He
raised the hood of the cardinal, which had fallen over her features, and
exclaimed, with some uneasiness,--
"Miss Wharton! But you cannot be alone?"
"There is none here but my God and you; and by His sacred name, I
conjure you to remember your promise, and save my brother!"
Harper gently raised her from her knees, and placed her on the stool,
begging her at the same time to be composed, and to acquaint him with
the nature of her errand. This Frances instantly did, ingenuously
admitting him to a knowledge of all her views in visiting that lone spot
at such an hour, and by herself.
It was at all times difficult to probe the thoughts of one who held his
passions in such disciplined subjection as Harper, but still there was a
lighting of his thoughtful eye, and a slight unbending of his muscles,
as the hurried and anxious girl proceeded in her narrative. His
interest, as she dwelt upon the manner of Henry's escape, and the flight
to the woods, was deep and manifest, and he listened to the remainder of
her tale with a marked expression of benevolent indulgence. Her
apprehensions, that her brother might still be too late through the
mountains, seemed to have much weight with him, for, as she concluded,
he walked a turn or two across the hut, in silent musing.
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