The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

man who trades in lace, and owns a vessel with a false bottom, to perform with cheeriulness a service which brings him into personal contact with the guardians of the revenue. No_ one with any feeling would select from among all his acquaint- ances a notorious pickpccket, or even a rooiver of stolen goods, to go on an errand for him to the sitting magistrate at Bow street; nor would Mrs. Hepburn have employed Walter Dickson on this peculiar mission it'she could ‘have helped it. But, in the first place he was her nearest neigh- bor, and there was no time to spare, since Mr. Stevens was expected very early; and in the next place, the objection of being connected, openly or secretly, with the contraband trade, lay against every man, woman and child in Sandby who looked upon French brandy and Brussels lace as productions 0! their own labor, and upon a coast guardsman as “ the interloping for- eigner.” The high tarifi of import duties in those da s was certainly an example of a law but or which many men would have been free from sin; like the game law of to-day, it beget, as its immediate effects, tresoheries, blood-shedding, murders.as well , as indirectly producing ageneral lawless. nessâ€"a hatred of all laws as tyrannies. The ill~feeling thus engendered between the overned and their governors manifested itself with greatest intensity. of course, in its first stage hthat is, between the actual violators of the obnoxious law and the parties whose duty it was to uphold it. A smuggler woald behave towards a coast- guardsman as he would behave to nobody else who was his enem . Bandby men. who had wives and chil ten of their own, to whom they hoped God wouldbe merciful, by preserving to themtheir bread-winner, _|_£I S_-__ barf made women widows and children orfhans in that little colony at Lucky Bay be are now, with but small soruple. Even on a windy night, it was not probable that a blue-jacket so used to the olifi as Robert Deans, for instance. should have been blown over it ; which happened in January last, during a dead calm, and, by a curious coincidence, on the very night when a large car 0 was known to have been run within hal a mile of the spot; or even granting so much out of an abundant charity. Will am Boyce, another guardian of the revenue, could scarcely have dug that pit on the sea shore for himself. in which he was found dead one winter mogning. with only his head above the shingle. Nor is it to be supposed that all the cruelty was exercised upon one side. There were men at Lucky Bay ready to slash with their cutlasses upon very slight pro. vocation, and who looked upon a Guernse shirt as a very pretty mark for a piste - bullet. Worst of all. perha s, informers intested the neighborhood. an sowed suspi- cion everywhere. making bad blood even, where it should have flowed most purely. in the veins of kinsmen. Writers who are not practically acquainted with troubles of this sort generally fall into the error. when describing them. of making it a pear that notwithstanding all crimes or v oes which may be generated by such a state of things, the oourtesies of life. the ordinary relations of man and man, goes on prett much the same as under more iavorab e circum- stances. But this is far from being the case. No war is carried on with that distinguished liteness which it presents in the cream- aid pages of the historian, ing what I may call the intervals of busi- ness. the did not give one another “ good day."au if they spoke at all, they con- signed each other‘s eyes and limbs to ever- lasting perdition. Even when engaged u n a lawful calling like the present. Mr. flue: Dickson (ull expected the roughest of receptions at Lue y Bay. A perceptible stillness seizes the most affable of medical practitionersmhen a homoeopatbist enters the same room; a county magistrate addresses a poacher, even non-ofliciaily. in tones which he enerall uses towards the canine wor d rat ier than the human; and I think I have seen a clergy- man of the Established Church turn almost livid when brought into connection great reen waves, which were tossing about or leagues upon their crests the fragments of men’s floatin homes, and. not far down, their drown and mangled limbs, were only at play. There are storms, of course, in the day-time but the wind loves the night. and under her'dark wing more often works in malioethan in the day. The sunshine. like a healthy public opinion among men seems somewhat torestrain it. Upon this April morning, at all events, it showed no trace of malign fury. but seemed to delight in practical jokes.such aswhirlinc the white igeons of Sandy Farm (which considers itself inland) in twice as many circles as their own spiral habits would have suggested, and so bewildering them with the speed thereof, that they scarcely knew themselves from gulls; also meeting with the'round hat of Mr. Walter Dickson, mariner. stuck on merely, as it seemed, by capillszg attraction to. the extreme hack of his he , it tossed it hither and thither and “ skied” it and rolled it, and " chivied " it, like a good natured mob at a fair; and not like a blood thirstg rabble, greedy for rapine and ruin, as ad been its behavior but a few hours before. Nevertheless, these highspirited proceed- ings of the zephyrs were for from relished by Mr. Dickson, not too well pleased, in the first place, with his appointment of special messenger to Mrs. Hepburn, since it involved his visiting the coast-guard star tion; he would have done anything in the werld for her, and indeed he was doing even this ; but it is impossible for any gentle~ in the oroam~laid pages 0! the hlatorian, and civil war loans of all. When const- fnardsman and smuggler met one another n the neighborhood. incidentally and_dnr- Pele end haggard from her almost sleep- less night erase Mildred Hepburn. and wrote her note in secret. end dispatched it to the coast-guard ststion 3 a. trusty hand. The elements which 11 denied the rest were now at unity. The rain was over and gone; the winds were whistling carelessly enough their favorite tune, Over the hill: and far away ; and the dark clouds, scattered and bleached. were hurry- ing over ehright blue sky. Even the see were u smile upon its lire. still white with wrath. and strove to ook as though its By tho ““110! o! ““11“ Ho Coot Bar," "Gwondollno's Emu ” and other vopuln now I. AVENUE!) AT LAST. Amonunmm. CHAPTER XXI. He nodded carelessly. and turning upon his heel, sauntered back in the direction of the preventive station; while Mr. Dickson, not displeased at having been spared the most unpleasant portion of his errand, walked hastily Sandbyways, without once looking behind him. If he had entertained any suspicion of Mr. Stevens as a letter carrier,and had kept his eyes turned west~ ward for a few minutes. he would have remarked that that gentleman was a con- siderable time emerging from the little thicket which lay between him and the Look-out. This interval was spent in a manner which few besides the late Sir James Graham could have conscientiously commended. Nothing was easier than to untwist the little note, which had neither seal or fastening of any kind, except that moral one conveved by its superscription. “ Private.” and the contents were his own (by appropriation) in half a minute. “ Dams-r Mas. 0mmâ€" Pray beseech the lieutenant to accompany Mr. Stevens and my husband in their walk this morning. This is a very silly request. I know; and yet I think you will grant it, even without aving a reason assigned by, Yours afieo- tionately. annnn harness." Mr. Stevens folded up the letter as before. and placed it in his waistcoat hot. with an unpleasant smile. “ No. rs. Raymondâ€"Hepburn." soliloquized he slowly. " I don't think that plan will suit me. Two is companyâ€"for a little wayâ€"- but three is none. What a very fortunate thing that I was at the Lookout, and thereby able to anticipate your little arrangement!" _ " And yet. if he offered the use of his teeth to carry a letter,” laughed the stranger. “I should think even the most cautious of rats might accept that service. By all means. carry it yourself, however, if you think it right to do so, althoughI should have thought that the Word ‘Private ’ referred rather to the contents of the letter than any particular hand by which it was to bedelivered.” “ Ay, that’s true enough, master, surely ; and it you‘re going to breakfast with the lieutenant and his wife. it’s like you’ll have an earlier opportunity of giving her this here than I, for them Bluehottles is sartin to keep me hanging about. and listening to their sauce, instead of takingin the letter direct." " Very good," observed Mr. Stevens,. uietly pocketing the note; " I will see t at Mrs: _Ce_.rey gets it at once.” . ._ “ Well, you see, it’s got ‘ Private ’ written upon it.” observed Mr. Walter Dickson decisively; “ and yet ”-â€"here he scratched his head with extraordinary vehemenceâ€" “I have no .great fancy for putting my head into that there hive yonder, even to deliver a letter, and that's the truth. But I ask your pardon, sir; perhaps you may belong to them bleseeq ‘ liluebottles.’;' LL- Mr. Stevens had not been the only person among the figure-heads that morn- ing. Early as it was, Mrs. Gare had ate ped out there with the intent on of tel ng her guest that the tea was "made." and had been an unseen witness to the interview between him and Dickson. This so greatly strengthened her suspicions of his connection with the smuggling interest, that she ventured to conil e them to her husband. But from an inspector of eoant- guard stations to a aort of polite Will Watch. was too many points for the opinion of the lieutenant tovoer round all in a hurry. He had only begun to admit the possibility of Mr. Stevene' not being a direct emissary of the Admiralty. when the object of their discussion appeared coming up the littlegarden. " Levt, n3 see whether he mentions having seen Dickson." said Mrs. Carey hurriedly. and the next moment their neat. was seated at. the breakiMMuhle. ot a word did he utter about any such meeting. and very little about. anything also; over and anon. Mrs. Carey 3 not a glance at signifi- cance at her husband, an much an to any, “Not I, my friend," rejoined the stranger laughing; “ the very cigar I am smoking came to my lips free of the custom-house. I am only here to look at some of your sea-sightsâ€"the Mermaid Cavern. and so on. I came, too, recom. mended by mine host of the Grown”â€"here he sank his voice. and looked cautiously about him â€"-" which should be a passportâ€" ehould it not ?â€"â€"to all free traders.” “ Perhaps it should, and perhaps it should not," returned the other warily. " The coastguard station 13 a queer place for an honest man to put up at; the rat doesn’t trust the dog. you know, that lies in the same basket with the cat.” mwâ€"v--v, â€"_- __ fad “rolled out with boigsr (and a" spy- glass) before breakfast. a. quarter of a mile or so on the Bandby side of the Look out Station, Perhaps we 9113;“ not go far , AI,_L _.__L -l a" - _..--_-.._ nvâ€"v-iv , - - “Well, es tu- as that goes." rejoined the stranger, " I can save you. the rest of the walk, and welcome, as I am the guest of Lien. tenant Carey at present, and am going' back to his house at once to_b1_'eskfe.st.’: wefi as something out of his own pocket, to gas this letter taken to Mrs. Carey by other hands. He did not, indeed. find a com- miasionairethut he {quad hit. Stevie“, who $3271: guvfiaogfig'iiminfibm $113?th of espi he had seen m. Dickson coming, and had pqrpos‘ely‘gongfogth to meet him. A“; ___ .._-J 'A‘Inm H uw‘. m.‘.â€"..v.J u‘â€"' 7,. “A fine fresh morning, my good fellow,” observed this gentleman carelessly. “ was there much damage done at your place by last_gight’e gtgrm ? " I .A,,I_'_S LL- fl-â€" “Notes I knows on.” replied the mes- senger grimly; “ but the foot is, I came away before my eyes were well open, for the wind kept me awake with blowing the shingle off my roof, and when I should have had my snooze this morning, I got this to carry to the preventive station;” and he held out the letter to Mr. Stevens at arm’s length, as a. man does who has got a. materisl grievgnoe to expatiate upon. _. -. A, u ' .1 5k- Altogether. it oommieoioneiroe hed been on institution of those tim , and Mr. Dickson had happened to flu one waiting for an errand in compromising ethorough- fate as that between Sendb and Lucky Bay, he would have preferre to hand over the handsome guerdon which Mrs. Heghurn hed “given him for his trouble, as _, A _._L .1 L:.. A...” “At-LA. 6n V'""Il wâ€"w-o-v- ....-_- "‘""" - ~ . by no mum rose voter to the enemiee o! the revenue. Moreover, as I hove enld. there was just now a rumor afloat of some greet robbery (ee hcoouex’dered It) to be (gre- eently committed upon Hie Majesty's ue- tome in those ate. and it wee not wholly out of the an e o probability thet he might one- peot Mr. iokeon of having lent his lug to the tempter on this oooeelon, as he had often been known to lend his lugger. with Bsptiots. Similarly. Lieutenant Quay. although; magi «pita! follow. W» M A- AL- -..-.._X-- A. the desertion of the lieutenant. did not ‘ know that she had any interest in delaying his departure. Not five minutes elapsed, therefore, before Raymond and the stranger Were climbing together the down behind the cottage. and Mildred with her child in her arms was watching them, and fashioning with dumb white lips a prayer for her husband’s safe return. At the top of the down, he paused and turned, stand- ing up against the horizon very distinctly. There he motioned to her a farewell, kissing his hand twice. once for her. and once for little Milly, as she well understood it, then vanished over the brow of the hill, while her own fingers were yet upon her lips. Mr. Steriens lingered an instant behind him, and seemed to imitate her gesture, mookingly, like some malignant Spectre of the Bracken. She had promised to meet this man on the marrow at the Mermaid’s Cavern, and be his guide home- ward; yet she now feared nothing at his hand for herself, but everything for Raymond; and although she knew it not, she had good cause for fear. The two men pushed swiftly on their way. There was not enough sympathy between them to make them slacken their pace for the convenience of conversation. They walked, rather, like the Alpine amateurs who walk for walking‘s sake. and about whom the professional guides they employ would, I should think, he very unwilling to express their own private opinion. When, however, they came to any remarkable spot Raymond would pause, and courteously explain to his com- panion whatever of interest belonged to it. Their path lay almost close to the verge of the chalkclifis; but every now and then a huge cleft, riven by some convulsion of nature, or worn away by the constant action of some little river, would compel a detour. These sheltered spots, wooded for most part to the very verge of the ribbed sea-sand, were very lovely, but in the eyes of an inhabitant of the locality, their picturesqueness had but little claim upon his regard. They were all more or less used for smuggling purposes: not a beat lying up high and dry on the shore that tempestuous morning but had held at one time or another its contraband cargoâ€"and about each there was a tslp of adventure. and ril, and blood to be told, to which Mr. tevens seemed to lend an attentive ear. The downs themselves, with many a velvet hollow, meet for the noiseless pas- sage of the cloud shadows. many tiny dingle, dotted with gorse, and shaggy wit: thorn, were by no means without their stor . More than once. the wayfarers wou d come upon the " barrows." or burial- places, of the long-forgotten deadâ€"some rifled of their contents b brutal curiosity, but others still intact. wrth the same earth upon the mouldering bones which Briton or Saxon, centuries ago, had laced with poius hands above their ead. These tumuli were invariably upon some lofty ridge, as though the dying wish of those beneath them had been to be laid within the spot from which their homes, and fields, and all the little world which they had lmown in life. could best be seen; Some observation of this sort Raymond made; but his companion only nhru od his shoulders, not morning to a proo uto antiquities, or tho reflections arising thoro- irom. so much an tho tales about "Will Watch.” " Very true." replied Raymond. “ Still. one has n. fancy in them nmttere. Ono Would not like to lie unburied. for instance. with ono'e bonen picked by obeeono birds. and whitening on a desert; or in the depths of ocean. tanning about withehell and neo- weed. and sucked by the cold lips of tooth- less ilnli." " Ymi M0 fastidious, Mr. Hepburn." responded tho angor, hammering at. tho roundml turf with irrovoront heal. " If n. be so to motor land to wotor for a loaf. routing- loco, I am." roturnod Ray- mond. "It. a.“ I havo noidJmt {ono . Hull. 1 Would Him to ho laid whom my wife and ohild could oomo to look upon the earth to answer the bell. pulled out his watch somewhat ostentatiously,as though he would observe, “ I am a punctual man ; I trust I shall not have to wait.” Mrs. Hepburn had withdrawn within doors, but he was well aware that this piece of pantomime could not be lost upon her or on anybody else who chanced to be in the downostaire‘ sitting~room ; and when he was admitted he took his umbrella in with him. as one who has come not to make a call, but to take a walk, and who ,expects to start immedi- ately. He had his reasons for not wishing to waste time; while poor Mildred, who was guite overwhelmed by what seemed “ What (1003 it matter. when a man is dond,” observed 110. roughly, “where his bones are put. to 1‘ ' say. “No.” albeit he was burning to have his talk out with his spouse concerning the character and intentions of this inex li- cable person ; nor was Mr. Stevens aatis ed even with dragging him hall-way, but com- pelled him to accompanfioh’im to the height corresponding to the k-out, upon the Sandby side of the bay. There. in eight of Pampas Cottage, the stranger struck his torehead theatrically. “Upon my life. Mr. Carey.”oried he. “ I believe I mi ht just as well wear a turnip as this head 9 mine. I have clean for otten a letter which a mea- senger from rs. Hepburn intrusted to me this ver morning to give to your wife’s hands. ut stay; I don’t think you must open it, for you see it is marked ' Private.’ I won’t detain you another moment; pral, take it back at once, and make my hum - lestapolgzieaz PW- 40:9"? ‘19.!” ..... AUDI! nyulufilvu , Ilsa]. uVirlIIJ’ uv o Mrs. He burn. watching in the little garden. he beheld with agreteful heart the appearance of the lieutenant with his guest upon the western hill-top; and her iseppointment wee extreme when she now new the former shake hands with his oom- panion with the evident intention of returning. She even beckoned to him with her hand to? some on; but qlthough he twoâ€"61: "3E rhisr hat, in tokén that he saw? her. he only shook his head emphatically, and walked rapidly away homeward. 33311)! THE BEACON. Mr. Stevens pursued his way to Pampas Cottage, and_ as peuwaitggi {or t‘hg .aervgn‘t “ Did I not tell you so ?" but the conversa- tion will-bed. It was felt. e relic! b every y when the meal was llnlehe . although the host had something of embar- rassment to endure still, when Mr. Steven oburvod. “ Come. lieutenant, it you cannot be my companion {on longer welk. you will. 56 least mom any me hell-way to Sandbyz" >And poor 1‘. _Ca.rey dureq not CHAPTER XXII. “ Indeed ! " responded Raymond. laugh- ing still. " I never knew that a. poor pun was held to bring bad luck; and yes I know the nqrth coun‘tgy well, too.”‘ “ I thought you told' me yesterday you were from the south,” observed the stranger gravgly. “ Killedâ€"ay; i! he had had nine lives, he must have lost all before he reached the bottom. Whether a man fell from yonder edge upon sea or shingle. it would matter nothing to him by the time he reached either. See! thevery rabbits in the warren there have left a space between the bur- rows and the hideous steep and squat at a respectful distance. The poor victim's name is carved somewhere upon theBeacon itself; es, here it isâ€"a more fitting record 0?, his fate, perhaps. in such a place, than any other monument: Acumen Pinonâ€"permâ€" “ The date is alread erased by the wind and weather. but the t ing took place but a very few you're ago." H Rut whv Inn-ii! 1' “ I have lived in both the north and south,” answered Raymond in some con. fusion. “ Now, look at those little lumps of chalk which run to and from the Beacon, like the out-lines of some children’s game. Without them, the coast. guardsman would never find his way at night; and once some cowaxdly acoundrels. for whom amn ler won for too good a name. arranged t em after dark so that the poor wretoh, thinking that he was only upon hi9 usuolheattéell over the chfltopf “ You are pleased to be jocular, sir," responded that worthy; “ in our north country, such mirth are held to be a bad sign. ' Against ill-ohance.’ it is said, ‘ men are very nyarry.’ We call itfie." .75137606113' perm !" inquired Mr. Stevens with unwonted interest. "That is not Latin for ‘ murdered,’ i9 it 2’} “Well. not exactly. I believe." laughed Raymond ; "but the fact la. the crime was never brou ho legally home to the wretch. although t e finger of justice seemed to point him out as clearly an yonder arm is pointing to you.:' n n a ‘I 1. The stran or looked up in the direction indicated by is companion. then staggered back with his lace pale as ashes. The long black arm of the telegraph was grimly coverinfi him as a musket covers its mark. “Wei .lor a gentleman who entertains no silly fancies. I must say you are easily frightened," observed Raymond with some contempt. “ Why, Marmouth Beacon is quite a scarecrow to you. I should have al- most thought y on were the conscience strick- eu murderer himself. but that I happen to know he has paid the forfeit of his crime. He was the very man I was telling you of who was shot throu h the head by Mr. Topsoil at the seoon ‘chinc ’ we came to. His name was Peter Elliotâ€"J‘ske care where on are going to, sir, for heaven’s sake! on are standing too near the edge, unless you have a very steady eye." " I am never giddy from physical causes,” returned the stranger coolly, ” although. as you have been good enough to remark. some things make me nervous. Do you mean to say that a man would have no chance for his hie who fell from here into deep water. when the tide was well upâ€"â€"as it is now. for instance." n__L AL- ..---. -Iznhenge ” Hahn-nod “ Yet hereaboute they cell them See'em- afores, ”observed Hepburn laughing. The fresh, clear air, the rapid walk, had worked with Raymond's naturally healthy enimeliem, and put him in high spirits. which even the companionship of the somber Mr. Stevens could_not_dmnp. 1“ And was killed,'I suppose ? " inquifed Mt. Stevens. wuu u .- -.. .. ., _-- " 5.11;; the V01? aligiibest.” returnod Raymond confident y. " Where we are now,t.ho cliff overhangs a little, and we “ I should like to do so much," replied Mr. Stevens. “I have never yet been close beside a. beacon, nor ever. seen one before.” Almost immediately, and as though in answer to this unex ressed thought. Mr. Stevens stop ed ; he id not. however. hold out his ban to say good-bye; he pointed with it to a dark object looming own a crest of down far in advance. “ by, what is that?” he muttered. "It looks likeâ€"like a allows?" Bo haggar , so wild. and yet so menacing was the stranger's a pearance as he made this inquiry. that aymond might aptly have retorted, “ And you look like a gallows- bird." But he only answered, smiling], " For one who had no foolish fancies sue as we were speaking of but now. you seem strangely moved by Marmouth Beacon. It is certainly black. and it is made of tim. ber, butl never knew it taken for a gallows before. Abeacon has stood, in some shape or another, on that promontory. which is one of the highest cliffs in the south country, for perhaps a thousand years. In the middle ages. it flashed forth its warning tar and near. whenever an invader threatened; it did ood service. too. when the Spaniard we (1 have laid his yoke 11 :1 us, and told with aton ueof flame w on his great Armada m e the deep yonder twinkle with myriad lights, like another heaven." , , _ 7 whethEr it is visited oncé {week by yuny human creature. If you would like to pass by it, however, it. will not take us much out 9f gut gayf’ _ . .. - “ I am a Oatholie myself,” answered Ray- mond simply, “ but I 'would not force my creed down a nation’s throat at the point of the sword. In these times, as during the late war, the beacon ie only used as a. telegraph. Those wooden arms. which gave it, as you say, so ghastly an appear- ance, have a vocabulary, when made to speak, o_f many hungred words, which on fiâ€" “Ay, no would have brought back the old faith, ” said Mr. Stevens carelessly, but with astealthy glance 9t his oompfmion. “ No, not new; the wooden but is pulled down where the semaphore men used to live, and at present I suppose it is one of the most lonely laces hereabouts. From the see, it is total y inaccessible ; the clifis everywhere are sheer; and except by the coast-gnarl in_ their night-pstrol,_1 doubt "Nice. ugreoafile. chest-ml com mien thip,”said Raymond tohimsell. “ hope how not goingto tire himself by walking with me too hr.” _ “ Are there any pe'ople tationed there to worgit?” ‘inquireg thee _a.ng9r._ . a: fine day earn be heard. or father read, miles am}. miles away."_ which to them It lent wopld be ”grad; 9.31.11)“; thgge $5066er of ours. I con; A,A..I‘__, A“) ___. I-_L L-n.- I-w’ ' ---- vâ€"vâ€"- 1m I would 11756:: ' Vfldd iny Int home where .11 the semen around had been {uni- liar 19 me durlgg W2". ‘ u 1., W, s “ We hsve not all that choice,” observed Mr Stevens coldly, “ Ly. it in but natural for «mo in your position to raise theologicul ruminants." returned Gideon oooly. “ But for me who am safe on theto here, I pruior to take a practical view 0 matters. You Mk me whether Iwould commit what [mu are pleased to describe as a "Junior. uithough nobod else will take that view of it. I parte from you at yonder ‘ barrow,‘ where you expressed your intention or young by the Beacon for the sake of the vww. (I was constructing this little Mon-g- as we came along from that very pimwn :. ml I think it will docspitally . My luet worm, us I left you there. were, ‘ ray, be cumin! of the oliii‘; you do walk so very hour 'he edge, my dear Mr. Hepburn.’ If your body is never found again.» you just nuw‘ guarano teed would be the cueo. Wiwtz you little thought you were talking of ymmvli, then I need say nothing; and l mu .n‘ruid ou will suffer theinoonveniencm you hinte at as we came along. which result from bein denied the rights of sepnliuv‘v. But i your body is found, then thorn is my little story to explain your latest mieohanoe. But I am digressing, and you have no time tospare, I am sure. You would say, why slay me for your sister's sake, shine I have not injured on! But you how injured me. Raymond lyiiard; and. like Grace, I never forgive. Long ago, she mu] 1 together made up our minds that we would have “ You ere right, sir. Ynur brother bemg a. lunaSio, had not the 80mm :0 plot revenge. But when you wrongwl in'm. you crossed the path of my sister 0mm. and you had better have bulked n. tam-as. uf her meal." “ But would you do murder for Mr sake. man! My arms are getting nmifl', my fingers ache. God sees 119 both from yonder heaven. Ah.euvo mound gmureelf tooby one good deed." “He never set you to do um, rupted the doomed man passionutz am sure Rue never did.” “My name is Gideon Carr.“ rammed the stranger. hoarsely. Then ltzxquud'e face grew white as the cliff to whivh he clung, and as damp with the dam n1“ terror of death, for he knew that be 091111 .gxpeot no mercy. “Ayfwoll mayst thou grams. young Raymond. It was your turn an laugh when you stole Mildred Leigh inn: your brother’s arms â€"” b‘tain not your soul with munbr f " With one strong plirh l;~.‘!'.’~f . :1 the shoulders, the treacherous 51:3; had thrust his companion over Llixr (-21: '. He had fallen, of course, but :A : sheer; his great muscular strength :-i J agility had enabled him, even in the: 1:;~'.:.:1t, to twist round with his face. 2-129: :1“: ': : « side, towards the precipice ; and ? r ‘ Bung, afew feet below the edge. 2:13.: nails dug into the soft chalk. :2: 1 ', \ feet striving for, and even utt,r.§i.i:.:. .. . . uOllt~ ary hold. “Forgive me, Rayumnd (".13. 'mrd!" replied the stranger, scorninlly. -' Nay, the debt is even still upon yuur >11“. and be sure I will exact it. to film mtg-{mosh You have found a resting pm». I see, which perhaps will last you I‘azltln‘xgh I am afraid, the nature of the clmll; i» friable) wlgleyou listen to what. I have to .~ .uy Hideous as was Raymond‘s “ration, closely asthe mysteries of tummy were pressing upon him, yet he could not but inquire of that wicked gloatiugfuce. “ What devill thou, art phoyfi“ Raymond was well awmu: :‘u r; :1“. :wriod of his existence must now he ;.:;1 . g d by seconds unless the heaxtc . 1’ 1‘ ‘2 ; ;. rous rufiian should relent, Whom H1!!-;;e was looking down from the clifii-tup 1 1 m his dyin_g_ agonies. " Not so. sir; I was calling in miml bow in this very spot I saw the bird-mwizwrs at work last spring. No less than :1 were clinging tothe face of the sumo precipice, with nothing but a rope oi hide :lyi-‘UB to anchor them to life. 1 saw mm being drawn up with a young fulmurâ€"tlm oily gullâ€"in either hand, striking; his. foot against the smooth chalk. and brrmllin out into the very air, as though he .«nrno even sfoothold; and all that time he was bawling jokes to his mate upon the edge hereâ€"who merely held the hide. like reins â€"upon whose strength and prmxme of mind his existence solely depended. Some of these adventurers do not hmw’: u “.336 at all, but trust to.s. mere stake. w} 3 ‘3. they themselves drive into the earth a and to which they fasten their rope. 1 l1; only difficulty they seem to find in zl -:- w. Mat is at the last part of Limir u; dated ascent. when they have to jrrl; than» elves from the face of the precipice. in artist to insert their hand beneath the i'e-gw ...=ul the olifi-edge. No accident, indent 1; eypenfl, I believe, either bird-catching m- :‘w,':1-l)lr8- gathering, but well has Shiliznl'm‘. «tiled it a ‘ dreadful trade.’ ” ‘ '“T'hevre is still time. nun," Eer- :asyed, “to reach down your arm. v.41 Nye a. fellow-creature from death, xvi-m 1‘. m1: fit todie. So help-me heaven. L and znv‘gnve, nayLbleag you, If yogwill !" on: no nothing beneath us ; but mm your eye; Ifgw toot wayward, and ~wu n- 1; ”a " Ney." returned Raymond, -- but you see no sand, and your mixtulgo i4 p. law)! of $110 “053 height at which we stand. ‘yVhBt looks like and from hum, an: brown and mull. ii I batch of rounded kiKIHIL‘H, v. hioh would duh the life out of u, mm, though he tell but one quarter of thi ; uhh'wnoe. while the next ebb-tide Would hour .‘zim out “ You interest me immcn elg-r {Mn Stevens; “for all we Imam, fun. there may be half a dozen {.1'113 'LA Ag. :1; 119, whose presence we know 1-A Anhi: z; ;‘ , 1t. " ‘- No, not to- day,” returu m1 1: 1.. .nd; “ No, not to- day,” return :11 l “ the wind' 18 far too strum: 1‘: >- have mercy upon me! 112‘ u - Stain not your soul with: m 4:?! x to In; and yetâ€"” “A . what? You were “11512;: 111 aomet ing. You think a. pun/:1 11. we}! 9. strait might yet be flawed: (Continued on seventh page.) CHAPTER xx: :5. OVER THE CLI' 1'. upoy 110' ) Al, 11" 4d“, .' ., ..elp‘ {a my run in inter-