The apparent resignation of his adversary had thrown him off his guard, and the next moment Harry had sprung at him, and with his whole weight borne him backwards, so that he fell with his head upon the bare patch of the hearthstone.

There was the sound of a terrible blow, a faint rustling, and then, as Louise stood there like one in a nightmare, she was roused to action by her brother's words.

"Quick!" he whispered, in a hoa.r.s.e, panting way. "Your hat and mantle.

Not a moment to lose!"

The nightmare-like sensation was at an end, but it was still all like being in a dream to Louise as, forced against her own will by the effort of one more potent, she ran up to her own room, and catching up a bonnet and a loose cloak, she ran down again.

"You have killed him," she whispered.

"Pish! stunned. Quick, or I shall be caught."

He seized her wrist, and hurried her out of the front door just as Liza went in at the back, after a long whispered quarrel with her mother, who was steadily plodding down towards the town, as brother and sister stepped out.

"What's that? some one in front?" whispered Harry, stopping short.

"Here, this way."

"Harry," moaned his sister, as he drew her sidewise, and began to climb up the rough side of the path so as to reach the rugged land above.

"It is the only chance," he said hastily. "Quick!"

She followed him, half climbing, half dragged, till she was up on the granite-strewn waste, across which he hurried her, reckless of the jagged ma.s.ses of rock that were always cropping up in their way, and of the fact that in three places farther along, once fenced in by stones, which had since crumbled down, were, one after the other, the openings to three disused mines, each a terrible yawning chasm, with certain death by drowning for the unfortunate who was plunged into their depths.

CHAPTER FORTY NINE.

AFTER THE GREAT SORROWS.

"No, no, no, Mr Vine--I mean no, no, no, George Vine," sobbed Mrs Van Heldre; "I did, I know, feel bitter and full of hatred against one who could be so base as to raise his hand against my loving, forbearing husband; but that was when I was in misery and despair. Do you think that now G.o.d has blessed us by sparing his life and restoring him to us, I could be so thankless, hard and wicked as to bear malice?"

"You are very, very good," said Vine sadly.

"I wish I was," said Mrs Van Heldre, with a comic look of perplexity on her pretty, elderly countenance, "but I'm not, George, I'm a very curious woman."

"You are one of the best and most amiable creatures that ever existed,"

said Vine, taking her hand and kissing it.

"I try to be good-tempered and to do my best," said the little woman with a sigh, "but I'm very weak and stupid; and I know that is the one redeeming point in my character, I can feel what a weak woman I am."

"Thank G.o.d you are what you are," said Vine reverently. "If I had had such a wife spared to me all these years, that terrible catastrophe would not have occurred."

"And you, George Vine, thank G.o.d, too, for sparing to you the best and most loving daughter that ever lived. Now, now, now, don't look like that. I wanted to tell you how fond and patient John always has been with me, and Maddy too, when I have said and done weak and silly things.

For I do, you know, sometimes. Ah, it's no use for you to shake your head, and pretend you never noticed it. You must."

"I hope you will never change," said Vine with a sad smile.

"Ah, that's better," cried Mrs Van Heldre. "I'm glad to see you smile again, for Louy's sake, for our sake: and now, once for all, never come into our house again, my dear old friend and brother, looking constrained. John has had long, long talks with me and Maddy."

"Yes," cried Vine excitedly. "What did he say?"

Mrs Van Heldre took his hand and held it.

"He said," she whispered slowly, "That it grieved and pained him to see you come to his bedside, looking as if you felt that we blamed you for what has pa.s.sed. He said you had far more cause to blame him."

"No, no," said Vine hastily. "I do not blame him. It was fate--it was fate."

"It wasn't anything of the kind," said Mrs Van Heldre sharply; "it was that stupid, obstinate, bigoted, wrong-headed old fellow Crampton."

"Who felt that he owed a duty to his master, and did that duty."

"Oh!" sighed the little woman with a look of perplexity in her puckered-up forehead, "I told you that I was a very stupid woman. I wanted to make you more cheerful and contented, and see what I have done!"

"How can I be cheerful and contented, my good little woman?" said Vine sadly. "There, there! I shall be glad when a couple of years have gone."

"Why?" said Mrs Van Heldre, sharply.

"Because I shall either be better able to bear my burden or be quite at rest."

"George Vine!" exclaimed Mrs Van Heldre reproachfully. "Is that you speaking? Louise--remember Louise."

"Ah, yes," he said sadly, but sat gazing dreamily before him. "Louise.

If it had not been for her--"

He did not finish his sentence.

"Come, my dear. John will be expecting you for a long chat. Try and be more hopeful, and don't go up to him looking like that. Doctor Knatchbull said we were to make him as cheerful as we could, and to keep him from thinking about the past. He did say, too, that we were not to let you see him much. There--"

Poor little Mrs Van Heldre looked more perplexed than ever, and now burst into tears.

"He said that? The doctor said that?"

"Yes; but did you ever hear such a silly woman in your life? To go and blurt out such a thing as that to you!"

"He was quite right--quite right," said Vine hastily; "and I'll be very careful not to say or do anything to depress him. Poor John! Do you think he is awake now?"

"No," said Mrs Van Heldre, wiping her eyes. "Maddy is with him, and she will come down directly he wakes."

At that moment there was a ring, and on the door being opened the servant announced Luke Vine.

"Hallo," he said, coming in after his usual unceremonious fashion. "How is he?"

"Very, very much better, Luke Vine," said Mrs Van Heldre. "George is going up to see him as soon as he wakes."

"George? My brother George? Oh, you're there, are you? How are you, George? How's the girl?"

"Sit down, Luke Vine."