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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} T gone 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 ; 
 3 r et 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, 
 u is 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. 
 
 u Stop 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 } t ou 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 ? " 
 
 u Oh, 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} T es. " 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, } t ou 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 } t ou, — 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 } r ou 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." 
 
 " 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} T s 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 } r ears ! 
 
 " 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 safelj 7 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 know r 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 ) r ou 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 w r ell 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 w T as 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 } r o 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 } t ou 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 } 7 ou 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 } T ou 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, } 7 ou 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} T s 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} 7 s 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 } r et 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. 44 I 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." 
 
 " Faj T ," interposed her grandfather, " I am sorry 
 to see that } r ou 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 } t ou 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 absoluteh T 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 skj r 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 4 they 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 : 4 Oh, 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 chieflj 7 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 } r ou 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 } r ou 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 } T ourself 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 } T ears 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 ." 
 
 ;t Not 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} r s," 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 4 a 
 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. u The 
 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 w r ith 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. 
 
 " 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 } T ourself 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 } T ou 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} T s 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, 
 u you 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 3 r ou. 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 } T et, 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, w T here 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. 
 
i* 
 


 
 

 

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