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LITTLE

MAID OF ARCADY

BY

CHRISTIAN REID,

Author of " A Child of Mary," " Philip's Restitution,
« Carmela," « Armine," Etc.

• •'

Reprinted from the " Ave Maria."

PHILADELPHIA :

H. L. KlLNER & Co.,

PUBLISHERS.

Copyright, 1893.
By H. L. Kilner, & Co.

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

CHAPTER I.

Deep in the green heart of a valley, shut in by
the peaks of the Blue Riclge, stands — or stood a
few years since — a quaint, old-fashioned mill upon
a clear mountain stream ; a perfect, picturesque
object, as such mills usually are ; embowered in
shade, with forest-clad hillsides rising around it,
and mountain crests towering beyond ; with the
creek flashing like crystal between its laurel-
fringed banks, and the great wheel making a fore-
ground in the picture, all alive with quiver-shad-
ows and rippling lights. It was like reading a
poem — some tender, pastoral idyl, — simply to sit
near this rushing wheel, under the arching trees
on a golden summer afternoon, or in the hazy au-
tumn days, and watch the white foam on one side,
the clear, bright stream on the other; the " race "
shaded over with a roof of green and gold, until
it seemed as if fairy barges might have floated on
its waters ; a picturesque road winding down the
^ hillside to a bridge that spanned the creek; and
* * (3)

4 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

over and above all the everlasting mountains in
their solemn, unchanging repose.

Yet not far from this lovely spot, around the
shoulder of one of the great hills that guard it, is
another and far different scene — a mountain gorge,
deep, wild, almost savage, across one side of which
a breath of the world passes two or three times a
day in the form of a railroad train, speeding from
one centre of civilization to another. It was this
gorge which was the scene of an accident, famous
even yet in the annals of horror. A fearful place
for an accident, with its precipitous sides, and far
below the level of the track its stately trees look-
ing like merest shrubs : a terrible place for life and
death to clash together in one awful second : for
eyes to take their last look on existence, for death-
sobs to be given and throbs of mortal agony borne,
the whole of which God only knows ; a horrible
place for men, women and children to be blent to-
gether in one fiery destruction, one mass of quiv-
ering, suffering humanity ; for hearts, careless or
careworn, happy or sad, to be hurled in one dread
moment from time into eternity ! It is a place
even yet pregnant with suggestions of all the dark
anguish of which it was the scene; and old rail-
way officials still speak of the accident as one of
the most terrible on record ; still shudder as they
cast a hurried glance from the car windows over
that precipice, down which the engine plunged
like some mad, sentient thing.

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 5

Ten years had elapsed since that plunge was
taken ; and the sunshine of another August day,
as lovely as the one now long since passed, was ly-
ing over the mountains and valleys, bathing the
summits of the first in glory and leaving the last
in soft shadow as the afternoon advanced, when
two young people entered the gorge and made
their way directly to the spot where the accident
had occurred, — that is, where the train had been
hurled in its awful fall. No sign marking the
place now remained, but there seemed not the least
doubt or hesitation on the part of these two.
Without exchanging a word they advanced, until
presently saying to each other " Here ! ' they
paused by a mass of granite that, detached from
the heights above in some b}Tgone convulsion of
nature, now lay clothed with moss and half buried
in tall ferns.

They were a boy and a girl, dressed in the fash-
ion of the inhabitants of this thinly-settled mount-
ain region, yet with a difference that showed a
greater attention to personal neatness than was
common with most of these inhabitants. The boy,
who seemed to be about seventeen, wore the rough
linsey which in these remote districts is still woven
in the farm-houses in the old fashion on hand
looms. He was without his coat, and a certain
powdering of white indicated that he had lately
quitted the mill. But there was nothing loutish
about him. Not even the roughness of his attire

6 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

could conceal the fact that his figure was well
built — slim, muscular and graceful ; his bearing
good, his step springing and elastic. He held his
head high, and, when he removed a somewhat bat-
tered straw-hat, showed a very frank and open
countenance, deeply sunburned, and lighted by
clear eyes full of intelligence. Yet, although his
whole appearance impressed strongly and pleas-
antly, it was not possible to say that he was out of
place in his manifest surroundings ; while, on the
oilier hand, the girl seemed a creature transported
from another sphere of life altogether.

She wore, like any other mountain maiden, the
simplest possible frock of pink calico, made short
enough to show her small feet and shapely ankles ;
and she carried a sunbonnet in her hand. But
withal she looked like a princess in disguise, so
rare and delicate was her type of beauty. From
her small head, covered with curls that seemed to
have once been guilded by the sun, and to have
kept that guilding fixed upon their brown forever,
to the. ends of her fingers — or of her nails, as the
French expressively sa}T,— the mark of that mysteri-
ous but absolutely undeniable thing which we call
*' blood ' was set. Every line of her figure ex-
pressed it, every feature of her face, — a face so
charming in its loveliness, in the delicacy of its
wild-rose complexion, the beauty of its soft brown
eyes, the perfect finish of its brows, the fine out-
line and arched nostrils of its nose, and the win-

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 7

some curve of its lips, that it seemed made to be
painted on ivory and set with pearls. Everything
most fine and dainty in the luxury of the world
would have been only a fit setting for this fair face ;
3ret here, by some strange caprice of Fate, it ap-
peared amid the rough environments of life in this
wild region.

" I never want to come here at any other time,"
the girl said presently, looking up to where, far
above, the track clung to the mountain side, and
then down again into the deep, green dell where
they stood ; " but to-day it always seems to me as
if I ought to come. All day long something is
telling me to do so, and I do not feel satisfied until
I have been here."

" I don't see why you should come to-day more
than any other day," said her companion, in a
practical tone. " But if you like it — "

"I don't like it," she interrupted. "I hate to
think of all that happened here ; but it seems as
if to-day I ought to think, — as if all the rest of the
year I might forget, but not to-day."

"Bernadette, you have too many notions, I
think," answered the boy, shaking his head.

The girl spread out her small, sunburned hands
with a gesture which assuredly she had not
learned from any of her present surroundings ; it
must have come, like her name, from some ances-
tor who spoke the sweet tongue of France.

u Do you call it a notion," she asked, looking at

8 A LITTLE MAID OF AUCADY.

him reproachfully, " to remember my poor mother,
and the dreadful death she died, just one day in
the year ? Every other day your mother is m}'
mother, too ; but to-day I must think of my own.
It is not much to do."

" It is foolish to talk that way," said the boy,
uncompromisingly. "Don't you remember your
mother every day? Isn't her grave all the time
before your eyes, and do you ever say your prayers
without praying for her ? "

" But this is different," she persisted. " I can't
make you understand, but it is different. Of
course I pray for her, and of course I remember
her always — in a way. But it is not this way. I
feel as if " — she paused and seemed to hesitate for
words, although indeed the speech of both these
young people was remarkably correct — " as if the
rest of the time I belonged to you all, but to-day
only to her."

The boy shook his head again. There was a
degree of imaginativeness in this which his prac-
tical mind found itself unable to grasp. But he
spoke tolerably :

" We shouldn't grudge your belonging to her
for one day," he observed, " if it would do her any
good. But what good is it to her, or to you
either, for you to come here and think of all that
happened that awful day so long ago ? It would
be better to go and say a Be profundis at her

grave."

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 9

" And do you think I haven't done so? " cried
the girl, almost indignantly. " But here was where
she died : it is right that I should pray for her
here also."

Without waiting for reply, she knelt down
among the ferns and, crossing herself, began to
pray. Her companion watched her for a moment ;
and, had he been able to appreciate it, the scene
was as strange as it was charming. Strange, be-
cause in this region there is little known of re-
ligion save the rudest forms of Protestantism ;
and this touching practice of faith— the kneeling
girl praying for her dead mother — seemed as much
out of accord with the surroundings as Catholic
practices, which are made to fit all times and
places, can ever seem. Had it been a glen of the
Tyrol, the simple picturesqueness of the scene
might have struck an observer ; but here the
strangeness overpowered the picturesqueness.
However, it seemed natural enough to the youth.
After an instant he, too, knelt down and prayed
for a few minutes. But his orisons were short and
evidently somewhat perfunctory. He soon rose ;
and while he sat, with uncovered head, waiting for
Bernadette to conclude her prayers, one may
briefly tell the. story of how these two lives were
so singularly cast together.

Fifteen years before this time there had come to
the mountain neighborhood a quiet, taciturn
Scotchman with his wife and child. Perhaps the

10 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

recollection of Lis native glens, where life had
been made impossible to him, but to which the
heart of the Highlander ever clings with deep and
tenacious affection, had influenced him to seek a
home amid these far, fair heights. His wife, like
himself, was from the Highlands ; and both had
belonged to one of those places where the ancient
faith of Scotland has never died during all the
dark centuries of heresy and persecution which
have overwhelmed the rest of that country. With
such a heritage of fidelity, they were not likely to
cease to prize their faith when circumstances led
them to another land. Once a month a priest
came to a small town, distant eight or ten miles ;
and whoever else failed to greet him there, the
faithful Highland couple never did. For the rest,
they lived quietly and happily in their secluded
home ; the ceaseless rushing and grinding of what
was known far and wide as " the Cameron Alill "
supplied all that was needed for their simple
wants. And so five years had passed like a dream
when the day came of the terrible railroad acci-
dent, and the whole scene of horror, death and
mortal agony lay, as it were, at their door.

It was a scene that it would be impossible for
the most callous ever to forget, — a scene to haunt
and sicken so long as life should last; and it was
one which they were destined to see and know in
all its details. For many days their house — the
only one near the place of accident — was trans-

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 11

formed into a hospital, and became the centre of
all the excitement that ensued. Mutilation in
every form, suffering in every degree, death and
desolation, were all around them. The very air
seemed rilled with anguish. And when at last
the sad tide ebbed away, when the dead and
wounded were all removed, one waif of the wreck
remained stranded on their shore. This was a
child, a girl of some four or five years, who had
been found beside the dead body of her mother
amid all the terrible debris. Strangely enough,
the little creature was unhurt ; and her wild, piti-
ful amazement at first, her deep, passionate grief
afterward, were so unlike a child, and so touch-
ing hi their intensity, that in the effort to com-
fort, Mrs. Cameron soon learned to love her. The
kind woman's heart yearned over such helpless
orphanhood ; and when everyone else had been
removed, and she alone was left in her childish
desolation, unclaimed by any friend or kinsman,
the husband and wife consulted together and de-
cided to keep her.

44 Better do that than let the bit thing drift away
— God knows where," said the former. " If she's
claimed, it'll be easy for her friends to find her
here. If not, we'll try to bring her up as a Chris-
tian, and God will provide the rest. We've none
of our own but Alan. So let her bide, Janet, —
let her bide ! "

It is almost needless to say with what delight

12 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

Mrs. Cameron received this decision, and she beg-
ged that her husband would lose no time in tell-
ing the railroad officials that they were willing to
keep the child. Since every effort to discover her
friends had failed, the officials were only too glad
to take them at their word ; and so the little waif
found home and love and tender care on the very
spot which had witnessed her desolation.

At first they questioned her a great deal, striv-
ing to extract some information that would lead
to the discovery of those who had a claim upon
her ; but thev soon found that this was hone! ess.
She was very bright and intelligent, but it was
evident that she knew verv little of her own his-
tory. Her name, she said, was Bernadette Ar-
naud : and mamma — the pale, dead lady who had
been laid away to rest in a quiet spot beyond the
garden — was named Marian Arnaud. Her papa
was dead — oh yes, dead she was sure ; for she had
often been to his grave with mamma ! They had
lived in a great many places, she and her mamma,
and from all that could be gathered had spent
much of their time in travelling. But her memory
for names was defective, her pronunciation (or so
it seemed to ears unaccustomed to foreign sounds)
more defective still ; and where they had been go-
ing when a cruel death so suddenly overtook the
mother, the little girl did not know or could not
tell.

A trunk, which she identified as her mother's,

A LITTLE MAID OF Alt CAD Y. 13

had been saved ; but there was little in it of im-
portance— no pictures, letters, or any such guides
to possible identification ; only the plain wardrobe
of a lady and the clothes of little Bernadette. A
few French books bore the name of Arnaud; but
the only thing which seemed likely to prove a
clue to the dead lady's kindred and position was
a locket with a monogram set in brilliants on its
back, and within the likeness of the delicate, re-
fined face of a woman of middle age. Together
with this was an old, much-worn Bible, with the
name " Marian Ridgeley " and a date ten years
before traced on the fly-leaf. Having satisfied
themselves that this was all, the Camerons closed
the trunk and put it carefully away, leaving the
mystery for God to deal with as He found best;
and only thanking Him that out of sorrow He had
brought joy, and given them a sunbeam in the
child, whom they grew to love as if she had been
their very own in flesh and blood.

Nor was this remarkable. She was not only so
pretty that to look at her was a pleasure, but she
had the most sweet and gracious disposition pos-
sible to imagine. Even the rough mountaineers,
who formed the only society of the neighborhood,
grew to regard her with a peculiar affection ; and
though she was singularly dainty and refined in
all her ways— evidently a little lady born, — these
traits did not offend them, as fine manners often
do offend the coarse. On the contrary, they

14 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

seemed to like her the better for her difference
from themselves ; and she was certainly the ele-
ment which saved her own household from the
roughness engendered by an isolated life and rude
companionship.

The Camerons were undoubtedly above the
grade of those around them, yet not so much that
they might not have drifted into their manners
and habits but for Bernadette. Insensibly to her-
self, insensibly even to them, she refined by her
mere contact ; being one of those rare people to
whom courtesy, gentleness, and consideration for
others, come by nature, not b}r teaching. Then,
again, Mrs. Cameron felt that it was her duty to
keep the child as much as possible what she had
found her, so that she might at any time be able
to fill the position to which she was clearly born.
To do this it was necessary not to lapse into the
social and domestic habits around them ; so it will
be seen that, in this respect at least, the old axiom
that virtue is its own reward came in a measure
true. The little stray — the dark-eyed, sweet-
faced fairy princess — had not passed out of child-
hood before her kind protectors fully realized that
in her own person she was the fairest and bright-
est gift which fortune had ever bestowed upon
them.

And one gift, greater and more priceless even
than their love, they were able to bestow upon
her — the gift of faith. That her mother had not

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 15

been a Catholic was abundantly proved, — posi-
tively by the Protestant Bible in her trunk, and
negatively by the absence of any Catholic emblem
upon herself or the child. But when all hope of
tracing her, or of Bernadette being claimed by her
family, seemed at an end, the Camerons said to
each other that they were now not only at liberty
to adopt the little one as their own, but to make a
Catholic of her.

And surely it must have been the blood of
Catholic ancestors in her veins, or the prayers of
Catholic ancestors in heaven, which made the
child accept with such readiness the devotional
practices taught her. Certainly she seemed to
turn to the faith as a flower opens to the sun, and
its influence added another and more tender grace
to those which nature had already bestowed upon
her. As years went on, Mrs. Cameron often said
to herself that if she were now claimed by others
and taken away, she would at least carry with her
one great possession of which no later influences
could rob her. Of this, perhaps, there could at
that time have been no certainty ; but it was at
least certain that Bernadette loved her religion as
only some rare natures love it, feeling no con-
straint in its yoke: only recognizing its sweetness
and beauty, unconsciously at first, afterward with
the strength of a character quick, impulsive, yet
tenacious in all that concerned the affections.

The last was plainly shown in her attachment

16 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

to her adopted parents, and to Alan, their only
son. The two children had indeed conceived a
strong affection for each other from the first ; and
had Mrs. Cameron been at all familiar with modern
fiction, she might have thought of Tom and
Maggie Tulliver, as she often watched them going
hand in hand down the path which led from the
house to the mill. But, although the manner in
which the delicate little girl trotted after the
taller, stalwart boy, who treated her with the con-
descending patronage which boys generally dis-
play toward girls, might have recalled the brother
and sister who lived beside the Floss, there was
nothing of similarity in the characters of the two
children. Alan Cameron, despite some of the
roughness of boyhood, had none of Tom Tulliver's
inherent brutality, and Bernadette none of
Maggie's emotional weakness. Hers indeed ap-
peared, as they grew out of childhood, to be the
stronger character of the two; for her influence
was not only apparent in a refining effect upon
the boy, who might else have developed into such
a young bear as his sex usually become from ten
to twenty, but she often tyrannized over him
with a sweet imperiousness which he found it
difficult to resist.

CHAPTER II.

« I often wonder," said Bernadette to her com-
panion, when they were presently sitting side by
side on the moss-draped boulder, " whether I shall
ever know anything about who I am. It seems
very strange, when one thinks of it, not to know
who one is."

" Coming here makes you think of such things,"
observed Alan, who had evidently a rooted disap-
proval of this pilgrimage. " What is the good of
it, Bernadette ? What does it matter who you are ?
You are yourself, and you belong to us now, — that
is enough."

The girl looked at him for a moment gravely
with her clear brown eyes.

" I suppose it is enough for you" she said ; " but
not for me. How can I help wondering who I am,
who my mother was, where she was going on that
awful day, and why nobody ever has seemed to
know or care anything about her ? "

" I suppose you can't help it," the boy agreed
tolerantly once more. " But wondering will do no
good. Father tried, and the Railroad Company
tried, to find out something about her, and they
never could. Perhaps she didn't belong to this
countrv at all. Perhaps she was a foreigner, and
2 (17)

18 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

her people are on the other side of the world. You
are foreign, you know, Bernadette. Your name is
French."

" But she was not French," said Bernadette. "I
am sure of that. I remember that when we lived
in a great city — oh, such a beautiful, bright, gay
city ! — where everybody spoke French, she always
talked to me in English. That is how I knew
English when I came here."

" Yes," answered Alan. They had often spoken
of this before ; and agreed that the gay, beautiful
cit}r, which, with its palaces and gardens and
bridges, remained in the child's memory like a pic-
ture, must have been Paris. But, although he had
once been curious as Bernadette herself with re-
gard to her identity, and had talked with her over
everything that she could remember, thus uncon-
sciously fixing many details in her mind which
might else, as she grew older, have escaped it, he
had of late evinced a reluctance to enter upon the
subject, and had discouraged allusion to it. This,
no doubt, originated partly in a vague jealousy of
those who might possess a claim upon the girl
stronger than that of his parents, and partly also
in the sensible conviction that the less she thought
of a mystery which appeared destined never to be
solved, the better.

"It doesn't matter who you were," he repeated.
"You are our Bernadette now; and I should like

A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY. 19

to see anybody come and try to claim you after all
these years ! " lie added, almost fiercely.

"I don't want to be claimed," replied Berna-
dette. "If anybody came, I would not go — noth-
ing could make me go — away from you all. You
ought to know that, Alan. But, all the same, I do
wonder who I am. I should like to find out that,
and then come back and live always just as we are
living now."

Even at this early age, Alan Cameron's special
forte was his common-sense. He hesitated a mo-
ment, then smiled.

"If you would be satisfied then, why aren't you
satisfied now? " he asked. "If you live with us
always, what difference does it make who you were
before you came to us ? "

Perhaps to the imaginative temperament there is
nothing so trying as common-sense. Bernadette
made a quick, impatient gesture.

" It makes a great deal of difference to me," she
said. " It would make a difference to you if you
didn't know who your father and mother were, or
anything whatever about them, except that one
was killed in — a terrible "

She paused. Her eyes had filled with tears and
her voice choked. Sometimes the memory of the
past, which was mostly like an oft-told tale, with-
out power to affect strongly, rushed upon her with
strange force. Here, where her mother had met
the terrible death of which she spoke, the lies of

20 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

nature thrilled in the girl, whom nature had fash-
ioned insensitive mould. Simple as her upbring-
ing had been, her character and disposition were
not simple. Forces, complex and paradoxical,
which she was herself far from understanding, ex-
isted within her, inherited from lives that had pre-
ceded hers, — lives far different from these alto-
gether simple ones with which fate had cast her
own. Many of these forces were as yet dor-
mant ; but the day would come when they would
waken, and then — who could foretell the result?
Absolutely unimaginative as Alan Cameron was,
some instinctive knowledge of this was in his
mind. He felt that Bernadette was of a different
kind from his parents and himself; and his fear
was more perhaps of this difference which lay
within herself, than of any danger, which seemed
too remote to be considered, that might come from
the outside.

At this moment he did not see wiry a totally
useless discussion should be prolonged ; and, de-
tecting the tremor in Bernadette's voice, he rose
to his feet with a hasty yet decided movement.

" It's getting late," he said, abruptly. " We'd
best be going. Father won't know what's become
of me ; for I didn't tell him when I left the mill."

Bernadette rose also, without a word. There
could be no doubt that it was growing late : the
sun had ceased to gild the summits of the tall
heights around them, and the deep gorge was al-

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 21

most in twilight shadow. But she knew that
Alan's movement was not so much owing to the
lateness of the hour as to a desire to end their
conversation ; so she walked beside him silently
for several minutes. Then she said, a little
coldly :

" I know you think it's very foolish of me to
talk of these things, Alan. But I'll — I'll take care
not to talk of them any more to you."

"I think," said Alan, uncompromisingly, "that
it's foolish to fret about things that can't be helped
and that can't be found out. If you keep on think-
ing and wondering about them, you'll just make
yourself miserable ; and all for nothing, because
there's no way to find out what you want to
know."

" I'm not miserable," said Bernadette ; " and I
hardly ever think of it ; only when I do it would
be strange if I didn't wonder. But I'll not talk
of it to you any more. You don't understand."

" No," said Alan the practical, " I dont under-
stand the use of talking or thinking about things
that can't be mended."

This position was, in itself, certainly unassaila-
ble. No one is likely to deny that there is not the
slightest use in fretting over or conjecturing about
things that are past mending or past finding out.
Unable to dispute a point so self-evident, yet
more than ever convinced that Alan did not
or would not understand her, Bernadette took ref-

22 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

uge in silence ; and nothing more was said by
either until they had left the gorge and emerged
into the small but lovely valley, where the mill
stood beside the rushing stream.

A man standing in the door of the mill — a tall,
stalwart, white-powdered figure, with dark, kind
eyes set in a weather-beaten face, which was
crowned by short locks of iron-gray hair — saw
them coming and said to himself: "So that's
where Alan went — with the lassie to the gorge !
Ay, to be sure it's the day — she never forgets it.
But I'm thinking it might be better if she did for-
get it now." From which it will be perceived that
there was an unanimity of feeling in the Cameron
family on this point.

Meanwhile Bernadette observed to her compan-
ion as they crossed the bridge: " There's father in
the mill. Let us go to him." And a few moments
later she stood in the open door by the side of the
miller, who turned and smiled upon her with his
kindly eyes, rather than with his lips.

" Well, lassie," he said, with a strong Highland
accent, " ye have been to the glen nae doubt.
Dinna be sorrowful, my bonnie bairn, for thinking
of what happened there,"— and he laid a broad,
brown hand upon her head. " The Lord kens bet-
ter than we do what's best, and yeVe nae been
unhappy all these years."

The girl looked up in his face with a glance full
of grateful affection ; then, with one of the grace-

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 23

ful ways which she had not learned from these un-
demonstrative people, took his toil-worn hand and
lightly touched her lips to it.

" No," she said : " I've been happy always, al-
ways. But I was telling Alan — only he doesn't like
for me to say it — that to-day I must think of my
mother ; and when I think of her, I can but won-
der who I am. I'm sure it's not yon., father" —
with a glance of reproach at Alan, — " who would
think it strange for me to remember these things
—to-day?"

" To-day — no, my bairn," answered the miller,
gravely. " But maybe what Alan means is that if
ye think of them too much, ye'll nae be content
with your lot as God has ordered it for you : ye'll
be thinking and thinking that perhaps there's a
better life waiting for ye somewhere else "

" Yes, that is what Alan thinks ! " cried Berna-
dette, suddenly and passionately; "but he doesn't
understand. And when you talk so, father, you
don't understand either. I'm not wanting any
other life than the one you've given me here, — I
wouldn't take any other if I could ; but how can
I help sometimes wondering "

Her voice died away in a sob ; and again the
broad, brown hand was laid with gentle touch
upon her head.

" Dinna greet, lassie," said the slow, grave voice
she knew so well. "It's natural ye should think
of these things ; but if ye think too much, harm

24 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

will come of it. Ye can but leave it to God. If
He ever means ye to know more than ye know
now, He'll make it clear in His own time. And
meanwhile it's well to mind that we haven't but
one minute that we can call our own — just one lit-
tle minute. And why should we fash ourselves
about the past or the future ? Look ! " — he
pointed to the great wheel that churned the water
into foam and sent it racing away in swift tumult
— " as I've often told ye, the mill will never grind
again with the water that is past ; and we'll never
have one second of our time to live over again.
So, my bonnie bairn, we should nae poison it with
thoughts of what has been or what may be. We
canna change anything that has been, and we
know naught of what will be. But the good God
knows, and that is enough."

Simplicity itself, these words ; yet could highest
wisdom say more ? Perhaps it was the kind touch
of the hand that lent them a power to soothe and
quiet all the thoughts that the da}' had wakened
in Bernadette. The impression made upon her
must have been very deep; for the scene, with all
its associations and sensations, remained indelibly
fixed in her memory. Long years afterward she
could see and feel everything as vividly as she saw
and felt it then : — the rushing wheel, flinging away
the water with which it would never grind again,
as heedlessly as we fling away the precious hours
of our time; the solemn, encircling mountains

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 25

wrapped in their ineffable calm: the twilight com-
ing down upon the fair valley; and the slow, wise
accents that bade her not poison with vain regret
or futile anticipation the one short moment, which
is all we can call our own out of the span of life.

CHAPTER III.

Meanwhile, as the summer gloaming wrapped
the world in its lovely veil, a woman came to the
door of the plain but comfortable house that stood
above the mill on a gentle elevation, and glanced
down the road to see if there were no signs of the
approach of her absent family. She was a refined-
lookingr woman for her order of life, with a face ex-
pressive both of goodness and intelligence ; great
shrewdness in the clear eyes — the same eyes which
looked out of Alan's face, — and great benignity in
the lines of her mouth. She had been comely in
her youth, but now retained little of good looks,
save such as were inseparable from the impress
which the soul in the lapse of years sets upon its
dwelling-place. Her appearance was exquisitely
neat and clean ; and one could not but feel that
this outward neatness was the expression of an in-
ward purity and love of order, which would be ex-
hibited in every thought and act of her life.

It was certainly exhibited in the aspect of the
house in the door of which she stood. In every
nook and corner the most absolute cleanliness
reigned ; the curtains which draped the windows,
though of the simplest material, were immacu-
lately white; the bare floors were almost dazzling
(26)

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 27

in their spotlessness ; and no particle of dust pro-
faned tables, chairs or shelves. The whole ap-
pearance of the dwelling suggested lives of great
simplicity and habits of the utmost frugality; but
no taint of the sordidness that degrades, or the
disorder that demoralizes. One would have said,
and said truly, that there abided here the great
virtues of purity, simplicity, self-control, and the
rare jewel of content which was the priceless pos-
session of simpler times. Out of such homes have
come lives fitted to do some of the world's great-
est work; for the power of self-discipline, "to
scorn delights and live laborious days," which is
needed above all things for great achievements, is
learned here as it can hardly be learned amid
environments of luxury and wealth.

Standing in the door in the twilight, Mrs.
Cameron was not idle : her quick, capable fingers
were knitting on a large stocking even while her
eyes glanced from the shade-embowered roof of the
mill, of which she could catch a glimpse, to the
road along which she expected every moment to
see her husband, her son, or Bernadette appear.
And it was not long before this expectation wa.i
fulfilled in the appearance of all three together
Through the quiet stillness their voices were
borne before them to her ear, and she smiled as
Bernadette's musical laugh rang out. She, too,
knew on what errand the girl had gone this after-
noon ; and she, too, disapproved of thoughts and

28 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

recollections that might, it was natural to suppose,
lead to vague conjectures and useless repining.
The sweet ringing laugh, which was always like
music to her ear, was therefore on this occasion
peculiarly so.

In fact, all shadow of sadness had left Berna-
dette's face and Bernadette's spirit. It was with
a sense of relief that the girl had thrown off the
recollections of the day. As she had endeavored
to explain to Alan, she felt always as if she owed
this day to the memory of her mother, — the
mother who was so dim a shade in her life ; but,
the duty loyalty paid, it was with a quick rebound
toward her habitual joyousness that she put the
memory away — for another year. Those words at
the mill had closed the subject for the present,
and it was according to her temperament that she
should be the gayer now for having been de-
pressed.

"Are you waiting for us, mother? " she asked,
hastening eagerly forward, as she discerned the
figure in the honeysuckle-draped porch. "It was
my fault that Alan was late, and father waited
for him. Then we stopped a little while in the
mill."

" There was naught to do," said Mrs. Cameron,
" so T came out here to see if ye were coming.
But I was nae fashin' myself because you were
late. I knew ye were not far away, and would be
here in time. Ay, but it's a good thing to have

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 29

one's folks so near at hand," said the woman, with
a sigh of content.

Alan glanced at his mother a little wistfully.
" I'm thinking that I can't bide here always,
mother," he said. " You must let me go some
day soon. It's time I was beginning to do some-
thing for myself."

" What better can ye do," asked his mother, a
little sharply, " than help your father in his work,
like a good son ?"

"Father doesn't need me," said the boy. "Old
Tom is better in the mill than I am."

" No," said the father, laying his hand on the
shoulder which was almost on a level with his
own. " Nobody is better than you, my son.
You've been a good lad always, and done your
work like a man. But I'm not saying that ye
must bide here, for all that. The lad must choose
his own life, Janet. He has a right to do so ; and
we'll sa}' naught against it— when the time comes.
But bide a bit longer with us, Alan. Remember,
4 the mill will never grind again with the water
that is past.' "

" I'll bide always, if ye say so, father," Alan
replied, touched by the kindness of these words.

"No, no! A man's life is his own, — it's like
his soul," said the miller. " You must choose for
yourself, my boy; and I'll say naught against
your choice, for I know well you will never seek
any way but the upright one."

30 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

Alan looked into his father's face gratefully.
They understood each other perfectly, these two.

But at this point Bernadette broke in.

" Oh," she cried, addressing Alan with breath-
less indignation, " you want to go away and leave
us ! You are none content yourself, and yet an
hour — only an hour — ago you were angry with me
because you thought I was discontented ! He's
fine, mother !" exclaimed the girl, turning where
she was sure of sympathy. " He was sore vexed
with me because he believed I was discontented,
and now it is he who is wanting to go!"

"Ay, my lassie," said the elder woman, "ye'U
find often in life that so it is. Men have aye one
law for themselves and another for women — and
Alan's a true man. But it's ill news that ye are
none content with us," she added, in a tone of
reproach.

"I am content," Bernadette reiterated once
more. "But Alan thought I was not, because I
talked of my mother who is dead, and wondered
— wouldn't it be strange if I didn't wonder? — ■
who I am. He was angry " — Alan shook his head
here, but no attention was paid to this protest, —
" and now it's he who talks of going away !"

" He'll bide where he is," said the mother, with
the sharp decision of one who felt that this was
not perhaps the last word. " We'll have no more
talk about it. Eh, God be good to us, but I'm
thinking there's bad luck in this day," she mur-

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 31

mured to herself, as she turned and entered the
house.

But all painful and disagreeable subjects seemed
put away and forgotten when, a little later, the
family group assembled around their evening
meal. And then might have been seen how much
the joyousness of the household depended on its
youngest member. It was her gay chatter that
made Alan laugh, and drew the slow smile to his
father's lips ; while Mrs. Cameron looked at the
sweet, bright face with eyes that plainly found in
it their sunshine.

After supper the miller lighted his pipe and sat
in the door, where he could command both the
lamp-lighted room and the now moonlight-flooded
valley, around which the solemn mountains stood
wrapped in silver mist, and where the voice of the
stream filled all the fair, still night with its music.
Within, Mrs. Cameron knitted ; Bernadette, all
things having been put in order, bent her head
over a basket of patchwork ; and Alan read aloud
one of those wonderful tales of the Wizard of the
North, of which none of them ever tired.

New books in the house there were none, but
the complete works of Scott, the poems of Burns,
Aytoun's "Lays of the Cavaliers," "the Lives of
the Saints," and " The Imitation of Christ." A
small library ; yet in how many a greater is less
contained, and from how many a greater has less
been drawn ! Impossible to say that these people

32 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

were devoid of culture when they fed on such
literature as this. No vulgar, sensational fiction
debased their taste; no theories, political or other-
wise, of modern unrest and greed corrupted their
minds. The enchantment which never has been
drawn in such full measure as from the pages of
" Waverley," of " Quentin Durward," of " The
Talisman," and " Rob Roy," was for them a per-
ennial spring of delight. Poetry, which has for
its divine office to touch man's heart to tender-
ness, and fire his spirit to heroism, spoke to them
in the immortal verse of Burns and the trumpet-
like lays of Aytoun. If their imagination fed on
the heroic splendor of past ages, if the wondrous
romance of history opened its vistas before them,
as they read of the knights who went forth to
fight for the Holy Sepulchre; of the soldier of
fortune in the court of France ; of the tale, to
wring a Highland heart, of " how the plaided clans
came down" for the last time in the dark days of
the '45, the}r were not likely to mistake the mean-
ing of any of it ; while the Church called her roll
of honor for them, and pointed to her saints in
every court and camp, as well as in every cloister,
through the long ages.

To the older people the well-known tales were
like the echoes of their vouth ; as thev listened,

%j ' %j '

the unfamiliar scenes of the New World faded
away, and Highland heath and glen rose again be-
fore them. But to Alan and Bernadette they

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 33

were enchantment pure and simple. The girl
especially listened with the light of imagination
all kindled and glowing in her eyes ; and when
the story was done, it was her delight to supple-
ment it by some of her poetry which they all, but
she especially, loved. She knew by heart whole
cantos of "The Lady of the Lake'' and "The
Lord of the Isles," and would repeat them with a
dramatic fervor wholly natural and untaught. Or
she would tell, in the words of his old soldier*
"how the Great Marquis died," and her voice
would quiver with emotion over the passionate
outburst :

" Had I been there with sword in hand,

And fifty Camerons by,
That day through high Dunedin's streets

Had pealed the slogan cry.
Not all their troops of trampling horse,

Nor might of mailed men,
Not all the rebels in the South,

Had born us backwards then !
Once more his foot on Highland heath

Had trod as free as air,
Or I, and all who bore my name,

Been laid beside him there!"

"Ay, lassie, ye should be a Cameron yourself,"
the elder of that name would often say, when this
their favorite lay had been given. " Ye would
hae liked well the gathering of the clan."

"But I am a Cameron," she would answer.
" You have made me one ; and Alan and I are
3

34 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

going back to Scotland when we are grown. We
want to see all the famous places we have read
about."

" Ay, it's a bonnie laud !" said the Highlander,
with a tone in his voice that told of a yearning to
look on it himself once more. " I'm nae speaking
of the whole of Scotland, for the Lowlands I dinna
ken ; but the Hielands — there's naught too much
to say of the Hielands, — eh, Janet, my woman?'

And then one or the other would tell some of
the imforgotten tales and traditions of their native
land, until both Alan and Bernadette were as
steeped in Highland lore as if Highland hills en-
circled them instead of those heights, across which
Spotswood once led his Knights of the Golden
Horseshoe in search of Eldorado.

The evening of this day was an evening like
that of countless others. Alan read aloud some
chapters of " The Fair Maid of Perth ; " they
talked of subjects which the story suggested ; then
the Rosary was said together, and they retired
early, as is the custom of such simple lives. But
it chanced that as Bernadette went to close her
window and looked out on the wonderful, moonlit
world, she caught the gleam of something white
beyond the small garden, which she knew to be
the cross of painted wood which marked her
mother's grave. The sight brought back all those
memories of the day which she had for a time put
aside. A poignant sense of strangeness and isola-

A LITTLE MAID Ot ARCADE. 35

tion came over her. Bound as she was to this
roof, and to those who rested under it, by ties of
enduring affection and gratitude, that grave was
in reality all that she could claim as her own in
the wide world. She suddenly stretched out her
arms toward it. " O mother, mother, if you could
speak to me, — if you could tell me ! " she whis-
pered. " Who am I ? What am I ? If I knew
— if I but knew — I would be satisfied. I would
never think of it again."

Only the silence of the night — silence serene,
impenetrable as the mystery she longed to solve —
answered her. But afar, beyond the encircling
mountains, the answer was even then coming to
her, as all things come with time, — an answer
which was to change the whole course and mean-
ing of her life.

CHAPTER IV.

It was in October — one of those mellow, balmy
days when the mountains are flaming with gor-
geous tints, and the soft, blue haze hangs over them
like smoke, — that a traveller rode to the door of
the Cameron house, just as the sun was going
down, and asked if he could obtain lodging for
the night. Pie was a young man, well mounted,
not at all wayworn ; and so evidently belonging to
the holiday class of tourists that, although these
hospitable people always received travellers who
really needed rest or refreshment, Mrs. Cameron
felt no hesitation in telling him that there was a
railroad station and house of entertainment a few
miles farther on, and in advising him to push for-
ward to that destination. He seemed reluctant to
do so; but, finding that she was determined not
to receive him, at last had no alternative but to
say good-evening, in rather an aggrieved tone, and
ride off.

As has been stated, the road from the house led
down a somewhat steep declivity, to the creek
where stood the mill; and this green, beautiful
spot was a favorite haunt of Bernadette's. In the
late afternoon, when the tasks of the day were all
done, it was her custom to stroll, as she always
(36)

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 37

said, "down to the mill " ; but not often did she
enter that noisy and dusty place. She preferred
to nestle in some leafy covert near by, with book
or work; to watch the great wheel churn the
water into white foam, or the still, fairy like beauty
of the race. And here she was on the afternoon
in question, — comfortably ensconced on the
gnarled, moss-cushioned roots of a large tree — a
great sycamore with widespreading boughs ; her
knitting dropped unheeded in her lap; her pretty,
sunburned hands clasped behind her head, as the
head leaned indolently against the trunk of the
tree, and her whole attitude one of supreme com-
fort and grace.

As she set in this sylvan nook, with deep green
shade all around her, she looked as if her day-
dreams might well have been of fairy princes or
errant knights, or some brave chevalier who
should come to the rescue of a fair captive im-
prisoned in a dreary wood. Only Bernadette, be-
ing a practical little soul, was in truth full of much
more practical thoughts. She was considering
what could possibly have become of the brown hen
(her own especial property), which had retired to
some remote corner of the domestic world for sit-
ting purposes, thereby causing her mistress much
concern of mind and exercise of body — when the
unusual sound of a hoof-stroke made her start and
turn. To her surprise, she saw a stranger riding

38 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

down — upon her, as it seemed — to the creek, as it
really proved.

Passing within two feet of her bowery nook, the
stranger in question could not avoid seeing the
face turned wonderingly toward him. But he had
not time for more than a momentary glance at its
loveliness. He was riding at a sharp pace down
hill, and could not " pull up " until he was in the
stream. Then, under the shallow pretext of
watering a horse which had plainly been so lately
watered that he would not even condescend to sip
a draught of the sparkling current dashing round
his legs, this gentleman stopped and stared. It
was some excuse for him, perhaps, that he had
never in all his life before seen half so pretty a
picture at which to stare. But after a few minutes
Bernadette grew rather restive ; and, childlike as
she was, felt instinctively that the admiration
of those handsome eyes was too unrestrained to
be quite respectful. She remembered with a sense
of relief that, although her father and Alan were
absent, old Tom was in the mill ; and she gath-
ered her knitting preparatory to seeking that noisy
refuge, it being the nearest at hand.

But as she rose the horseman turned, and much
to her dismay, rode abruptly up the bank. Hav-
ing gained her side, he reined in his horse, raised
his hat, and spoke with consummate hypocrisy.

" Will you be kind enough to tell me if this is
the right road to Norris's? " naming the house to

A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY. 39

which Mrs. Cameron had directed him. " I am
anxious to reach there as soon as possible; but I
fear I have mistaken the way."

"No: you are quite right," said Bernadette,
blushing at this sudden address, and looking
lovelier than ever. " Norris's is just there," said
she, stretching out one arm and pointing in an ex-
ceedingly indefinite manner along the valley. " I
don't think you can miss it if — if you keep
straight on."

" But that is the difficulty," continued the
young man, smiling, evidently determined at all
hazards to prolong the conversation. " These
mountain roads of yours do anything in the world
but keep straight on ; and I am sure there are at
least a dozen forks between this and Norris's."

" There are several," confessed Bernadette ;
"but I don't think the}7 will trouble you much.
It's a very plain road. The station is quite far
off, and I'm afraid you'll be late getting there
if—"

If you stay here much longer, she was on the
point of adding ; but an uneasy sense of what
was due to civility interfered.

"I am afraid I shall," said he gravely, but made
no sign toward departure. "Good heavens! how
does such an exquisite creature chance to be
here? " he thought. Then aloud : " My horse is
nearly broken down with the day's journey. Is

40 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

there anv house on the road where I can obtain
lodging for the night ? '

" Strangers sometimes stay with us," said inno-
cent Bernadette. " I am sure my mother will be
very glad to take you in. If you say so, I will go
and ask her."

" I am afraid I should give you the trouble fur
nothing," answered the gentleman. " If the good
woman up there," he nodded toward the house,
uis your mother, I asked her myself a little while
ago, and she declined to take me in."

Bernadette looked a little crestfallen. It is not
pleasant to offer hospitality and then be forced to
retract the invitation.

" I am sure she did not know that you were
tired," said she, apologetically.

" I am half inclined to go back and try my luck
over again,'' said he, looking at the face before
him. " What do you say ? Would you advise
me to do it? "

Bernadette broke into a smile, which revealed
the charming dimples round her mouth. " I don't
know," she answered, doubtfully. " Of course I
can't promise that my mother will take you in ;
but, then, you see, it is getting later all the
time."

" So it is, and Norris's is a long way off," he
added, joining in the smile. " I am sure your
mother won't have the heart to send me on my
weary way, without even a moon to light it for

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 41

me. Therefore " — dismounting from his horse and
passing the bridle over his arm, — " I believe, I will
go back and throw myself on her tender mercy."

And so it chanced that when Mrs. Cameron
went to the door to see if Bernadette was not
coming — it was growing late, and the sun had
long since gone, — she was astonished at sight of
that young person slowly sauntering up the hill,
attended by a cavalier, to whom she was chatter-
ing with all the gay freedom of a child.

" Bernadette ! " said the good woman, with a
gasp. But Bernadette, in delighful unconscious-
ness of having done anything at all reprehensible,
at once sprang forward eagerly.

" O mother ! here's a gentleman who tried to
get you to take him in a little while ago, and he
says you wouldn't ; but I told him I was sure you
didn't know how tired he is, or how broken down
his horse is, or else you would gladly have let him
stay. And so I brought him back; and — and it's
so late ! " cried the breathless supplicant, playing
her trump card from sheer want of a better perora-
tion.

" I told the gentleman that we don't keep a
house of entertainment ; and that, my husband
and son being away, I could not take in a stran-
ger," said Mrs. Cameron, coldly. "If he had not
stopped, he could have been half way to Norris's
by this time."

Bernadette opened her dark eyes to their fullest

42 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

extent. Never in all her life before had she heard
her mother speak like this to a stranger at her own
door. She was amazed beyond the power of words
to express ; and when she turned her glance on
the stranger, she saw that he felt the rebuff quite
as deeply as herself. He colored in a manner
which proved the possession of no inconsiderable
amount of temper, and drew back very stiffly.

" I beg pardon, madam, for returning and seem-
ing to thrust myself upon your hospitality,"' said
he. " Of course I need not say that I withdraw
my request, that I shall not trouble you any
farther, and that I have the honor to bid you
good-evening."

He lifted his hat grandly ; then turned and held
out his hand to Bernadette. " Thank you for
your kind intentions," he said softly, interpreting
rightly the half-grieved, half-astonisned look in
her eyes. " You would shelter me, I am sure ;
and I feel quite as grateful as if you had done so.
Good-bye ! "

" Good-bye ! " echoed Bernadette, giving a be-
seeching, reproachful glance to her mother.

It was a glance that Mrs. Cameron's conscience
fully appreciated, and the meaning of which it
fully echoed. It was late ; Norris's was a long
way off; and was it fancy, or did the stranger's
horse limp ? She tried to harden her heart ; but
the instinct of hospitality was stronger than the

A LITTLE MAID OF AKCADY. 43

instinct of caution, and so the words — fateful
words, as it proved — were spoken.

uStop a minute, sir," she said, a little stiffly.
" I'm loth to turn anybody from my door with
night so near at hand as it is now. I should have
liked better for you to go to Norris's ; but as you
are here now you are welcome to stay, if you will.
Only if you stay you must needs look after your
own horse ; for we've no man upon the place."

" Thanks ! " said the stranger, abandoning his
dignity with shameful promptitude. "I will stay
with pleasure, madam, and am much obliged to
you. As for looking after my horse, that is very
easily done, if " — glancing at Bernadette — " you
will kindly show me the stable."

A nod from her mother giving permission, Ber-
nadette led him to a log stable some distance in
the rear of the house, where an empty stall showed
the absence of its rightful occupant. She stood
by while the stranger unsaddled his horse, rubbed
him down a little — not verv much, — and then
opened the door of the corn-crib, and indicated the
loft full of hay and oats.

" This is capital ! " said the young man. "We
couldn't possibly desire better quarters — eh, Tris-
tram, old fellow? Now if you will extend 3-0 ur
good offices to me, and show me where I can wash
off some of the dust of the road," he added turn-
ing to the girl, " I shall be obliged indeed."

" Oh, certainly ! " she answered. " If you have

44 A LITTLE MAID OF AKCADY.

all you need for the horse, we will go back to the
house, where mother will give you a room."

"I am quite ready now," he said; and they
turned to retrace their steps.

The twilight had by this time descended upon
the world, wrapping all things in its mantle. The
breath of the October evening was chill, and the
blue haze of the day was turning to silvery mist
on the great shoulders of the mountains. Over
the western peaks a few cloudlets, that had been
crimson but were now turning to pearly grey, still
floated ; while in the eastern half of the heaven
the silver shield of a three-quarter moon rose high
in the vast field of blue ether. The young man
looked around with a glance that took in every
feature of the scene, and then returned to rest on
the face beside him.

" I have not yet thanked }'Ou," said the young
man, as they walked toward the house, " for giving
me the weight of your influence, and so enabling
me to find myself in such good quarters."

" You are very welcome," answered Bernadette,
shyly : adding after a pause, " I am sure my
mother wouldn't have made any difficulty about
letting you stay, only she never likes to take in
strangers when father and Alan are both away."

" But surely I don't look as if I would rob or
murder you, do I ? "

" Oh, no ! ' very hastily. " But — but yen
see "

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 45

" There is no telling under what disguises rob-
bers and murderers may conceal themselves," he
remarked, laughing and finishing her sentence.
" That is very true ; but your mother may lock
me in, if that will give her any greater feeling of
security."

He forgot that he was not talking to one of the
women of his own world. Bernadette, knowing
very little of badinage, first opened her eyes, and
then feared she had failed in one of the duties of
hospitality.

" Oh, indeed," said she earnestly, " we would
not think of such a thing ! We know better than
to take honest people for — for such people as you
are talking about. Mother never meant "

But, seeing his mistake, he cut short her apol-
ogy-

" She only meant to use a very sensible precau-
tion," said he. "And in return for your and her
kindness, I promise you that if any robbers should
attack the house to-night I will do my best toward
defending it. Indeed," with an amused tone in
his voice, "I should not mind waiting for them till
to-morrow night if they do not make their appear-
ance to-night."

" Father and Alan will be at home to-morrow
night," said Bernadette, laughing in turn.

" Who is Alan ? Your brother ? "

" Yes, my brother," she replied, quite innocently;

16 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCAPY.

for indeed she had almost forgotten that the tie
between them was not of nature's own making.

"And is he older or younger than yourself? "

" Oh, Alan is almost a man ! He is seventeen,
and I am only fifteen."

" Indeed! " said the gentleman. And for a mo-
ment he had nothing else to say. Presently, how-
ever, he broaehed a different topic. " This is a
beautiful place," glancing up at the grand, gird-
ling peaks that looked so serenely down upon
them. " Do you live here always ? "

"Alwjiys," answered she, simply.

" Do you never go elsewhere ? "

" Oh, yes!" with animation. " I very often go
to Norris's, and sometimes I go to Wynne." (This
was a town distant some forty miles on the rail-
road) .

" Nowhere else ? "

"Nowhere else, except," with a regretful sigh,
" to the best place of all — the Springs."

" You have been there, then ? " said he, a little
surprised.

" Once," she answered ; adding after a minute,
" it was this summer at the grand ball — fancy ball
I think they called it. Mother said I might go
over with Alan and look on. So we went ; and
Alan got me a good place at a window, and " — a
long, deep-drawn breath — " I saw it all."

" And what did you think of it? Did it look
like fairyland?"

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 47

"I don't know," doubtfully ; " but it was very
pretty, and everybody looked so happy. I thought
I would like to be in there and be happy too."

" Poor child ! ' He spoke half unconsciously,
because, as it chanced, he had been there on the
night in question, and had been anything but
happy. It is never a pleasant thing to see the
woman with whom you imagine yourself desper-
ately in love flirting as hard as possible with a man
whom you detest — whom you would detest if he
had been your bosom-friend five hours before.
" Poor child ! Does it never occur to }tou that all
is not gold which glitters, and that there may have
been plenty of people there who were not happy ?"

"Ah, but I should have been ! " said she, with
the resistless and quite unanswerable logic of in-
experience. " I should have been happy if I had
been as pretty and — and dressed like one lady I
saw."

" And who was she ? "

" She was not a lady either : she was a girl of
about my age ; but Alan and I both thought her
the prettiest person there. She was dressed as a
fairy, and some one said her name was Miss
Chesselton."

" Ah ! " said the young man, with a smile.
" In that case I shall certainly tell her of your ad-
miration."

"Do you know her? " cried she, eagerly.

48 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADVT.

"I think I am justified in saying that I know
her a little. She is my sister."

" Indeed ! " said Bernadette.

And in reality if he had claimed kinship with
one of the planets now beginning to gleam
brightly over their heads, she could scarcely have
been more impressed. She walked along for some
time in silence, until at last a sudden thought
seemed to strike her.

" Then," said she, "you name must be Chessel-
ton too ? "

" I believe I must acknowledge that it is," he
said. " If I do, will you answer a question for
me?"

" Certainly," responded she. " Why shouldn't
I ? It is always civil to answer questions."

" Tell me then, ' that I may set it in my prayers,'
what is your name ? "

She looked at him for an instant with a slightly
puzzled expression ; for she was b}' no means so
familiar with Shakespeare as with Scott, and the
lovely tale of Ferdinand and Miranda was one she
had yet to hear. It was not exactly the form she
would have expected such a question to take from
this very worldly-looking young gentleman ; yet,
after, all, why should not Christian people ask a
name for such a purpose? To one whose mind
had been nurtured, as it were, in the Ages of
Faith there was nothing remarkable in that ; so,

A LITTLE MAID OP ARCADY. 49

after an instant's hesitation, she answered simply:
" My name is Bernadette."

" Bernadette ! ' It was so different from any
name he had expected to hear that he was in turn
surprised. " What a pretty name, and yet an un-
common name, too ! It is French — do you know
that ? "

uOh, yes!" replied the bearer of the name, and
said no more ; for she dreaded lest the next ques-
tion should be about her nationalit}^, and then the
story and myster}^ of her origin would have to be
confessed. The idea of evasion did not occur to
her. If asked, she must of course tell who and
what she was — a waif, a strav, whom no one had
ever claimed. But she had learned to shrink
sensitively from the subject, and she would cer-
tainly not tell the story unless direct questions
made it impossible to avoid doing so.

Now, as we are aware, well-bred people do not
ask direct questions, especially on points that re-
late to the private affairs of others ; therefore Mr.
Chesse-lton was constrained to take refuge in
silence again for a few minutes. But his curiosity
was roused ; and, thinking that with this daugh-
ter of the people he might transgress the strict
rules of good-breeding, he soon ventured to break
the silence with another question :

" Your mother is Scotch, is she not ? I judged
so from her accent."

"She is from the Highlands," Bernadette an-
4

50 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

swered, with a slight accent of pride, having been
taught to regard this fact as in some sort a patent
of nobility — at least as compared with the misfor-
tune of coming from the Lowlands.

" Ah, Highlanders ! " said her companion. " But
you do not look in the least like a Scotch — I beg
pardon, a Highland lassie."

Truthful Bernadette felt as if there were no
escape from saying, "I do not know what I am,"
when happily her mother's voice spoke out of the
gloaming ; for they had now closely approached
the house. That good woman was, in fact, ob-
serving them from the shadow of the kitchen door,
and regretting that she had yielded and allowed
this young man, with his appearance and manner
so well calculated to strike a maiden's fancy, to
remain under her roof.

" Bernadette," she said, and her voice was
sharp with its note of disapproval, why have you
been so long when you should have known that
I'd want you here ? Look to the supper, while I
show the gentleman to his room. Come in this
way, sir."

CHAPTER V.

After supper Mr. Chesselton set himself to
the task of conquering his hostess' reserve, and his
efforts were soon crowned with success of the most
undoubted kind. In truth, there is no woman of
any age who does not feel the fascination of a
handsome face and a winning tongue, — both of
which the young man possessed in more than
ordinary degree, and the last of which he used
unscrupulously. Very soon the ice of distrust had
thawed, and Mrs. Cameron was mentally pro-
nouncing him a most " proper youth," as she
listened to his easy flow of unassuming talk. Be-
fore long he had volunteered all needful informa-
tion concerning himself, his name, and his destina-
tion. He had been on a tour through the mount-
ains with a party of friends, from whom he had
parted only the day before, — they taking the
homeward route ; he striking out as directly as
possible for a famous mineral spring near by,
where he expected to meet relatives.

" It is rather late in the season to be still in
the mountains," he explained. " But the waters
suit my grandfather so well that he remains at the
Springs as late as possible ; and of course some
other member of the family must stay with him.

(51)

52 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

My mother is there at present, and I am going to
join her."

"It's likely you'll be going home very soon
now," said Mrs. Cameron, looking at the bright
fire which leaped and sparkled, and was not in the
least too warm for the chill October night. "It
will be getting very cold in the mountains before
long."

" Yes, we shall go home at once ; they are only
waiting for me," he said, with an involuntary ac-
cent of regret as he looked at Bernadette.

The more he looked at her — and that was as
much as he dared, — the more puzzled he became.
How entirely out of keeping she seemed with all
her surroundings, and yet how completely at home
among them ! We are all more or less familiar
with the type of beauty (if that much-abused
name can be placed at all in such a connection)
which sometimes, not often, is found among the
agricultural or laboring classes; we all know how
entirely it is beauty merely by force of comparison,
or rather by lack of good comparison ; and we are
all aware that any one of the plump, comely Dow-
sabellas, who may possess a moderately smooth
complexion or a pair of bright eyes, would show
as a cart-horse beside a racer, if placed near any
ordinarily pretty woman of good blood and good
rearing. Therefore we can all appreciate Ches-
selton's surprise at finding in this rough mountain
home a beauty whom even his fastidious taste —

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 53

and circumstances had made the young man very
fastidious — pronounced without peer in the circle
of his acquaintance. He tried to find some flaw
in her, — some trace of the common blood which
must flow in those delicate, azure veins ; but tried
vainly. Form and face were not only rarely
lovely, but more astonishing still, purely highbred.
Young as he was, Chesselton knew that Nature
never puts forth false pretences, and that the same
physical signs which betoken " blood " in a horse
prove it quite as conclusively in the human phys-
ique. And so, watching Bernadette as she sat or
moved or spoke, his wonder grew and grew
apace.

It was not much satisfaction to be dismissed to
bed after a while, and far from comfortable to
dream brokenly and disturbedly all the night
through of that sweet face,

" With childhood's starry graces lingering yet
I' the rosy orient of young womanhood,"

which he had seen first under the bowery shade
down by the old mill.

Perhaps these uneasy slumbers may have been
the cause of his early rising next morning ; or
perhaps he conceived a hope — destined, if so, to
disappointment — that he might in this way com-
pass another tete-a-tete with Bernadette. At all
events, the sun had scarcely sent the first long
golden beams slanting over the mountain to the

64 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

valley below when he left the house, and, shiver-
ing a little in the chill air of early morning,
strolled, through very aimlessness, into the garden.
Its appearance pleased him, though there were no
flowers left by the cutting mountain frosts ; and
he sauntered to and fro between the beds, and up
and down the walks, looking absently at the grand
panorama around him, until suddenly the gay
strain which he was whistling died on his lips, as
he found himself without any warning standing by
the side of a well-kept grave.

At first he was a little startled ; then, recover-
ing himself, and remembering how common this
mode of sepulture was in the country, where
graveyards proper were few and far between, he
moved round, and, with the curiosity which be-
sets everybody regarding headstones, bent down
to read the name that had once been borne by
the handful of dust now lying like any other
clod of earth at his feet. The sunlight slanting
over the stone, as he stooped, lent its aid to tell
him :

HERE LIES THE BODY

OF

MARIAN ARNAUD,

WHO WAS KILLED IN A RAILROAD ACCIDENT,

AUGUST 12, 18 — .

When the young man raised his face after read-
ing this inscription, its expression of mingled

A LITTLE MAID OF AKCADY. 55

amazement and increclulty might well have aston-
ished a spectator, if spectator there had been any.

"Impossible!" he exclaimed half aloud, as it
were in irrepressible surprise. "Impossible! " he
repeated after a whole minute had elapsed, gazing
still, as if fascinated, at the few words lettered be-
fore him.

But, impossible or not, at least he could not tear
himself from the spot, or remove his eyes from
that which had so amazed him.

" Arnaud ! Marian Arnaud ! ' he said. " It
can not be she / and yet "

He stopped, looking still at the inscription that
said so little, but suggested so much. And as he
looked the incredulity seemed to lessen, the amaze-
ment to deepen on his face, Something like awe
came over it as he folded his arms and gazed stead-
ily at the headstone, gazed almost as he might
have done into a suddenly opened grave.

"Surely nobody would invent such a lie," he
said to himself, in a tone of argument. " In God's
name, why should they ? It can not be false ; and
if it is true, it must be she : the very date proves
it. How often I have heard them say that it was
in that year they lost all trace of her! Good
Heavens ! " sitting down and regarding the grave,
" to think that it should be here, and that I should
find it by such a mere chance ! "

Mrs. Cameron, who was busy setting out the
china — used only for state occasions — on the break-

56 A LTTTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

fast table, was much astonished when her guest
walk abruptly in upon her with a very pale face.
He looked so strangely unlike the gay young cav-
alier of the preceding evening that, in her sur-
prised dismay, one of the delicate, much-prized
cups narrowly escaped slipping through her fin-
gers.

" Goodness, Mr. Chesselton ! ' she exclaimed.
" What is the matter ? You look so pale ! "

"Mrs. Cameron," said the young man, coming
straight to the point without any preface what-
ever, " who is that buried in your garden ? "

" Good gracious ! " said Mrs. Cameron. " Why.
a poor lady who was killed in the railroad acci-
dent, of course. You might have seen that on the
tombstone."

" I did see it. But her name — how did you
know that she was named Marian Arnaud?"

" Arnaud was on her trunk," answered the good
woman, ready at once to plunge into the history
of the great event of her life ; " and Marian was
written in her Bible. Besides, the little one said
it was her mother's name."

" The little one ! What little one ? " asked Mr.
Chesselton.

" Why, Bernadette," replied Mrs. Cameron,
looking with wonder at the excitement visible in
the j'oung man's startled face. " You thought she
was my child, I suppose — and so she is so far as

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 57

love can make her so : but, all the same, that's her
mother buried there in the garden."

" Her mother /"

He said it to himself as if he could not realize
it ; then took a step backward and sat down in a
chair near by. Mrs. Cameron stood with a cup in
her hand looking at him. Poor soul ! some faint
instinct of the truth — the terrible truth — began to
dawn on her.

" What's the matter ? " she asked after a while,
with something — a little catch — in her voice. " I
said she was Bernadette's mother ; what is there
in that ? "

" And Bernadette is not your own child,
then ? "

" She's my child if love can make her so," was
the somewhat blunt reiteration. " At least, she's
more likely to be mine than airy one's else, now
that her own mother is gone."

" And you kept her here all these years without
even an attempt to find her relations ! ' said he,
almost fiercely. " You might have known that she
must have relations."

" We tried every way in the world to find her
relations," said Mrs. Cameron, thrown thus unex-
pectedly on her own defence. " Do what we
would, we were never able to find them , and if
we kept her with us it was only because — poor
darlincr ! — she had nowhere else to go. And if"
— was there something of mingled fear and defi-

58 A LITTLE MAID OF AUCADY.

ance here? — "if any relations were to come for
her now, I should be like to tell them that we who
kept her and loved her as our own all these years
have the best claim to her and that — and that we
will never give her up."

The passion of the last words seemed to touch
the young man. He started and looked up in
her face — a face working now with powerful emo-
tion.

"I am sorry," he said, almost gently; "but,
unless there is some strange mistake here, Ber-
nadette's relations have been found. Marian Ar-
uaud was my aunt, and her father is still living."

" Your — your aunt ? "

"•Her name was Marion Ridgelev before she
married a Frenchman named Arnaud," he said,
calmly. "It is her father — my grandfather —
whom I am on my way to join now."

The cup fell from Mrs. Cameron's hand, and
lay unheeded in a dozen fragments on the floor.
Her eyes expanded, her face blanched, her trem-
bling limbs suddenly refused to support her, and
she would have fallen if Mr. Chesselton had not
sprung forward and placed a chair for her. As
she sank into it, the poor woman looked up at
him pitifully.

" Give me time," she said. " I — I can't take it
in all at once."

She did not take it in — that is, she did not
accept the conclusion thrust upon her — until she

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 59

had fought over every inch of ground and con-
tested every link of proof. Even then she turned
fiercely, like one at bay, and refused to accept his
authority for the facts pressed upon her.

" How can I tell that you are what you claim
to be ? " she demanded. " For all I know, you
may be an impostor who thinks it an easy mattsr
to make an ignorant woman believe anything.
Bring the grandfather you talk of — bring your
proofs in black and white ! It's not till then that
I"ll— a great burst of sobs escaped her — u I'll be-
lieve that Bernadette is yours and not mine ! '

" I did not expect you to believe it without
proof,*' said the young man, almost humbly.
Then, seeing that it was useless to remain, he
turned toward the door, and in so doing came face
to face with Bernadette, who, fresh, bright, and
smiling as an incarnation of the morning, entered
at the moment.

Entered, alas " to bid farewell forever to all the
happy unconsciousness of childhood, to all her
past childish years, to all the untroubled life
which had flowed so evenly and so brightly until
now. Her blank amazement at first, her passion-
ate grief and rebellion when she realized what
change might be impending over her, haunted
Chesselton long after he had removed his presence
from the house, where it had become (as he could
not avoid feeling) thoroughly obnoxious. Long
after he had set out in the full glory of the golden

60 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

October day, with the burden of this strange dis-
covery upon him, the two women still sobbed
together; and the girl repeated again and again,
in the most affectionate manner, as she laid her
velvet cheek against the kind hand which had
cared so tenderly for her orphanhood :

"They shall never take me from you, mother, —
never! "

CHAPTER VI.

At dusk of the clay which witnessed the un-
toward discovery, the Camerons, father and son,
reached home. They had been on a cattle-selling
expedition to Wynne, and returned much elated
by their success. But their spirits went down
like quicksilver at touch of frost when they heard
the news which met them on the threshold. Ber-
nadette — their Bernadette ! A stranger had dared
to talk of claiming her! Words were inadequate
to express their surprise and wrathful indignation.

"An insolent scoundrel!' cried Alan, almost
choking with rage. "I wish I'd been here! He
thought he could say what he liked to you,
mother, being as you are only a woman. But I'd
have made short work of sending him his own
gate, — quicker than he came, too ! An impudent,
prying—"

"Have done with that, Alan," said his mother,
sharply; for people can be sharp even in the midst
of sorrow. " It's you who know naught of what
you are talking about. The young man was very
much of a gentleman, — I can say that for him.
He believed all he said, and he tried to be consid-
erate. Not but what it's true enough that if he
had gone on to Norris's when I told him he

(61)

G2 A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY.

couldn't stay, and hadn't met Bernadette down at
the mill, and come back and in a manner forced
himself into the house — "

" Oh, how I wish I had been here ! " said Alan,
clenching both his fists in a sort of parenthesis.

" Why, there'd hae been none o' this trouble at
all. And yet, God forgive me, I'm a selfish
wretch" (bursting into sudden tears) " to want
to keep my prett}^ darling here, when there are
fine gentlefolk" (Mrs. Cameron came from the old
country ! ) " who will make a lady of her."

" I don't want to be made a lady ! I won't be
made a lady !" cried Bernadette, as she threw her
arms around the sobbing speaker, and buried her
heavy eyes and aching head on that kind shoulder.

Father and son looked grimly on. Tears and
sobs might do very well for women, but their feel-
ings demanded other vent. The weeping of the
women added, however, to their sense of injured
exasperation ; and after a while the elder man
spoke, in the slow fashion peculiar to him :

" It's ill luck crying before one is hurt, and
words without actions are not like to hurt any-
body. The youngster may have been right or he
may have been wrong ; but if he said he was
coming back, we'll wait till he comes. I'm think-
ing"— here lie glanced round the downcast circle
— " he'll have to come often and wait long before
he gets our bonnie bairn, if he was fifty times of
her kith and kin."

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 63

These few words, spoken with an air of weight
and authority, seemed to raise the spirits of his
audience considerably.

"Father's right," said Alan. " Let them come.
They've waited too long. They might" (this
very doubtfully) " have had her when she was a
wee bit lassie, but they can't have her now, — no,
not if all the judges and juries in the land said
so ! "

"Never fash yourself, my lad, about judges
and juries," said his father. " I'm thinking we'll
settle this matter another way. The lassie shall
speak for herself. We are none likely to keep
her if she wants to go, and she's old enough to
speak for herself."

Bernadette raised her tear-stained face at this.
"There's no doubt what I'll say," she cried, with
a quiver in her voice. "I've told mother, and I
tell you, father, and you, Alan, that if }^ou want
me, I'll stay with you — yes, if the whole world
came to carry me away ! '

Poor, passionate voice ! Poor, passionate heart,
heaving so tumultuously ! Poor, passionate tears,
that broke forth again ! It was pitiable to see into
what a state of excitement the child had wrought
herself.

" If we want you ! ' cried Alan, in a high key
of indignation. " That's a fine way to talk, Ber-
nadette ! You'll be asking father and mother next
if they want me, I'll be bound your fine kinsfolk

64 A LITTLE MAID OF AUCADY.

— if they are your kinsfolk — will never want you
half so much as we do."

"I've — I've not got any," sobbed Bernadette.
" You all are the only kinsfolk I want."

" We've done our best by you, little lassie,"
said the elder man, as he laid his hand — so toil-
hardened and roughened, yet so gentle withal — on
the bowed head, with its falling masses of soft,
silken hair. " We've done our best by you ; and
mayhap — but it's not for man to read the future.
I'm thinking you'll just make yourself ill if ye
greet much more. Janet, my woman, cheer up,
and set the bairn a good example. Ye haven't
told me the news from the mill yet, any way."

"There's no much to tell," said Mrs. Cameron,
wiping her e}Tes. " Jack Harris brought over some
wheat to be ground this afternoon ; but old Tom
went home about dinner-time, saying he was no
well, and so there was nobody to do it."

"Old Tom went home, did he?' said Alan.
" Hang the old rascal ! — he's always complaining.
I say, Bernadette, don't you want to take a turn
with me down to the mill to see if all is right ? "
Bernadette knew very well that this was only an
excuse to divert her mind ; for old Tom was
very careful, and not likely to have neglected any-
thing. But she accepted the kindness as it was
meant ; and, saying meekly, " Yes, Alan," threw
a shawl over her head and went with him.

The shawl was needed ; for the night was cold,

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 65

though still and marvelously beautiful. The
moon, high in the heavens, poured floods of silver
radiance over the scene, until the mist clothing
the hills was like a fairy garment, and the very
ground sparkled, so that they seemed to tread on
precious stones.

" What a lovely night ! ' said Bernadette, for-
getting her grief for a moment. " O Alan, isn't it
pretty ? "

"Hm! yes — very pretty," replied Alan; "but
cold — Bernadette, do you think you can beat me
in a race to the mill ? "

" I knoiv I can," said Bernadette.

"Let's try, then. Even now — don't cheat!
Left foot forward — one, two, three!"

They were off like a flash, down the hillside path
to the mill. Bernadette was a very Atalanta, and
in her eagerness to win the race she did not hesi-
tate to part with ever}^ incumbrance to her
speed. Alan, who was hopelessly beaten, came at
a steady trot up to the tryst, with her discarded
shawl draped across his shoulders.

"Beaten, beaten — badly beaten!" said he.
" Bernadette, }tou can run like a rabbit."

" You would have run better if you hadn't
stopped for my shawl," answered Bernadette.
" See about the mill. I'll sit down here until vou
comeback."

It was the spot where she had been sitting the
svening before when the stranger rode down upon
5

66 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

her, and it could not but waken remembrance of
him. So it followed that the pretty face on which
the moonlight shone was looking very grave when
Alan came back, after having finished his survey
of the mill. He saw the expression, but took no
notice of it further than to say , " Come down to
the bridge, Bernadette- The water looks beauti-
ful in the moonlight."

In truth, the picture from the bridge was one
which seemed to enter Bernadette's heart and re-
main there through all the days that were to come.
Long as she had known the familiar scene, there
was an enchanted beauty in it that night which
she never forgot. From where they stood the
mill, with its high roof and gables, made the
foreground of the picture ; its large wheel stand-
ing black and silent in the moonlight. Above it
rose the wooded hillside, where one ray of sun-
light would have lighted a hundred vivid tints ; but
the lunar splendor, which lent such witching soft-
ness, had no power to waken the crimson and gold
and bronze of its autumnal livery. Deep shadow
and silver radiance were the only combinations of
the scene ; yet not all the glories of Aladdin's
garden could have surpassed their effect. The fer-
tile valley stretched away like a carpet, while to
right and left, before and behind, rose the great
mountains, with their farther patriarchal peaks
lost in silvery haze. In the shade of the bridge
the stream, crystal-clear by daylight, looked dark

A LITTLE MAID OF AROADY. 67

and deep ; though farther down the magic lustre
caught the swift current, and made it flash with
diamond brightness, as it swept by the laurel-
girt banks.

" Ah ! " said Bernadette, with a sigh ; for the
little maiden was quick to feel loveliness in any
form, but most of all this wild, majestic loveliness
of nature, amid which she had been reared. " O
Alan, how beautiful ! It breaks my heart to — to
think— "

" Well, to think what? " inquired Alan, aware
of the quivering lip which cut the sentence short
but forbearing comment.

" To think that I may have to leave it all," said
Bernadette, with voice quivering as well as lip.
u Alan — " a pause.

" I'm listening," returned Alan, pulling his hat
over his brow and gazing sternly at the water.

" I know they'll come for me," said she, de-
spairingly. " I feel sure they will. O Alan ! " —
a great burst of tears here, as her head went down
on the rail of the bridge — " how shall I ever bear
it ? How shall I ever go ? "

Alan set his teeth hard, and as he pushed back
his hat again it was a very determined face on
which the moonlight shone. Some time elapsed
before he uttered a word ; then, with a singular
gentleness for one who had so much of the rough-
ness of boyhood still clinging to him, he said :

" Don't greet so, Bernadette. It'll do no good,

68 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

and only make your head ache. You're a bit
downhearted now, but father and mother won't let
3'ou go if there's a chance to keep }tou, — you ought
to be sure of that."

" I am sure of it ! ' sobbed Bernadette. " But
Mr. Chesselton talked of my grandfather. Could
the}r keep me if he came ? "

" Why not ? " Alan demanded sharply. " After
leaving }rou all these years, he has no right to come
for you now."

But Bernadette sadly shook her head. She felt
instinctively that this was an untenable position ;
felt it as Alan did in the midst of his wrath ; felt
it as the two downcast people in the house did in
the midst of their sorrow.

" It must give him a right," she said. " How
could he be my mother's own father and not have
have a right to me ? Mr. Chesselton said it — it
was certain."

" Mr. Chesselton be hanged ! " growled Alan,
in a tone of indignation.

Then there was silence for a minute. Softly the
water flowed under their feet ; softly rippled past
the banks where they had played as children ;
softly sang its sweet monologue as it swept along,
bearing their childhood forever away on the spark-
ling current. They still stood together, side by side,
according to the familiar association of many years;
but heavy in the heart of each was the foreboding

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 69

sense that already this association was a thing of
the past.

"Bernadette," said Alan, breaking the silence
at last very abruptly, "if your grandfather comes
for you, and if he has the power to carry you
away, what do you mean to do? Do you mean
to forget us, or be ashamed of us, when you grow
to be a fine lady ? "

" I'm none likely to be a fine lady," replied
Bernadette ; " but if I were a hundred times over,
Alan, you know I could sooner die than forget
you all, or — or be ashamed of you ! I wonder you
are not ashamed to say such things to rue ! "

The boy looked long and steadily at the face
upturned to him in the moonlight, — a face lovely
enough to haunt the dreams of any son of man,
though it rose above a plain, dark gown, and was
hooded by a plaid shawl. Young and ignorant as
he was, some idea of the probable future of that
face may have risen before him.

" They'll teach you the lesson soon enough ! "
he said ; but, bitterly as he spoke, it was more to
himself than to her.

"You have no right to say so!" cried Berna-
dette. "I— I didn't think you could talk so,
Alan. Do you think I don't know what father
and mother have done for me ? ' she went on,
passionately. " I'll never leave them if I can help
it ! If I can't help it, I'll come back as soon as
I'm grown."

70 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

"You're a leal little soul," said Alan. " I be-
lieve you would if you could , but the will's one
thing and the power's another."

" Who should keep me ? ' demanded Berna-
dette, trembling with excitement.

"Them that have power to take you away will
have power to keep you," he answered. "And
there'll be other things — things you don't know
yet — that'll maybe change you so you won't want
to come."

" Alan ! "

"Bat happen," he went on, unheeding the in-
dignant exclamation, " I might go after you some
day. Do you think you'd like to come back with
me if I did ? "

" I know I should," replied Bernadette, facing
him with the fearless candor of a child.

"Maybe, then, I'll try you," he said. "You
shall never say you didn't have a chance to come,
any how — though that's poor comfort," he added
gloomily, "for the thought that, after all these
years when we've kept you and loved you, you
may be stolen away from us by people that have
done naught for you. Why, it was only to-day
father and I were saying what we would get for
you with the money the cattle brought."

" 0 Alan, Alan ! "

Tears again — sobs of exceeding bitterness on
the still night air. This time Alan let her
" greet ' without remonstrance, for it was as

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 71

much as he could do to keep down the heaving
motion m his own throat ; and the moonlit scene
swam before his vision, as if he had been a very
child.

" God knows I won't stand it, Bernadette ! " he
said at last, desperately. " If you go, I'll go too.
I can't stay here and miss you every day."

"You'll break my heart !" sobbed Bernadette ;
and indeed it seemed as if that poor little organ
might be unable to endure the sharp tension to
which it was subjected. " O Alan, how can you
talk of going away ! How can you think of leav-
ing our dear home, where we have been so
happy ! "

" It's because we have been so happy that I
don't see how I can stay," he replied, in the same
desperate tone.

" But you can't leave father and mother?" said
she, lifting up a woful, tear-stained face. "Alan,
you coiddnH be so selfish! If I go away" — a
piteous quiver in the voice here, — "how could
they live by themselves? "

" I'm thinking it's like enough we won't any of
us live here if you go away," said he, looking up
at the house which had sheltered them so long.
" They care a great deal more for you than they
do for me."

" How can you say that, Alan, when they love
you so dearly ? "

" Bless you, I know that ! " responded Alan, a

72 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

little impatiently. "But they love you the best,
— it would be strange if they didn't. Poor souls !
I'm sorry for them," said the boy, with something
like a shrug of the shoulders.

" When I'm grown I'll come back," said Berna-
dette.

" Maybe so," replied he, a little drearily.
" Maybe so, but I'm thinking — "

Here he broke off suddenly; standing so long
silent, looking at the water flowing under their
feet, that Bernadette at last asked him of what he
was thinking.

"Nothing much," he answered, with a strange
sort of gravity. " Only, as I was looking at the
water, and remembering the happy times we've
had, I couldn't help thinking that they '11 never
come back. You know what father's alwa}Ts say-
ing to us, 'the mill will never grind again with
the water that is past.' We are like the mill,
Bernadette : we'll never grind again with the
time that's past."

Bernadette answered nothing, for a great lump
in her throat forbade speech. The familiar saying
seemed just then as a voice of warning prophecy.
Was it indeed true ? Was the past never to live
again in the future ? Was its happiness as much
past recall as the water slipping under the bridge ?
Was she hastening on to other scenes, so different
from these of her childhood that the gulf between
them would soon widen into impassable distance ?

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 73

The girl's heart, loyal and true to the friends of
her need, shrank as if a cold hand had suddenly
grasped it. In truth, few things are more terrible
to those who have not yet known the relentless
power of Time and Change than this sense of
utter impotence, — this first realization of the re-
sistless onward sweep of that strong tide of cir-
cumstances, which will change life and all its
meaning, how much or how little none can tell.

But it comes to us all sooner or later with a
strange shock, even as it came to Bernadette now.
Ever afterward the girl retained a vivid picture
of herself standing on the moonlit bridge, amid
the loved, familiar scenes of her youth , with the
stream singing its soft refrain far adown the
valley in the stillness of the night, and seeming to
chant as it went the words which formed the bur-
den of her thoughts :

" The mill will never grind again with the
water that is past."

CHAPTER VII.

Fate was kind in at least one particular to the
Camerons — the blow which they dreaded was
short and sharp. There was none of the weary
sickness of long suspense or long endurance. Be-
fore they had time to realize what they feared, it
came upon them with one keen stroke, merciful in
its swiftness.

In the afternoon of the daj^ following that on
which young Chesselton made his discovery and
took his departure from the farm-house, Mrs.
Cameron was sitting with her work in the open
door, when she suddenly rose and wrung her
hands with a low cry. Poor woman ! she knew at
once that the worst had come upon her ; for there
in the level, golden sunlight was a carriage slowly
driving up the hill, and her husband in his mill
suit trudging along with bent head beside it. As
she gazed, a sharp pang seized her heart ; a sud-
den throb of dizzy sickness made the familiar
room reel round her, and misted the whole bright
glory of the outer scene. She clutched the back
of the chair from which she had risen, to steady
herself ; while the loud ticking of the clock, the
swaying of boughs before an open window, and
the grating of carriage wheels on the pebbly hill,
(74)

A LITTLE MAID OF AKCADY. 75

all came to her as sounds in a dream. " My bon-
nie bairn ! my bonuie bairn ! " she cried to herself,
as the carriage, having gained the crest of the hill,
rolled swiftly forward and stopped.

While a servant opened the door and began to
assist a gentleman, who moved with extreme dif-
ficulty, to the ground, her husband came forward
to where she stood, perfectly motionless, within
the shadow of the doorway.

" Janet woman," said he quietly, though a cer-
tain twitching at the corners of the mouth betray-
ed his agitation, " here are the folks to see about
our Bernadette. Don't be afraid of them " (as
she shrank back) ; " they seem gentle-spoken
enough, and we've naught to be 'shamed of our-
selves."

44 Bide a bit," said Janet, catching her breath.
" I'll be ready in a minute, Rob ; but it's like to
take my breath away. Oh, the bonnie bairn ! the
bonuie bairn!" Then, after a pause: "What
can I say to them ? "

" Ask them to come in," answered he, bluntly.
" Let them be on what errand they will, they are
strangers at our door."

So adjured, Mrs. Cameron advanced. The gen-
tleman had by this time reached the ground, and
stood, leaning partly on his stick, partly on the
arm of his servant, gazing intently at the house ;
while a delicate, graceful lady, in a pale-gray
travelling dress, descended from the carriage, then

76 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

turned and held out her hand to a girl with a
waving mane of bright golden hair, who sprang
lightly past it. " Thanks, mamma ; I don't need
any help," said she ; and at that moment Mrs.
Cameron came forward. What she would or
could have said, the good woman scarcely knew;
but fortunately the matter was set at rest for her.
With a wistful look in his eyes, the gentleman,
who seemed to be waiting her advance, took a step
forward and held out his hand.

" Have I the pleasure of seeing Mrs. Cameron? "
asked he, with a tone in his voice which accorded
well with the look in his eyes.

" That's my name, sir," answered Mrs. Cameron
stiffly, glancing from his face to that of the lady
and the girl, who looked like a May rose, behind
him. It was little wonder that she felt a bitter
resentment against these high born "gentlefolks,"
who had come to rob her of her Bernadette — her
darling.

"I am very glad, very grateful to meet you,
madam," said the old gentleman, with the finest
courtes}^ in his uncovered head and trembling
tone. " What I owe to you there is no hope that
I can ever repay. There are no possible words in
which I can express my gratitude to you, you and
your good husband, for your great kindness to my
— m}^ poor — "

"You owe us no thanks at all, sir," said Mrs.
Cameron, proudly. " What we've done has been

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 77

done for love of Bernadette, and not for any
friends she might have, — friends " (no effort could
restrain the bitter accent here) " who have left
her all these years to the care of strangers."

" Because we had no idea where she was," said
he gently, looking with compassionate eyes at the
pale, troubled face before him. " We have all the
more need to be grateful to God that in her deso-
lation He raised up such a friend to her as you
have been."

" It's like that such as she would have found
friends anywhere," observed Mrs. Cameron, coldly.
"Will you come in, sir, and rest a while ? It's
best for us not to be too certain: there may be
some mistake, after all — "

" It's impossible that there can be any mistake,"
said the old gentleman, trembling a little. " My
grandson — but I will come to that presently. This
is my daughter, Mrs. Chesselton ; and this is her
daughter, the sister of the young gentleman
whom you know."

" And who made all this mischief ! " was Mrs.
Cameron's inward comment, as she looked from
the pale, sweet face of the lady to the blooming
countenance of the girl beside her. She courtesied
slightly in acknowledgement of the introduction,
but said nothing. Words of welcome to such
guests would have been on her lips a falsehood
and a mockery.

" The ladies will come in, perhaps ? ' she said,

78 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

forcing the words' as well as she could from her
dry throat.

" After a while we shall be glad to do so," an-
swered Mrs. Chesselton, in a voice as sweet as her
face ; " but just now "

She turned to the gentleman and finished the
rest of her sentence in a low tone. He seemed
to assent eagerly to what she said ; and, turning
back to Mrs. Cameron, she went on :

" My father would like, if you please, to see the
— the grave at once."

" It is beyond the garden," said Mrs. Cameron,
turning round mechanically. She led the wa}r,
and they followed. Having reached the gate, she
paused and pointed. " You can't miss it," she
said. " I will wait for you here."

" Pray don't," said the lady, with a look that
showed how highly she appreciated this instinctive
delicacy. " We can find our wa}^ back alone ; and
my father may remain some time."

" In that case I had better go to the house per-
haps, and get the trunk and the Bible and picture
ready, so that he can satisfy himself."

" Have you those things ? Yes — yes, get them
by all means. And the child, where is she ? "

" I made her go after dinner into the woods
with Alan. She has nearly fretted herself sick,
If — if it turns out true, I can send for her."

"Better send for her anyway," said the lady*
gently.

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 79

Then she followed her father and daughter
down the garden path, daintily picking her way,
and lifting now and then her skirt. Mrs. Cam-
eron stood watching her with sad, bitter, wistful
eyes. Already she seemed to see the gulf
yawning at her feet — the gulf that would sep-
arate her hopelessly, irrevocably from Berna-
dette. These were the people, this was the
world, to which the girl belonged by birth. How
different from the world in which she had lived
like a sunbeam for ten long, happy }rears !

" God help me ! God forgive me ! " sobbed the
poor woman to herself as she took her way back
to the house. " I've done my best by the bonnie
bairn ; but, do what I would, I could never make
her like this."

Out of the dark nook where it had lain so long,
the dead lady's trunk was brought, — the clothes
within yellow with age, but untouched, as they
had been on the day of the fatal accident. Mrs.
Cameron had not more than seen her husband
bring it safelj7 down-stairs, and, after fitting a
rusty key in the lock, raise the lid, when to her
surprise she saw the trio of strangers filing slowly
out of the garden.

"They were too impatient to stay long," said
her husband, with a sigh. u I'm none likelv to
wonder at that."

In truth, Mrs. Chesselton acknowledged that
this had been the case. Hearing of the trunk,

80 A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY.

her father was anxious to satisfy himself concern-
ing it, and so made haste back to the house.

" We feel little doubt that it was my dear sis-
ter," said the lady, wiping away her fast-flowing
tears; " but still we wish to be certain. My son
said that you had something on which her maiden
name was written."

" It was this," said Mrs. Cameron, taking out
the Bible.

Little and old and worn as it was, Mrs. Chessel-
ton caught it eagerly, and uttered a low, startled
cry of astonished recognition.

" Papa, papa!' she exclaimed, turning to her
father in uncontrollable excitement, " it is Mar-
ian's Bible. I should know it among a thousand.
I have one just like it at home. Mamma gave
them to us when we were girls together, and wrote
our names in them. See here ! "

As well as her trembling fingers would allow,
she opened the book and turned to the fly-leaf,
where " Marian Ridgeley ' was traced in faded
ink.

" It is mamma's hand ! " she cried. " How well
I remember the day she wrote it ! And here is
her miniature ! — her own miniature ! O papa ! it
ivas my sister — my dear sister — who died that aw-
ful death ! And we never knew, we never dreamed
of it all these long years. O Marian, Marian ! O
m}r sister, my sister ! "

With this exceeding bitter cry she sank on her

A LITTLE MAID OF ABCADT. 81

knees beside the trunk, and, leaning her face on
the lid, sobbed as if the corpse of her sister had
lain before her.

"Mamma ! mamma ! " cried her daughter, half
frightened by this strange vehemence of emotion
in one usually so full of placid quietude. Even
Mr. Ridgeley, though tears were flowing down his
own cheeks, strove to quiet her.

" Gently, gently, my dear Alice," he said. "God
knows I feel this terrible shock, which seems to
have come upon us in all its freshness, as keenly
as you can do. But I feel also His great mercy.
The child!— think of the child! What would
have become of her if she had not found such a
home as this ? "

" I do indeed think of it," said the lady, lifting
her face. " How can we ever show our gratitude
to these good people ! How thank them for their
kindness to — to both of them ! " she went on,
looking up at Mrs. Cameron with streaming eyes.

" You can show it by leaving us our darling,"
said the latter, sinking into a chair, and, now that
the last delusive hope was rent away, bursting into
a passion of tears. " You can leave us the child
for whom you have no need, but who is every thing
to us."

Forgetting for the moment her own grief, the
lady rose and went forward to try to comfort the
woman, whose grief was sorer, newer, deeper than
her own.
6

82 A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY.

" Think how much you ask of us," she said,
gently. " Bernaclette is the daughter of my dear
and only sister, and can you wonder that we are
unable to comply with your request and leave her
with you ? Think also that the change will only
give her two homes instead of one. We should
be monsters of ungrateful selfishness if we desired
to take her from you altogether, or if we did not
desire that she should still love and honor you as
her best earthly friend. She will be with you of-
ten, for we always spend our summers in these
mountains ; and "

" You are very good to talk so," said Mrs. Cam-
eron, putting away the soft, white hand that came
caressingly near her own, and rising drenrity.
"But I'm none such a fool as not to know that
like seeks like, and that when once the bonnie
bairn has lived your life she'll ne'er come back to
us and be content to live ours. No " (with a burst
of passionate feeling) : " if you take her away
once, you take her away for aye. You'll bring her
back a young lady, perhaps ; but she'll never,
never be our Bernadette again! "

" If her heart is what it should be — " Mrs. Ches-
selton began.

" Her heart's the sweetest, the truest, and the
best that ever was," interrupted Mrs. Cameron.
" Don't think I'm saving that shell ever turn from
us -with her own will, that is. But the life will
change her, — the life will turn her from us."

A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY. 83

u There isn't anything or anybody shall ever
turn me from you ! " cried Bernadette, rushing
impetuously into the room and throwing her arms
around the speaker; while Alan paused at the
door, one foot on the step which led down to the
yard, his broad straw-hat in his hand, and his
bronzed, flushed face looking loweringly in. .No-
body noticed him, for they were all intent on
Bernadette ; but he noticed them, and took a care-
ful and by no means flattering survey of each one
of them.

" There isn't anybody shall take me away ! " re-
peated Bernadette, facing the assembled company,
with cheeks like pomegranates and eyes like stars.
" I don't care who they are ; they have never done
for me what you have, or been to me what you
have ! I am old enough to decide for mj-self," the
little maiden went on, astonishing Mrs. Cameron
as much as her new-found relatives ; " and I am
not going to leave those who have cared for me all
my life, — no " (this in response to a look from Mr.
Ridgeley), "I never will."

"Sir," said Mrs. Cameron, appealing to that
gentleman, " I beg you to believe that I have not
put such ideas as these into the child's head. If
3^0 ur claim is just, I know what }-ou are to her,
and I know " (very bitterly) " what I am."

"It's no wonder that she feels in this way,
madam," said the old gentleman as courteously as
ever. " It is only a proof of how great your love

84 A LITTLE MAID OF AKCADY.

and kindness to her have been. Bernadette, my
child," he went on, with his tone and manner
changing to gentleness, " will you not come and
speak to me — to your grandfather?"

" Are you my grandfather? " asked Bernadette,
looking at him with dark, passionate eyes, but
moving never a step.

" Your mother was my daughter," answered he,
a little wistfully.

" Are you sure of that ? "

He took up the Bible, and, pointing to the fly-
leaf, remarked : " This proves it."

" Then," said the girl, drawing herself up like a
princess, while the eloquent blood flushed yet
deeper in her cheeks, " I am glad to be able to tell
you that since you did not care enough about my
mother to find out all these years whether she was
alive or dead, or enough about me to take me
when I was a helpless child, I will never go with
you now — no, not if I died for it ! I would rather
live forever on the charity of those who have been
friends and parents to me."

" Bernadette !" said Mrs. Cameron, in a sort of
amazed expostulation. The good woman could
scarcely realize that this was indeed Bernadette
who spoke. She did not see the glance exchanged
with Alan^ or guess what seeds of rebellion had
been sown out on the hill-side under the chestnut-
trees. She could not dream how this eager, pas-
sionate, trembling child had spent the long hours

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 85

of the sleepless night in going over her own and
her mother's wrongs, until she had wrought her-
self to this pitch of fiery defiance.

" My God, how like she is to Marian as I saw
her last ! " said Mrs. Chesselton to her father.

He, for his part, covered his eyes with his hand
for a moment, as if indeed the sight of Berna-
dette's passionate excitement wakened some asso-
ciation too painful to be regarded ; then, looking
up without any shade of resentment, he held out
his hand to her.

" Child," he said, slowly and sadly, " come here,
and let me tell you why it was that I knew noth-
ing of your mother's fate until yesterday."

CHAPTER VIII.

There was complete silence in the room for a
few moments after Mr. Ridgeley had made his ap-
peal. Bernadette — uncompromising Bernadette —
shook her head, and still clung to Mrs. Cameron.

" You can tell me if you choose," she said ; " but
I'll stay where I am. And I'll never go with you
— never ! '

" Tell her the story, papa," said Mrs. Chessel-
ton, sadly. " That may convince her of her error
sooner than anything else."

" Perhaps it may," said Mr. Ridgeley, with the
same wistful expression in his eyes and voice
which had been so evident before. *' My little
girl," he went on, bending forward slightly, while
the hands which were clasped on the top of his
stick trembled visibly, "you are very passionate
and indignant now, because you think your
mother and yourself have been wronged by our
neglect. But I am sure you have too much good
sense to continue to resent this when I prove to
you that it was by no fault of ours that the neg-
lect occurred. Do you remember your mother at
all, my dear ? "

" Only a little," answered Bernadette ; soften-
ing somewhat with the realization that these stran-
(86)

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 87

gers knew far more of her mother than she did,
and were indeed of that shadowy mother's nearest
kith and kin.

" You are very like her, my dear — very like
her," said he gravely. " She was not much older
than you are when I saw her last, with just such
a face and just such a fiery spirit. She had al-
ways been very sweet and docile — her sister here,
your aunt, can tell you that, — but she had this
spirit all the same ; and one day it broke out just
as yours has done. She fell in love, when she was
a mere school-girl, with a young Frenchman,
whose political ideas had made him an exile from
his country, and whom no father could possibly
have sanctioned as his daughter's choice. I think
I may safely say that I have no severity with
which to reproach myself " — the shadow, as it
were, from that bygone trouble deepening on his
face, — " but }^our mother was very wilful, my
child. She refused to surrender her lover; and
while I, anxious only to do what was best for
her, was making up my mind to consent to a
conditional engagement of some years, which
would in a measure yield to her infatuation, yet
give her sufficient time to recognize its folly, I
was greeted by the terrible news that — that she
had eloped.

" After that we had no news of her for a long
time, and no possible means of communicating
with her. At last " — a pause and a slight motion

88 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD V\

in the throat, as of some impediment swallowed,
here, — " at last we heard from her. She wrote
from a small town in Germany, asking pecuniary
assistance. I knew that one so proud as my
poor Marian must have suffered very much be-
fore she would have done that ; and it wrung
my heart at the time — it wrings it even yet — to
remember the sad, hopeless tone of her appeal.
I settled an income on her at once, making it
payable quarterly ; for otherwise I knew that it
would do her little good. After that we heard
from her regularly, but she told us very little of
herself. I think there was little that she cared to
tell. Her husband led a roving existence, and
was always embroiled in some visionary political
conspiracy or scheme, which threatened his lib-
erty, if not his life. Her only sunlight and com-
fort seemed to be in ' little Bernadette ' ; as you
will see when you read her letters, which are
treasured carefully in her old home, soon to be
your home, my dear."

" No, no ! " cried Bernadette ; but the fire had
died out of her eves, and she buried her face on
Mrs. Cameron's shoulder, as tears began to flow
freely and fast.

" After the Republic was declared they went to
Paris," continued Mr. Ridgeley. " There your
father died very suddenly. I chanced to be absent
from home, and it was sometime before vourmoth-
er's letter announcing the event reached me.

A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY. S9

When it did, I started at once to France to bring
her home. Alice here went with me — your grand-
mother, my dear, had been dead some years then,
— and we were very happy in thinking that Marian

would soon be with us once more, never to leave
us again. We were happy too soon," said the old
man, solemnly. " God did not give her back to
us. We went straight to her address in Paris ;
but, to our consternation, learned that she had left
there some weeks before our arrival. After mak-
ing many vain inquiries, I enlisted the police in
the search. By their aid we succeeded in tracing
her to Havre; but there the clue was hopelessly
lost. We could only imagine that, having failed
to receive any answer to her letters, she had sailed
for America. We at once came back, but of
course I need not say we found no trace of her. I
could not possibly tell you, my dear child, how
long we hoped against hope for her recovery, or
what strenuous efforts we made to obtain the least
certainty with regard to her fate. All was vain ;
and the mystery which engulfed her fate has
proved the greatest grief of our lives, until " —
the voice trembled not a little here — " God saw fit
to make use of the merest accident by means of
which to lift the curtain."

"We made a great many efforts to find Berna-
dette's friends," said Mrs. Cameron. u The Rail-
road Company advertised, and so did we."

"I learn from the date on the tombstone that

90 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

we were on our way to France — probably on the
ocean — at the time the accident occurred," said
Mr. Ridgeley, sorrowfully ; " and we did not return
until late in the autumn. I never even heard of
it until years after, when, as I was traveling over
the road, some one pointed out the place to me.
My God ! how little I thought "

Words failed him utterly, and he bent his face
down on the hands which were still clasped above
the chased head of his cane. For a minute there
was entire silence in the room. The mellow sun-
shine streamed through a western window, giving
a halo of marvelous brightness to Fay Chessel-
ton's golden hair, as she stood like a graceful
statue by her mother's side, and glanced athwart
the soft, white curls that covered the bowed head
of the old man.

In the open doorway, with the glorious pano-
rama of mountains blazing with color and draped
with autumnal haze behind him, Alan stood, lis-
tening attentively to all that was passing. Mrs.
Chesselton kept her sad, gentle regard fixed on
Bernadette, who still clung to Mrs. Cameron. It
was the latter who first broke the silence by ask-
ing.

" Where do you suppose the lady was going,

that she should have been travelling across our
mountains ? "

" When Marian and I were girls," answered
Mrs. Chesselton, in her sweet voice, "papa had a

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 91

country house in these mountains, where we
always spent our summers. We gave it up as
soon as she left us ; but no one thought of men-
tioning the fact in the few letters we exchanged
with her. The accident occurred in August. No
doubt she was on her way to the old place, think-
ing she was most likely to find us there at that
season. Bernadette, my darling," she went on,
advancing to the girl's side, " are yon not ready
yet to meet us as your nearest kindred should be
met? Do you not yet believe that we would
have welcomed you as gladly ten years ago as we
do to-day? Have you not yet realized what we
are to you, and what we desire to be?'

" I_oh, yes !— I knowr it— I feel it ! " said Ber-
nadette, bursting into a passion of tears. "I see
it was no fault of yours ! I— I beg your pardon
for what I said. But if you had only not found
me ! If you had only let me alone ! If you
would only let me stay ! '

Mrs. Chesselton looked hopelessly at her father,
as if to say, "What can be done with her ? '

Mr. Ridgeley answered the look by himself
rising and moving forward, though with extreme
difficulty. "You see, if the mountain will not
come to Mahomet, Mahomet must go to the
mountain," said he, trying to speak lightly as he
took the weeping girl in his arms. " Gently, my
poor little one ! Remember that you will always
be to your kind protectors just what you are now;

92 A LITTLE MAID OF ABCADY.

but remember, too, that we have a claim on you.
Surely you must acknowledge this claim, Berna-
dette ? "

" Ye — es ! " sobbed Bernadette, doubtfully.
" But I — I — oh, I can't go ! O Alan, come and
tell them that I can not go ! "

At this adjuration Mr. Ridgeley and Mrs.
Chesselton turned toward the door, toward which
Bernadette's imploring glance had been directed.
The bronzed face framed there faced them with a
very steady defiance in it. Alan Cameron, young
though he was, was not likely to quail before liv-
ing man or woman. Indeed his inclination lay in
rather the other direction, and at that moment he
would have asked nothing better than to throw
down the gauntlet to each and every one of these
" fine gentlefolks." He had sense enough to know
that this would not mend matters, however ; so
he contented himself with simply answering Ber-
nadette's appeal.

" It's not for me to say anything, Bernadette.
You must speak for yourself, and choose between
us and them. I'm thinking you are not like to
have both."

With these words — all he could trust himself
to utter — he turned hastily and strode away down
the hillside path to the mill.

Mr. Ridgeley and his daughter exchanged a
glance — the glance of worldly-wise people, —
which it was fortunate for Bernadette she did not

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 93

understand. Then the former asked, more coldly
than he had as yet spoken, " Who is that young
man ? "

" It is Alan, my brother," answered Bernadette,
quickly.

" It is my son, sir," said Mrs. Cameron, proudly.

" Ah ! ' said Mr. Ridgeley, in a tone which had
a good deal of meaning in it. Then he softly
smoothed back the hair from Bernadette's face,
and, looking at its radiant loveliness, it would
have been strange if he had not congratulated
himself that they had not been a year or two later
in finding her. " Who knows what mischief
might have been done? "he thought; "but now
all will soon be right."

"We can never be sufficiently grateful to the
kind friends who have sheltered you, my dear
child," he said aloud ; " and I trust that they will
let us prove our gratitude. But you belong to
your natural guardians, and you can not expect
that we will relinquish our new-found prize."

CHAPTER IX.

And so, in a space of time so brief that it
seemed impossible to comprehend the great change
it had wrought, the mystery of Bernadette's origin
was solved, and her whole life altered.

" We will not take you with us now," her
grandfather said, after everything had been ex-
plained, and there was no hint of further resist-
ance from the weeping girl. " But we expect to
leave the mountains in a few days, to return to
our home in New Orleans ; and I wish you to be
ready to accompany us then."

He looked at Mrs. Cameron as he spoke, and it
was that woman who answered :

" The child will be ready, sir. There's no rea-
son why she shouldn't be. I know now," with a
heavy sigh, " we can't keep her with us longer."

" She shall come to see )rou next year," said the
old gentleman, kindly. " I should never wish her
to forget all that she owes to you. Nor can /ever
forget it, I assure you. The debt we owe for your
care and kindness can not be paid, except in heart-
felt gratitude ; but you must at least suffer me to
return the expense of her maintenance, which you
have borne for ten years. That" he looked at the
(94)

a

A LTTTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 95

head of the family as he spoke, " you will agree
with me is only just."

Mayhap it is," said the Highlander, quietly ;
or it might be, only you see we took the little
lassie for our own ; we've never counted what she
cost us, and we can't take money now for what
we've done for her."

"I do not wish to pain or offend you," said
Mr. Ridgeley ; " but when you think of it calmly,
I am sure you will feel that it would be as strange
as inexcusable if I, who am a rich man, should
not return what you have so generously and un-
grudgingly bestowed upon my grandchild for so
long a space of time."

"We'll say naught more about it," replied the
other, rising to his feet. " If we could keep the
lassie, be sure we would; but since we canna, we
must e'en let her go with you. That you're a
rich man is a good thing for her, but it's no con-
cern of ours. Take her if you must ; but when
you're taking our hearts wi' her, dinna talk of pay-
ments, unless ye wish to insult us."

" There is nothing I would not sooner do," said
Mr. Ridgeley, with deep feeling ; for he was not
likely to mistake the sternness of the last words.
He saw indeed that the man's heart was full to
overflowing, and that no more could be said on
the subject now. He reflected that later the peo-
ple would hear reason ; or, if they continued ob-
stinate in refusing money, that he could find some

96 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

other means of discharging a debt, which he had
no idea of allowing to remain undischarged.

With a few more kind words, the party, there-
fore, took their departure ; and there was soon
nothing to recall the scene that had taken place,
except the track of the carriage wheels before the
door, and the open trunk still standing in the
centre of the floor. But for. the latter, Bernadette
might have thought all that had passed a dream,
as she saw the mellow sunshine sleeping on the
threshold, the great mountains beyond draped in
haze, the maples sending down their golden
leaves in fluttering showers, the whole familiar
environment of her life unchanged by the earth-
quake that had upheaved her existence. She
looked around with eyes almost blind from the
tears that filled them. Alas, for the peaceful
home, with its simple pleasures ! Its doors were
about to close behind her, never in all the years of
life to reopen again. To the innermost depths of
her heart she felt this, with a sense of despair, a
passionate desire to hold that which was slipping
forever from her grasp. She put out her hand
and caught the folds of Mrs. Cameron's dress, as
the latter approached her.

" Mother," she gasped, " could ye not send me
somewhere to hide until they are gone — clear
gone? I can not leave you — I can not ! It will
break my heart."

" O my bairn, isn't it breaking mine ? " cried

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 97

the elder woman, with a flood of tears. "But
hide ye ? No, my lambie : that we canna do. It
would be wrang, sairly wrang; and naught on
earth is worth doing wrang for. Ye ken that,
Bernadette."

" Why should it be wrong ? " demanded Berna-
dette, passionately. " They have no right to me,
let them sa}T what they will. It's you who have
the light, — you who have done everything for me.
Let me go away and iiide from them, mother.
Let us go to Scotland, where Ave have so often
talked of going."

As the girl clung to her, weeping and entreat-
ing, who can say what strong temptation her
words roused in Janet Cameron's soul ? What
picture rose in her mind of the Highland glens
where she might carry this child of her love, and
be, so it seemed to her, safe from pursuit ? But
to her upright nature the one thing impossible to
do, or even to consider, was the thing which was
wrong. So, putting the seductive picture aside,
she tried instead to face bravely the desolation
that lay before her in the long years to be spent
without Bernadette.

"Ah! if it were right to be done, I'd gladly
fly to the end o' the earth with ye, my bonnie
bairn," she said ; " but it is nae possible for us
to do what is wrang, and wrang it would be.
Your ain mother's father has the right to ye, and
none can gainsay it. Ye must go with him, — go
7

98 A LITTLE MAID OF AIICADY.

bravely and with a good heart. But, O my dearie !
there's one thing lies heavier on my heart than
even the thought of parting, and that is — will ye
keep the Catholic faith? Those that ye belong to
are not Catholics, and they will try to turn ye to
their own religion, — so much is certain. O
Bernadette, will ye stand firm ? "

She looked in the young face with almost
agonized entreaty. This was indeed the fear that
was tearing at her heart-strings. But Bernadette
regarded her with simple surprise.

" And why should I not stand firm ? ' she
asked. " What do you think of me, mother,
that you should be afraid I will give up my faith ?
Isn't it the true — the only true faith ? "

"God knows it is!' answered the other,
solemnly.

" Then I'll never give it up, — I promise you
that," said the girl. "See — give me your- cruci-
fix ! ' She took a small, well-worn brass crucifix
from the place where she knew that it always laj'
on the bosom of the elder woman, concealed by
the spotless kerchief pinned across it ; and, kneel-
ing down, repeated earnestlv, with a solemn,
thrilling tone in her young voice : " I promise
that I will never give up my faith, no matter
what the consequences may be ; that I will al-
ways acknowledge and always practice it. And
God is my witness of this."

She kissed the crucifix reverently as she finish-

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 99

ed, and then looked up with tremulous smile into
the face gazing so tenderly down upon her. kt Are
you satisfied nowV she asked. " You know I
could never break that promise — though indeed
there was no need of it ; for I could never, never
give up my faith."

" Ah, my bairn, ye dinna ken the world ! " said
the woman, who herself knew little of it, but
who guessed something of its dangers in this
direction. " Your new, fine kinsfolk will do all
they can to turn ye, — and there's much to help
them."

" Let them try ! " exclaimed Bernadette, lifting
her head proudly. " I'll be glad of a chance to
show them — and you, too, mother, — how little
they can turn me. I'll always be a Catholic; and,
if you will not keep me now, I'll come back to you
as soon as I am grown. Alan says I can come if I
please when I'm twenty-one. It's true, six years
is a long time to wait."

So long, my bonnie lamb, that ye'll be another
person altogether when that time comes," said
Mrs. Cameron, wistfully. " Make no promises,
then, of what ye'll do. God will order all that —
only be true to Him. If }*e're that, I'll ask no
more. I know your heart will always be leal to
us ; but to come back, to be as we have been —
nay, I fear that canna be. What Ave've once
left behind, we can never bring back again, do
what we will."

100 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

Again it came, the familiar lesson, clothed in
other words, against which we all rebel when it is
a question of turning our faces forever from some
happiness so great that we see not how we can
bear to resign it; and we delude our hearts, even
as poor little Bernadette now deluded hers, with
futile dreams and hopes of repeating what life
never allows to be repeated. Protest, rebel as we
may, the inflexible tide of change sweeps us on,
and nothing under the sun can ever be again as it
has been. No wonder that poor human hearts,
sick of mutability and loss, and longing for sta-
bility at least in the things they love, should in all
ages have turned with yearning and hope toward
the fair and perfect vision of a life where there
shall be no more change.

The few days that remained of Bernadette's
stay in her old home were so fraught with sorrow
to every member of the household that it was well
the time was not prolonged. There was a pang
in every familiar incident, in every passing hour,
of the life so fast drawing to a close. The girl
herself literally seasoned her food and drink with
the salt bitterness of her tears ; and sobbed herself
to sleep every night, to wake in the morning witli
head and heart alike unfreshed. When Mrs.
Chesselton came for her she was shocked by the
change that prolonged, passionate grief had
wrought in the face that a few days before had
seemed the very incarnation of bloom.

A LITTLE MAID OF AKCADY. 101

" My poor child," she said, compassionately,
"you have almost made yourself ill! Why do
you break your heart in this manner? Do you
think we are going to separate you in an}^ final
manner from your kind friends ? On the contrary,
you shall come back to see them next summer. I
promise you that."

But, alas! to the mind of Bernadette at this
moment "next summer " seemed too distant to be
considered as a source of comfort ; in fact, it ap-
peared hardly nearer than the vague and distant
epoch, of which Alan and herself had talked,
when she should be twenty-one. When one has
seen only fifteen summers, an immense space of
time seems to intervene between each. Nor did
the well-meant promise bring much comfort to
anybody else. The elder Cameron s knew well
that Bernadette as a visitor and Bernadette as
their own child were two essentially different
things, and that a gulf would soon yawn between
them, which even love could hardly bridge ; while
Alan in his sorrow and wrath — the deep, bitter
wrath which is born of sorrow — was far beyond
all possibility of comfort from any source.

Yet the parting itself was more quiet than Mrs.
Chesselton had feared. Even Bernadette's tears
had been well-nigh exhausted, and the others pos-
sessed the reticence of their race in too strong de-
gree to find relief in vehement outward expression
of sorrow.

102 A LITTLE MAID OF ALCADY.

" God bless ye, my bairn, and keep ye safe wher-
ever ye may go ! " said the father solemnly, as he
took her from the arms of his wife into his own
embrace. " Ye have been a sunlight in our home
since ever ye entered it, and a joy to heart and
e'en. There'll be little joy left for us for many a
long clay after ye are gone ; but our blessing goes
with ye, and ye il never forget us, that I know
well."

i

"Forget you — O my father, my father !" was
all poor Bernadette could say amid her bitter
tears.

But Alan's was the last face she saw. Looking
back from the carriage, as a turn of the road was
about to shut off from view the valley and the
mill, she saw him standing motionless on the
bridge, gazing after them ; and even at that dis-
tance she could discern the sternness and sadness
of his young face.

" Alan," she cried, extending her hands with a
piteous gesture, — "Alan, I will come back ! '

It is doubtful if Alan heard the words, but he
saw the gesture. Waving his hand toward her,
he waited until the carriage was out of sight, then
turned away and disappeared in the forest.

CHAPTER X.

In that fair city of the South, which curves its
crescent between the great Father of Waters and
the lovely Lake of Ponchartrain, with its outlet
upon the tossing waters of the Gulf, — the city
which the romance of its history and the grace of
its Creole population render unique and fascinat-
ing among American cities, — Bernadette found
herself transplanted.

Never surely was contrast stronger or more sud-
den. From the seclusion of that far mountain
home in which she had dwelt as in some Alpine
solitude, with scarcely any social intercourse, and
pleasures so simple and limited that to one of dif-
ferent rearing they would hardly have seemed
pleasures at all, to this brilliant city, with its
abounding life, its air of gayety, its foreign pic-
turesqueness, was a change so great that for a
time it almost stupefied the girl. But she had in
her veins the blood of the same race that gave
New Orleans its stamp of joyousness : the inex-
tinguishable gaiete de cceur was hers ; and, as her
aunt at once perceived, whatever else she might
be, she would never be dull. Moping or melan-
choly in any degree was impossible to her. In-
consolable as she had been at leaving the only

(103)

104 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

home she had ever known, her grief, in its expres-
sion at least, was like a thunderstorm — vehement,
passionate, quickly exhausted. She made herself ill
at first, and seriously alarmed her new guardians;
but before long the clouds parted, and the sun-
shine of her smiles shone forth. It was not that
she forgot, — it was not that deep in her heart the
recollection of the past was not guarded with a
passionate tenderness ; but she hated gloom as all
such natures hate it, and turned toward amuse-
ment and joy as a flower to the sun.

And she quickly showed a capacity of adapting
herself to her new surroundings that astonished
her relatives. "I did not think she would be
stupid," Mrs. Cbesselton observed : " Marian's
child could not be that; but I certainly thought
that for a time at least she would be awkward
and ill at ease. I fancied we should have trouble
to rub off the stamp of the farm-house. But there
is nothing of the kind. Of course one sees that
she has not been brought up in our world, but the
difference is more that which would be apparent
in some convent-bred girl than such as I feared to
find."

"She is charming," replied her son. "Don't
distress yourself, ma mere, because she has a dif-
ferent stamp from our world. It gives a touch of
distinction to her, a flavor of the Arcadia from
which she seems to come. In mind as w^ell as in
manners she is like a maiden wandered from a

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 105

pastoral, so quaint, so fresh, so untouched by
modern ideas. Those good Highlanders with
whom she lived seem, with all their simplicity, to
have been absolutely devoid of what we know as
vulgarity, and to have existed in a world of their
own, not much later than that of ' Waverley.' In
that region of simple thought and emotion, Berna-
dette, with her inheritance of different and more
complex forces of character, has been brought up.
I find the result exceedingly interesting. She is
so quick that she will learn very rapidly all things
necessary. But she will always retain — at least I
think so — a certain Arcadian simplicity of mind."

" How absurd, Ridgeley ! ' said his mother, a
little impatiently. " With the aid of your imag-
ination you are making a 'study' of Bernadette,
and investing her with all manner of fanciful
attributes; whereas the child only shows, as is
naturally to be expected, the results of the acci-
dent which placed her in a position so remote
from the world to which she belongs. But she is
very quick, very adaptive, and I have no fear of
any lasting result. After a year or two you will
not be able to tell that her bringing up has been
in any respect different from Fay's."

Ridgeley Chesselton shook his head. " I dis-
agree with you," he said. " Can the influences
which surrounded the ten most impressionable
years of life ever be obliterated ? I think not —
and, in Bernadette's case, I hope not. Fay is like

106 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

a thousand and one other girls ; but Bernadette
is a little maid of Arcady, and so I think she will
ever remain."

And by this opinion the speaker proved that
his own penetration was more than ordinarily
keen. It was true. Change as she might in out-
ward respects, in the widening of her knowledge
and experience, Bernadette would never be likehv
to lose the stamp given her in that simple home,
where the moral atmosphere w^as as pure and clear
as the mountain air which surrounded it. But
this was chief! v due to a reason which Mr. Chessel-
ton did not take into account. So long as she
held the faith she had received there, so long the
influence of those virtues which had sprung from
it would remain ; and in the finest and highest
sense she would be an Arcadian still at heart.

It was not long before the question of this faith
arose.

" I find," remarked Mrs. Chesselton to her
father, a few days after they were settled again in
their home, "that our little Bernadette has been
taught Romanism. Strange to say, those Cam-
erons, though Scotch, are Catholics. What shall
we do about it? "

"Surely nothing is easier," said Mr. Kidgeley.
" Tell her that it is our wish that she should be of
the religion of our family ; take her to church
with you, and let her have the same religious in-

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 107

struction as Fa}r, — I suppose that she has some,"
he added as if with an after-thought.

" She has had some of course," answered Mrs.
Chesselton, vaguely. " But I fear matters will
not be so easy with Bernadette. She seems dis-
posed to hold to the teaching she has received.
She told me only this morning that she intended
always to be a Catholic. I really think that you
had better speak to her. It will simplify matters
if she understands at once that in coming to us
she must adopt what we think best for her."

" Tut ! tut ! " said Mr. Ridgeley. " The idea of
a child of her age having religious opinions !
Send her to me by all means. I will soon settle
the matter."

A few minutes later Bernadette appeared at the
door of the room, where she paused a moment be-
fore her grandfather's voice bade her enter. The
luxury and beauty of her present surroundings
were a continual pleasure to the girl, in a sense
that those who had always been accustomed to
such surroundings could little understand. She
had the strong, instinctive love of beauty which
we call the artistic sense ; and the fact that it
never before had gratification, except in the love-
liness of nature, made her appreciate with a keenly
quickened delight the charm of her present home.
Every apartment formed a picture that she never
wearied of contemplating ; but most of all the one
in which her grandfather now sat, his own special

108 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

room, with its softly harmonious walls and hang-
ings, its low bookcases filled with books, its pic-
tures and bronzes, its quaint and curious articles
gathered from foreign lands, its carved tables and
snowy rugs ; and, as a finishing touch, the figure
of its occupant seated in a large, morocco-covered
chair, his fine, aristocratic head, with its crown of
silver curls, outlined against the high back; while
beyond was an open window, a gallery shaded by
climbing roses, and a stretch of green turf set
with trees.

Meanwhile, as Mr. Ridgeley looked up at the
sound of the step that paused on his threshold, he,
too, was struck by another picture — that which
the unconscious girl made as she stood framed in
the doorway. Dressed with the apparent sim-
plicity becoming her age, yet with the fine dis-
tinction of material, style and cut which only
wealth and exquisite taste combined can compass,
Bernadette looked like the young daughter of a
royal house rather than like one who only yester-
day had been searching for eggs in hay-lofts, and
at home among the flour-sacks of a mill. Her
beauty and her refinement shone out as a jewel
shines when properly set ; and it would have
been hard to find a lovelier face than that on
which her grandfather's gaze rested with pride
and pleasure.

" Come in, my dear," he said. " Your aunt has
told you that I wished to see you. Don't be

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 109

afraid. I have nothing to say that need frighten
you. Sit down there" — he pointed to a low,
luxurious chair, — " and let us talk a little. Now,"
he went on, as Bernadette obeyed, and sat before
him, with her clear hazel eyes lifted to his face,
" I think you are a very reasonable girl for your
age, and I am sure you are aware that }*our aunt
and myself desire to do everything for your ben-
efit, and that we know much better than you pos-
sibly can what is for your benefit. Is not this so ? '

" Oh, yes," Bernadette replied readily, " I am
very sure of that ! "

"I was certain that you would be," he said,
approvingly. k' This being so, then, you must
admit that it is wrell for 3-011 to submit to our
guidance in everything, even when we prescribe
the form of religion that we think it best for you
to profess. Of course," with a slight shrug of the
shoulders, " all religions are in substance the
same ; but some are preferable to others, and we
naturally think that the religious body to which
we belong is better than the one in which you
have been so far trained. I am sure, my dear,
that you will see the necessity of being guided by
us in this matter, and ceasing to call yourself a
Roman Catholic."

The girl's face had grown paler as he went on
speaking, and her eyes had taken a startled,
wistful look. Sweet and docile by nature, it was
very hard for her to put herself in opposition to

110 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

these new-found relatives, who were so kind, and
whom she had already begun to love. But the
beautiful and luxurious room in which she sat
seemed to fade away, and another scene rose be-
fore her vision : — a farm-house room, plain and
bare, with boughs softly swaying before the open
door, and a glimpse of great mountain forms be-
yond ; a weeping woman who prophesied this,
and a kneeling girl with a crucifix in her hand,
who solemnly promised to that woman and to
God — what? The hazel eyes were troubled, but
very steadfast, as they looked up into the face
that gazed down upon her.

" No, grandpapa," she said bravely, " I am sorry
that I can not do that. In anything else I will
obey you, but I can never cease to call myself and
to be a Catholic."

There followed a short silence. Mr. Ridgeley
was so astounded by this open and wholly unex-
pected declaration, this calm ignoring of his com-
mand, that for a moment he had literally nothing
to say. It was difficult to know how to meet such
a revolt. To grow angry, storm, bluster and vitu-
perate was, of course, possible— or would have
been possible to another man ; but he was not
only too much of a gentleman to be guilty of such
conduct, but he was really more astonished than
angry. Why should the child be obstinate on a
point that seemed to him so unimportant as this?

" I regret, my dear," he said quietly, " that it

A LITTLE MAID OF ACCADY. Ill

should be necessary for me to say more to you
on this subject. I am accustomed to being obeyed
by those from whom I have a right to exact obe-
dience, without the need of reiterating my com-
mands. But since I do not wish you to think me
a tyrant, I should like to know what reason you
have for believing that your judgment can pos-
sibly be better than mine on this subject ? '

Bernadette's eyes sank. Put in this way the
question was certainly difficult to answer. Yet
she spoke with courage as well as modesty.

"There is only one reason why I could think
so," she replied ; " and that is because the Catho-
lic faith is the faith that God Himself has given
us, and He must know best."

Her grandfather smiled indulgently. " When
you grow a little older," he said, "you will find
that that is what the adherents of every religion
think. And, in one sense, they are all right.
God Himself, as I believe, gave us the knowledge
of certain fundamental truths; but these have
been modified and changed in many ways by
human ideas. And in none is this more the ca.-e
than in that faith which we call the Koman
Catholic. I will give you some history to read
which will instruct you on the usurpations of that
Church. Meanwhile I expect you to believe and
obev me. Religious differences in a household are
very undesirable, and to be avoided if possible. I
desire, therefore, that you will go to church with

112 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC ADV.

your aunt and conform yourself in all respects to
her guidance on religious points. And now let us
hear no more of this matter."

He took up a newspaper which lay on his knee,
as if to indicate that the audience was at an end ;
but Bernadetle remained motionless in her seat,
and presently said, in a low voice and with an
effort :

"I can not go, grandpapa, letting you think
that I shall obey you ; for it is impossible for me
to do so."

Mr. Ridgeley lowered his newspaper, and looked
at her with a glance of such stern displeasure that
her heart sank.

" Do you mean to say," he asked, in a voice
before which his children had always shrunk,
" that you will not obey me? "

"I can not" she answered, trembling but firm.
"I can not obey even you, when to do so would
be to disobey God."

She clasped her hands, as she spoke, in uncon-
scious entreaty; her eyes as she looked at him
were full of tears. But painful as she felt the
necessity to set herself in this manner against his
wishes, there was no sign of yielding in face or
glance. Looking at her keenly, Mr. Ridgeley saw
this, and he was not a man to fio-lit a losing battle
even with a child. He raised his hand and pointed
to the door.

" Go ! " he said, coldly. " I am exceedingly dis-

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 1 L3

pleased with and disappointed in you. I see that
you have been made a fanatic. There is no char-
acter so objectionable. Go, and I will consider
how to deal with you in order to insure the obe-
dience vou refusfj "
8

CHAPTER XL

It was fortunate for Bernaclette that she had
not fallen into the hands of any member of that
very objectionable class to which her grandfather
affirmed that she belonged. Many people are
accustomed, without much consideration of justice,
to brand as fanatics those who are opposed to
them in ideas ; but we are all agreed that the
genuine fanatic does exist in considerable number,
quite apart from any prejudice in regarding him ;
and woe be to the person who falls into his power !
Fanaticism was something, however, of which his
worst enemy, supposing he had one, could not
accuse Mr. Ridgeley. He was, on the contrary, a
type of the result of modern enlightenment; inas-
much as he believed nothing strong])' himself, and
had a spirit of indifferent tolerance for everything
that others believed. Moreover, he had no fancy
for playing the tyrant, thereby incurring much
annoyance, gaining the hatred which a tyrant
never fails to inspire, and probably at last, failing
to obtain obedience. Therefore, when he saw his
daughter he said to her:

" I find Bernadette very obstinate on the relig-
ious question. That is natural, brought up as she
unfortunately has been. People of that kind — I
(114)

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 115

mean of the kind with whom she has associated —
are narrow-minded in whatever they believe ; and,
in fact, the Scotch character leans to fanaticism,
whether it gives allegiance to the Covenant or the
Pope. It is a pity that the child should have
been reared in such a way of thinking; but at
present I see no means of changing her without
doing more harm than good."

"Did she refuse to obey you?" asked Mrs.
Chesselton, with surprise.

" Positively," answered Mr. Ridgeley, with a
smile. " There was the old talk of obeying God
rather than man, and I could see that she had
braced herself to become a martyr if necessary.
Now, we have no desire to make a martyr of her.
It is a great mistake in the first place, for opinion
is never changed by persecution ; and in the
second place, it would be very bad to array her
feelings against us while we are still strangers to
her. I think that this determination not to give
up the form of religion she has been taught is only
an expression of her loyalty to those to whom she
is still so much attached. Let us be patient with
it. Drop the subject, ignore rather than combat
the subject, and in time she will forget it."

"And if not?" said Mrs. Chesselton, who
thought there was a decided chance of the con-
trary.

Her father shrugged his shoulders. " If not,
we must submit to the inevitable. It is not a

116 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

religion I should care to adopt ; but a good many-
very admirable people belong to it, and it has some
desirable features. If, when she is grown, Berna-
dette chooses to handicap herself with it, no one
can prevent her from doing so. But what a child
of her age calls herself is of no importance. Simply,
as I have said, ignore it. Send her to school with
Fa}', and time will do the rest."

l'But there are a few practical points at present.
She wants to go to Catholic churches, she talks of
confession — "

Mr. Ridge ley waved his hand impatiently.
" There ! there ! I leave those things to your
judgment. It would not do, I suppose, to forbid
her going. That would only be to teach methods
of deceit which might bear fruit in other directions.
But she must understand that she can not go there
or anywhere else alone. That rule must be in-
flexible. If you choose to send a trustworthy
maid with her, she can go occasionally to a Catho-
lic church ; but if not, she must accompany you or
stay at home. Make her comprehend that I will
tolerate no disobedience on this point."

And so Bernadette, who, as her grandfather
divined, had braced herself for persecution, found
that she had onlj' to encounter a certain degree of
cool, well-bred disapproval, and not a few difficul-
ties in the way of the practice of her faith. Mrs.
Chesselton's French maid, not herself overbur-
dened with piety, was detailed to accompany her to

A LITTLE MAID OF AKCADY. 117

church, if she insisted on going. But there were
many occasions when Celestine was not at leisure ;
there were also many other things which made
church-going difficult ; and, in a multiplicity of
studies, occupations and amusements, it finally
came to pass that, save to an early Mass on Sun-
day, Bernadette rarely crossed the threshold of a
Catholic church.

But if, as was natural under these circumstances,
she grew careless with regard to the practice of
faith, it was none the less true that she never
wavered in her allegiance to it. She never con-
sented to accompany her aunt and cousin to the
fashionable Protestant church where they wor-
shipped, and she unhesitatingly proclaimed herself
a Catholic on all occasions when the avowal was
called for. Ridgeley Chesselton, to whom she had
been an amusing study from the first, was ver}'
much interested by this attitude of hers, and was
the only person who spoke to her freely on the
subject.

" It is a mistake, Bernadette," he would say to
her, gravely and admonishingly. " I don't mean
the religion itself — that is as good as another, I
suppose, — but your undertaking to play the part
of St. Agnes. In the first place, we are not going
to cut your head off, nor do we keep even the
mildest kind of lions on hand to terrify would-be
martyrs. In the second place, the character does
not suit you. You are not made to carry a palm,

118 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

but a wreath of flowers. No painter, my child,
would ever

1 Draw you unaware
With a halo round your hair.'

In other words, you are not fitted to be a saint,
but a little maid of Arcadv. Joyousness is your
note, — the pastoral joyousness that knows nothing
of creeds and doctrines and such stern subjects."

Who does not know that this gentle ridicule was
harder to bear than any degree of serious denun-
ciation ? Bernadette certainly did not bear much
resemblance to St. Agnes as she looked at the
speaker with a flash in her eyes.

" I think," she said distinctly, " that you are the
most disagreeable person I ever saw. Why do
you talk to me as if I were trying to appear some-
thing which I am not? I am a Catholic, }*es —
and I mean to live and die one, — but I have never
said anything about being a saint or a martyr. It
is you that say such things in order that you may
laugh at me."

"Saintly meekness is certainly not one of your
characteristics," observed Mr. Chesselton. "But
if you are not ambitious of being a martyr, my
child, why do you think it necessary to proclaim a
faith which is so objectionable to your present
guardians ? People can believe what they please,
for conviction is free — and about the only free
thing in the world, by the bye, — but sensible peo-

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 119

pie don't think it necessary to provoke antagonism
by proclaiming all they believe."

" You mean that I ought to keep silence and say
nothing of what I believe ? " asked Bernadette,
scornfully. "That would be what /should call
denying God and being a coward besides."

"Very likely," said the young man, looking at
her meditatively; "that is what you would call it-
You are not old enough yet to have learned the
wisdom of reticence — I doubt if you ever will
learn it. And a coward, my little Arcadian maid,
you are not. No one can doubt that you possess
courage and loyalty in extreme degree. These
are fine virtues, but remember that all people have
les defauts de ses qualities— you are learning French
so well that I need not translate, — and that it is
of the excess of our virtues we should most be-
ware ; for there is the pitfall that will trip us up."

" 1 don't understand you," said Bernadette, re-
garding him doubtfully ; for although her intelli-
gence was quickening and widening every day,
Ridgeley Chesselton was still able to puzzle her as
much as when he had first met her by the side of
the creek, under the shadow of the mill.

He laughed. " No," he said, " you don't under-
stand me now, but you will some day, when you
have found one of the pitfalls to which I allude.
Judging from what I know of your character at
present, you will gallantly and recklessly rush
into it."

120 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

It amused him to talk in this manner to the girl,
to see the wonder in her eyes when she did not
understand him, the quick curl of her lips when
she did; for there could be no doubt of the fact
that there was something of antagonism between
the two, at least on Bernadette's side. Utterly
unaccustomed to anything like badinage or mock-
ery, she felt always as if Chesselton were laughing
at her; and not even the admiration that he openly
expressed for her beauty could reconcile her to the
tone of his conversation.

Meanwhile Mr. Ridgeley, pondering much upon
what he could do to repay the debt under which
he felt himself to the Camerons, decided, since
they positively refused any compensation in the
form of money, to offer to educate Alan in what-
ever profession or line of business his parents
should choose. But, to his surprise, this offer was
refused. The father" wrote himself, saying, in
somewhat quaint Old World phrase, that while
grateful for the proffered kindness, \\\Qy could not
accept it. They had themselves decided to give
Alan the education he desired in engineering, and
there was no need that they should be beholden to
any one to assist them in doing so. They were
obliged for the kindness that had prompted the
offer ; but the fact that there was any obligation to
be discharged was again denied.

" You owe us naught for the little lass," the
Highlandman wrote. " She was as our own

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 121

while we had her, and ye may tell her that since
she is gone the house is so lonely we can not stay
here. We have made up our minds to go back to
Scotland. It is all that will comfort the mother's
heart for the loss of her bairn."

" I am very glad of that," said Mrs. Chesselton
when she heard the news. " I am not so ungrate-
ful or so snobbish as to wish Bernadette to forget
those who did so much for her ; but association
with them would be very undesirable, and could
lead to no good result on either side. They are
very sensible to go back to Scotland."

"They are determined that we shall remain
under an obligation to them," said Mr. Ridgeley,
frowning. " I do not like it. I always prefer to
pay my debts. What right have they to refuse
to let me do so ? Confound their insufferable

pride ! "

But when Bernadette heard of the resolve to re-
turn to Scotland on the part of her foster-parents,
she was almost as inconsolable in her grief as she
had been at parting from them.

" Oh, how can they go so far away! " she cried,
piteously. " I shall never see them again, —
never, never ! It is cruel ! And how often we
talked of going to Scotland, but /was to go with
them. And now they go and leave me here ! Oh,
how have they the heart to do it ! '

She wrote, expressing these sentiments vehe-
mently ; and it was Alan who answered her, since

122 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

letter-writing was a great effort to both his father
and mother.

" They bid me tell you," the bo}x wrote, " that
they are going because we can none of us bide
here now that you are gone. It would make you
greet if you could see how mother pines for you.
She is no bit like herself, and father is afraid she
will fall ill. So he said to her : ( Janet, is there
aught you would like to do ? ' And she said :
4 Yes : I would like to go away ; for I can never
be content here any more. I miss my bairn at
every turn, and I feel as if my heart would break
for the sight of her bonnie face ? Then father said :
1 Where do you want to go.' And she said : 'Let
us go back to the Highlands. I'm home -sick for
the glens as I have not been since the first year I
left them. Maybe the pain in my heart for Berna-
dette will not be so sore there.' And father said
— you know his quiet way : ' Janet my woman,
you shall go.' So the next day he began to pre-
pare. The mill and farm are sold. Adam Cryder
has bought them. And as soon as we can settle
everything we are going to sail for Scotland. I
said at first I would go to see you before we
started, but mother bade me not think of it, — not
only because you are so far away and it would cost
so much to reach you, but because I would shame
you among 3^0 ur fine kinsfolk. k Wait,' she said,
'until you have had your education and are a man,
and maybe then she'll not be ashamed to see you.

A LITTLE MATD OF ARCADY. 123

So I'll wait,Bernadette. Father says I shall study
to be an engineer — to build railroads and bridges
and light-houses ; and when I have finished and
am grown, I will go to see you and fulfill my
promise to you. Be sure of that."

Little more than this — only a few domestic de-
tails and affectionate messages from the parents —
the letter contained ; but, simple as it was, what a
picture it painted for the girl's heart to sorrow
over for many a day ! The familiar home aban-
doned for love and loss of her ! It seemed almost
more than she could bear ; for under the brief
words Alan had recorded, she felt, with keen in-
tuitive knowledge, the depth of grief and desola-
tion that made such a step not only possible but
imperative. How the mother, whom she had al-
ways known so quiet and reticent, must have
pined before her husband would have noticed the
change in her sufficiently to ask the question that
for him meant so much! And how she must have
suffered before she would herself have proposed
that their home of years should be broken up, and
they should once more cross the ocean to the land
of their birth, in order that she might find comfort
in the hills and glens which would be full of the
memories of her youth, and free of association
with the child she had lost*! Bernadette felt it
all, with a passionate depth of insight rare in one
of her age ; and with a passionate self-reproach
also, because her grief had been less than that of

124 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

the faithful hearts she had left. She had been dis-
tracted from her sorrow, and consoled by the
novelty of her new life, by its pleasures and ad-
vantages, and the change that is so dear to youth ;
while they, remaining among the scenes from
which she had departed, had missed and sorrowed
for her with a poignancy that made life amid those
surroundings unbearable to them.

" I am a shallow, miserable creature, without
any depth of feeling!" the girl said to herself,
with contempt. " I do not deserve that they
should love me so much. But I will be faithful
to them, — I will, I will ! Nothing shall ever make
me forget or "turn away from them; and I will
never as long as I live be anything but a Catho-
lic."

She took as she spoke the little brass crucifix,
which had been Janet Cameron's parting gift to
her, from its place at the head of her bed, and
kissed it, with a sense of registering a vow. And
if in this vow there was as much of tender human
loyalty as of divine faith, He who fashioned our
hearts and knows their weakness may have par-
doned it.

PART II.
CHAPTER I.

Some things seem to us like dreams. However
much of realities they may be — realities often of
the sweetest or bitterest kind, — they do not belong
to this hard world of prosaic fact. There is a
glamour about them which we can ill define, but
which, placing them in the world of romance once,
places them there forever — leaves forever its soft-
ness (which is not vague) about their outlines
and their tints. Thoughts, feelings, and aspira-
tions are kindled in us different from any we had
ever felt before or are ever likely to feel again.
While they reign over that kingdom which we
call the soul, they lift it into another world; and
when they pass away we wake as from a dream to
the homely commonplaces of life. Whatever this
state of exceptional feeling be called — and it bears
many names among the sons of men, — its memory
retains to the end of our lives something of the
fantastic unreality, yet strange distinctness, of a
vision. Some scenes are fixed in our minds like
paintings, which nothing can efface. Over our
remembrance of some faces we are sure that the

(125)

126 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

very waters of the Deluge might pass and leave
them unharmed.

Alan Cameron felt that he " walked as one in a
dream," when, after the lapse of seven years, he
found himself again among the green mountains
where his youth had been spent. From the win-
dows of the railroad train that was working its
way steadily but (for a railroad train) slowly
around the mountain — the engine wheezing and
panting and groaning up the heavy grades — he
caught more than one glimpse of the loveliness of
that " Happy Valley " in which the old house still
stood, though now deserted. How clearly the
picture was in his mind — the sweet home picture,
softened b}' the hand of time into idyllic grace !
Did the same mellow sunshine fall across the va-
cant doorstep and stream into the empty rooms?
Did the green shade still droop and rustle over the
old mill ? And the mountain trout, did they still
leap and dart through the crystal water under the
rustic bridge ? If he had been an artist, he could
have painted every glint and glimmer, every shade
and sheen of the scene from memory ; he could
faithfully have laid on his canvas every tint of the
deep-green foliage, and every ray of the sunlight
that flecked it with gold as it arched over the
clear, running water ; he could have drawn every
vine and root on the tangled banks, every rock of
the mountains " with their victor wreaths of
laurel," every vicissitude of light and shadow,

A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY. 127

every combination of loveliness and grandeur
which made the beauty of the unforgotten pic-
ture.

As it all rose before him, flooded with the fair
light of memory, the laboring engine emerged
suddenly round a curve, and there was the preci-
pice which shut in the valley on one side — seen
from this elevation, the valley itself looked like a
bit of Paradise ; — and there also, far below, the
spot where just such a train as this had gone down
to destruction. "Mustn't it have been dread-
ful?" said a young lady behind Cameron; while
he, leaning out, tried to bring to his conception
the fathomless horror of that awful minute, so
long ago swept on in the cycle of time. But un-
consciously the agony and death faded from his
remembrance ; out of the fearful chaos which
fancy pictured a pair of bright, soft eyes looked
up at him; and, as it chanced, he had just then
one glimpse — a brief, fleeting glimpse — of the
home where those eyes had smiled many smiles,
and wept but few tears during childhood's long,
bright years.

" What toys of fate or chance we are ! ' the
young man thought, as he drew back. "But for
that accident — but for the breaking of some insig-
nificant piece of iron long ago — I should never
have seen Bernadette; and I should be in Scot-
land now, enjoying life perhaps with a flaxen-haired

128 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

lassie, instead of hastening to meet a disappoint-
ment which may hurt me more than I think."

"We have almost reached the Springs, haven't
we, Cameron ? " asked a young man in a traveling-
cap, who w^as doubled up on a seat in front.

" Very near it, I should think," replied Cam-
eron,— " only one more station, I believe. I hope
they'll give us a decent place to turn in," he went
on, with a yawn. " I'm a good traveler, as trav-
elers go "

" You wouldn't be a civil engineer if you
weren't," said the other, in parenthesis.

" But still a through trip from Montana has used
me up a little."

" Randolph is there ; he promised to look after
a place for me," said the other, lazily. " If it's
very good, I'll let you share it perhaps."

" I don't think you'll have much choice about
that," said Cameron, dryly. " Being bachelors,
we are the recognized victims of landlords and
housekeepers the world over, and liable to be
quartered with a dozen others as ill-used as our-
selves. It's Kirk Randolph you mean, isn't it? "
he continued, with an abrupt transition. " He
was in our corps for awhile ; but he was either in
love or he couldn't stand the climate , whichever
was the case, he threw up his position and left."

" Just like him ! " said the other, sleepily. " He
alwa}-s is doing something like that."

" He was a capital fellow, though."

A LITTLE MAID OF AUCADY. 129

" Yes, capital."

The somnolent tendencies of the speaker were
so evident that Cameron did not press the conver-
sation beyond this point ; in fact, he was in no
mood for talking. The gossip of that professional
world to which he himself and his companion be-
longed, and with which, of course, he was con-
versant, jarred on him just then. Of the
gossip of that little-great world called society-
he knew nothing. He did not even care to read
the paper thrown carelessly by on the seat. He
was thinking — dreaming — dwelling. Was it in the
past or the future y Whichever it was, a pair of
soft, dark eyes gazed into his own ; and above the
clatter of the railroad machinery he seemed to hear
the rush of the old mill-wheel, and to catch the
tone of his father's slow, quiet voice as, pointing
out the white foam to a pair#of eager children, he
said, "Take heed: the mill will never grind again
with the water that is past."

The mill of time ground with some very disa-
greeable water to Cameron that afternoon. They
reached their destination about four o'clock, and
he thought it necessary to " turn in," as he had
threatened ; and this turning in proved a very un-
satisfactory business, He was in a state of exas-
peration when he came forth at dusk from a den
which measured six feet by six, where he had been
endeavoring to make up for lost time in the way
of sleep.
9

130 A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY.

" I'll camp out with a blanket on the mountain
to-night," he said to Randolph, as they took their
way to the hotel. " A man can't stand every -
thing! Even a camel's hump breaks after a while,
I believe."

" But you're not a camel, nor yet a dromedary,"
returned Randolph, laughing.

Like a great many men of active life and pro-
fessional habits, Cameron knew very little of
women, and was rather shy of their society.
There was nothing which inspired him with such
an ignominious desire to retreat as the rustle of a
feminine skirt. When, therefore, Randolph and
he sauntered down to the brilliantly lighted ball-
room, he declined to enter, but stood at one of the
large, open windows which "gave " on the gallery,
looking in at " the dancers dancing in tune."

" I don't dance," he said to his companion ;
"and the atmosphere in there must be at fever
heat. Are you impatient to be in the whirl, or
can you spare five minutes to tell me who the
people are ? "

" I'm not impatient in the least, and I can spare
you as many minutes as you want," said Randolph.
" You're right about the atmosphere being at fever
heat in there ; and this tread-mill, called prom-
enading, is tiresome work. Here they all come,
circling round in it ! Now we'll see the fixed stars
and comets in all their glory."

From the window against which they were lean-

A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY. 131

ing they commanded a good view of the thronged
interior, where all the fashion of this miniature
world was revolving before them, showing its best
plumes and best faces, and now and then making
a very sorry out at the stage-deception which was
its business and aim.

" There goes one of the beauties par excellence"
said Randolph, after a pause — " that willowy girl
with bony shoulders and a lace flounce worth its
weight in gold (so I heard some old ladies say)
sweeping the floor. Unnecessary to add that she
is an heiress, isn't it? "

" On the contrary, very necessary to her reputa-
tion as a beauty, I should think," replied Cameron,
dryly.

" Then here comes a young lad}r who, laboring
under the double disadvantage of being neither
an heiress nor a beauty, yet having a soul above
mediocrity and wall-flowers, has set up for a
siren. Her capital in trade is very small, yet it
has proved sufficient for her needs so far. Lock
at her, my dear boy, as she passes, and tell me
what you think of her."

" I think she is the embodiment of affectation, "
said Cameron, glancing coolly and rather disdain-
fully at the young lady indicated — a sufficiently
ordinary-looking girl, who passed slowly b}', lean-
ing heavily with both hands on her^ attendant's
arm, while a pair of Madonna eyes were turned,
as if with intent rapture, to his face.

132 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

" That glance, taken in conjunction with a cer-
tain amount of flattery, works wonders," said Ran-
dolph, laughing. " The person subjected to its in-
fluence goes away calling gods and men to witness
that she is a veritable sorceress. But here comes
a sorceress of a different stamp," said he, sud-
denly changing the tone of his voice. " Look at
this girl in black and silver, with golden hair !
Did you ever see a lovelier face ? "

" It is very lovely," said Cameron, with evident
candor. " What is her name?"

"Miss Chesselton. The most charming and
captivating little creature ! Her face is like a
sunbeam, isn't it? She has a cousin who is quite
beautiful too, but in a different style. They make
an exquisite pair when you see them together ;
for each sets the other off to the greatest advan-
tage."

" And the cousin "

" Is Miss Arnaud — engaged, it is said, to Ridge-
ley Chesselton, this young lady's brother. Here
she comes now. By Jove, it is hard to tell which
of the two is the prettier ! "

It was not hard to the eager eyes that after
seven long years gazed again — through the very
ball-room window at which they two had stood
together as children— at the sweet face of her
who had been then not " Miss Arnaud," but
"little Bernadette." It was the same face, which
he well remembered, — older, of course, lovelier

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 133

perhaps, but full of the same gracious charm, the
winning, child-like sweetness of old. As she
passed, the bright, dark eyes lifted themselves to her
companion's face, the delicate flexile lips stirred
into a smile. Alan Cameron gave something of
a gasp, whether of grief or pain it was impossi-
ble to say, when he saw how little time had
changed her. Seven years — seven years since her
departure had left their home desolate, and in all
that time this was the first glimpse of her face
which had gladdened his sight ! True, he might
have seen her if he had chosen to go and seek
her where she dwelt ; but this was what he did
not choose to do. " I'll bide my time," he had
said from the first, with the steady tenacity of
his tenacious race; certain that the time would
come when he might claim her remembrance, sure
that there was naught in himself or his surround-
ings to shame her.

When, with his parents, he had returned to
Scotland, the elder Cameron, who wTas well-to-do
in a quiet, substantial way, decided that Alan
should have his wish and receive a professional
education. So the boy applied himself to the
study of engineering in all its branches, with an
intensity of aim and purpose which speedily
atoned for any lack of earlier advantages. He
possessed a remarkable aptitude for work, and a
talent which distinguishes many of his country-
men for this special branch of science ; in conse-

134 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

quence of which, when he returned to America at
the end of five years (for that he had always avowed
his determination to do), he brought with him
testimonials that at once secured for him the open-
ing which was all he desired. But he did not seek
Bernadette. On the contrary, he turned his face
resolutely westward, and worked for two years,
steadily and perse veringly, before he would per-
mit himself the pleasure of meeting her. And it
was significant, of the pride which is always
strong in a Highlander that he preferred even
then to see her not in her home, where he should
have had to accept the hospitality of her relatives,
but on the neutral ground of a watering-place.
Hearing that she was to be with her grandfather
at the Springs, which were in the neighborhood
of their old home, he at once determined to see her
there ; and, taking a month's leave of absence from
his work, traveled across the continent without
pause or rest, until to-night he found himself
looking once more on her face.

But the desired result of these seven years of
unceasing labor had been attained. As he leaned
against the ball-room window that summer night,
Alan Cameron might safely have challenged com-
parison with any of the gay cavaliers of the scene
before him, and not esteemed the comparison an
over-fair one either; since it is by no means the
most cultured or most intelligent class of men
who, as a general rule, frequent watering-place

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 135

resorts. Intelligent the young Scotchman as-
suredly was, as the bright blue eyes — very
keen and critical eyes they could be some-
times— abundantly testified ; together with the
broad, clear brow, framed by short curls of flaxen
hair. Cultured he also was in no inconsiderable
degree, as air and manner amply proved ; though
now and then a Scotch expression or Scotch accent
betrayed early habit, and lent force if not elegance
to his speech. Generally, however, there was
little to betray the laborious school through
which he had passed, — a school not less of severe
effort than of rigid self-training.

"Do you know Miss Arnaud?' he asked, as
Randolph drew back from a conversation which he
had been holding through the window with some
one inside the room.

" I know her well enough to ask leave to pre-
sent a friend," said the other. "I suppose that is
what }ro u mean ? '

" That's exactly what I mean," answered Cam-
eron, smiling. " I saw her leave the ball-room a
few minutes after you pointed her out," he went
on. " Don't you think we might find her on the
gallery or in the parlor? If possible, I would
rather not go into this crowd."

" All right," said Randolph, good-naturedly.
" We can look for her at least."

They walked slowly around the gallery which
in the neighborhood of the ball-room was crowded

136 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

with gazers and nondancers. It was a famous
place for flirtation too, and they discovered so
many couples in nooks and corners that to search
for any particular woman was like looking for the
traditional needle in a haystack.

" Whom was she with ? " asked Randolph.
" Earnesforth, wasn't it? If 1 could only see him
— ah, here comes the very fellow now ! Hal,
what has become of Miss Arnaucl? We have
been looking for her high and low."

" You'll find her in the parlor with her grand-
father," answered the other ; " she said she was
tired of dancing. Don't keep me, my good fel-
low.Tve an engagement."

He vanished like a meteor, while Randolph
shruggerd his shoulders.

" How dancing-mad some of these fools are ! '
he said. " This way, — this is the way to the par-
lor."

They passed down a corridor, and entered a
large room with scattered groups of people —
chiefly elders — around the tables and about the
sofas. As it chanced Bernadette was the first
person whom they saw on entering. She was
sitting just opposite the door, her dark head and
glowing face outlined like a lovely picture against
the white wall behind her.

" If you'll stay here a minute, I'll speak to her,"
said Randolph to his companion.

But, to his surprise, Cameron answered coolly,

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 137

" T scarcely think that necessary," and crossed the
room by his side. Randolph gave him a glance
compounded of surprise and vexation ; but, hav-
ing no other resource, he put a good face on the
matter, and drew him forward when they reached
Bernadette.

" Miss Arnaud," he said, " if }tou will allow me,
I should like to present a friend of mine, who — "

Here, to his utter amazement, his speech was
cut short. Turning her dark eyes from himself to
the friend in question, Miss Arnaud suddenly gave
a cry, and sprang to her feet with both hands ex-
tended.

" Alan ! " she exclaimed, in a tone that rang
clearly through the whole room, — " O my dear,
dear Alan ! what a happiness this is ! "

It was so frankly, truly, and sweetly spoken
that the most suspicious man on earth could not
have doubted or held back from such a welcome.

CHAPTER II.

" O Alan, you bad, bad boy!' said Berna-
dette, with glowing eyes. " Tell me all about
yourself, and what you have been doing this long
while."

She spoke thus after the first shock of unex-
pected meeting was over ; after the first inarticu-
late words between tears and laughter had been
spent; after she had taken him triumphantly to
her grandfather, who received him cordially ; and
after she had then brought him back to an un-
occupied sofa and bade him consider himself her
captive for the evening.

Never was captive more resigned to slavery
than Alan, as he looked at the tender lights chas-
ing one another over the winsome face which had
been absent from his sight so long. The aroma
of elegance and wealth about her did not daunt
him as he had sometimes feared it might. She
was as ever a fairy princess, whom every adorn-
ment of art and luxury became well ; but she was
also his Bernadette, — no young lady fashioned
after cut-and-dried models, but the same gentle
maiden, with the same innocent smile and the
same frank, tender eyes he knew so well.

" Bernadette ! ' he cried, incredulous almost of
(138)

A LITTLE MAID OF AKCADY. 139

what he saw, " how is it that you have kept so
like what you were? I should have known you
anywhere in the world. You are the same — the
very same, almost — that you used to be ! '

" Am I ? " said Bernadette, looking up at him
with her soft, dark eyes. "I am glad of that,
Alan, — very glad. But you are changed— oh, so
much! What have you been doing to your-
self?"

" Only growing into a man, dear," -answered
Alan, smiling. " Seven years — ah, Bernadette,
seven long years — might well change both of
us!"

" But vou acknowledge that I am not changed."

" Only by having grown into a peri," said he,
smiling as he glanced from her fair face to the
fresh ball dress, and neck and arms white and
dazzling as satin.

After this he told her all the events of the past
seven years, — all the study and labor which had
brought about the change she saw in himself.
She was full of inquiries about this, and after a
while about the old home. She seemed disap-
pointed to hear that he had not seen the latter
since that autumn in which she left.

" What would have taken me back ? " he asked.
"We could none of us bear the place after you
were gone. This is the first time I have been
near it since we went away. But it was a good
move for father and mother," he added. "They

140 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

are much happier in the old country, among their
friends and kindred. I could never have left
them had they stayed here."

" I wonder you can leave them now," said
Bernadette. " They must be lonely — poor father
and mother ! — without either of us. And how is
it you do not prefer to live in Scotland ? Do you
remember all our childish dreams and plans of
going there when we grew up ? "

" The old country is very beautiful," said Alan,
" and full of attractions of all kinds. But it is
made for the rich. America is the best place to
work. For that reason I came back."

" And, oh, I am so proud of you, Alan, — so
proud of all you have done!" cried Bernadette,
with shining eyes. " Tell me all about your
work."

He told her something of it, growing animated
over the particulars she demanded. There was so
much of which to talk, and Bernadette was so
unaffectedly happy in his society, that it was no
wonder he forgot time and circumstance, until at
last a slender, handsome man — in age apparent^
about thirty — entered the room, and, after glancing
round for a moment, sauntered up to them.

" I have been looking for you everywhere,
Bernadette," he said. " Why are you not dancing
to-night ? "

The familiar address made Cameron glance up
with surprise, — a surprise which was met by the

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 141

steady stare of a pair of gray eyes, evidently
regarding him with curiosity.

" I see that you haven't heard the news, Ridge-
ley," said Bernadette, gayly. " You don't know
that this is my brother, my dear brother, Alan
Cameron. And this, Alan," turning to him, "is
my cousin, Ridgeley Chesselton — the same who
found me," she added, laughing.

As may be readily imagined, this fact was any-
thing but a claim on Alan's gratitude or a pass-
port to his regard. The two young men shook
hands, and Mr. Chesselton said a few words of
well-bred commonplace, expressive of his pleas-
ure ; but there was a sort of veiled dislike in the
manner of each, not remarkable perhaps, consider-
ing their respective positions. Of the two Cam-
eron showed this feeling the more plainly, but
Chesselton felt it more strongly. " Confound the
fellow's impudence ! " he thought. " The idea of
his coming and forcing himself on Bernadette at
such a time and in such a place as this ! Her
brother indeed ! "

"I am glad to meet Mr. Cameron," he said
aloud, quite formally. " We can none of us for-
get the obligation we owe to his parents."

Then, probably by way of proving his sense of
this obligation, he sat down on the other side of
Bernadette and began talking of something that
he had just heard — some bit of watering-place
gossip, — which at another time he would quite

142 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

have scorned, but which served his purpose very
well just now. Bernadette listened because she
was interested ; but she soon woke to a knowledge
of the incivility of the proceeding, when turning
she saw Cameron's absent face.

" Oh, I forgot that you don't know anything
about these people ! ' she said, with a glance of
rebuke at her cousin. "We must introduce you
into society, Alan. Poor fellow ! having worked
so hard, you certainly need recreation ; and this
is the place for it, — isn't it, Ridgeley ? Suppose
you come now and let me present }'ou to Aunt
Alice and Fay ? I should like you to know them."

She rose in her winning way; and Alan, who
would have gone with her to the ends of the earth,
rose too and offered his arm. Ten minutes before
he would have said, " I only came here to see you,
and I don't care in the least to meet anybody
else." But it was impossible to say that with
Chesselton sitting b}r ; and, in fact, he lost all
inclination to say it now. The golden hour in
which he had found his old playmate was passed,
and within these few minutes he had realized the
immeasurable distance which separated them. It
was not so much the supercilious conduct of Ches-
selton which brought the realization home to him
as a faint glimpse of the world in which Berna-
dette lived. Poor fellow ! he knew, as by a flash
of inspiration, what a chimera he had followed
through all these seven years of Jacob-like faith-

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 143

fulness ; and, like all first fruits of the tree of good
and evil, this knowledge was very bitter.

But it was part of the dream in which he was
moving to go to the ball-room with Bernadette, to
hear the rustle of her silken train, to see the dark
curls droop on her shoulders, to watch the little
white-gloved hand lying like a bit of carved ivory
on his coat-sleeve, and to be unable to realize that
it was the same hand which had once fed the
chickens and searched for the eggs, and tumbled
the sweet-smelling hay over him in the meadow.
He felt puzzled and tantalized as by an unreality.
She was Bernadette — vet not Bernadette. The
same as of old — yet how different from the same !
She was his Bernadette when she looked up at
him with her soft, bright eyes, and called him
" Alan " ; but she was a fair, gracious, polished
girl, full of social ease and tact, when other men
thronged round her ; and Cameron felt with a sort
of despair that he might as well be in Scotland for
all the part he played in this life of hers. Still,
again, it was like a dream when he sat by Mrs.
Chesselton's side, listening to her gentle stream of
conversation, and astonishing as well as pleasing
her by the grave, quiet courtesy of his manner ;
while Bernadette's white dress went by now and
then in the circling whirl of the dance, or Miss
Chesselton came to her chaperon for a few min-
utes' rest, and while gazing at him with quick gray
eyes like her brother's — wondering eyes they were

144 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

to find Bernadette's foster-brother like this — chat-
tered her pretty high-bred nonsense, which, in spite
of its beiug nonsense, was not vapid or silly.

" What has become of Ridgeley?" she asked her
mother on one of these occasions. " Has Berna-
dette flirted with anybody or done anything else
dreadful that he has gone off to sulk? I'm posi-
tive he has not been in the ball-room this evening."

" Ridgeley is not very fond of the ball-room, as
you know, Fay," answered Mrs. Chesselton,
quietly . " I think Bernadette said she left him in
the parlor. If you want him "

"I'm not likely to want him," said Miss Ches-
selton, with a shrug of her polished shoulders.
"Do you dance, Mr. Cameron?' she went on,
looking up at the quiet, bronzed stranger, and
asking the question with the frank ease of one
who was above the suspicion of needing a partner.
" I have never tried being a wall-flower, but I
can't help thinking that it must be very stupid
work."

"It has its advantages," said Cameron, smiling,
as he leaned over the back of the young beauty's
chair and regarded at his ease the wonderful
arrangement of her golden coiffure. " Being a
spectator, one sees more of the play than the
actors do, you know."

" And is a ball-room like a play to you ? '

" I ma}r say that it is much better."

" But why ? ' asked she, with naive curiosity.

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 145

" What do you see here, for instance, besides men
and women ? "

" What do you see on any stage besides men
and women ? "

" You see tragedy and comedy on the real stage."
"And is there no tragedy or comedy here ?'
" Comedy enough, Heaven knows ! ' she an-
swered.

" And tragedy, trust me ! " added Cameron, in
a half pathetic voice, — a voice which surprised
himself and made him laugh ; for he was a genial
fellow in general, and little given to reflections on
the darker side of life. " You'd think, Miss Ches-
selton — I scarcely know what you would think,
— if I told }7ou all I find here," he went on, after
a minute. " You see, I know so little about
scenes and places of this kind. They are strange
to me ; for my life has been a laborious one from
the beginning, and it is only very lately that I
have been able to command any entrance into the
holiday world called good society."

" I am sure you are capable of obtaining many
things much more substantial," said Fay, looking
at him with bright eyes, full of sympathy for
the candor of his speech. " Good society counts
a great deal of foolish society within its fold," she
added, laughing. " I have been in it more or less
all my life, and sometimes it bores me excessively.
Sometimes I have felt as if I would give anything
10

146 A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY.

to meet with some one who had a little freshness
—a little—"

" Fay, Colonel Lester is trying to speak to you,"
said Mrs. Chesselton just here.

Colonel Lester proved to be an ill-used partner,
who had come to claim his rights ; and although
Miss Chesselton stoutly disputed them — for she
had taken a fancy to talk to Alan just then, — he
proved the justice of his claim so conclusively
bv her own ball-book that she was forced to sue-
cumb.

Perceiving no hope of a word or glance from
Bernadette, who was closely begirt by admirers,
Cameron then bade Mrs. Chesselton good-night,
acknowledging courteously her desire to see him
again, and went his way.

Bright and sweet as one portion of the evening
had been — brighter and sweeter almost than he
had dared to hope, — its close brought such a sense
of disappointment that he forgot to quarrel with
his miserable little den when he turned into it.

CHAPTER III.

After breakfast next morning, Cameron was
standing in one of the open doors of the large par-
lor, watching the throng of people who filled it,
with the absent look of one to whom they were
all alike strange and indifferent, when, much to
his surprise, Ridgeley Chesselton approached, say-
ing, after the first brief interchange of saluta-
tions, " I am very glad to meet you, Mr. Cameron.
My cousin sent me in search of you some time
ago ; but it is so hard to find any particular per-
son in this crowd that I had almost resigned all
hope of success, and expected to go back to her
with empt}' hands. Are you engaged, or can you
come with me ? She is very anxious to see

you."

Alan replied that he was not engaged — a fact
Avhich indeed was sufficiently evident, — and that
he would willingly obey the summons. They
passed, therefore, through the crowded room and
stepped out on a long gallery, or piazza, running
the whole length of the house. The view from
here was enchanting. The lovely valley was
dimpled with a thousand lights and shadows in the
sparkling sunlight of the early summer morning;
the lawn immediately in front of the house, with

(147)

148 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

its green turf and spreading shade, was bright-
ened by a glitter of well-dressed ladies, children,
nurses, groups of people, reading, talking, and flirt-
ing. The magnificent mountains were bathed to
their very summits in golden light ; the air seemed
to sparkle like crystal ; and not the least part of
the beauty rested for Cameron in the sweet face,
wuth its wealth of sun- kissed hair and liquid dark
eyes, which greeted him with such a bright smile.

He found the whole Ridgeley connection out in
force. Mr. Ridgeley in his easy-chair, with his
crutches beside him — seven years had not im-
proved his gout; Mrs. Chesselton reading the
morning papers; Fay and Bernadette surrounded
by a staff of admirers.

" You are a truant and a recreant, and — and
any other bad name you choose," said the latter,
looking up as he stopped beside her chair. " You
went away without even bidding me good-night,
and you have not come near me this morning un-
til I absolutely was obliged to send for you."

" I thought you were too busy to miss me last
night," he said ; " and as for this morning, I have
been looking for you in every direction."

"You will generally find us here after break-
fast. Fay and I agree with grandpapa in detest-
ing that crowded parlor."

" And how long do you usually stay here ? "

"Until something better offers — until, for ex-
ample, somebody asks me to go to walk."

A LITTLE MAID OF AUG AD i\ 149

"Well, suppose somebody should ask you
now?"

"I would answer that I had my hat and my
parasol in readiness," said she, lifting the first on
the point of the last, and shaking them gayly be-
fore him.

" Will you come then, or is it the thing ? You
know I am very ignorant of social manners and
customs."

"It is certainly 'the thing,' answered she,
laughing. " Of course I will come. I have so
much to say to you that I think I should have
asked you to walk if you had not asked me."

"Where are you going, Bernadette?" said
Mrs. Chesselton, looking up from her paper. "Be
sure to wear your veil, dear. This sun is dreadful
to tan the complexion."

That was all the notice taken of them as they
rose and left the group; but at a little distance
they met Ridgeiey, who, seeing Bernadette in
readiness for a walk, looked surprised and not at
all pleased.

" Are you bound for the cottage, Bernadette?'
he asked, " If so, 111 join you. I was just think-
ing of turning my own steps in that direction."

" I am not going to the cottage," said Berna-
dette. " I am going to walk."

" Down to the spring ? "

" No : round the mountain."

" You forget that you have an engagement — a

150 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

positive engagement — for the gerinan this morn-

ing."

..

You are very kind to remember my positive
engagements," said she, evidently vexed ; " but I
shall be back in time for the german. Come,
Alan."

They descended the steps and walked some
distance before either spoke. Then Bernadette
said, petulantly :

" Riclgeley is such a trial ! I am often ashamed
of losing patience with him ; but he can be so ex-
ceedingly provoking when he tries ! He thinks
he has a sort of right of surveillance over me, yet
Heaven knows" — feelingly — "I have never given
it to him."

"Perhaps he considers himself in the light of
your discoverer," remarked her companion, smil-
ing, M and thinks that fact gives it to him."

" I owe him no gratitude on that score," said
she, with a little sigh. "I should have been
better and no doubt happier if I had stayed in the
old home. At least I am very worldly now."

"Are you?"

" Horribly so ! ' with emphasis. " If you could
know how fond I am of pleasure and admiration
and society, }'ou would despise me, Alan."

" I think not," said Alan, gravely.

" I am afraid you would," insisted Bernadette,
who evidently had a fit of compunction for sins
and shortcomings known only to her own con-

A LITTLE MAID OP ARCADY. 151

science. She looked so pretty and pensive as she
walked along, swinging her rose-lined parasol
against her skirt, that Alan could only smile.

"You are all right, Bernadette," said he. "If
I ever doubted it — if I ever felt disposed to think
hardly of the chance that took you from us, — I
should see my mistake now. You are in the place
to which you were born, and you suit it — just as
it suits you. Not like the other place," said he,
with a sort of pathetic ring in his voice, — " not
like the other place, little lassie ! "

" Ah, how like the old time that sounds ! ' said
she, looking up at him with a quick rush of tears
in her dark eyes.

"It does not do to think overmuch of those old
times," said he, absently, pulling leaves from the
bending boughs of the trees that arched over
them as they strolled slowly along ; " at least not
for me. I would not change things if I could —
no, not for anything, since Fve seen you living
your life and happy in it. But still I can't help
thinking of the days when nobody in the wide
world had a better right to you than — than we
had."

"Who has a better right now?' asked she
quickly. "Who could have a better right than
those but for whom I might be a wretched waif,
astray in the world, at this time ? You don't
know how often I think of it," she went on, —
"how often I fancy myself again the desolate

152 A LITTLE MAID OF AKCADY.

orphan child, and. try to picture what would have
become of me if the kind hearts that took me in
had been hardened by the spirit of the world to
let me go. Then what tender love and care they
gave me ! I think of it all sometimes until my
heart seems almost bursting with gratitude."

" Hearts should not burst with gratitude," said
he, smiling.

" It is with thinking how good you all were to
me, and how I can never, never do anything to
repay you ! "

" We ask no payment," he answered, almost
sternly.

" There is none possible," said she ; " and so I
have never dreamed of it."

" Yes, there is one possible," said he gently;
'•and that you have given. Your heart is un-
changed ; and how glad the}T will be to know that,
Bernadette, I can not tell you."

" Of course my heart is unchanged," said she,
almost indignantly. " There is no merit in that.
I should be a wretch, unfit to live, if I could for-
get what I owe them, or ever cease to love them.
But vou would not praise me, Alan," she added
sadly, "if }Tou knew how much I have altered in
some particulars. I promised mother before we
parted that I would always be a Catholic, and I
have kept that promise ; for I never have been
anything else, and I never can be anything else.
But I am a very poor Catholic— the poorest I think

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 158

that could be, — because I have so little oppor-
tunity, and, alas ! so little inclination, to practise
my faith as I know I ought. O Alan, if I only
loved it as I used to do ! But when I was young,
when I first went away from you all, there were
many obstacles thrown in the way of my practis-
ing it ; and so I grew careless, and now the world
gives me no time to think of such things. I am
in a constant whirl, at home and abroad ; and I
like it so much that I think I grow more worldly
every da}\"

She looked up at him with sincerity written on
her face — the same sweet, transparent face that it
had been in her childhood — and in her large dark
eyes. This was no mea culpa uttered for effect ;
no confession made on an impulse, to be forgotten
the next moment. Evidently that of which she
spoke had lain long on her mind, and Alan's
presence was enough to draw it forth. The young
man, whose own life had been so different, whose
laborious days had known nothing of the tempta-
tions of the world in which she lived, was yet, by
a certain magnetism of sympathy, able to compre-
hend something of those temptations which only
the rarest souls are able to resist. A mere glimpse
of Bernadette's life had already enabled him to see
how youth and pleasure and the wine of adulation
may intoxicate ; and thinking to himself how
little these influences had changed her, how true
the nature evidently remained, how gentle and

154 A LITTLE MAID OF AKCADY.

affectionate the heart, he was not inclined to judge
her harshly even for such forgetfulness of higher
things as she confessed.

" Perhaps you blame yourself too much," he
said. " You have been true to your faith in a
position where many would have given it up ;
and it is natural that, with the obstacles of which
you speak thrown in your way, and the kind of
life you lead, }7ou should have grown a little care-
less. At least I am sure of one thing — that /am
not sufficiently exemplary to preach to you."

Bernadette shook her head. " Don't try to de-
ceive me about yourself," she said. "I know
what you are, Alan. You would always be as
true as steel to anything you professed, — nothing
would make you swerve. But I am pleasure-
loving, and fond beyond belief of all things gay
and bright. I suppose it is my French blood,"
she ended a little mournfully, " that makes me so
frivolous. At least people say the French are
frivolous. Yet there have certainly been a great
manv French saints."

" A great many, certainly," answered Alan,
with a laugh. "You are alwa}Ts gay and light-
hearted, Bernadette ; but I don't call that frivo-
lous. And as for loving pleasure, why Ave all
love it — when we can get it. Only we shouldn't
let it make us forget better things, such as our
duty or our work. You'll not let it make

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 155

you forget the greatest duty of all, when you
come to think. I am sure of that."

w' Don't be too sure, Alan. You think too well
of me," said Bernadette, again shaking her head.

But it is pleasant to be thought well of, and
more of an incentive to better things than many
stern censors believe. To tell a man that he is
worthless is to go very far toward making him so;
and the same is true of a woman. Although she
knew in her own conscience that Alan judged her
too leniently, Bernadette felt comforted, and re-
solved to prove herself worthy of this kind and leni-
ent judgment. Gay, pleasure-loving, frivolous as
she perhaps had truly called herself, Alan was right
so far, that the heart underneath was sound and
true and faithful to its early affections. All the
sweet, wild freshness and peace of that secluded
yet happy life of her childhood seemed to return
to her spirit as she listened to Alan's talk, and re-
called with him a hundred memories of those
early days ; while his quiet, direct simplicity, his
sincerity of speech and earnestness of thought,
made a striking contrast to the young men who
usually surrounded her.

So they wandered on around the mountain side,
dark shade arching over their heads, dimness and
greenness all about them, down far below a sunny
stretch of meadow and a bright stream dashing
along. It was one of the hours in life to which

156 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

we look back afterward and wonder if we half
appreciated the golden minutes as they passed.

They returned to the hotel in time for the ger-
man ; but it was a very close thing indeed. The
baud was pealing away at a galop when the}* ap-
proached ; and at the ball-room door the}7 met a
young man with rather a blank look on his face,
talking to Chesselton.

" Oh, here she is ! " said he, breaking off sud-
denly as he caught sight of the young girl. " I
had almost given you up, Miss Arnaud," he went
on, advancing toward her ; " especially since
Ridgeley told me you had gone out on the mount-
ain."

" But I told Ridgeley that I would certainly be
bask in time," said she, with a quick little flash of
vexation at her cousin.

He shrugged his shoulders slightly.

" From an extended experience of your sex in
general, and yourself in particular. Bernadette, I
did not place very implicit confidence in the
assertion."

;; But you see I am back."

" Yes, I see it," he answered, as he walked
away.

This little interchange of pleasantry puzzled
Alan, when, having surrendered Bernadette to
her partner, he walked away. It was very evi-
dent in what manner Chesselton cared for his
cousin, but how she cared for him was a different

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 157

matter. Was this petulant irritation purely what
it seemed, the outbreak of irrepressible impatience
at his surveillance, or was it the sign of love, a
sign older far than the days of Beatrice and Ben-
edick ? This doubt was the problem which occu-
pied his leisure moments for the remainder of the
morning.

When the german was over, Bernadette, es-
corted by her partner, went her way over the sun-
lit lawn to her aunt's cottage. On the piazza
thereof she found her cousin smoking. Having
parted with her companion, she ascended the
steps and was about to pass by without any other
salutation than "Has Fay gone in, liidgeley ? "
when to her surprise he rose and stopped her.

" I suppose you are not too tired to sit down
for a short while, Bernadette ? " he said. " I have
something to say to you."

" I am very tired," said Bernadette, in the tone
of one anxious to escape an impending ordeal of
an unpleasant nature.

"Very well," he answered coldly, and turned
away.

"Oh, dear!" thought Bernadette, "now I have
offended him ! "

Moved by compunction, she hesitated a moment,
then came forward and sat down on a vacant
chair near him, untying the strings of her hat as
she did so.

"The german is very exhausting," she said;

158 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

" but I believe it is cooler here where one gets a
breeze than in the cottage." She paused a mo-
ment. " Did you want to speak to me, Ridgeley ? "

" I thought you were too tired for anything so
unpleasant, Bernadette."

" I did not say that it was unpleasant," she re-
torted, with indignant inconsistency.

" You said you were tired, and your tone im-
plied the rest."

" I am resting now, however."

" And ready to hear me ? "

"Yes" — she winced a little though, — "ready to
hear you."

"Very well," said he, curtly. "At least I can
promise not to detain you very long."

"Something dreadful is coming ! " thought she,
aghast.

It did not come immediately, however. Mr.
Chesselton knocked the ashes off his cigar, threw
the cigar awa}', and finally leaned back in his
chair, looking ver}^ pale and determined before he
said a word. Then, raising his eyes to Berna-
dette's face, from which the flush of the german
had not yet died away, he spoke abruptly :

" Bernadette, how much longer is this sort of
thing to go on ? "

" What sort of thing ? " asked Bernadette,
twisting one of her hat strings round her finger,
and absently watching the band as they crossed
the lawn with their instruments in their hands.

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 159

" You know very well what sort of thing I
mean," he answered, almost sternly. " Why
should you pretend to misunderstand me ? Ber-
nadette, are you engaged to me or are you not?"

" Decidedly I am not," she answered, with ris-
ing color and sparkling eyes.

" Will you tell me, then, what it was that you
were pleased to promise me four months ago? '

The coldness of his tone stung her into indigna-
tion .

" Since grandpapa and Aunt Alice and — and
yourself were all anxious that I should marry you,
I promised to try and think of it," she replied,
almost defiantly.

Her words stung him in turn. The mounting
color and the hasty action with which he bit his
lips proved as much.

" You are very kind to place my wishes in the
same category with those of my grandfather and
mother," he said. "I fancied, however, that the
compact was a little more binding in its nature
than you define it. But such as it was, I was
willing to risk everything on it. I have loved
you too long and too well, Bernadette, not to be
willing to sacrifice even my pride to win your
love — if it was to be won."

" You love me better than I deserve, Ridgeley,"
she said. " You think me very perverse, but I — I
know that."

"It does not teach you to regard my wishes."

160 A LITTLE MAID OF AllCADY.

" Only love would teach me that."

She spoke on an impulse; and she was sorry for
having yielded to it when she saw how pale he
became, how deeply her words seemed to hurt
him .

" You are candid at least," he said.

" Forgive me, Ridgeley ! " she cried, penitently.
" I — I am al\va}7s saying something which I have
cause to regret. Of course I love you."

" Yes," said he, bitterly, " as you love Fay per-
haps. But that is not the kind of love I want.
You know that yourself, and you were right in
saying that you have not got it for me. It cer-
tainly would teach you some regard for my wishes
if you had."

11 1 don't think any amount of love would teach
me to let you dictate every act of my life,", said
she, a little hotly.

" That is because you don't know anything
about it," he answered.

There was a pause after this, — a pause which
lasted so long that Bernadette looked curiously at
her cousin. Only his profile, a very handsome
and clearly-cut one, was turned toward her; but
there was such an expression of pain in his eyes
that it went to her heart.

" Ridgeley," she said, quickly, " why can't you
be a little reasonable ? Why are you vexed be-
cause I am glad to see Alan ? "

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 161

" Have I said a word about Alan, as you call
him ? " asked he, flushing.

" I know very well that that is what is the mat-
ter," she answered. " You were vexed last night,
you are vexed to-day ; and I think," waxing quite
warm, "that it is the most unreasonable thing I
ever heard, and — if you care anything about me —
the most ungrateful ! "

" I am as grateful as you could possibly desire
to this young man's parents," he said, coldly; "but
I can not see that any excess of gratitude is
necessary toward himself. And really I must say
that I consider your effusive manner to him not
only very absurd, but also very improper. It is
calculated to attract a great deal of attention, to
provoke a great deal of unpleasant comment, and
to give him a very mistaken idea of his own im-
portance."

" That will do ! " said Bernadette, rising, with
flashing eyes. " I don't think I ever knew you so
disagreeable before in my life. And that is say-
ing a very great deal."

With this she swept majestically into the cot-
tage, leaving him to his meditations, and another
cigar if he chose to light it.
11

CHAPTER IV.

Theee were many indications after this that
told Alan the position of affairs between Berna-
dette and her cousin. At least he saw very plainly
Chesselton's attitude, but Bernadette's puzzled
him. Did the girl care for her cousin as that
cousin evidently cared for her, or did she not? It
was a question as difficult for the looker-on to an-
swer as for the man who was himself so vitally
concerned in it. And }ret this looker-on brought
to its consideration an interest as close and as
keen as that of the other — perhaps, indeed, more
so ; for, as we are well aware, consideration of
self blinds the judgment, while unselfishness clears
it. Now, Chesseltou thought only of himself and
his own wishes, whereas Cameron thought first,
and it might almost be said solely, of Berna-
dette and Bernadette's happiness. The dream
which he had cherished for seven years of himself
making that happiness, seemed now only a thing
at which to sadly smile. Day by day he realized
more clearly the fallacy of his hopes. He had
been mad indeed, he thought, to dream that this
radiant princess would ever leave the gala world
in which she shone, to go back to the plain,
homely life of her childhood, from which she had
(162)

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 163

escaped as a humming-bird might escape from
darkness to glowing sunshine, to vivifying warmth
and odorous flowers. No : she was where she be-
longed, and he would make no hopeless effort to
take her away; but he would like to be sure that
her happiness was secure, so far as earthly happi-
ness may be secure, before he left her again — this
time probably forever.

But was Ridgeley Chesselton the man to secure
that happiness? Of this he had many doubts.
He tried honestly not to be prejudiced by the con-
duct of that gentleman toward himself; for he
knew that the dislike and distrust, the cold, al-
most insolent, disapproval which Chesselton's
manner evinced, was dictated hj jealousy— jealousy
of the young girl's frankly-displayed affection for the
companion of her childhood, of the associations of
that childhood, and especially (though he might
have scorned to acknowledge it) of Alan Cameron
as a man with possible aspirations like his own.
But Alan, with a quiet dignity that took no heed
of incivility, put Mr. Chesselton's slights aside,
and only asked himself with growing solicitude
if this was the man to make Bernadette happy,
and — more than that — to bring out what was best
in her character, as every human association, but
especially that of marriage, must do, or else be
judged unworthy? To answer seemed as yet im-
possible. He must wait, at whatever cost to him-
self, and see.

164 A LITTLE MAID OF A.RCADY.

It did not occur to him to consider what he
could do in the case of a negative answer. Could
he hope that if Bernadette was under the influ-
ence of a passion which is proverbially deaf to
reason, she would listen to him should he advise
her against it ? This question he did not ask.
He had a brother's right — the right of old associa-
tion and love — to warn her should he see her
about to make a great mistake ; and that right he
would exercise, even if nothing but sorrow to him-
self came of it.

None of Bernadette's relatives except Chessel-
ton exhibited the least superciliousness of manner
toward him. It was true that one of them took
much notice of him ; but, then, in the whirl of
watering-place life, there was not a great deal of
opportunity for such notice, especially since Alan
scrupulously abstained from obtruding himself
upon them. In their gay set he felt very much
out of place, as a man not brought up in a certain
social atmosphere always feels, no matter what
his abilities or success in life may be. He was
content to see Bernadette now and then in some
quiet corner apart, where they could talk, away
from the throng that constantly surrounded her.
But these occasions were rare, for the demands
upon her time were many ; and they became more
rare as the first novelty of his appearance wore
off. It was not that she neglected him, or failed
to give him the brightest and sweetest of welcomes

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 165

when he approached her ; but she had seldom a
minute to spare for him alone. Had he been con-
tent to take his place among the gilded youth who
fluttered constantly around her, he might have
gained a fair share of her attention ; but that he
was as unable to do as to make himself over again
in their mould.

He made no complaint of what he recognized
more and more to be a natural state of affairs ; but
Bernadette's heart smote her now and again, when
she caught glimpses of him in the background, as
it were, of her gaj life. She would see his face
in the ball-room door watching her as she swept
by in the circling throng of dancers; or catch a
glimpse of him in some group of quiet, profes-
sional men in a corner of the wide piazzas, as she
passed with her attendant court of cavaliers ; or
met him strolling along the woodland paths that
surrounded the Springs, while she rode by with
some gay equestrian party. If he had ever found
fault with her, she would have been quick to
justify herself; but there was never a trace of in-
jury in his tone or manner. Xo matter how
much she neglected him — and that was what she
called it to herself, — there was always the same
kindness in the eyes that looked at her, the same
tenderness and indulgence in manner and speech.
The Alan of old had been prone to find fault, a^
most brothers are ; but this was a new and dif-
ferent Alan, whom she felt sometimes as if she

166 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

did not know. Where had he gained the quiet
dignity that set a seal of distinction upon him — as
true and unaffected dignity always does,— or the
patience and tolerance, which were virtues that
had not been conspicuous in the Alan of old ?

" How good he is ! "' she said to herself, when
he drew aside one day on one of the woodland
ways already mentioned to let her ride by, and
gave her a smile that warmed her heart like sun-
shine, so full was it of affection and pleasure in
her pleasure. " He does not seem to think of
himself at all. What a beautiful thing unselfish-
ness is ! I wonder what Ridgeley would say and
do if he were in Alan's place, — if he had crossed
the continent to see an ungrateful, frivolous little
wretch, who hardly gives him a minute of her
time ? It would be a fine scowl she would get
from him, instead of such a smile as that."

Perhaps it was the further reflection that if un-
selfishness is a beautiful thing — the most beauti-
ful given to our contemplation here on earth, —
the converse of the proposition certainly holds
good, inasmuch as there is nothing so hideous as
selfishness, which made Bernadette that evening
give Alan a little more of her society than he had
recently enjoyed.

" Come over to the cottage," she said, as he
paused at their table on leaving the dining-room
to ask if she had enjoyed her ride. " I am a little

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 167

tired, so I think of not going to the ball-room to-
night— "

44 O Bernadette ! — and all your engagements ? '
interrupted Fay.

Bernadette made a gesture siginTying that she
regarded the engagements as of less than no im-
portance.

44 You can tell everybody that I am tired,*' she
answered. 4; I shall spend the evening at the cot-
tage. You'll come over, Alan, — will you not ? '

44 I'll be delighted," said Alan, who really felt
delighted at such an unexpected opportunity; for
although he had spoken truly when he told Berna-
dette once or twice that he liked to see her enjoy-
ing herself in the ball-room, the undisputed belle
and beauty of the scene, it must be admitted that
it was a species of enjoyment that had in it a
very distinct flavor of loneliness for himself.

Miss Chesselton looked meditatively after him
as he walked away.

44 Fate has certainly elected to spoil you, Berna-
dette," she remarked, pleasantly. 44I know no
woman who has so many willing slaves. This
foster-brother of yours, or whatever you call him,
is like all the rest : thankful for such crumbs of
notice as it pleases you to vouchsafe him, and
without the spirit of a muuse when 3*011 neglect
him. Did they all treat you that way in the ideal
farm-house of Arcadia in which you used to
live, and where you were so happy ? "

168 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

" They treated me a hundred times better than
I deserved," said Bernadette, emphatically.
" Don't ever laugh at that farm-house, or the peo-
ple that lived in it, Fay, if you don't wish that
you and I should quarrel."

" Why should I laugh ? ' asked Fay, opening
her pretty eyes. "I quite envy you the experi-
ence of a genuine bit of romance in your life — so
different from the rest of us commonplace girls.
And as for your — well," catching a glance from
her mother, " Mr. Cameron, I like him exceed-
ingly. He, too, has evidently come from Arcadia ;
for he is very unlike other men — I mean the men
we know. But T find the difference refreshing,
and himself quite agreeable. In your place, I
should be tempted to give him a little more time
and attention."

" FajT," interposed her grandfather, " I am sorry
to see that }rou have not yet corrected your habit
of talking very heedlessly."

But, heedless or not, Fay's words remained in
Bernadette's mind, and added to the self-reproach
already there. So when Alan came up the steps
which led to the cottage, he discerned by the soft
light of the stars a white -clad figure reclining in
a low easy-chair on the vernada, and he was met
with a warmth of welcome which made his heart
beat with pleasure.

" I am so glad to see you ! ' Bernadette said.
" I feel as if I had only had a bowing acquaint-

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC ADV. 169

ance with you for the last few days. See, here is
a chair I have placed for you just opposite mine.
Sit down and let us be comfortable."

Alan obeyed very gladly. This was more than
comfort, it was delight, to be here alone with
Bernadette, under the lovely stars, with the solemn
mountains they had once known so well rising in
massive forms against the sky ; no crowd sur-
rounding them, no glaring lights, no crash of
orchestra in their ears. At this distance, the
great, illuminated hotel in the centre of the valley
looked like a fairy palace, out of which issued no
sound save the subdued strains of music, coming
in fitful waves of melody on the soft night
breeze.

"Now," said Bernadette, boldly and shame-
lessly carrying the war into Africa, " what have
you meant by neglecting me so lately? "

Astonished for a moment bv this most unex-
pected question, Alan could not then restrain a
laugh.

" Have I neglected you ? " he asked in turn.
" Well, really, Bernadette, it has seemed to me — "

"That I have neglected you, no doubt," said
Bernadette, in an injured tone. " That is how un-
reasonable men are ! Is not a girl obliged to ac-
cept the society of men who seek her? She can
not go in search of them. If you cared to see
more of me, why have not you come like the
rest ? "

170 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

"Because," answered Alan, quietly, " there is
no pleasure to me in seeing you in that way — in
sharing your society with a dozen or so others. I
have not said that you have neglected me — I have
not thought so for a moment. It is very natural
that you should not have much time to give to
me, unless I claimed it in a manner like others.
Don't fret over any idea that I can't understand ;
and, above all, don't think that I came here to be
an embarrassment to you. I came to — to satisfy
myself about your life and that you are happy in
it. And now that I am satisfied, I can go away
with a lighter heart."

" Alan, you are too good ! " said Bernadette,
with some thing like a sob in her voice. " You
make me ashamed. But perhaps I am not so happy
as you think," she added, in a lower voice, and as
if the impulse to speak was too strong for her.

Alan started. " It would be strange if I did not
think so," he said. " You seem so gay, so light-
hearted — "

" Oh, so I am ! " she interrupted. " Did I not
tell you I was frivolous ? I can not rest content
with sad thoughts, if it is possible to throw them off.
I like gayety and brightness ; and when I seem
light-hearted, I am so ; but, all the same, I am not
happy."

" Why not, Bernadette ? " asked Alan, earnestly.
" Tell me, my dear — little sister ! There is noth-

A LITTLE MAID OF ABCADY. 171

ing in life dearer to me than your happiness, and
I would do anything to secure it. Tell me."

"It is about — Ridgeley," Bernadette began —
when she suddenly stopped short almost with a
gasp ; for at this moment a tall, dark figure came
along the walk below the cottage, and, ascending
the steps in the light of the doorway, proved to be
Ridgeley Chesselton himself.

"Are you there, Bernadette ! " he said, peering
into the gloom.

" Yes," she answered : " I am here with Alan.
What do you want ? "

"Nothing much," he replied, sitting down in a
vacant chair, without any acknowledgment of
Cameron's presence. " Only — why are you not in
the ball-room? "

" You heard me say that I was tired and not
going to-night. There is no law compelling one
to go to the ball-room whether one likes it or not."

" Certainly there is no law," he said ; " but there
are apt to be many inquiries and conjectures when
a young lady who has heretofore been so unfailing
in her attendance stays away without cause."

" There is cause. I have said that I am tired.
And if there were no cause, it is nobody's busi-
ness but my own. I will not be dictated to,
Ridgeley."

"Nor advised, apparently," he said, with great
coolness. "But I should think that you at least
have sufficient knowledge of the customs of good

172 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

society to be aware that a young lady so conspic-
uous as yourself can not be absent from the places
where she is usually seen for a whole evening, and
spend it tete-a-tete with one person, without the fact
being remarked."

"It Avould be remarked by no one except your-
self,'' said Bernadette, who was by this time in a
towering rage. " You are insulting both to me
and to Alan. I am ashamed of you,— ashamed
that you can forget yourself so far ! "

" It is you who seem to have forgotten a good
many things lately," said Chesselton, with an out-
ward calmness which did not conceal the fact that
he was as angry as herself. " As for insults — Mr.
Cameron," turning toward him for the first time,
"is at liberty to judge whether or not I insult him
by saying that a gentleman does not take advan-
tage of a foolish girl's folly to make her the sub-
ject of unpleasant remark."

" Bernadette," said Alan quietly, without tak-
ing the least notice of Chesselton's speech, "you
observed a few minutes ago that a man who desires
the society of a young lady should seek it. That
is very true ; so if you have no other engagement
to-morrow morning, will }tou take a walk with
me?"

"Of coarse I will," replied Bernadette. "But
don't go now, Alan. Stay and let us have our
talk,— I have seen so little of you lately. You"
turning suddenly to Chesselton, " can go when-

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 173

ever you like. You will neither induce me to go
to the ball-room nor to speak to you again to-
night."

" Many thanks for the kind permission," he an-
swered, sarcastically. " But, as it chances, I prefer
to remain here."

" Then good-night, Alan ! " said Bernadette, ris-
ing abruptly. " You have been treated with
shameful rudeness ; but I beg you to believe that
my grandfather would be as sorry as I am for it,
if he knew it."

" There is nothing to be sorry for on my occount,
Bernadette," replied Alan, with the same quiet-
ness as before. " Remember to-morrow morning.
I will meet you in the parlor of the hotel after
breakfast. Good-night ! "

He pressed the little hand that clasped his al-
most convulsively ; and then, without noticing
Chesselton's presence, left the veranda and walked
away, with a heavier heart than he would have
imagined possible half an hour earlier.

CHAPTER V.

It was the next morning that Mr. Chesselton
said to his mother : " I don't see how you can
stand the manner that fellow Cameron assumes
toward Bernadette. It is presuming in the ex-
treme, and must excite a great deal of attention.
Last night she absolutehT stayed over here for the
purpose of talking to him. I wonder you toler-
ate it."

u What can I do? " asked Mrs. Chesselton, who
had heard Bernadette's indignant report of the
occurrence of the night before, but knew well that
remonstrance with Ridgeley was useless.

They were seated on the same veranda where
the disagreeable little scene had taken place ; the
beautiful valley lay before them, bathed in sun-
light and brilliant with the gay life that filled it.
Mrs. Chesselton, in a morning negligee of softest
white lawn and pale mauve ribbons, leaning back
in the same low chair which Bernadette had occu-
pied the night before, was a picture of refined,
delicate beauty. Her slender hands, loaded with
sparkling rings, held an open newspaper ; but her
ej'es, as she answered her son, wondered, with a
disturbed look in them, to the serene mountain
summits that rose against the skjr into the fine,
(174)

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 175

clear region of the upper air. Perhaps she was
thinking of the repose that lay upon them, — that
repose which is so far from even the most prosper-
ous life in the world below.

" You must remember," she went on after a mo-
ment, " that Bernadette and this young man spent
ten years of their lives together as brother and sis-
ter. We can not ignore that fact ; and to ask her
to ignore it uould be as unreasonable as to forget
all that she owes to his parents would be ungrate-
ful. I confess that I should be glad if he had
chosen another time and place for presenting him-
self. But, after all, he is much less impossible in
appearance and manners than might have been ex-
pected ; while the fact that Bernadette treats him
with such frank familiarity is very reassuring. Be
satisfied to tolerate him, my dear Ridgeley, so long
as he shows no signs of being more than the
adopted brother.

" And do you really think he is only that? " de-
manded Ridgeley, scornfully. " You have less
penetration than I gave you credit for. In the*
first place, let me tell you that no man — woman, I
say — could possibly fail to fall in love with Berna-
dette if thrown closely with her. She is made to
win hearts. Why ? I can not tell you. Who
can tell these things? But there is an attraction
about her that more beautiful women lack, — some-
thing individual, enthralling, not to be defined.
And this man loves her. I have seen it in his face.

176 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

Don't deceive yourself with any ideas of fraternal
regard on his part. I know of what I speak."

"Even if it is so," said Mrs. Chesselton, after a
short pause, " what then ? His feelings do not
concern us. And of Bernadette's I am sure."

" It is more than I am, then," said her son, bit-
terly. " She is expert in keeping one in doubt ; a
seasoned coquette of twice her age could not man-
age it better. I have positively no assurance that
she cares for me at all.

" I am certain that she does, Ridgeley ; but you
must have patience. Remember she is so young.
And }'ou demand too much. I can see that 3^011
fret her. And believe me it is not well to treat
this young Cameron so — well, coldly. Bernadette
resents it ; and — and you do not wish it to be
thought that you fear him ? "

Quiet as they were, the last words were very
significant, and the blood leaped quickly to Ches-
selton's face.

" Afraid !" he repeated, haughtily. "Do you
suppose I imagine that Bernadette would really
think of the man as a suitor ? "

" No," replied his mother. " Neither of us im-
agine for a moment that she would. And the best
way to show that we have no such suspicion is not
to give him a fictitious importance by anything
that he or she could construe into fear of it, but to
tolerate his presence with courtesy until he pleases
to relieve us of it."

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 177

" His assurance is intolerable ! " said Chesselton,
with angry remembrance of the scene of the night
before — when Alan's manner had placed him so
entirely at a disadvantage.

"It may be," said the lady; "though I confess
I have seen no signs of it. But what do you gain
by treating him with rudeness ? That is snobbish
— forgive me if I must say so, — and to insult and
quarrel with him would be worse than foolish.
Will it win Bernaclette's heart to wound her in her
tenderest susceptibilities? You know howdeeplv
she feels on one or two subjects — these Camerons
and her religion chiefly, — and you should never, if
you wish her to care for you, antagonize her on
those points. Oh, when will men learn," cried
she, in the tone of one suddenly losing patience,
" that it is kindness which wins women's hearts
more than anything else on earth? We are more
grateful for it — for simple kindness — than for pas-
sionate devotion or homage or anything of the
kind. But how few of you seem to know this !
Here is your case, for instance. You would be
willing to incur any danger for Bernadette, make
any costly sacrifice to please her ; but you can not
be kind, merely kind, in a matter wdiere she would
feel it most. How strange it is ! *

It was so seldom that Mrs. Chesselton ever be-
came excited, or expressed herself on any subject
with anything approaching to vehemence, that her
12

178 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

son was startled. He looked at her with surprise,
then said :

" Why, ma mire, you become didactic ! But I
suppose you are right. Men are, generally speak-
ing, fools in their conduct toward women; and I,"
ruefully, "have no doubt been a particularly great
fool. I ought not to have interfered last night.
Bernadette is very much exasperated against me,
and I suppose I must apologize to her."

" I certainly think it necessary," said his mother,
with decision. " She is indeed very much wounded,
and I do not wonder."

In point of fact, Bernadette was more incensed
than wounded; and when she found herself alone
with Alan — when they left the hotel and its
throngs of people behind, and were walking along
the quiet mountain paths, — she hastened to relieve
her overcharged feelings by expression.

" Alan," she said, " I have never been so angry
in my life as I was last night, and 1 do not know
how to apologize to you for the shameful rudeness
to which you were subjected."

" And why should you apologize to me at all ? "
asked Alan. " I was sorry for your sake that your
cousin behaved so rudelv ; for I knew that it
would annoy you exceedingly. But, believe me,
he has no power to annoy me. Why should he
have? He is absolutely nothing to me— unless,"
and his voice changed here as if from a sudden

A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY. 179

thought, " he is something more than your cousin
to you."

" He desires to be more," replied Bernadette.
" It was of that I was about to speak to you last
night when he interrupted us."

" Well, he can not interrupt us here," said Alan;
" so you can tell me all that you would have said
then. See, here is a pleasant seat. Let us rest a
while."

They sat down on one of the rustic benches
placed at intervals for the benefit of wanderers in
this sylvan paradise. The verdure-clad mountain
side rose steeply behind them ; along the shade-
flecked road in front, strolling couples passed now
and then, generally their heads close together un-
der the lady's parasol ; and beyond, through the
stems of the trees that edged the precipice, were
enchanting glimpses of the sunny meadow far be-
low, where men were at work making hay.

Bernadette looked at the picture for a time
with wistful eyes.

" How such scenes as that— how all this country
makes me think of the dear old home ! " she said.
" Alan, I sometimes feel as if it were all a mas-
querade, a play, the life I lead now; and as if
the only real life I had ever known was that sim-
ple but oh so happy life that we once led among
these hills! Ridgeley used to call me a little maid
of Arcadia, because he said the stamp of that
life would always be upon me ; and I think he was

180 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

right. It is said that one with gypsy blood can
never be civilized so that he will not break away
sometimes from all social restraints, and go off to
wander over hill and dale, and sleep under the
stars. I have something of the same desire. When
I found myself once more among the great hills
— and how often I dreamed of them in the years
I was far away ! — I felt as if they called me, as if
I wanted to go and bury myself in the wild, fresh,
green solitudes we know so well ; to lie down
among the ferns, to find the crystal streams where
they rise, and to breathe once more the air of
the high summits. I think I am half a dryad,"
she ended smiling. " They should have called
me Sylvia,"

"I have the same feelings," said Alan, filling
his lungs as he spoke with a deep draught of the
mountain air they both loved. "But then, I am
of highland blood, and all my ancestors have loved
the hills. It is natural enough in me ; but you
— I am glad you still think of the old life so ten-
derly, Bernadette. But if you went back to it
now, you would soon weary of it."

"That shows how little you know me," said
Bernadette, — " no more than the rest. I should
not weary of it, and I am sure I should be a much
better person. But there is no good in discussing
it, for of course I can not go back. We can
never go back to anything in this world and
have it exactly the same. i The mill will never

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 181

grind again with the water that is past' — O Alan,
do you remember ? "

Did not Alan remember? His heart burned
within him ; he was conscious of an almost over-
mastering desire to turn and say, " No we can not
bring back the past, but we can make the future
even better. Come, let us go together to the
Arcadia of our vouth. We can find it if we en-
ter by the gate of love.

But he resisted the temptation. He would not
take advantage of the softening memories of that
past which her loyal heart cherished so tenderly,
and but for his association with which (so he said
to himself humbly) she would give no thought of
an}^ kind to him. No : his business here was to
do anything, all things, that lay in his power for
her happiness ; but that happiness could never be
gained, he was sure, by taking her away from the
brilliant life that opened before her.

" I remember well, Bernadette," he answered, a
little sadly. " Nothing is more true. We can
never bring back the old happy days of our child-
hood ; but I am very grateful for their memory,
and more grateful yet to find you still so full of
affection for the things of the past. But this is
not what we came here to speak of. Tell me — for
I am very anxious to know — how matters stand
between your cousin and yourself."

"They stand this way," said Bernadette, look-
ing down and tracing figures with the point of her

182 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

parasol on the soil before her : " Ridgeley thinks
that I am engaged to him, but I am not."

" How can he possibly think so if you are
not?" asked Alan, conscious of a painful constric-
tion in the region of his heart. " Men do not
make such mistakes with out cause."

" No doubt you will think it is my fault," said
the young girl, looking up with a suspicious liquid-
ness in her eyes. " It is sometime now since he
told me that he wanted to marry me ; and grand-
papa and Aunt \lice were very anxious for it also.
And — and I told him that I would try and think
of it. I never said anv more than that, indeed.
Yet now he is angry and jealous, and calls me the
worst possible coquette because I say that I am
not engaged to him. Should you think such a
promise as that constituted an engagement ? "

"Certainlv not," answered Alan, unable to re-
press a smile. " But probably he understood you
to mean more than you expressed. And you
must admit that to ' try and think of it' was very
indefinite. Forgive me if I say that such an-
swers are generally a mistake. A woman owes
a man perfect and unhesitating candor in such a
case as this. You do not know what he suffers
from uncertainty. And do you not know — let me
speak to you as my sister — how even a touch of
coquetry lowers her from the high standard of per-
fect womanhood."

" But I never thought of coquetry ! " protested

A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY. 183

Bernaclette, and the tears stood unmistakably in
her eyes now. "I only thought of doing what
they all wanted — if I could."

44 What 4they all wanted'!' repeated Alan.
44 Were your cousin's wishes no more to you than
those of your grandfather aud aunt? In that case
3^ou can not love him, Bernaclette."

4t I don't know," answered Bernadette. u Some-
times I think that I do ; but perhaps, as he tells
me, I don't know what love is. I know, however,
that last night I hated him ! " she said, with a sud-
den blaze in her eyes.

44 1 am sure you did not," said Alan, promptly.
44 You were only very angry with him ; and so you
are still, for that matter. Never mind last night.
Try to forget it. What I want you to find out now,
with the seriousness that befits such a question,
is whether or not you love this man well enough
to marry him for his own sake, and not because
any one else wishes you to do it." He paused for
a moment and knitted his brows in consideration,
then went on slowly ; 44 You may be able to tell in
this way. Strip him in your mind of all his ad-
vantages of wealth and social position ; fancy him
an obscure and struggling man, who offers you not
a life of brilliant ease, but one of possible hard-
ship and comparative poverty in the rough places
of the world. Would you think of sharing that
life with him? If so, Bernadette, you love him,
and love him for himself."

184 A LtTTLE MAID OF ABC AD}?.

Bernadette knitted her slender, dark brows in
turn, and sat quite silent for several minutes.
Evidently she was making the effort of fancy de-
manded of her. Presently she looked up. There
was a curious light in her eves ; but she shook
her head.

" I can not do it," she said, — " I can not
imagine Ridgeley in any other position than the
one he occupies. He simply would not be Ridge-
ley under such circumstances — and I don't know
what I would think of him. But I am sure — per-
fectly sure — of one thing, Alan : if I loved him,
the things of which you speak would not matter to
me at all."

" I am afraid that is because you do not appre-
ciate what they are," said Alan, with a sigh.
"But it is a great 'if,' Bernadette ; and you must
try to answer it, my dear. So much is demanded
of you. And now let me ask one thing more.
Have you considered that the Church forbids the
marriage of cousins ? "

"Oh, yes!' she answered, readily; "but one
can get a dispensation, if one wishes. We some-
times hear of such things, vou know."

" But should one want a dispensation to set
aside a command of the kind, without very good
reason ? And I have not heard any reason yet,
except the wishes of your family."

Bernadette looked conscience-stricken for a
moment.

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 185

" Alan," she said, " you remember that I told
you I had become a very careless Catholic. You
see now that I spoke the truth. I have hardly
given this view of the matter a thought. I did
suggest it to Ridgeley, and he said : 4Oh, Catholics
always get what they call a dispensation ! It is
very easy, I think. I have known dozens of
cases.' After that, I never thought of it again."

" Well," said Alan, " God forbid that I should
attempt to lay down your duty to you; but one
thing seems to me quite plain : if these prohibi-
tions were not intended to be binding on our
consciences, they would not have been made.
And that being so, I do not think we should pro-
pose to set them aside without a thought of their
gravity. But, of course, you have consulted your
confessor."

"No," said Bernadette. "I have consulted no-
body. As I tell you, I have not given that view
of the matter a thought. Alan, one thing I fear
is certain — that if I marry Ridgeley, I shall be-
come even a poorer Catholic than I am now.
The world is too strong for me ; and he believes
in nothing but the world."

"Then — " began Alan quickly, but checked
himself. "No," he thought resolutely, " I will
not advise her against it. I can not trust my own
motives." It was a moment before he went on,
more slowly: "Then," he said, "you must try to
find out without loss of time what is the right

186 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

thing to do ; and when you have found out, you
must do it fearlessly. You know how to find out.
I am sure you have not forgotten the old lessons
so entirely that I need to tell you that."

"No, I have not forgotten," she replied, in a
low voice. " I promise you, Alan, I will find out
— in that way."

" God will help you," he said; but his face was
very pale. " And now," he added, rising, " since
all has been said, let us go. Your friends will
think I am keeping you too long."

CHAPTER VI.

The next day was Sunday ; and Alan learned
that there would be Mass at a little chapel near
the Springs, to which a priest came now and then
for the benefit of the few Catholics in the neigh-
borhood, chiefly laborers on the railroad and ser-
vants in the hotels. He went at once to Berna-
dette with the news, and she willingly agreed to
walk to the chapel with him, a distance of about
a mile.

It was a very plain little chapel, with no ar-
tistic adornments of any kind, and the simplest
possible altar of painted wood in the tiny sanctu-
ary. But the plainness and poverty, of all things,
seemed to touch Bernaclette with a keener re-
newal of the faith of her childhood than she had
known since the days when, in just such another
church, she had knelt by her adopted mother's
side. The old scenes, the old life, the old feelings,
came back upon her with a rush, as she looked at
the altar, as expressive of poverty as the House of
Nazareth ; and then out of the open windows,
through which came the sweet mountain air, to
the solemn mountain heights beyond. Even the
appearance of the congregation — the laboring men
in their ill-fitting Sunday coats, the servant-girls

(187)

188 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

in their Sunday finery — helped to recall those past
days and that other rustic church. Save the
great Sacrifice of the Altar, there had been noth-
ing in common between that sanctuary of her
childhood and the beautiful Jesuit church of New
Orleans, with its splendid ceremonies, its elaborate
music, and its fashionable congregation, which
she had chieflj7 known in these latter years. And
then — what wonder was this !— into the sanctuaiy
stepped the priest, attired in vestments that suited
the poverty of all else ; and Bernaclette recognized
the most familiar figure of her childhood — the
priest who had baptized her, who heard her first
confession, who had laid his hand so often on her
head and bidden her never forget that she was a
Catholic. There he was, — ulder no doubt; his
shoulders somewhat bent under the burdens they
had carried for so many years ; his rugged, kind
face more deepl}T lined, but the same, absolutely
the same ! She turned and looked at Alan, her
eyes expressing at once astonishment and inquiry.

"Why, it is Father Boyd!" her glance said.
"Did you know it?"

Alan's eyes were also full of surprise, and he
shook his head. " It is the same old Father
Boyd," he whispered. "I hadn't an idea he was
still on the mission. How glad I am to see him
again ! "

" In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Sjnritus Saiicti"
said the priest's clear tones at the foot of the

A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY. 189

altar ; and with a scuffling, kicking of kneeling-
benches, and rustling of starched skirts, those of
the congregation who were not already on their
knees placed themselves in an attitude of devotion
as the Mass commenced. It was a Low Mass ;
but there was a short, practical sermon at the
Gospel, every word of which, in that familiar
voice, sank into Bernadette's heart as the most
eloquent sermons had often failed to do ; and in
the solemn portion of the Mass, when the Sacred
Host was uplifted over the bent heads of the
people, she registered a vow in the depths of that
heart, which she determined to lose no time in
fulfilling.

With one accord she and Alan said to each
other when the Mass was over: "We must go
and speak to Father Boyd." And, following the
congregation out into the open air, they made
their way to the tiny sacristy at the back of the
church. Here, however, they found that a large
proportion of those present at the Mass had pre-
ceded them, and surrounded the priest, who stood
in the open door of the little room.

" We must wait," said Bernadette, drawing
under the shade of a large tree. " How exactly
like the old time it is ! The people used to do
just this way, — don't you remember? And he
was always so patient. Alan, were you not aston-
ished to see him ? I had so little anticipation of

190 A LITTLE MATD OF ARCADY.

anything of the kind that I could hardly believe
the evidence of my eyes."

" I was amazed," answered Alan. " And yet,
after all, there is nothing very remarkable in his
being here yet. Seven years is not a very long
time."

"It seems an. age to me," said Bernadette.
" Absolutely the appearance of a ghost could not
have startled me more. I had fancied him grown
old, and dead long ago ; yet he hardly looks
changed. Do you know," she went on after a
moment's pause, 4i I feel as if he had been sent
here for me specially ? I can speak to him as to
no one else in the world ; and I mean to tell him
everything, Alan, to ask and to follow his advice.
I have promised that."

She did not say whom she had promised, but
Alan understood. "I am sure you could not do
better," he answered. " When will you speak to
him — now?"

" Oh, no : not now ! I want more attention
than he can give me now. See, he is looking this
way. Do you think he recognizes us ? '

" Of course not," replied Alan, with a laugh.
" He is wondering what such a fashionable young
lady as yourself can possibly want with him."

" Come, then, and we will let him know," she
said, walking forward over the grass.

Only one or two persons were still lingering
around the sacristy door; and Father Boyd was

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 191

listening to what tliey had to say when he became
aware of the approach of the two young people in
the background, at whom he had indeed cast one
or two curious glances. A fashionable young
lady certainly, this beautiful girl in her perfect
toilette, the very simplicity of which spoke of
wealth and taste, and her lovely face under a hat
covered with curling plumes, who advanced in
front. Yet where had he seen before such eyes
as those that smilingly met his own? And what
was there strangely familiar in that charming
countenance, with its softly-glowing tints ? Even
as he asked himself the questions, they were an-
swered.

" Father," said the young lady, coming quickly
up the steps to his side, " don't you know me ?
I am little Bernadette."

For a moment lie was too much surprised to
speak. " What Bernadette ? — our lost Berna-
dette ! " he then exclaimed, grasping her hands in
both his own. " My child, what a happiness to
see you again ! I should never have known you,
— never ! And yet I see now that you are Berna-
dette. Where do you come from ? And who is
this with you ? Not — not — "

" Alan Cameron ? — yes, Father," answered that
young man. "I can not tell you what a pleasure
it is to us to find }*ou here still."

"And your parents — your good parents ? " asked
the priest. " What of them ? "

192 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

" They are in Scotland," Alan replied. " But
I have come back to America to work my way ;
and I came here to the Springs to meet Berna-
dette, whom I have not seen before since we
parted."

" Come in both of you," said the priest, draw-
ing them into the sacristy. " Let me look at you,
and tell me all about yourselves. You," fixing
his kind but piercing eyes on Bernadette, — "are
you still a good Catholic ? "

"I am a Catholic, Father," she answered; "but
a good one — no, I can not say that. All that I
can say is that I have not given up my faith."

" That is much," he said, nodding approvingly.
"1 feared for you after you were taken away.
The danger was very great. Thank God you
have not yielded to it ! "

Bernadette looked at Alan. His glance seemed
to give her courage. " I can not take any credit
to myself, Father," she said, humbly. "I have
never felt the least temptation to renounce my
faith. If I had been tempted, I might have
yielded ; for I have certainly yielded to other
temptations. I have grown worldly, careless, in-
different—"

"Tut, tut ! " said the priest, smiling. " We are
not in the confessional. You are at least as can-
did as ever, I see. She has set you a good ex-
ample," turning suddenly upon Alan. " What
have you to accuse yourself of ? '

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 193

'; I can not imitate her candor ! " the young man
replied, smiling and shaking his head. " I must
reserve my mea culpa for the confessional. Mean-
while, Father, tell us something about yourself,
and all you have been doing in these seven years.
Or rather," with a quick recollection, " do not let
us detain you now ; for I know you are fasting.
But tell me where you are staying, that I may
come to see you later in the day."

" And I also want to see you later, if you please,
Father," said Bernadette. " But I should prefer
to see you here, if you are not staying too far
away to come back to the church again."

" I shall be back at four o'clock this afternoon,
to catechise the children and hear confessions,"
said the priest. " You can meet me here then.
And you" — to Alan — "will find me until four
o'clock at the house of a man named Kelly, near
the railway station. And now, my children, you
had better go ; for I have still my thanksgiving to
make. God bless you both ! "

There was considerable surprise in the Ridgeley
cottage that afternoon, when, in the midst of the
time sacred to siesta, Bernadette made her appear-
ance attired for a walk, and mentioned that she
was going to church again.

« Why, what singular fit of devotion has seized

you ? " said Fay, who was half asleep when the

first sign of this intention began to manifest itself

in practical action. " Go to church at this broil-

13

194 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

ing hour ! What an idea ! The influence of the
adopted brother appears to be of a religious char-
acter. I don't know when I have seen you go to
church twice in one day before."

"You don't need to remind me, Fay, that I
have neglected my religious duties shamefully,"
Bernadette replied. " But you know it is never
too late to mend. The priest who said Mass this
morning was the old priest whom I knew in my
childhood, and I told him I would come to the
church this afternoon for confession. That is why
I am going."

" I suppose he told you that you must" said
Fay. " Well, my dear, you have my sincere
sympathy. Confession no doubt is bad enough,
but a walk of a mile or two in this afternoon sun
is worse. I am glad I am not held in such a bond-
age. Good-bye ! ' And the speaker turned her
rosy face over on her pillow and straightway fell
asleep.

But Bernadette had another gauntlet to run be-
fore she was permitted to depart in peace. On
the vernada, lying back in a low, wicker chair,
smoking and lazily reading a newspaper, was
Ridgeley Chesselton. He, too, looked up with
surprise, elevating his eyebrows when he saw her.
Amicable relations had been restored between
them by an apology on his part the day before ;
but Bernadette had by no means entirely forgot-

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 195

ten or forgiven his conduct, so she was passing
him with a cool little nod when he spoke.

"What does this mean?" he asked. " Where
are you going at this hour of the afternoon ? '

"I am going to church," she answered. " I sup-
pose, like Fay, you consider it a singular taste.
But you see it is my taste, so good-bye ! "

" Stop a moment. I thought you went to church
this morning? "

" And if I did, is that any reason why I should
not go again this afternoon, if I wish to do
so?"

" No reason, of course — only you are not
usually so devout. May I ask if you are going
alone ? "

" I am going alone. Is there," with a spark of
rising anger in her glance, " anything else you
would like to know ? "

" Yes," rising to his feet. " I should like to
know if you have any objection to my accompany-
ing you. It is too long a walk for you to take
alone."

" The walk is nothing," she replied ; " and I
have a decided objection to your accompanying
me. I am going to confession, and it would dis-
turb me very much to know that you were wait-
ing for me. One prefers to be alone at such
times."

" I think you alway prefer to be alone when it
is a question of being with me," he said, bitterly.

19G A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

" I can not endure this state of affairs much
longer, Bernadette. We must have an under-
standing— final and complete."

" I agree with yon, JRidgeley," she said, with
sudden gravity and gentleness. "A final and
complete understanding is indeed necessary be-
tween us ; and I regret that the state of affairs
which tries }rou so much has been in great measure
my fault. Try to forgive me and to be patient a
little longer. After to-day we will have the un-
derstanding whenever you please."

With that she descended the steps at the top of
which she had been standing, and walked away,
leaving him too much astonished to reply. And
not only astonished. A cold foreboding of dis-
aster seemed to close upon his heart. For the first
time he faced clearly the danger of losing her.
He had been angry and jealous before, but he had
never seriously entertained the thought that she
would not in the end prove compliant to his
wishes and those of the family. But now ! It
had been a strange Bernadette who looked at him
a moment since, and spoke with such new decision
and quietness. Her manner more than her words
chilled him. He sat down again in his chair, and
stared after her as long as the last flutter of her
white dress was in sight. Then he set his teeth,
and his eyes gathered an ominous light. " If she
throws me over," he said, " I shall know whom to
thank — and hold to account ! "

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 197

Alan was not at church that afternoon, and he
did not see Bernadette again that day. She did
not come over to the hotel in the evening ; and
Fay told him that she had resisted all persuasions
to do so, preferring to remain at the cottage. " I
suppose she is meditating upon her sins,'' said
that lively young lady. " You know she went to
confession this afternoon."

Alan did not care to tell her that Bernadette
was more probably preparing for Holy Com-
munion the next morning, and unwilling to dis-
tract her mind with the frivolous gayety that
would have surrounded her at the hotel. But the
thought reconciled him to not seeing her that
night, since nothing would have induced him to
go again to the cottage and risk another scene
with Chesselton. Chance, however, satisfied him
that the latter gentleman was not himself enjoying
Bernadette's society; since he stumbled upon him
accidentally in a dark corner, with a reputedly
fascinating young widow who had arrived at the
Springs a few days before.

Early the next morning, while the sun had
hardly yet climbed over the eastern mountains,
and the air was full of the delicious freshness of
dawn in a mountain land, Alan took his way to-
ward the church; for he wanted to see Father
Boyd before Mass. He found the priest already
in the confessional ; and when he emerged from it
himself, the first person on whom his eye fell was

198 A LITTLE MAID OF AKCADY.

Bernadette, sitting near the altar. He did not
approach her until the moment of Communion,
when he went and knelt by her side at the rail, as
they had so often knelt together in their child-
hood.

They met at the door after Mass ; and each was
struck by the expression of the other's face, — by
the repose of glance and feature, by an indescrib-
able look of childhood in the aspect of uplifted
care. In truth, both had laid a weight down in
the solemn moment of Communion ; and although
in Alan's case that weight had included renuncia-
tion, he felt more tranquil than he had done for
many days ; and the fact was written on his face
and in his eyes.

" You look like yourself — you look more like
the old Alan than I have seen you yet," Berna-
dette said presently, glancing at him critically.
"As for me, I am light-hearted as a bird. I see
my way clear at last ; and, although there are
some hard things to face, it is a great happiness to
know what is right. O Alan, what a blessed thing
it is to be a Catholic ! "

CHAPTER VII.

It was that morning, as it happened, that the
plan originated in Miss Chesselton's brain — a very
fertile brain when plans for amusement were con-
cerned— of making up a party to spend a day at
Bernadette's old home. This young lady, in op-
position to her brother, had taken a great liking
for Alan Cameron, and treated him whenever he
approached her — which, indeed, was not very often
— with distinguished consideration. On the pres-
ent occasion she had stopped him as he was pass-
ing wliere she sat on the broad piazza ; and had so
offended two young men already in attendance on
her, bv devoting what thev considered an undue
share of attention to him, that they glanced at
each other and with one accord took their depart-
ure.

" I am glad they are gone," said Miss Chessel-
ton, calmly. " They were very stupid. Sit down,
Mr. Cameron. You can't leave me alone, you
know. That would be a deplorable position for
one of the belles of the Springs."

Cameron laughed as he obeyed. He liked the
frank, pretty girl, who always met him so pleas-
antly.

"I am very much honored," he answered, "that

(199)

200 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

you allow me to remain ; but as for fancying that
you are in any clanger of being left alone — if I am
not greatly mistaken, I see half a dozen men with
an eye upon this corner."

" I hope they will be satisfied with keeping an
eye on it; for just now I want to talk to 2/0?/,"
said the young lady. " I don't have an opportun-
ity of meeting you very often : and I find it quite
refreshing to talk to you, Mr. Cameron. You are
so different from most of the other men whom I
meet."

" You must remember in explanation of that,"
said Alan, " that my life and my education have
been as different as possible from theirs ; and, be-
sides, you know, my social advantages have been
too few to take into consideration at all ; so, nat-
urally, I do not know much of the small-talk of
society.

"Very small talk it is, as a general rule," said
Fay, curling her rosy lip. "I don't think you need
regret not knowing it. What I like you for is ex-
actly the fact that you don't know it, or at least
you don't use it. You absolutely talk about sen-
sible things to me a young lady who is supposed
to live on nonsense, as badly brought up children
live on bonbons. But if the men who talk such
nonsense only knew it, one grows very tired of it
and them," said she, shooting a bright, scornful
glance at some of the offenders near by ; "and, it
must be confessed, one is thankful to find a man

A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY. 201

now and then who absolutely pays one the compli-
ment of taking for granted that one has a little
brains stowed away somewhere."

" But if men habitually talk nonsense to young
ladies, is it not because thev have found that non-
sense is preferred by them?" Alan asked, with the
diffidence becoming his ignorance.

" That is the masculine view, of course," replied
Miss Chesselton. "They never talk nonsense be-
cause they happen to be fools themselves, but only
because they think women fools. I must thank
you, Mr. Cameron, for such a flattering interpre-
tation of the fact."

" You are too quick and too severe on me," said
Alan, smiling. " I did not mean to imply that, but
only "

" That they are kind enough to lower the tone
of their conversation to the supposed capacity of
the recipients," said Fay, ruthlessly. " That is
exactly what you meant, and it must be true ; for
men, when they are with men and at work in their
professions and so on, can not possibly be such ut-
ter idiots as many of them are when they are with
women. But you, Mr. Cameron," she went on,
with fine condescension, " are different. I have
said so from the first. You talk sense, and there-
fore you are refreshing. I suppose it is the influ-
ence of that old Arcadian life of yours that
makes the difference in }'Ou, as it certainly makes
a difference even yet in Bernadette. She .seems

202 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

like any other girl in society, on the surface ; but
when you get below the surface, the difference is
there."

"It would be strange if it were not," said Alan.
" The foundations of character are laid in those
years of life which Bernadette spent with us in
'what you call Arcadia, but which was only Arca-
dia inasmuch as it was a life remote from the in-
fluence of the world, — very pure, very simple,
very full of honest labor and quiet pleasure."

" I was reading the other day — for I read some-
times in the intervals of talking and listening to
nonsense," said the girl, — " that no influence
which enters into our lives is without effect upon
our character, whether we know it or not. So, of
course, you are right ; and those influences must
have affected Bernadette deeply. Do you remem-
ber the afternoon we went in force to find her? "

"I shall never forget it," answered the young
man, gravely.

"Nor I," said she. " It was like a picture or a
scene in a novel, — your father, your mother, your-
self, and all your surroundings. I had read of
such a life, but I had never had a glimpse of it
before ; and it made an indelible impression on my
mind. Do you remember how Bernadette ap-
pealed to you not to let her be taken away, and
how you answered ? I have a photograph of you
in my mind as you stood there in the doorway."

" I remember the scene as if it were yesterday,"

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 203

he replied ; "and yet how far away it seems ! It
is difficult to realize that the same Bernadette
whom we see to-day is the little girl who clung to
my mother then, and begged so passionately to be
left with her."

" She had never known any other life," said
Miss Chesselton. " Of course it would be differ-
ent now. However Arcadian she may be still,
one can not suppress a smile to think of Berna-
dette begging to be left on a mountain farm to
feed chickens and the like ! "

" The association of ideas is certainly incongru-
ous," observed the young man, following Berna-
dette with his eyes as she happened to come that
moment in sight, brilliant, radiant, attended by a
brace of devoted cavaliers.

" That old home of yours was so very prett}',"
pursued Miss Chesselton. " Do you know I should
like of all things to see it again ? I wonder if it
would be practicable ? "

" Entirely practicable," he answered. " If you
get on the train here in the morning, you will
reach Norris' Station in an hour. From thence it
is only three miles to the old farm-house."

"Three miles !" said Miss Chesselton, in sur-
prise. " Why, I thought the train passed in sight
of it ! "

" So it does ; but unfortunately trains stop only
at stations."

" True," replied she, laughing. "How, then,

204 A LITTLE MAID OF AKCADY.

could we manage to get from Norris' to the
house ? "

" Oh, arrangements could be made, no doubt, —
granting that you are not enough of a pedestrian
to walk three miles."

" Indeed I am not," said she. " Bernadette "
(as her cousin approached), " do come and listen
to what a charming plan Mr. Cameron and myself
are discussing."

Bernadette came, and was immediately enrap-
tured. It was the thing of all others she most de-
sired.

"But what will Aunt Alice say, Fay ?" she
could not help asking, doubtfully. " Do you think
she will consent ? "

" Mamma's consent depends very much upon
Ridgeley," said Miss Fay, astutely. " You must
ask him, Bernadette."

"Can't we leave him out? "said Bernadette.
" You know as well as I do that he has been very
disagreeable of late."

" Yes, I know it," answered the other, candidly;
"but I tell you it depends upon him. Neither
mamma nor grandpapa would allow us to join
such an excursion unless Ridgeley consented to
go."

Bernadette's face fell a little. She knew this
was true. " What can we do then ? " she asked.
" Flonestly, I am afraid he will never consent — es-
pecially if J ask him."

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 205

" You know best about that," said her cousin.
u I only know that he is a necessity of the plan,
— a disagreeable necessity in his present mood, if
you like, but still a necessity. We must find some
inducement for him to consent." She paused a
moment, then her face cleared brightly and she
laughed. " We will ask Mrs. Ellis to join the
party," she said. " We must have a chaperon,
you know ; and she will do as well as another.
Ridgeley has taken up his old flirtation with her
— for the purpose of annoying you, I suppose,
Bernadette, — so if she consents he will be bound
to go, or act more churlishly than he is likely to
do. Is not that a good plan ? "

" I don't know," answered Bernadette, doubt-
fully. " It does not seem to me that Mrs. Ellis'
presence will add to the pleasure of the day for
us. She is frivolous to the last degree."

w* What difference does that make if she serves
our purpose ? ' Fay inquired. " Her frivolity
will not annoy us ; for she will devote herself ex-
clusively to Ridgeley, you may be sure. But,"
said Miss Chesselton, spreading out her hands
with an air of renunciation, " I am not anxious to
ask her. If you can manage Ridgeley without
her aid, we will say no more about her."

"I can not possibly manage Ridgeley, as you
call it," said Bernadette, turning away. "You
must do as you think best. Only there will not

206 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

be much pleasure to me in seeing my old home in
such companionship."

" Now, I wonder," said Fay, looking after her
meditatively as she passed down the piazza, " if
Ridgeley's stale stratagem is going to succeed, — if
his flirtation with Mrs. Ellis is making Bernadette
jealous? It looks a little like it, doesn't it? " ap-
pealing to Alan.

He was constrained to admit to himself that it
did look a little like it ; but he evaded answering
the question by asking another.

" Who is Mrs. Ellis ? And why is she supposed
to have so much power ? "

" She is an old flame of Ridgeley's," replied Miss
Chesselton. " Seven years ago — the very summer
we found Bernadette — he fancied himself desper-
ately in love with her ; and she encouraged him, and
then threw him over to marry Mr. Ellis, who was
a very wealthy man, I believe. Now he has died,
and she is a gay widow — quite ready, apparently,
to take up the affair with Ridgeley just where she
left it off. Of course he cares nothing about her
now ; but Bernadette has provoked him, and, as I
have said, he is trying the stale stratagem to make
her jealous by devoting himself to Mrs. Ellis.
The affair may serve our purpose just at present ;
for I have quite set my heart on a day in that Ar-
cadian spot I remember so well. Leave me to pull
the strings and arrange matters, Mr. Cameron ;

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 207

and only hold yourself in readiness to accompany
us when everything is settled."

To this Alan willingly agreed ; and since a visit
to his old home with Bernadette seemed an affair
of so much social complication, he fully expected
it to end on the spot where it had begun. He was
very much surprised, therefore, when on the fol-
lowing day Fay accosted him gleefully and told
him that all was arranged.

" Mamma has consented for us to go," she re-
marked ; " Mrs. Ellis has agreed to chaperon us,
and Ridgeley has been brought to terms. We
mean to take Mr. Randolph to complete the party
—nobody else. We shall go on the morning train,
which leaves about nine o'clock — doesn't it ? —
and return on the train that arrives here about six
in the evening. That will give us a long day to
see everything "

" Only there is not anything to see," interpo-
lated Alan, smiling.

" There is a wild, lovely mountain valley, where
the world seems a thousand miles away; there are
views, fishing — don't tell me there are not trout in
that stream I remember ! — the old home for Ber-
nadette to grow sentimental over, and — and "

" The spot where her mother was killed," said
Alan, gravely.

" Oh! " the gay speaker shrank a little. " Don't
mention that! Why should we think of sad
things when thinking can do no good? We will

208 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

take a hamper of lunch, and — oh, yes, Ikneiv there
was something else ! Are you sure, Mr. Cameron,
that we can find any conveyance at the station in
which to drive to the house ? "

u There is only one way for you to find it," an-
swered Alan, smiling into the pretty face uplifted
in anxious inquiry toward his own.

And that is ?"

" For me to go over the day before and have
something in readiness for you."

" That would be delightful and very obliging of
you. Will you go to-morrow?'

"I am entirely at your command."

" Then I think it will be well if you do go to-
morrow. It is never safe to put off things, — peo-
ple are so apt to lose interest and change their
minds. Mrs. Ellis, especially, would certainly
change her mind if anything more agreeable pre-
sented itself. So let us lose no time, Mr. Cameron,
but go at once."

It was a little later in the day that Alan found
an opportunity to say to Bernadette : " Your
cousin has ordered me to go over to the old place
to-morrow, and have a conveyance in readiness
for your party at the station the day after. I sup-
pose there is not likely to be any failure in the ar-
rangements ? "

" I suppose not," she answered, a little doubt-
full}' ; " but whatever depends on the caprices of so
many is always uncertain. For myself,'1 she

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 209

added after a moment, " I hardly know whether I
care to go or not. I should like of all things to
see the old home again, if I could see it alone ;
but with all these people there will be little pleas-
ure in it."

" Very little, I fear,'' Alan agreed ; " but life is
so ordered that Ave must be content to take what
we can get, not what we would like to have. AVe
may be able to separate ourselves a little from the
rest of the party, and see some of our old haunts
together. The mill, I hear, is at present idle, and
the house unoccupied."

" I am glad of that," she said. " It would not
seem in the least like our old home to me if other
people were living in it. Well, as you say, we
must take things as we get them ; and this way of
seeing it is better than not seeing it all. So go,
dear Alan, make your arrangements ; and be sure
that if I can manage it, we shall all be there with-
out fail day after to-morrow."
14

CHAPTER VIII.

" O Mr. Cameron, I am so glad to see you ! "

It was Miss Chesselton who made this sincere
remark, as the party consisting of three ladies and
two gentlemen filed out of the train to the narrow
platform of the edifice known as Norms' Station,
and gazed rather blankly about them for a minute,
before Alan made his appearance around the cor-
ner of the building.

" We began to think we had been decoyed as
confiding victims into this cheerful locality,'" said
Randolph, laughing. " I say, Cameron, what kind
of conveyance have you got for us ? I've wager-
ed that well have to drive in a wagon without
springs, or else have recourse to that delightful
and altogether cheap line known as 4 the peoples'
express.' "

You have lust your wager, then," said Alan ;
and it serves you right for not having more con-
fidence in me. Come and see what I have got for
you."

They followed him in the direction from which
he had come, and found a comfortable spring
wagon, drawn by two stout bay horses, awaiting
them.

"Bravo!1 cried Randolph, while the ladies
(210)

U

u

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 211

gave a murmur of approval. " You are a trump,
Cameron ! I never saw such a fellow for luck,"
he went on, addressing the company. " It is the
predatory instinct of his Highland blood, I sup-
pose,— but he always succeeds in a foraging ex-
pedition where anybody else would fail. If you
had sent me over here, I should probably have se-
cured a pair of oxen and a cart for you."

"You forget that this is Mr. Cameron's native
neighborhood," said Chesselton, in his quiet voice.
" Of course, therefore, he knew where and to
whom to apply."

" Yes," said Alan, smiling slightly ; " we are in-
debted to an old friend of mine for this accom-
modation. Do you remember Ben Cryder, Berna-
dette?"

" Oh, perfectly! " replied Bernadette, as eagerly
as if he had asked her if she remembered a de-
scendant of the De Rohans. " He was always so
kind and obliging. Does this belong to him ? '

" Yes, and was lent with hearty pleasure when
he learned that it was for 'little Bernadette. '

"Ah, that makes it twice as pleasant to drive
in it ! ' said she, surveying the vehicle with a
beaming glance.

To say that Chesselton was disgusted would be
to say very little indeed. He was intensely angry,
both with Cameron and Bernadette. How dared
the first to suggest such remembrances ! How
was it that the second had so little dignity as to

212 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

encourage him ! Now, with all his faults, the
young man was the farthest in the world from a
snob, and it must be said in his justification that
it was not with the humbleness of Bernadette's
past life or past friends that he found fault. The
outrage in his eyes was her present tone of in-
timacy- with Alan. " She does it only to annoy
me," he thought, angrily. " I will see if I can't
do something to annoy her ! "

With this laudable resolution, he assisted Mrs.
Ellis into the ambulance which honest Ben Cryder
had been so glad to lend for the service of " little
Bernadette," and took his seat by her side. Ran-
dolph having done the same good office by Fay
Chesselton, and Bernadette sharing the driver's
seat with Alan — " so we can talk over all the old
places," she said, — they set forth, jolting slowly
down a rocky descent, then trotting gayLv for
about ten minutes over a moderately smooth road,
with a flashing mountain stream bearing them
company on one side ; then up a toilsome ascent,
then stopping for some sight-seeing and exclama-
tions over " a beautiful view " ; then more rocks,
more jolting, more descending and ascending, un-
til at last Bernadette, who had been singularly
silent, and conscious of an uncomfortable choking
in her throat at every wind and curve of the
familiar road, suddenly gave a little Irysterical
gasp, which meant, " I would cry if Mrs. Ellis

A LITTLE MAID OF AKCADY. 213

was not behind me," as the old house from which
she had parted seven years before rose into sight.

"Let me get out, Alan," she said in a whisper
when they reached the mill. " You can drive the
others up to the house, but I — I would like to
stay here a little while."

"All right," said Alan, pulling up the horses,
and speaking in his most cheerful tone. "It's
cool and pretty here, isn't it? As soon as I can
get rid of this trap I'll come down, and we can
look at the old places together."

He flung the reins to Randolph, who was be-
hind him, then sprang down and lifted her from
her seat. He saw why she wished to be left when
the dark eyes, swimming in tears, thanked him by
a look, and he caught a glimpse of one crystal
drop glittering on the clear rose brilliance of her
cheek. He was conscious of a desire to stoop and
kiss this drop away at all hazards ; but, for-
tunately for the public peace, restrained it ; and,
mounting again to his seat, drove sharply away.

"What a lovely picture it makes !" said Fay
Chesselton, glancing back as they ascended the
hill. " And Bernadette is just the adjunct that a
painter would desire."

It was a lovely picture indeed ; they all thought
that as they looked at the slender figure standing
on the bridge, — the waving shadow of the arching
trees overhead, the glinting sunbeams, the spark-
ling water, the silent mill, making up a scene of

214 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

quiet yet most exquisite beauty, such as many an
artist would have given much to place on canvas.

When they reached the house, they found that
Alan had been there before them ; that it was open
and clean, even containing a few chairs and a
small mirror.

" I call this the very height of consideration,"
said Fay Chesselton, in a tone of warm approval,
as she immediately walked up to the latter and
arranged several straying locks of disheveled
golden hair.

After resting a short time they began to scatter
in various directions, and, as is almost invariabl}7
the case, were paired off by some malicious chance
in a manner exactly contrary to the wishes of most
of them. This game of cross-purposes began when
Fay and Ridgeley went into the garden to see the
place where their aunt had been buried. A cross,
bearing a suitable inscription, still marked the
spot, though the body (or rather what poor remains
of mortaliy could be found) had been removed
seven years before. When the}r came back, they
found that Randolph and Mrs. Ellis — compan-
ions of necessity, since neither of them had the
least fancy for the other — had wandered out to a
knoll from whence a magnificent view of the sur-
rounding country was to be obtained ; while Alan,
having just finished disposing of his horses, was
about to go down to Bernadette. He was obliged
to restrain his impatience, however, when these two

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 215

came sauntering up. But it was hard that Fa}T,
unable to comprehend that any sane man could
desire to be rid of her bright face and sweet voice,
should ask him to take her to the knoll, and that
he should be obliged to comply with what grace
he could muster; while Chesselton strolled down
to the stream, secretly glad of the opportunity,
and quite careless of the fact that Mrs. Ellis was
at that moment straining her pretty eyes to see if
he was not coming to her relief.

Meanwhile Bernaclette had not spent all this
time standing, like a girl in a picture, quite mo-
tionless on the bridge. She had wandered about,
over the banks and around the mill, meeting at
every turn some ghost of her past happy child-
hood, and of the love which had made it bright-
The girl felt as if she was in a dream, and more
than once touched herself to make quite sure that
she was awake. Was the past or the present real ?
Was it of fancy or of fact — that wide gulf be-
tween the Now and the Then ? Standing in a cool,
dark nook — a covert of green, tangled shade —
near the mill, gazing down on the clear, unshad-
owed waters of the "race," with not a sound save
the fret of the stream in her ears, it was not very
easy to answer this question. There was some-
thing of enchantment in the strange quiet, the al-
most pathetic stillness, of the scene. The fevered
rush of the little world, falsely called great, seemed
to fade from her memory, the breath of its excite-

216 A LITTLE MAID OF AIICADY.

me nt to leave her spirit. Looking up at the grand
mountains, and the serene sky bending over them,
noble thoughts and tender fancies came to the girl.
Quick and impressionable in everything, a sudden
wave of regret for her frivolous life swept over
her.

" It might have been better if I had never gone
away," she thought, dropping a fern leaf on the
water and watching it slowly and lazily sail down
stream.

Just then some one called her name. The voice
which said " Bernadette ,( was too distant for her
to recognize its tone, but she took it for granted
that it belonged to Alan.

44 Here I am," she answered, and sat down on a
cushion of moss to wait his coming.

She could not help the change of expression
which came over her face when Chesselton ap-
peared. It was more surprise than disappoint-
ment, though he chose to construe it entirely as
the last. But when one is confidently expecting
a certain person, and a very different person who
is not expected appears, how is it possible to keep
one's tell-tale features from exhibiting a little of
that emotion commonly known as astonishment?
It is in the nature of men to be unreasonable,
however — especially when they are in love, — and
Chesselton proved very unreasonable on this oc-
casion.

44 It is evident I am not the person you were

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 217

expecting, Bernadette," lie said, stopping short.
" Perhaps I had better go back and send Mr. Cam-
eron to share your meditations?"

" You are certainly not the person I was expect-
ing," answered Bernadette, rendered somewhat
indignant by the gauntlet thus causelessly thrown
down. " But I don't see why you should take it
for granted that I am sorry to see you, Ridgeley."

" Don't you ? " said Ridgeley, a little grimly.
" That is because you were not able to enjoy the
expression of your own face, then."

" My face does not usually say what is not true,"
laughed she, passing her hand across it. " Come,
Ridgeley, please don't quarrel. You can not im-
agine in what a softened and charitable mood I
feel — almost as if I had been to church, — quite as
if nothing could ruffle me."

"Such a frame of mind is so unusual with you
that it certainly tempts one to stay and enjoy it,"
said he, coming a few steps nearer.

" Sit down," said she, pointing to the moss which
spread its soft, inviting carpet all around. u Isn't
it still and lovely and solemn here? Look at the
beautiful blending of color everywhere. Wouldn't
that dear old mill be a study for an artist ? I don't
wonder artists are so fond of mills. And, then,
the water — isn't it like crystal ? "

"I would give a great deal for a picture of you
as you sit there," said Ridgeley, looking at her
with eyes full of passionate admiration. " How

218 A LITTLE MAID OF AUCADY.

it puts me in mind of the first day I met you ! "
he went on. " Good Heavens! what a fool I have
been about you ever since that time ! "

She looked up at him with something very wist-
ful in the glance of her dark eyes. "I know,"
she said, gentl}', " that you have cared forme more
than I deserved; and I w^ish for your sake that
you had never seen me on that clay or any other."

He grew suddenly pale. u Why do you wish
that, Bernadette?' he asked, in a quick, vibrant
tone.

" Because," she answered, " I would not then

have been a source of pain to you, as I know I

have been, and " — her voice faltered a little —
" must be."

Notwithstanding her invitation of a moment
before, he had remained standing ; but he now sat
down on the root of a large tree that overshad-
owed them, and, being thus on a level with her,
looked steadily into her face.

"What do you mean by this?' he asked. "If
you have been a source of pain to me, you know
well that you have also been a source of happi-
ness ; and it rests with yourself wdiether you will
be entirely a source of happiness — the greatest
happiness — in the future."

" No, Riclgeley," she said, while a mistiness as
of sudden tears came into her eyes at his last
words. " You are mistaken : it does not rest with
me. If it did, I should be tempted to do as you

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 21 9

wish. Bat no matter how much I desired and
tried to make }rou happy, I am sure that I could
never succeed."

" Since when have you been sure of that ? ' he
asked, with his eyes beginning to burn ominously.

She hesitated a moment before replying. Then
she said, in a low tone: "I have felt it for some
time, but I have not been sure of it until — lately."

" Until, in short, the arrival on the scene of the
companion of your youth," he remarked, in a tone
so bitter that it cut like the stroke of a whip.
" Don't trouble }Tourself to make explanations.
We were fools to think that the effects of such
early training as yours could ever be eradicated.
Coarseness suits you better than refinement even
yet ; and no one has such influence over you as
this unlettered, uncultured — "

M Stop ! " said Bernadette, her eyes shining now.
"If you do not wish to make me despise you,
stop ! What you think of Alan matters nothing.
Don't mention his name again ; but listen to what
I have to tell you, — what I was weak enough to
shrink from telling, but which you have now given
me strength to say. You know well that I have
never told you that I loved you. I have tried
hard to think that I did, because I knew it would
please not only you but everyone else ; but I never
felt it ; and I have been as certain, or almost as
certain, as I am now that I never would feel it.
For there is no sympathy between us. The things

220 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

I feel mcst deeply you do not feel at all ; and we
have not only a different religion, but we are
within the degrees of kindred when marriage is
forbidden, without such cause as we could not ad-
vance. Therefore I have determined to tell you
what might as well be told now as later — that I
cannot marry you, and that I hope you will not
think of it any more."

There was a moment's silence, and then Ridge-
ley Chesselton threw his head back and laughed.
Now, there is no sound so indicative of the ex-
tremity of anger as so harsh and mirthless a laugh
as this. Bernadette shivered. It told her better
even than imprecations could have done how in-
tense was the rage in her companion's heart, and
how deep his disappointment.

" You hope I will not think of it again ! " he
said. " How kind ! I wish to God that I might
never think of it or of you ever again ! You are
as heartless as }'0ii are deceitful. You know well
that you have given me pledges, understood if not
expressed, which would be binding to any hon-
orable woman. But they do not bind yon, who
can even make your religion an excuse for
treachery. When have you ever before said or
thought anything of our differences of religion
or forbidden degrees of kindred, or anything of
the sort?"

" That was because I had grown very careless
and did not indeed think of such things," said

A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY. 221

Bernadette, in a tone of deep humility, — for here
she felt that he had a right to reproach her. " But
I have lately begun to think ; and I met an old
priest whom I knew in my childhood, and — "

" And some one else whom you knew in your
childhood," he interrupted, with the same bitter,
unmirthful laugh. " I understand, the situation
perfectly. The sudden awakening of your con-
science is remarkably coincident with the arrival
of the person who is probably to profit by this
awakening. You have a sentimental idea that you.
would like to become a miller's daughter again,
or to play Queen Cophetua to a — "

" Ridgeley ! " she cried passionately, as a tide
of angry color swept over her face, — " Ridgeley,
how dare you — "

And then she stopped ; for there before them
stood Alan Cameron. The young man had ap-
proached unobserving as well as unobserved, un-
til he was close upon them, — so close that he
could not easily retreat, although he saw at once
that theirs was a conversation on which it would
not have been well to intrude. Bernadette's last
words alone met his ear ; but her tone, her look,
spoke more eloquently than words. And as
she paused suddenly at sight of him, Chesselton
turning saw him also, and rose at once to his feet.
At this moment he was conscious chiefly of a
sense of fierce satisfaction. The savage instinct
of the natural man overpowered every other in-

222 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

stinct, natural or acquired, and made him feel
that the only pleasure life offered him at this mo-
ment was the pleasure of quarrelling with, insulting
and if possible fighting Alan Cameron. Looking
back afterward, he could hardly realize this state
of mind, as looking forward he would certainly
not haye believed it possible. But there are few
men whose passions are so entirely under the
dominion of reason that they can not recall some
hour or time when there was such an awakening
of the savage within them. So, with a look which
was in itself an insult, he turned upon the new-
comer.

" Mr. Cameron," he said, " has probably heard
an old proverb regarding listeners. If it has
proved true in the present case, I can not say
that I regret it. It is well that he should know
my opinion of his conduct."

"Alan," cried Bernadette, who saw that appeal
t> Ridge! ey was useless, "do not heed him! He
does not know what he is saying."

" Never fear, Bernadette," replied Alan, quietly.
'• I have no intention of quarrelling with Mr.
Chesselton. I heard nothing," he added, turning
to that gentleman ; " for I have only this instant
arrived. But had I done so, your opinion is of
no importance to me. I came here expecting to
find Bernadette alone."

"And so continue your work of interference
between her and — "

A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY. 223

" Ridgeley," said Bernadette, starting up and
standing, flushed and indignant, at Alan's side,
"I will not allow you to say another word in my
presence. You shall not insult Alan for what is
no fault of his — for what would have been the
same if he did not exist. Alan, come with

me!"

She spoke half beseechingly, half imperiously,
and moved as she spoke toward the bridge. Alan,
nowise loath, was about to follow her, when Ches-
selton stepped before him.

"You can if you like shelter yourself at pres-
ent behind a woman's presence," he said, his face
pale, his eyes gleaming with the passion that pos-
sessed him; " but if you have the least concep-
tion of what constitutes a gentleman, you will at
another time acknowledge and answer for your in-
terference."

"I never shirk the consequences of anything
that I have done, Mr. Chesselton," said Alan,
pausing and regarding him calmly; "but I have
nothing to acknowledge to you, nor yet to answer
for."

Again Chesselton uttered that laugh, the ut-
most expression of anger, which had already so
jarred upon Bernadette ; and this time it had to
Alan's ear a ring of scorn inexpressibly offensive.

" I should have remembered," said Ridgeley,
turning upon his heel, " that one does not expect
to find a very keen sense of honor or a very high

224 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

degree of courage in one who has neither the
birth nor the training of a gentleman.''

Alan made one quick step after him as lie
strode away ; but Bernadette was upon him like a
flash, her hands clinging around his arm. "Alan,
Alan," she cried,—" for my sake ! ' And then,
as Chesselton with rapid steps passed out of sight,
she laid her head down on the arm she was hold-
ing and burst into tears.

CHAPTER IX.

The most artful of women could have done
nothing better to have detained the young man,
whose patience and forbearance had at last given
way. But there was no thought of its possible
effect in Bernadette's outburst. Anger and grief
were mingled in those passionate tears, which
almost frightened Alan by their vehemence ; for
even in her childhood he had seldom seen her
weep, and he knew that the emotion must be very
great which found expression in this manner.
His attempts to soothe her were for a few min-
utes unheeded. Then at last came some con-
nected words, which told where the sting of
bitterness lay.

" O Alan," she sobbed, " to think that you
should have been so insulted — by one of my peo-
ple— here ! "

" My dear," said Alan, putting his arm gently
around her, while he patted her on the shoulder
as if she had still been a child, "is it for thought
of me that you are crying your heart out? Stop,
stop — and listen to me ! Your cousin's insolence
angered me for one moment, but no more. What
is he to me ? Absolutely nothing, except so far
as he has the power to wound you. And, besides,
15 (225)

226 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

I knew that he was not master of himself, and
hardly accountable for what he said."

" He turned upon you because I had at last
been candid with him and told him I could not
marry him," said Bernadette, lifting her tear-
stained face. " He believes that you have in-
fluenced me. He is terribly angry. I am afraid
that he will insult you again, and perhaps in a
worse manner, if that be possible."

" No," said Alan. " Set your mind at rest. I
will not allow him to insult me, and T will not
gratify his present humor hy quarrelling with
him either. Trust me, Bernadette. I will manage
this affair so that it shall not annoy you further.
And then, dear, the best thing I can do is to go
away; for I have only troubled your life by com-
ing into it."

" You troubled my life ! O Alan ! " cried Ber-
nadette, with a fresh rush of tears. " How can
you say such a thing? I can never tell you how
much good you have done me. Why, if you had
not come and made me think of things I had for-
gotten, I might have married Ridgeley; and I
know now that if I had clone so, I should have
been miserable all my life."

" Then thank God that I did come," answered
Alan. " But, all the same, it is now time for me
to go. There are many reasons for that."

He paused a moment, and looked over her head
at the great mountains that rose above them

A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY. 227

against the deep-blue sky. It was as if he sought
strength to tread some difficult path, from the
aspect of those heights that to the fainting soul
are often full of the suggestion of other spiritual
heights, on which lies the supreme peace of God.
But in that moment's pause a sound of approach-
ing voices, of light, careless laughter, floated down
to them from the path that descended from the
house to the mill, and Bernadette started.

"There are people coming," she said. "Fay
and Mr. Randolph, I think. Let us go where, for
a time at least, no one can find us."

Alan followed her quick footsteps as she darted
rapidly across the bridge and took the old, unfor-
gotten way that led around the base of the great
hills into that green and lovel}7 glen, where, on
another summer day long before, the great rail-
road tragedy had occurred. Once out of sight
and sound, her pace grew slower, and, presently
turning, she held out her hand to him with the
gesture of a child.

" I can not remember that I ever came here
without you," she said. " When I was a little
thing you always brought me, leading me hand in
hand. How good you always were to me, Alan!
Many a boy would have been rough and unkind ;
but I never liked to be with any one, not even
with mother, so much as with you. The picture
I have of myself in those days is of always trotting

228 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

about after you like a little clog. But you always
led me when we came here."

Alan's heart was too full for speech with the
memory of the days of which she spoke, as he
took the hand she extended ; and so, walking
again as in their childhood, they entered the glen
together. There was no difficulty in finding the
spot they both knew well ; for the great bowlders
marked it now as then. Now as then they knelt
down and prayed for the soul of her who had here
passed so swiftly and terribly from life to death ;
and then, rising, sat down on one of the masses
of stone and looked at each other. It was again
Bernadette who spoke first.

" Do you remember the last time that we were
here?' she asked. "I had forgotten until now,
when it comes back as clearly as yesterday. You
were scolding me for wanting to know who and
what I was. You said it would lead to discontent
with my life, and I — foolish creature that I was !
— insisted that I only wanted to ~knou\ and then
would be satisfied. Well, I was punished by
knowing very shortly after that." She paused a
moment and sighed. "I sometimes think Ridge-
ley has been my evil genius," she said. " If he
had not found me, I might be here yet, contented
and happy."

Alan smiled slightly. "Contented!" he said.
"No, Bernadette. I, too, remember that last day
when we were here, and how far from contented

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 229

you were, — that is, how naturally anxious to
know something of the beginning of your life.
And, as time went on, this desire would have
grown greater; while as for happiness — the simple
existence which satisfied you as a child would not
have made you happy as you grew older. It was
bitter to lose you, but I at least have always rec-
ognized that it was better; and if I had ever
doubted it, what I have seen of you lately would
convince me."

" You mean," said Bernadette, with tears rising
again in her eyes, " that you find me so worldly
that you think — and I do not blame you for it —
that nothing except a worldly life would satisfy
me. But I am not at heart so worldly as I seem,"
she continued, looking at him with something like
reproach. " You misjudged me, Alan, in that old
day, and you misjudge me now. You thought me
then discontented and dissatisfied — "

" No," Alan interposed : " I only feared that
you might become so."

" And you think me now so frivolous and
worldly," she pursued, unheeding him, " that you
do not believe me capable of finding any happi-
ness in simple things ; and you are glad — O Alan,
Alan! — that I was taken away from you all, from
the dear old life that I would give anything to go
back to — "

Her voice broke, she could say no more ; and
Alan, overcome with self-reproach, could only

230 A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY.

lean forward and, taking her hand again, beg her
not to misunderstand him.

" My dear little sister," he said, striving to
steady his own emotions by that name, "do not
misjudge me and my meaning so much ! You
were always true as steel and loyal as God's own
daylight, and I shall never forget the sweet kind-
ness with which you have met and treated me, —
never ! It has made me proud of you, my Berna-
dette, — proud to see how the ring of sterling gold
still comes forth from your character. But I
think — nay, I am sure — that you have that in you
which, as years went on, would have unfitted you
for the life we lived here ; and in saying that your
present life suits you, I only mean that its best
possibilities suit you, and that you will rise to
them, I am sure."

Bernadette shook her head sadly. " I don't
feel any capabilities of rising to anything, Alan,"
she said. " The only possibilities in my life as it
is ordered at present are possibilities of frivolity.
Of course, if I were a stronger and better person,
I could order my life differently ; but I am not so
strong that I can resist and put away things that
I like as I like pleasure and gayety. No, you
may not believe me, but all the same it is true —
the life I left here was the life that suited me
best; and if I could I would go to Scotland, to
mother and father, to-morrow."

Alan's heart gave so great a leap that almost

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 231

unconsciously lie pressed his arm upon it with a
strong repressing motion. It was an instant be-
fore he could say quietly, yet with a ring of sad-
ness in his voice :

"You would make them very happy, Berna-
dette ; but happy yourself? — no, my dear, }ou
would not be that. Just now things have worried
and fretted you ; you are not very satisfied with
your life ; and you think that because the old
days were happy, you would like to leave all and
go back to them. But that is impossible, — not
only because ' the mill can never grind again with
the water that is past,' but because }Tears of an-
other and totally different life have deepened cer-
tain characteristics which as a bo}r I dimly felt in
you, and which I know now to have been the note
of your difference from us."

u I know only one difference," said Bernadette,
" and that is that I was not and am not half so good
as any of you. But I don't think that should
be a reason for casting me off."

"Casting you off!' repeated Alan; and, little
as laughter was in his heart, he laughed at this.
44 Why do you so willfully misunderstand me ? r
he asked then, seriously enough. " You know well
wdiat I mean and what I am trying to say. To
put it briefly and plainh', it is this : You were born
and fitted by nature for a different life from any
that we were able to give you ; and it was well
that the possibility of living this life came to you

232 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

in time, even though^ it rent our very hearts to
part with you. I never had but one doubt about
your new life — I mean its fitness for you and its
effect on you, — and that was whether the world
might not change you, as it sometimes changes
people. But I had no sooner met you than I saw
that there was no fear of that. You accuse your-
self of frivolity and love of pleasure; but you for-
get that you are young, and that gayety of heart
is your birthright. All this is but the froth on
the surface of your nature, while underneath are
the jewels of loyalty and tenderness and steadfast
adherence to what you know to be right — "

" Alan, Alan, you think too well of me ! " she
cried, as she had cried before. But Alan went on,
unheeding :

" And so I have no fear of your future, Berna-
dette. The child who kept her faith amid all the
adverse influences that surrounded you, will keep it
to the end. And that will be your safeguard.
Just now, as I have said, you are vexed and dis-
satisfied, because a discord has entered into your
life ; but that will pass away."

" Yes, everything passes away, if we only wait
long enough," said Bernadette, rising with an ab-
rupt movement. " There is no doubt of that.
Thank you for feeling so philosophical about it,
Alan. You have made your sentiments very clear,
and I understand fully that you think I am where
I belong, and that Arcadia is no longer any place

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y 233

for me. Well, that being made clear, shall we go
now ? No doubt the others are wondering where
we are."

"Bernadette!5 Alan could hardly believe his
ears; for never had Bernadette spoken in such a
tone to him before. That he had offended her he
perceived plainly, but his masculine obtuseness
prevented his perceiving that he had wounded her
besides. As a matter of fact, the girl felt strangelv
repulsed, and, as it were, put out of the
lives of those to whom she had ever felt nearer
than to her kindred of blood ; and this at the time
and in the place where her heart opened most
warmly toward those older ties of love and grati-
tude, and where anything savoring of repulse
from such a quarter came with a keen intensity and
power to wound derived from every association of
the past.

" Bernadette ! ' Alan repeated, as he saw that
she did not look at him," can it be possible that
I have offended you? Do you not see that I am
trying to think of 3^011 — of you only ? If I thought
of myself — but I dare not do that," he broke off,
in a voice husky with passion.

But, repressed as it was, the note of passion
struck on Bernadette's ear, as the hand of a mas-
ter strikes the chords of a violin, and all her na-
ture seemed to rise in answer to it. She did not
know what it was in those few words that stirred

234 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

her so deeply, but she turned with a swift, eager
motion, that took Alan wholly by surprise.

"Why should you not think of yourself?" she
demanded, imperiously. " Who has a better right
to do so ? And what do you mean by saying that
you think of me only ? How dare you attempt to
think for me — to decide whether this or that life
is best for me, as if vou were Providence ? God
alone knows these things; and, after God, Jam the
judge of what is best for me and most according
to my own heart."

She faced him with eyes alight with lovely fire,
and lips curling with an indignation of which she
did not herself understand the source. That
Alan did not understand it was perhaps not strange.
Her rebuke was most unexpected ; but he re-
ceived it with a humility which belonged to
himself, and a lack of comprehension which, in the
situation, nine men out of ten would have dis-
played.

" Forgive me ! ' he answered. " You are right.
I have been persumptuous in talking so decidedly
about these things. But it was because all that
concerns you lies so near my heart that I have
thought much of them; and honest opinion — well,
the expression of that can not harm, you know,
and ought not to offend."

" Offend ! " repeated Bernadette, all her fire sud-
denly dying out. " Why should such a word be
mentioned between you and me, Alan ? Is it my

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 235

fault? Have I lost temper, as I often used to do,
you know? Many a time you made me lose it be-
cause you were so sensible, and I fear the same
cause has had the same effect now. You are as
sensible as ever in what you have said of me, and
I had no right to be vexed. No doubt the life I
am leading does suit me better than the old happy
one among these hills, — at least that is your belief ;
so we will never say another word about it. Come
now, we must go."

What could Alan answer ? There seemed noth-
ing left for him to say. But when they turned
away, Bernadette no longer put out her hand as
in her childhood ; and indeed there was a feel-
ing in the hearts of both that as they left the glen
they left also the days of their childhood finally
and forever behind them.

CHAPTER X.

It was while this conversation was in progress in
the glen that the rest of the party, attracted by
a singular and deepening smokiness of the atmos-
phere, had gone over again to the knoll near the
house to see if they could ascertain its cause. At
least Fay, Mrs. Ellis, and Randolph went for that
reason ; while Chesselton accompanied them ap-
parently for no reason at all, except that their
company was perhaps a shade less boring than
his own.

" I have noticed it ever since we left the station,"
Randolph observed of the smokiness ; " but it
did not occur to me for some time what it meant.
It is plain enough now, however. It means forest
fires in the mountains."

" I have always thought I should like to see a
great forest fire, especially in the mountains,"
said Fay. " How far off is it, do you think, Mr.
Randolph ? "

" Oh, pretty far ! ' answered Randolph, vague-
ly. " I am not familiar with this country, you
know. When Cameron comes he can, no doubt,
place it for us exactly."

" Where is Mr. Cameron ? " asked Mrs. Ellis.
(236)

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 237

" He and Mademoiselle Bernadette seem to have
disappeared mysteriousl}7."

;tNot at all mysteriously," replied Fay, quickly.
" They have gone, I am sure, to the place where
Bernadette's mother was killed. Naturally she
did not care to take the whole party with her
there"

"How interesting the story is ! " Mrs. Ellis was
beginning, in a sentimental tone, when Randolph
interrupted her.

" Yonder they are now — coming from the mill,"
he said. " Hallo ! " — he waved his arm in a beck-
oning gesture. " Come up here ! We want
you."

His voice rang out like a trumpet ; and, so ad-
jured, Alan and Bernadette, both looking rather
pale and grave, made their appearance on the
knoll.

"We want to know the meaning of all this
smoke," said Randolph then. " There must be a
fire, and a large one, somewhere about."

"There has been a fire in these mountains for
some da}rs," answered Alan. " I was staying with
Cryder last night, whose house is at the foot of
Hantzel's Knob — that tall, round old fellow yon-
der,— and we made the ascent after nightfall. I
never saw a more magnificent sight in my life.
As far as the eye could reach, the mountains to
the southwest were in flames ; and so they have

238 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

been for clays, so they will probably continue for
weeks."

" I thought the time for fires was later in the
season," said Randolph.

" So it is generally ; but the drought this year
has been excessive, and the result is a conflagra-
tion which I fear may prove very serious."

" Oh, how I wish we could see it ! " cried Fay.
" Couldn't we go over to what's-it's-name Knob,
Air Cameron ? "

" We could not get back in time for the train
if we did," answered Cameron, smiling. " Be-
sides, there is very little to be seen of a fire in the
daytime — nothing, in fact, except smoke."

"And of that we have an abundance," said
Mrs. Ellis, looking round at the scene, which was
indeed draped in a more than Indian Summer
haze, and especially at the burning mountains,
over which hung a dark-gray canopy ; while the
breeze, which was almost due west, felt like the
breath of the desert, and was laden with smoke,
though it was evident that the fire was still miles
away.

"If this wind lasts, the flames will be here by
midnight," remarked Randolph.

" How glad I am that we shall be at the
Springs ! " said Mrs. Ellis, shuddering.

" I don't know about that," returned Miss
Chesselton. "I think it must be a grand sight,
and I should like to see it of all things."

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 239

" Perhaps you may be gratified," observed
Alan. "I am not sure, but I have a suspicion
from appearances over yonder" — he pointed in a
direction a little north by west — " that there is
another fire in the gorge behind that range of
hills ; and if so, it may cut off our return to the
station."

" Good Heavens ! ' exclaimed Mrs. Ellis.
" Then let us go back now, and wait at the station
for the train."

" Cameron is only jesting," said Randolph. " I
don't think there is the least danger of our being
flanked by the fire, Mrs. Ellis."

" I only wish that there was," said Fay Ches-
selton. "It would. be so interesting! "

" There is no immediate danger, certainly,"
said Alan, in answer to the look of appeal directed
to him by Mrs. Ellis.

It was at this point that Chesselton spoke for
the first time since the approach of Bernadette
and Alan.

" There is not the least danger, either immediate
or remote," he said, in his peremptory, clear-cut
tones. "It is absurd to attempt to make a sensa-
tion out of nothing. We might stay here for a
week and see no more of the fire than we do
now."

" We certainly are not going to make the ex-
periment," said Mrs. Ellis, with decision. "But
I suppose we can at least take our luncheon with

240 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

minds at ease. And, whether from the unusual
amount of exercise we have taken, or lack of any-
thing more entertaining to do, I for one am quite
ready for it."

" Come, then," said Bernadette, turning around.
" Let us go down to the house and open the
hamper. It will be strange to eat and drink once
more under that roof," she added as if to herself,
with a faint sigh.

While the ladies were engaged in opening the
hamper, and setting forth its contents as well as
the lack of a table would permit, Cameron and
Randolph exchanged a few words as they stood
together outside the door.

"Without the least intention of making 4a
sensation out of nothing,' I don't like the look of
things," said Alan, in a low tone, as a flock of
birds flew with distressed cries over their heads.
" I was right about there being another fire over
there to westward, and it seems to be gaining
more rapidly than I expected. We must get out
of these hills as soon as possible ; for if the flames
advance as they have been doing within the last
hour, we might be in considerable danger on re-
turning to the station."

" Danger ! — of what kind ? ' asked Randolph,
opening his eyes.

" Of being burned alive, if you call that
danger," said the other, dryly.

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 241

" But, my dear fellow, the clearings will keep
us safe."

" You are thinking of the sort of fire they have
on the prairies, where there's nothing to burn but
dry grass," said Cameron. " Our mountain con-
flagrations are something very different. The
substance of their material gives them fearful
power ; and I have seen many a fire which would
sweep over all these clearings like an avalanche."

" For Heaven's sake, let us get out of here
then ! "

" Exactly what I think ; and as soon as luncheon
is over I shall harness up the horses and we will
be off. You had better come in now — but don't
say anything about this."

They entered the house, and luncheon was soon
in progress. Notwithstanding various heart-burn-
ings in different quarters, the contents of the
hamper were well discussed, and the champagne
glasses clinked together very gayly. • " It is better
to laugh than be sighing," sang Mrs. Ellis, wav-
ing her glass like the cantatrice in " Lucrezia
Borgia." And they all fulfilled the injunction.
One does not stop to scrutinize how much of the
true ring of honest gayety a laugh may have at
such a time.

After luncheon Alan announced, somewhat

diffidently, the change of programme with regard

to their return. He was agreeably surprised that

it received a careless indorsement from most of

16

242 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

the party ; evidently they felt languid, and slightly
indifferent whether they went or stayed.

" Only we must go over to the knoll and take a
last look at the fire," said Mrs. Ellis. uThe
smoke is so much worse that it must be worse, I
should think."

There was no gainsaying the pretty widow
when she set her head on anything. Chesselton,
as in gallantry bound, was by her side, though
secretly bored to death. He had not bargained
for anything like this, he thought a little resent-
fully ; forgetting that he had only himself to
thank for the whole of it. Fay and Randolph
followed. Bernaclette sat down in the door where
she had sat so often, and where in all human
probability she would never sit again, and told
her

" memories o'er,

As you tell your beads ;

>>

while Alan harnessed up his horses with an ease
and expedition which might have done credit to a
practical hostler.

Before long all was ready, and the knoll party
were signalled to return. They came in haste,
full of accounts of the progress the fire had made.
Randolph in particular seemed much dismayed.

" There's literally smoke everywhere," he said.
"It strikes me that there must be fire in three or
four different places."

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 243

" Only in two, T think," said Alan ; " and we'll
soon be out of it now. These brutes don't like
the look of things," he added, patting one of the
horses, who now and then snorted uneasily.
"Put the ladies in, Randolph, while I keep them
quiet."

He spoke only to Randolph, for Chesselton had
strolled off down to the mill. " You can take me
up there," he said, carelessly. Everybody noticed
how much he avoided Cameron, and how brusque
he was to him when they were necessarily thrown
together.

When they drove down to the mill, they found
that he had walked farther on ; and when they
overtook him, he declined to enter the conveyance.

" I believe I'll walk," he said. " I'm something
of a pedestrian, and the road is moderately good."

Alan held the restive horses still while he
looked at him for an instant, as if uncertain
whether or not to speak. Then, he said, gravely :

44 You had much better come with us, Mr. Ches-
selton. The fire is nearer than you think."

" You must allow me to differ with you on that
point," replied Chesselton, with the same offensive
hauteur which had been evident in his manner
whenever he addressed Alan that day. "I am
very sure the fire is not within miles of us, al-
though the wind has brought the smoke over."

" O Ridgeley, do come ! " cried Fay. " What
is the use of running any risk? "

244 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

" Oh, yes, Mr. Chesselton, pray come ! " pleaded
Mrs. Ellis, beckoning him to a seat beside her.

But Bernadette said not a word, probably be-
cause she thought there was expostulation enough
without her joining in the chorus, and probably
also because she was deeply and intensely dis-
gusted by Chesselton's manner and conduct.
That he marked her silence, and that it had its
effect upon him, there could be no doubt. His
mouth set itself with a look of obstinacy familiar
to those who knew his face.

"I prefer to walk," he said, addressing the
party generally. " Pray spare yourselves any
useless solicitude on my account. I shall be at
the station almost as soon as you are. Au revoir ! "

He waved his hand, and they had no alternative
but to drive on. It was about half a mile beyond
this point that they began to feel decidedly un-
easy ; and the farther they went, the more appre-
hensive they became. More and more dense grew
the smoke, hotter and hotter the air. Their eyes
were smarting and dim ; breathing presently be-
came a positive difficulty and pain.

"O Mr. Cameron!" cried Mrs. Ellis, when
they had gone about one mile of the three before
them — and there she stopped and panted and
coughed before she could proceed — " O Mr. Cam-
eron, I think we must be going nearer to the fire
instead of away from it ! This is — d — read — ful !"
she concluded, in almost inarticulate gasps.

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 245

" We are going nearer to it," answered Cameron,
without turning bis face. " But it can't be helped :
it is our only salvation. We must pass the point
of the road which crosses the gorge about half a mile
ahead, or we shall be shut in by the flames and
have to return to the mill ; and I don't want to do
that because the fire from the direction of Hant-
zel's Knob will certainly be there during the
course of the night — "

" Why don't you push on faster ? " exclaimed
Randolph, eagerly (they had been going only at a
very sharp trot). '-Whip up the horses, for
Heaven's sake ! "

"No," said Alan: "that wouldn't do. I must
reserve their strength for the last effort, which"
(his voice sank a little here) " will be a hard one."

" But—" again began Randolph.

Alan interrupted him in turn. " I have count-
ed all the chances," he said. " I dare not break
the animals down by pushing them too hard now.
Trust me," he added ; and this time he did look
round for an instant at the four pale faces behind
him, and even smiled reassuringly. " I think — I
am sure — that we shall make the distance before
us in time. But we shall have to pass through a
scorching atmosphere. Wrap up your heads
and faces securely, ladies ; and, Randolph, come
here on the seat with me."

Randolph stepped forward as desired ; while the
ladies half mechanically obeyed the word of com-

216 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

raand given them, by taking off the light wrappings
they wore and enveloping their heads and shoulders.

" More over the face," said Alan, looking back
again. " Your veils are silk and will not scorch
easily ; cover your heads securely with them, and
you had better shut your eyes. We shall turn the
curve of that hill now in a minute and face the
lire. I wish — "

He paused abruptly; but Bernadette finished
the sentence for him.

" You mean you wish Ridgeley was with us? "
she cried. " Oh, stop, stop, Alan ! We must
wait for him f "

" Impossible ! " he answered, putting his right
hand back and catching her arm as she rose in
wild terror. " Don't be alarmed about him," he
continued, in a tone which compelled belief. " On
my soul, you may dismiss all fear about him. Be-
fore this he has turned back, and is in safety at the
mill or near it now."

" But you said that the other fire would come
there ! " she exclaimed, quivering with horror.

44 Not for hours yet. Cover your face" — for she
had pushed back the wrappings from around it, —
" and all of you crouch down between the seats
as close to the floor as you can." Instinctively
they all three obeyed. " Now for it ! " said he,
turning back to the horses, and his lips set them-
selves like steel. " Here, Randolph, take the

reins."

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 247

Randolph took them, and Alan rose to his feet
with the long driving-whip in his hand. The
smoke was so thick that he could not see ten feet
ahead; but he knew every inch of the road, and
knew that in another moment they would round
the hill which had heretofore shut off the sight of
the fire, and meet it almost face to face.

" Hold hard now," he said, as with a touch of the
whip he put the horses to a gallop. " Hold hard
and steady — the left rein particularly ; they will
try to dash to the right. Take a long breath :
we sha'n't be able to breathe again, even as we do
now, for several minutes."

The last two sentences had been articulated
with difficulty. The next instant they turned the
curve of the hill, and the fire was before them.
Randolph gave one glance. The descent of the
road was very abrupt here, and all that was visi-
ble was smoke and flame, so that it looked to him
as if they were about to plunge into hell. To the
right and immediately in front was an immense
mass of dark -gray smoke, looming like a solid wall
from earth to sky through the dim, almost opaque,
atmosphere around them; to the left, mingled
with and overtowering heavy volumes of the inky-
black smoke of the resinous pines that were con-
suming, the fire came sweeping on — crackling,
whirling, eddying ; darting tongues of lived flame
now high in air, now in rushing billows along the
ground ; sending showers of sparks and cinders as

248 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADE.

avant-couriers in its path of destruction. The
horses stopped short as they first saw the light of
the fire, then reared back in their traces, apparently
wild with fright.

" Hold hard," said Alan's half-stifled voice again.
"Keep them in the road."

As he spoke he brought the whip down with
merciless force upon them. The shock of the
unexpected blow made them sink to their feet, but
they stood paralyzed, — absolutely motionless.
Down upon them again came the sharp, stinging
lash, and this time they clashed forward at a run.

Randolph could not see the road — he could
not see anything indeed. The air felt like liquid
fire enveloping them ; he quivered with a sensation
between burning and suffocation as he inhaled it ;
but he did not lose presence of mind. " Hard and
steady ' he held the reins ; while Alan, putting
his hand upon them a little in front, guided their
course as a helmsman steers his boat, keeping the
heads of the animals straight toward the giant
terror, to which each instant brought them nearer.

The flames were within fifty yards of the road
when the carriage dashed in front of their track,
and Alan felt that seconds would decide their fate.
If the heat had been fearful before, it was yet
worse now, and once more the horses reared fran-
tically and endeavored to plunge to the right.
Again Alan subdued them ; again he brought down
his whip relentlessly upon their haunches, and they

A LITTLE MAID OP ARCABY. 249

sped on. The width of the fiery track was not
great, — in fact, it was here but a mere tongue
which had diverged from the main course of the
conflagration; and though the time during which
they were immediately before it, enveloped in its
advancing breath, seemed to them all ages of
agony, in reality it was scarcely more than a min-
ute.

Cameron sank to his seat beside Randolph as
the line of the flames was cleared ; but he did not
check the pace of the horses, who, seeming con-
scious that the danger was now behind them,
needed no urging to induce them to strain forward
at their utmost speed. It was only when they
felt the cool refreshment of water around their
scorched feet and legs as they came upon a shallow
brook, that they stopped, and, quivering in every
limb, bent their heads to relieve their terrible
thirst.

The reins dropped from Randolph's hands — the
muscles of his arms seemed to give way suddenly,
— and Alan caught them, as he saw that the horses
were trying to lie down in the stream. He sprang
out rather blindly, but landed on his feet, up to
his knees in the water, and unloosed the check-
reins which prevented the poor animals from
drinking. Then he stooped, and taking up some
water in his hand, moistened his own parched
mouth.

" Thank God, we are safe ! ' he said, in a voice

250 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

which, though rather husky, had its own pleasant
ring in it still. He hurried round to the back of
the wagon, pulled open the top of the hamper
which was fastened on there, and, seizing the first
thing he could lay his hands on, which chanced to
be a goblet, clipped some water and gave it to
Randolph, who drank it at one gulp.

The ladies by this time had slowly raised them-
selves; and when Alan, having replenished the
goblet, held it toward them, three hands were in-
stinctively stretched forth for it. A few broken
exclamations were all they uttered for some min-
utes. In fact, all but Alan seemed half stupefied ;
and, still gasping painfully for breath, though the
air was now comparatively cool and clear, looked
silently at one another, and then back at the sea
of fire which was sweeping over the spot which
they had passed but a few minutes before. Sud-
denly, as they gazed, they remembered Chesseltoi;:
they realized that this awful barrier of flame was
between him and themselves.

" Alan was the first to speak. " Don't be alarmed
about Mr. Chesselton," he said quietly, looking
from Fay, who had burst into passionate tears, to
Bernadette, who writh a white face was gazing at him
in wordless appeal. "I am going back for him
now. Randolph will take you on to the station. "

" Going back for him ! ' exclaimed Randolph.
" How do you expect to get through that ? " — he
pointed to the fire.

A LITTLE MAID OF ABCADY. 251

"I don't expect to get through it : I expect to go
round it. It travels fast, but I think I can travel
faster on an emergency, and this is an emergency ;
fur, though Mr. Chesselton is not in the least im-
mediate danger, it would be dangerous for him to
remain where he is twelve hours longer. I know
every path over these mountains, and the fire
hasn't spread far in that direction yet ''—indicat-
ing the right. " Keep up your heart, Miss Ches-
selton," he said, turning to the sobbing Fay. "I
will bring your brother out safely, I promise you."

" O Mr. Cameron, how good you are, how kind
and how brave ! ' said poor Fay amid her sobs.
"Are you sure there is no danger for either of

you?"

" We'll talk about that to-morrow," he replied,
with his friendly smile. " Meanwhile good-bye
for the present. Minutes are precious in a race
with such an adversary as I have. I must be off."

He stepped lightly up, and, standing on the
hub of the wheel, extended his hand first to Fay,
then to Mrs. Ellis. Tears gushed from their eyes
as they pressed it silently, unable to speak. But
Bernadette's eyes were dry, her face as white as
ever, when he came to her.

" Bernadette my darling," said he, taking her
hands, " don't look so despairing ! Can't you
trust me ? I am not trying to deceive you when
I say that I am sure he is safe, and that I can res-
cue him."

252 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

" 0 Alan ! " she cried, as she clung to him, and
raised her face to his. "I am wretched — I am
wretched! Are you not going into terrible dan-
ger ? "

" I do not expect to go into any danger at all,
if I can avoid it," he answered, holding her hands
for a minute, gazing the while into her face with
the gaze of one who looks on something dearer
than life ; then, bending, he kissed her cheek just
where the tear-drop had glittered in the morning ;
and, turning, sprang down into the water, strode
across, and bounding quickly up the bank plunged
into the woods to the right.

After going a little distance, however, he
stopped, turned, and beckoned to Randolph, who
had driven out of the stream.

"Come here a minute," he said, — "the horses
will stand. I did not tell you good bye, old fel-
low," he went on when Randolph came up. " And
though I don't think there's much danger of my
not coming out of this, it is not absolutely certain
that I shall. I wanted to say that if I shouldn't
come back, you'll write to the dear old people in
Scotland, won't you? Thanks — yes, I knew you
would. Bernadette has the address. Good-bye
now ! Take care of }Tourself and of them " — he
pointed back, — " and have those poor animals
attended to as soon as you get to the station. I
think you'll find their owner waiting for them.

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 253

Tell him they saved our lives. He'll be glad to
hear that, honest fellow ! "

" Cameron, you're a fool to run yourself into
such danger ! ' burst out Randolph, indignantly.
"It was Chesselton's own fault, his own infernal
folly, that got him into this. It's madness to
throw away your life in a vain attempt to save
his ; for I don't believe that if you succeed in
getting in to where he is, you'll ever succeed in
getting out again. If you reach him, it will only
be to perish with him."

"If I thought so," said Alan, " I should not go ;
for in that case it would be simple suicide. But I
don't think so. I believe there are five chances
to one that I shall succeed. But there is one
chance that I may fail ; and so, if we never meet
again, God bless }~ou, old fellow ! "

Randolph could say nothing. Being a man, he
did not care to follow the infectious example of
the women ; so with one more grasp of the hand
they parted.

CHAPTER XL

Chesselton, on his part, had not been long in
discovering the danger into which his own folly
had betrayed him. Conscious that the fire had
made a detour and was likely to intercept his re-
turn, he had hastened as rapidly as possible after
the party in front. But naturally two legs can
not accomplish distance as speedily as four, es-
pecially in an atmosphere realizing one's most
hideous dreams of the Inferno. The young man
soon found that to the difficulty of breathing was
superadded great difficulty of moving. The smoke
was simply suffocating ; his mouth was parched,
his eyes were smarting ; still he pressed on
staunchly, until suddenly, on gaining an eminence
up which he had toiled painfully, he found a rush-
ing sea of fire before him.

It is useless to describe what he thought — in
fact, he scarcely knew himself. He gazed about
him for severel minutes, realized the utter impos-
sibility of going forward, turned and began to re-
trace his steps. He knew that there was fire be-
hind him ; but at least it was distant, and there
might be hope in that direction ; here there was
none.

He walked on for some time, revolving the sit-
(254)

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 255

uation in his mind, and trying to see what was
the best chance of escape open to him. Truth to
tell, matters looked black enough. He was utterly
ignorant of any bearing? of the country — a wild
and thickly-wooded one he knew. Already his
brain seemed whirling with the multiplicity of
hills and mountains, valleys and hollows, so nearly
alike that they defied any one not born on the
soil or trained in woodcraft to tell them apart.
From his childhood a dweller in cities, how could
he hope to do this ? More than once he stopped
and looked around him. He could plainly per-
ceive that the terrible volumes of ascending
smoke did not quite encircle him, — that to the
extreme right the flames had not yet penetrated.
But could he without a guide venture among
those trackless woods? He knew that he might
wander there for days, and fall a victim to the
fires at last. He made up his mind that he could
not venture, that he would go back to the house
and trust to the clearings for safety.

"From that knoll where we stood to-day I can
see exactly how things look," he muttered to him-
self. " What a fool I was to come ! "

The air was so oppressive, he was obliged to
walk so slowly and to rest so often that some
time had elapsed before he reached the mill. He
made his way at once over to the knoll, where,
sitting down, he looked about him with a sensa-
tion of hopelessness and desolation which he never

256 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

forgot. Everything was ominously still — every
bird, every animal, every grasshopper and cricket,
apparently, had fled before the coming of the fire.
A sort of apathy came over him. He remained
almost motionless, watching supinely the advance
of the fearful fate that seemed about to overtake
him. He knew that his only hope of safety was
in the hills, but he felt an unconquerable horror at
the idea of trusting himself there.

" One might as well die here," he said aloud,
and strangety his voice sounded in his own ears.
" Of course it must come to that at last. My
God, to think of being hemmed in by fire and dy-
ing like a dog ! ' Then he began to recall accounts
that he had read — mere newspaper paragraphs —
of people burned to death in these mountain fires.
" Somebody will glance over an account of my
death, and say, i How horrible ! ' as they eat their
breakfast muffins," he said, with a short, discord-
ant laugh. Then he thought of Bernadette, and
of a little oak-branch which he carried, — a branch
broken from the tree where he had seen her first.
" I believe there is a fatality in the spot ! " he
added, fiercely. " Why did I ever come here ?"

The sun went down behind a veil of smoke,
that gave to his familiar face a red and terribly
lurid look. Night came, but with it came no
friendly curtain of darkness. As the light of
day faded, the fearful light of the fire blazed out
upon earth and sky. Three parts of the heavens

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 257

hung like a crimson canopy over the wildly illum-
inated scene beneath, while even upon the eastern
quarter there was a bright glow reflected from
the opposite side. And, as the hours went slowly
by, nearer and nearer to Chesselton advanced the
inevitable moment when he felt that he must face
death in its most awful form.

It was his custom to wind up his watch punc-
tually at ten o'clock every night. As that time
approached, from the mere force of habit, he took
it out for the purpose. He was still upon the
knoll, where he had been sitting so long — sitting
almost in a state of stupor, — and when he re-
turned the watch to his pocket he rose to his feet
and looked round. A sort of frenzy seeemed to
seize him, — a paroxysm of that excitement which
in all desperate conditions alternates the apathy
of despair.

" My God — my God ! ' he exclaimed, flinging
his hands out with a wild gesture. " Must I die
so ? Is there no escape ? "

He looked round — half with the newly-awak-
ened energy which had come to him, half in pow-
erless despair ; and the fever-fit ebbed as it had
rushed over him when he perceived that, with the
exception of one narrow strip of woods stretch-
ing to the eastward, he was literally surrounded
by a belt of fire. The flames, which in the after-
noon had been confined to the valley that ran par-
allel with the railroad track far above, had grad-
17

258 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

ually spread on each side — climbing the mountain
on the one hand, and on the other sweeping over
the comparatively level region of country which
lay between the railroad and the old Cameron
place. As Chesselton looked he saw that in that
direction — the northwest — the flames were within
half a mile of where he stood, while on the south-
west the edge of the circle was nearer still. A
wall of light, obscured in part by the heavy vol-
umes of smoke rolling before it, was sweeping
straight upon him with horrible rapidit}*. Glanc-
ing along the line of the circle, he perceived that
it stretched round toward the east as far as his
eye could go. He turned his face northward, and,
as he hurried down from the knoll and approached
the house, gazed forward. On this side the fire
was farther off — a mile away at least, he thought;
for he could only see it dimly through the heavy
atmosphere of smoke that intervened. But what
matter? It was there to intercept him if he at-
tempted to fly from the fiery avalanche behind.
And to the east — doubtless it would be there also
long before he could reach the verge of its track.

" But I need not burn to death : there is the
creek," he thought suddenly. " I'll throw myself
into the water. Better be drowned than burned."

His strength had been so exhausted by the
effort and endurance of the afternoon and even-
ing that he staggered almost feebly along, past
the house, down the hill, until he paused at last

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 259

on the bridge, and, his foot stumbling, narrowly
escaped a plunge into the stream before he was
ready for it. He looked down at the waters flow-
ing swiftly beneath his feet, but even through the
obscuring smoke they shone red from the reflec-
tion of the sky above them. His throat was
parched; he began to feel giddy and stupid again,
and was just about to sit down, with a dim idea
that as the fire came over the hill he would drop
himself into the creek, when he was startled back
to full consciousness by a sound, a half-articulate
cry, close beside him. As he looked up a figure
— a man's figure — leaned over him, seized his arm,
cried, " Thank God ! " and then literally fell
down at his feet.

At first Chesselton thought it was some half-
crazed person flying from the fire ; but his amaze-
ment was indeed great, and almost beyond power
of expression, when, bending down, he found that
it was Alan Cameron ! He started back, and as
he did so the other slowly and with difficulty rose
to a sitting posture.

"Excuse me!" he said. "I did not mean to
tumble over ; but, you see, I have been going at a
tremendous pace, and — this is the reaction I sup-
pose. I am heartily glad to find you, Mr. Ches-
selton ! "

" I am heartily sorry to see you ! " said Ches-
selton, bluntly. " For God's sake, how did you

260 A LITTLE MAID OF AKCADY.

come back here ? And " — a terrible fear seizing
him — " where are the rest? "

" Safe, I am happy to say. We got over the
road just in advance of the fire. But they were
uneasy about you, so I thought I would come back
and pilot you out of these woods. As a matter
of course, you don't know the hills as I do, who
was reared among them."

Ridgeley Chesselton gave a gasp, — such a gasp
as he had never needed to give in all his life be-
fore. To his dying day he never forgot the emo-
tion which seized him then and shook his nature
to its very centre. He never, either, forgot the
sight which Cameron presented. Through what
fiery straits he had passed no one ever heard him
say, but their traces were plainly set upon him.
Grimed with smoke, scorched by fire, he looked
as if he might have come from the very domain of
Pluto. Chesselton glanced at him from head to
foot. This man had braved danger, endured
fatigue, perilled life for him, while he —

" Do you know that my obstinate folly has cost
you all this ? ' he said, with a harsh laugh.
" Why didn't you leave me to bear the penalty of
it? Why did you come back and run such a ter-
rible risk with your life to try to save mine ? "

" I am an old mountaineer," said Alan, simply.
"I came back to guide you out by a path known
only to mountaineers. Don't let us waste time

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 261

talking, Mr. Chesselton. We had better set out
at once. See yonder ! "

He pointed back, and through the dim veil that
enveloped everything Chesselton saw that their
terrible pursuer had reached the top of the hill.
One broad, tall column of flame was shooting up-
ward in a steady perpendicular blaze, and on it
Alan's eye was fixed.

" That is the house," he said. " Come ! "

" But you are evidently exhausted," said Ches-
selton. " Here " — he plunged his hand into his
pocket and brought out a small flask, — "thank
Heaven, there's some brandy left in it ! '

Alan took it willingly and drank the contents.
It revived his almost fainting strength. He rose,
led the way across the bridge and down the slop-
ing bank to the edge of the stream, where, to
Chesselton's surprise, he stopped.

" I think we'd better plunge into the water and
get our clothes thoroughly wetted," he said.
" The weight of the water won't tell much against
exertion, and the evaporation will keep us com-
paratively cool in this seething atmosphere."

Without waiting for an answer, he sprang into
the creek and crouched down until the water
flowed up to his chin. Then he took off his hat
and saturated it thoroughly, and finally dipped
his head under for an instant. Chesselton fol-
lowed his example — more, it must be confessed,
from an instinct of blind submission than from

262 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCABY.

an}- intelligent acquiescence in the reason of the
proceeding. He also took a deep draught of the
water, as he saw the other doing, and then they
struck into the woods.

Alan at first went on in front, crushing through
the undergrowth and breaking a path for his com-
panion. But he found that Chesselton lingered
too much — was too slow of movement. In fact,
the latter was soon so completely exhausted that
he felt tempted to fling himself to the ground and
resign all further effort. Alan, who had been
some distance ahead, went back to him, took his
arm, and said cheerfully :

"I know you are awfully broken down, and so
I'm sorry to hurry you ; but this is a race for life,
and we must not spare ourselves. If we don't
make a mile within the next half hour, we are
dead men."

The tone of his voice, the firm yet persuasive
grasp of his hand, even more than his words — sig-
nificant as they were, — seemed to communicate to
Chesselton some of his own energy. Side by side
they pressed on rapidly now, gasping for breath
as they inhaled the hot, pungent smoke with
which the atmosphere was laden. Oh for one
breath of fresh air ! they both thought as they
toiled on, up and down hill, over stones and
stumps, and through briars and bushes. Oh for
one breath of air — one draught of water ! At last
Chesselton stumbled and fell heavily forward,

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 263

pulling Cameron down also. The latter sprang
up at once, but Chesselton seemed stunned and
stupid. He was losing consciousness, when he
felt a sudden sensation of water dashed upon his
face, his head was raised, and Alan held the flask
to his lips.

" I filled it at the creek. Drink ! " he said.

Chesselton drank ; Alan pulled him to his feet,
and again they toiled onward until they came to
a hill steeper and higher than any they had yet
climbed.

" I think you will have to leave me here," said
Chesselton, in a thick, husky voice. " My strength
is gone. It is impossible I can get up that hill.
Go at once, and God grant that }'our life as well
as my own may not be the sacrifice of — "

" Courage ! courage ! " interrupted Alan, earn-
estty. " Is not life worth one more strliggle ?
Just beyond that hill is the river, and once 'there
we are safe. Come ! "

Up the steep, rugged ascent they clambered
rather than walked, holding on by bushes, pulling
along by blocks of stone, panting, quivering, their
sight dim, their muscles almost cracking with the
strain upon them. They reached the top at last,
and sank down absolutely overcome by exhaus-
tion. If the flames had been upon them, neither
could have moved for some minutes. They did
not even look round. With closed eyes they lay
prostrate on the ground, almost unconscious. But

264 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

Alan did not yield long to the sense of ntter
fatigue which he felt. He roused shortly, opened
his eyes, and raised himself on his elbow, urged
to the effort by the vivid glare on his face.

" Good Heavens ! " he cried ; " what a spectacle ! "

He bent over and shook Chesselton's shoulder ;
and the latter, starting from a state of semi-insen-
sibility, opened his eyes and sat up. Cameron
pointed silently before him, and silently they both
gazed.

The hill sloped down gradually before them for
about a hundred yards to the river — a narrow
mountain stream, which rolled by, looking like a
flood of molten fire. On the opposite bank was a
line of forest, through which the flames were
rushing in mad career, — twining like giant ser-
pents around the tall stems of the trees, flashing
in sudden sheets of flame through the crisped
foliage, flowing like a sea of fire over the earth as
they fiercely devoured the undergrowth. But
the back-ground was more awful still. Hill rising
behind hill, mountain behind mountain, presented
to the eye an Alpine range of leaping flame, the
yellow and vermilion tongues of which shone
dazzling and distinct against the deep blood-red
hue of the sky.

The two men sat, or rather reclined, for at least
half an hour, looking with fascinated regard at
the ocean of blinding light that stretched before
them. Alan moved at length.

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 265

"I am afraid you will think me a very merciless
traveling companion, Mr. Chesselton," he said,
with a half laugh; "but it is time we were moving
again. Thank God, however, the worst is over !
We have not much farther to go before we can
rest for good."

He rose and led the way, Chesselton following,
down to the river-bank, where, tied to the root of
a tree, he found a canoe.

"I'm glad I was not mistaken in my expecta-
tion of finding this here," he said; "and I am
glad to save the old craft. It has been on the
river here ever since I can remember, but it would
be food for the fire if it remained half an hour
longer. Can you handle a pole ? "

" I suppose I can make shift to do so," answered
Chesselton, stepping into the canoe, and receiving
the pole which the other offered. " But I won't
guarantee that I may not go to sleep and tumble
out backward — I feel so awfully tired and
drowsy."

" Keep up a little longer," said Alan, dipping
his own pole into the water. " We must go down
a few miles, so as to get quite out of range of the
fire ; for when we get to sleep once, I tell you we
shall sleep with a vengeance."

" I am sure of that," returned Chesselton, who
was half asleep already, and who soon went sound
asleep, dropped his pole, and came very near fol-

266 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

lowing it himself, but did recover his balance in
time to avoid that catastrophe.

" Never mind," said Alan, in answer to his
apologies for the mishap. " Here is a paddle
which you can perhaps use to more advantage
than the pole."

Chesselton managed to keep awake the rest of
the way, or at least half awake, and at last Alan
guided their craft to the shore. He fastened the
chain carefully to a tree on the bank, and, step-
ping out, extended his hand to Chesselton, who
followed as expeditiously as his weariness per-
mitted. Afterward, in trying to recall the re-
maining events of the night, he could only re-
member having felt a vague sense of surprise and
alarm at seeing Cameron fall down on the ground
and lie without word or sign, after which came
the blank of such sleep as comes not often to tired
eyes on softest beds of down.

CHAPTER XII.

When" Chesselton awoke he was conscious of a
great stiffness everywhere, together with sundry
very odd pains in his limbs.

" By Jove ! ' he said, in astonished dismay, be-
fore he remembered where he was ; then he
opened his eyes more widely and took in the scene
— the river flowing at his feet, the great oak arch-
ing over his head, the friendly cushion of moss on
which he lay. He lifted himself — truly it does
not do for fine gentlemen to turn into mountain-
eers at an hour's notice ! — and found a jacket,
which was not his own, doubled for a pillow
under his head. He looked at it with a stare ;
then, remembering clearly all the circumstances
of his position, glanced round for Cameron. But
Cameron had vanished. The place where he had
lain during the night was sufficiently visible, but
his bodily presence was of the things that had
been and were not. " Where the deuce is the
fellow?' said Chesselton, almost petulantly. He
felt ashamed of his petulance the moment after,
however, when glancing up at the sun he found
that luminary high in the heavens ; and, consult-
ing his watch, saw that, it was verging close on
nine o'clock. The mystery was explained then.

(267)

268 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

No doubt Alan had risen with the da}^ and gone
to seek assistance for their forlorn plight. " By
Jove ! ' said Chesselton again ; but he said it this
time in the tone of one to whom a sort of revela-
tion had come. Then, observing that a thick
canopy of smoke still hung over everything, he
endeavored to settle to his satisfaction the " bear-
ings ' of their position, especially with regard to
the fire they had escaped. Failing in this, he had
no resource but to sit on a log and gaze medita-
tively at the water.

He was still engaged in this interesting occupa-
tion when the stillness was suddenly broken by
the sound of voices and splash of water. The
next moment a small canoe — only a "dug-out,"
but how welcome ! for it was their little craft of
the night before — shot round a* curve of the bank,
and coasted along to where he was sitting. It
contained two men — Alan and a stalwart, bearded
mountaineer. As soon as they touched the bank,
the former sprang out.

"This is Tom Martin, Mr. Chesselton," he said,
introducing his companion: "an old friend of
mine, who has kindly come to our assistance. I
am glad to see you looking so well," he continued,
advancing; to Chesselton. " Did vou think I had
left you to ' come out of the wilderness ' as best
you could ? "

" I'd scarcely have thought that after your com-
ing into the wilderness specially to rescue me,"

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 269

replied Chesselton, stretching out his hand and
wringing with hearty force the one given him.
" The question is not how I feel, but how you
feel? I have just been thinking about it all," he
went on quickly. " You must have gone through
hell itself to reach me last night."

" Not quite," said the other, smiling. " I'm not
a salamander, and only salamanders come through
flames untouched, I believe. I was in the track
of the fire most of the way, though ; and " — he
could not restrain a shudder — " that was pretty
nearly equal to the fire itself."

" God knows I should think so ! " said Chessel-
ton, solemnly.

" I'm more than repaid, however, — ten-fold
more than repaid, by having found you and been
able to pilot you out. To tell you the truth, I
despaired horribly more than once."

" Yet you kept on."

"Surely yes. There was little enough in that.
Tom Martin would have done the same, — wouldn't
you, Tom ? "

"Fur you, it's like enough I mought," answered
the man thus addressed, rather dubiously. "We
thinks a heap on you in the old settlement. Ben
Cryder, he was sayin' only the other day — "

" This fellow thinks he might have gone in for
you, because he likes you," said Chesselton, in a
low, somewhat bitter tone, to Alan; "but you
had no such reason for seeking me. I wonder if

270 A LITTLE MAID OF AECADi.

you wanted to give me a taste of that apochryphal
form of retribution known as 'heaping coals of
fire ' on one's head ? ' he ended, with an uneasy
laugh.

" If }Tou knew me, I trust you would not wrong
me by such a supposition," said Alan. " Since
you do not know me, let me assure you that your
acts of incivility left no impression on my mind,
and that I am heartily glad to have been able to
do you a service. Now let us say no more about
it."

" Unfortunately it is necessary to say a good
deal more about it," replied Chesselton, gravely.
"In the first place, I must beg your pardon, which
I do most sincerely, for what you are good enough
to describe as 4 acts of incivility,' but which I re-
member as gross offences, of which I am heartily
ashamed. I have but one excuse to offer, and
that is a poor one. I have been jealous, madly
jealous, of you ever since you came ; for I have
alwa}Ts feared your influence over Bernadette ;
and before you had been with her long I saw
clearly that, whether you knew it or not, you
possessed her heart."

Alan made a quick negative gesture. " This is
madness ! ' he said, almost sternly. " The jeal-
ousy of which you speak has totally misled you.
Bernadette's heart is true and loyal to its old
affections ; but to think of my possessing it as a

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 271

man possesses the heart of the woman who loves
him — that is folly and blindness."

Chesselton's lip curled in a bitter smile. " If
there are folly and blindness in the case," he said,
uyou may look at home for both. Do you think
that I am likely to be mistaken, — I who have
loved Bernadette from the hour I found her, — I
who know and read her as one only reads the
nature one has studied for years, and on the com-
prehension of which all one's hopes of happiness
depend? God help me, I am only too sure of
what I speak ! No one who loves a woman as I
love her can possibly mistake the signs of her love
for another. But the man who can not read these
signs for himself scarcely deserves to be enlight-
ened," he added, thrusting his hands deep into his
pockets with a gesture familiar to him, and gazing
moodily at the river as it flowed past the point on
which they stood— for half-unconsciously they
had moved out of hearing of the mountaineer,
who was still occupied with the canoe.

Alan, though pale with emotion, held himself
under strong control. " I am sure that you are
mistaken," he said, with suppressed vehemence.
" I would stake my existence on the fact that you
are mistaken. She may not love you — frankly, I
don't think that she does, — but I am sure that she
does not care for me, except in the old fashion of
our childhood."

" There is one plain way to settle the point,"

272 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

said Chesselton. " Ask her. Let her speak for
herself, and say which of us is right. Come, have
you not courage enough for that?' he added,
swinging himself around and looking full into
the other's face, at which he had hitherto avoided
glancing.

" I don't know," said Alan, half under his breath.
Then he met the other's eyes with his clear and
candid ones. " I have courage enough to face any
pain for myself," he said, simply. u No consider-
ation of the kind would deter me. But why
should I inflict pain on her ? And it would be very
real pain she would feel at being forced to answer
in the negative such a question from me."

Chesselton looked at him intently for a moment,
as if trying to gauge the extent of his sincerity.
Then, apparently convinced of it he said, deliber-
ately :

"I am the last man who has any claim to ask a
favor of you, unless the fact that you saved my life
last night constitutes a claim ; but three people
are concerned in this matter, for the sake of each
of whom it should be settled as you alone can
settle it. If you love Bernadette, she has a right
to know it, and a right to say what her choice in
life is; while for me it is of vital interest to know
if I am right or wrong in believing that she cares
for you. Your own feelings you do not seem to take
into consideration, so I may put them aside; but
for her sake and for my own I should be glad if

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 273

you would put the matter to the test and settle it
once for all. I tell you plainly, as man to man,
you have no right to leave it as it is."

What was it that in Alan's mind came as an
echo to these words? Was it not Bernadette's
voice saying, with a strange thrill of passion in it,
" Why should you not think of yourself? How
dare 3^011 attempt to think for me — to decide
whether this or that life is best for me, as if you
were Providence?" Was that what she meant,
this wonderful thing which Chesselton asserted ?
He seemed suddenly to grow dizzy with the thought,
and with the possibilities it involved. Yet it
was the consideration of some of these possibilities,
which after a moment steadied him.

"You forget," he said, looking at Chesselton
gravely, "that if— if it be possible that what
you believe of Bernadette is true, I should be
doing her a great injury if I were to take her from
the life which is hers now, and the future which
will be hers in it, to give her in exchange the
narrow and obscure life which is all I have to
offer."

Chesselton shrugged his shoulders. " That," he
said, "is, I imagine, for her to decide. For my
own part, I do not think any life has ever suited
her so well as the life in which her early years
were spent. I have often told her jestingly that
she is an Arcadian at heart, and in sober earnest
it is true. You have probably been deceived by
18

274 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

her gayety and love of pleasure, arid believe her
much more worldly than she is. As a matter of
fact, the things she really cares for — and she cares
for them with a singular tenacity — are simple
things. She will never make a woman of the
world. I have always known that. I think" —
his voice changed a little — " that I know her better
than any one else does, for I have studied her
closely ever since she came to us ; and, although I
have tried to blind myself to it, I have known for
a long time that I had little hope of winning her
heart. I am too complex a product of civilization
to suit her. She needs a simpler and more direct
nature, such as yours. Now " — he made with his
hands the gesture of one who dismisses a subject —
" I have interpreted the situation for you as best I
can, and I have nothing more to add. Act or not
as you think best."

He turned abruptly and was walking away,
when Alan with quick steps overtook him, and
placed his hand on his arm.

" You must let me thank you," he said, in a low,
deeply-moved voice. " You must not think that
I don't understand — "

" You have nothing to thank me for," Chessel-
ton interrupted. " I felt constrained to say what I
have said. It has been no pleasant task, I assure
you. The rest is with 3-011. Now shall we go ?
By the bye, how do you propose that we shall reach

A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY. 275

the Springs from this place ? For myself, I have
not the faintest idea where we are."

" Our best plan is to drop down the river for a
few miles, in order to avoid the burning woods, and
take the railroad at the nearest point. I have al-
ready sent a messenger with a telegram to your
mother. Her anxiety, I fear, must be terrible, and
should be relieved as soon as possible."

" You have thought of everything," said Ches-
selton. "Let us start, then, without further de-

lay."

CHAPTER XIII.

The consternation of Mrs. Chesselton and Mr.
Ridgeley when the downcast party returned from
their day's excursion with the news of the posi-
tion in which Chesselton and Alan had been left,
was greater than can readily be described. There
was a futile attempt on the part of Randolph to
conceal the extent of the danger from them, but
it had no effect in quieting the apprehensions
which the bare statement of the situation roused.

"If Ridgeley was not in danger," said Mrs.
Chesselton, "why did Mr. Cameron think it nec-
essary to go back for him through such an awful
fire as you describe ? No, Mr. Randolph ; you
mean well, but there is no use in trying to deceive
me. I am sure that my son is in great peril, and
it is maddening to think that we can do nothing
to help him."

" Dear Aunt Alice," said Bernadette, " have
faith in Alan. He knows these mountains, — you
can not imagine how well he knows them. The
more I remember how he was never at fault in
knowledge of the country, and how cool and full
of resource he is, the more I am certain that he
will reach Ridgeley and bring him out in safety.
I was desperately uneasy about them for a time,
(276)

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 277

but I am not now. I am sure Alan will succeed
in what he went back to do."

Mrs. Chesselton looked at the girl as if her
earnest words, and the deep sincerity with which
they were uttered, brought some reassurance of
comfort to her.

u O Bernadette," she said, " it may be so, and I
have no doubt Mr. Cameron will do all he can !
But if the fire is betiveen him and Ridgeley, how
can he reach him ? I wish to God you had never,
any of you, gone to that place ! It is of ill omen
for us. My poor sister met her death there."

"Yes, but what did /meet there?" asked Ber-
nadette, her ej^es shining. "No, Aunt i\lice, it is
not a place of ill omen, but one which is conse-
crated by kindness. And Alan, who found me in
the midst of the terrible railroad wreck — for did I
ever tell you that he was the first to discover me?
— Alan will find Ridgeley and save him. I am
absolutely sure of it."

"What I can not understand," said her grand-
father, " is how Ridgeley could possibly have
been so foolish as to stay behind when such a
danger menaced 3rou. If I comprehend right, 3-011
crossed the road just before the fire reached it,
with not a second to spare — "

"Not a second! " they echoed, shuddering over
the recollection of that fiery passage.

" And }Tet, knowing that it was so close, he
stayed behind, and 3^ou went on and left him !

278 A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y.

Had you all lost your senses that such a thing
was possible ? "

"No one could help it," said Fay. "It was
Ridgeley's own fault. He was in one of his obsti-
nate moods, and you know how obstinate he can
be at such times. He would not believe that the
fire was so near ; he would not listen to Mr. Cam-
eron, -who begged him to come with us. And as
for leaving him — what else could we do? If we
had stayed another minute, we should have been
all hemmed in by the fire."

" One would think he had gone mad ! " said Mr.
Ridgeley. " I never heard of such insanity in my
life."

" He has certainly only himself to blame for the
present situation," observed Randolph, gravely.
"Cameron will have a terrible time in reaching
him ; but, like Miss Arnaud, I have no doubt that
he will succeed in doing so."

" Unless, in order to avoid the fire, Ridgeley
wanders off into the mountains and is lost," said
Mrs. Chesselton, whose anxiety seemed to give
her an insight into the situation.

" Even then Alan would find him ! " cried Ber-
nadette. " I would stake my life on that. He
will know where to look for him."

"And when can they come? — when can we
hear anything ? " asked Mrs. Chesselton, feverishly.

"Not until to-morrow, I fear," Randolph an-
swered, reluctantly. " The fire is now raging

A LITTLE MAID OF ARC AD Y. 279

across the road by which we entered ; and Cam-
eron will have to find some other way of getting
out of the mountains, which will probably take
them far out of reach of the railroad or telegraph.
So you must not be uneasy if it is some time be-
fore you hear anything/'

But even as the speaker uttered the words, he
felt how vain they were. He went sadly away
from the cottage, knowing well that he left behind
him an anxiety that would find no rest through
the long hours of the night, but would grow con-
stantly greater as time went on, until something
was heard from the men now encircled by fire
among the hills. " Confound Chesselton ! " he
muttered savagely to himself. " He is not worth
one throb of what they are suffering ; and if it
comes to a question of Alan's life — how little he
is worth that, or even any risk to it, would be im-
possible to say."

It would indeed be impossible to say how much
or how little any of us are worth the pangs that
faithful and loving hearts must sometimes suffer
for us ; but of the suffering in two hearts at least
that night there could be no question. Mr.
Ridgeley and Fay, comforting themselves with
the hope of good news on the morrow, forgot
their uneasiness after a while in slumber; but
there was no sleep during the long hours for Mrs.
Chesselton and Bernadette. The first had a con-
tinual vision of her son environed by deadly peril,

280 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

and her only comfort was Bernadette's firm and
constant assurance, " Alan will find him and bring
him out. I am perfectly certain of that. Alan
never fails."

And over and over again to herself she repeated
these words during the night — " Alan never fails."
It was a talisman to keep down her own fears, to
preserve faith and hope alive. She would not
allow herself to believe that Alan could fail, or
find himself in danger: j^et now and then a pang
of apprehension seized her, as if a strong hand
clutched and wrung her heart ; and prayers of
agonized entreaty rose to her lips as she felt the
helplessness and hopelessness of man's efforts un-
less sustained by Gocl. "O Mother of Mercy,
save him ! ' she would whisper, as the beads of
her rosary slipped through her fingers.

Many things came to her during the watches of
that night which made an impress upon her life
never to be forgotten. For the first time she un-
derstood beyond the possibility of a doubt what
Alan was to her, — how old affection had quick-
ened into new love under the powerful yet uncon-
scious spell of a noble and unselfish nature. And
it was not so much the danger in which he stood
which brought this realization in all its force to
her, as the passionate appreciation of what had
placed him in the danger. Clear as a picture rose
before her mind Chesselton's insulting: words and
tones when they had parted at the mill: and to

A LITTLE MAID OF AECADY. 281

run unshrinkingly the risk of an awful death for
him was Alan's answer and revenge ! The girl's
heart swelled with pride over the high worthiness
of it. She felt a rush of tenderness that was
almost pain. "Alan, Alan, there is nobody like
you — nobody ! " she whispered to herself. And
there was a prouder and more confident ring in
her voice as she said again to Mrs. Chesselton :
" Don't fear, Aunt Alice ! Have faith in God —
and Alan. I am sure they are and will be saved."
It was Randolph who brought Alan's dispatch
to them the next morning, and laid it in Mrs.
Chesselton's hand, whose overwrought feelings
could only find relief in tears. " God bless him!'
she said, as she read the name traced at the bottom
of the message. " We are safe. Will return as
soon as practicable," Alan said. And Bernadette
as she read it cried, with shining eyes : " Did I
not tell you all so? I knew Alan could not fail!'

Those eyes were still shining, but with a softer
and more tender light, when Alan himself met
them late that evening, and took in his own the
little hand which could give so true and firm a
grasp. And when congratulations, thanks, and
descriptions of the gantlet they had run with
death, were at last over, and these two could
speak to each other apart, Bernadette said, with a
voice that trembled :

" Alan, I am so proud of you ! "

282 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

Alan laughed. "What is there to be prond
of ? " he asked. " You make too much of a simple
thing. What could T, who know every fold of
those hills and every trail across them, do but go
back for a man who would have been lost in half
an hour?"

" A man for whom }^ou had so much reason to
incur suffering and danger! Alan, do you think
that I forget — "

He lifted his hand with a slight, silencing ges-
ture. "It is best to forget," he answered. "All
that is over. He has apologized for the rudeness
for which he was not perhaps at the time account-
able, and I have no desire to remember it. In
every way he has done all that he could to make
atonement. I have promised him to say some-
thing to you which else I should never have said.
Will you come with me for a short walk ? '

The girl rose at once. It could hardly be that
she knew what lie was going to say ; but her
heart answered so completely to his, that her com-
pliance with his request was an impulse as spon-
taneous as the beating of that heart. Now, as in
the days of her childhood, wThere would she not
have followed when Alan led?

Thev walked away around the screen mountain
side. A sunset glow filled the sky and flung its
reflection over the pastoral scene below ; but here
on this hillside shelf, with its overarching shade,
a soft twilight had begun to reign. As they left

A LITTLE MAID OF AIICADY. 283

the gay valley behind, with its throngs of pleasure-
seekers, its glittering hotel and encircling cottages,
filled with the air of the fashionable world, it was
as if they turned their faces again toward the syl-
van solitudes, the fair Arcadia of their youth.

Soon Alan paused. He was strung to so high
a tension by the mere thought of what he was
now resolved to say, that any further reticence
had become impossible.

" Bernadette," he exclaimed — and the tone of
his voice, changed and thrilling with passion,
made the girl start as if another than Alan stood
before her, — "your cousin says that I am wrong
in thinking to go away and leave unsaid what is
in my heart toward you. I had thought that it
was best — that I should only pain you bj- speak-
ing. But I have remembered some words of your
own. You said yesterday that I had no right to
play Providence and decide what your life should
be. I did not intend to do that. I only intended
to spare you knowledge which I thought con-
cerned myself alone,— the knowledge that I love
you, not with the old love which made you so
dear in the past, but with a new love, which gives
me no alternative but to leave you, unless — unless,
Bernadette, you can turn from this brilliant life
which opens before you, and for which you seem
made, to put your hand in mine and share with
me a life of obscurity and toil. I never thought
to ask it — I feel now as if I were mad to ask it, —

HV

284 A LITTLE MAID OF ARCADY.

but, Bemadette, if it is possible that you love
me — "

Then she turned, stopping all other words on
his lips by the tender grace with which she ex-
tended her hand and laid it in his.

" Alan," she said, with eyes that seemed to
hold the sunset's light, " I will go with you to the
end of the world. How could you doubt it ? "

THE END.

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