her lips; he was in her arms again, and she was
clasped to his heart ! — a real woman and no dream,
no vision. What the wind could only faintly shadow
forth upon her cheek, sprang into life under the
touch of his fevered lips, and color flooded them like
a wave. Laughing, crying, sobbing, she clung to
him, kissed him with little incoherent murmurs, gazed
at him, wept over him, kissed him again. All the
troubles of the intervening days of sadness and priva-
tion faded away from her like a disused chrysalis, and
she sparkled wiUi life and love like a butterfly new
bom.
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He that was dead was alive again, he had come
back, and he was here ! As for him, in fearful sur-
prise, he held her to his breast once more, still un-
believing. She noticed then an empty sleeve, and
raised it tenderly to her lips.
"I lost it after an action with the British ship
Yarmouth, — it was only a flesh wound at first, — we
were long in reaching Charleston ; the arm had to be
amputated. It was a fearful action."
" I know it," she interrupted ; " I was there."
*' You, Katharine ! Ah, that woman on the ship I
I was not deceived then, and yet I could not
believe it."
"Yes, 'twas I. I gloried in your bravery, until I
saw you lying, as I thought, dead on the deck. Oh,
John, the horror of that moment! Then I called
you, and you did not answer. Then I wanted to die,
too, but now I am alive again, and so happy — but
for this ; " she lifted the empty sleeve to her lips.
" How you must have suffered, my poor darling,"
she went on, her eyes filling with tears, her heart
yearning over him. " And how ill you look, and I
keep you standing here, — how thoughtless ! Come
to the bench here and sit down. Lean on me."
" Nay, but, Kate, you too have suffered. See ! "
He lifted her arm, the loose sleeve fell back. " Oh, how
thin it is, and how smooth and round and plump it
was when I kissed it last," he said, as he raised it
tenderly again to his lips.
" It is nothing, John. I shall be all right now that
you are here. You poor shattered lover, how you
must have suffered ! " she went on, with a sob in her
voice.
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" Oh, Katharine, this," looking down at his empty
sleeve, " was nothing to what I suffered before, when
I thought I had killed you ! "
" When you thought you had killed me ! " she said
in surprise. They were sitting close together now,
and she had his hand in both her own. " How —
when, was that?"
And then he told her rapidly about the loss of the
Radnor, and the idea which her note had given that
she was on board of it
" And you led that ship down to destruction, be-
lieving I was on her ! How could you do it, John ? "
she said reproachfully.
" It was my duty, darling Kate," he said desper-
ately.
" And did you love your duty more than me? "
" Love it ? I hated it ! But I had to do it, dear-
est," he went on pleadingly. "Honor — you told
me so yourself, here, in this very spot; I remember
your words; do you not recall them? — 'If I stood
in the pathway of liberty for a single instant I should
despise the man who would not sweep me aside with-
out a moment's hesitation.' Don't you know you
said that, Katharine?"
"Did I say it? Ah, but that was before I loved
you so, and you swept me aside, — well, I love you
still, and, John, I honor you for it too ; but I could
not do it. You see, I am only a woman."
" Kate, don't say ' only a woman' that way; what
else would I have you, pray? But tell me of
yourself."
Briefly she recited the events that had occurred to
her, dwelling much upon Desborough's courage and
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devotion to her in the first days of her captivity, Ac
death of Johnson, the burning of Norfolk, the death
of Bentley. He interrupted her there, and would
fain hear every detail of the sad scene over again,
thanking her and blessing her for what she had done.
" It was nothing," she said simply ; " I loved to do
it; he was your friend It seemed to bring me closer
to you." Then she told him of the foundering of the
ship, of the frightful voyage in the boat, and rang the
changes upon Desborough's name, his cheerfulness,
his unfailing zeal and energy, until Seymour^s heart
filled with jealous pain.
" Kate," he said at last, " as I came up the road I
saw a man leave the boat-house and climb the hill ;
who was it?"
" It was Lord Desborough, John."
Seymour was human, and filled with human feel«
ing. He drew away from her.
" What was he doing here? " he smd coldly. She
smiled at him merrily.
"Bidding me good-by. He was made prisoner,
of course, by the first soldier we came across after we
landed, and has been spending the days of his cap-
tivity with us. He was exchanged to-day, and leaves
to-night."
*• Katharine, he was in love with you ! " he said,
with what seemed to him marvellous perspicacity.
" Yes, John," she answered, still smiling.
*' Was he making love to you here? "
"Yes."
** And you? You prsuse this man, you like him,
you — "
** 1 think him the bravest man, the truest gentleman
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in the world — except this one," she said, laying her
hand upon his shoulder and her head upon his breast
** No, no ; he pleaded in vain. I only pitied him ; I
loved you. Do not be jealous, foolish boy. No one
should have me. I am yours alone."
" But if I had not come back, Kate, — how then?"
'* It would have made no difference. I told him
so.
Neither of them in their mutual absorption had
noticed that a horse had stopped in the road opposite
the boat-house, and a horseman had walked to the
door and had halted at the sight which met his eyes.
Desborough recognized Seymour at once, and he had
unwittingly heard the end of the conversation. He
was the second. The man was back again. It was
true. The gallant gentleman stood still a moment,
making no sound, then turned back and mounted his
horse, and rode madly away with despair in his heart.
" Oh, Katharine," Seymour said at last, *' do you
know that I am a poor man now? Lame! See, I
can no longer walk straight." He stood up. " Poor
surgery after the battle did that."
" The more reason that in the future you should
not go alone," she said softly, standing by his side.
" And with but one arm," he continued.
" No, three," she said again, " for here are two."
" Besides, my trading ships have been captured by
the enemy, my private fortune has been spent for the
cause. I am a poor man in every sense."
** Nay, John, you are a rich man," she said gayly.
" Oh, yes, rich in your love, Katharine."
" Yes, that of course, if that be riches, and richer ia
honor too ; but that 's not all."
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** What else pray, dearest? "
*'Did you know that Madam Talbot had died?**
she answered, with apparent irrelevance.
" No, but I am not surprised at it. After her son's
death I expected it, poor lady. He loved you too,
Kate. We fought about you once," he said; and then
he told her briefly of Talbot's end, his burial, the
interview he had with Talbot's mother, and the letter.
" I have seen that letter since I returned," she said.
•*It is at Fairview Hall now awaiting you, awaiting
its master like the other things there, — and here.
Shall we live there, think you, John?"
"Awaiting me! Its master! Live there! What
mean you, Kate?" he cried in surprise.
" Yes, yes, it is all yours," she replied, laughing at
his astonishment. " A codicil to her will, written and
signed the day before she died, the day after you saw
her, left it all to you. It was to have been her son's
and then mine ; and when she believed us dead, as she
had no relatives in this land she left it to you, * As,' I
quote her own words, ' a true and noble gentleman
who honors any cause, however mistaken, to which
he may give his allegiance.* I quote them, but they
are my own words as well. You are a rich man, John,
and the two estates will come together as father and
Madam Talbot had hoped, after all."
" I am glad, Kate, for your sake."
" It is nothing. I should have taken you, if you
had nothing at all."
A young man ran down the little pier and into the
house at this moment. " Kate," he cried, " where
are you ? It is so dark here I can hardly see — Ah,
there you are ! " he ran forward and kissed her
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boisterously. " You '11 have to forgive me, I could
not wait any longer, Captain Seymour. Father rode
down the hill after Lord Desborough galloped by me,
and met me there, waiting. Oh, I was so glad to