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Chapter Ii.
word wife crept into her ears , and she remembered words that she had read as to woman ' s virtue . She thought of her father and mother ! And how would it be with her when , after a while , she would awake from her dream ? She had sat silent for an
hour alone , now melting into softness , and then rousing herself to all the strength of womanhood . At last a frown came across hor brow , very dark ; and then , dashing her clenched hand down upon the table , she expressed her purpose in spoken words : " I will tell it him all ! "
Then she told him all , after her fashion . It was the custom of the two men to go forth together almost at dawn , and it was her business to prepare their meal for them before they went .
On the first morning after her resolution had been formed , she bade her husband stay awhile . She had thought to say it in the seclusion of their own room ; but she had felt that it would be better that John should not be in the house when it was
spoken . Peter stayed at her bidding , looking eagerly into her face , as she stood at the back door watching till the young man had started on his horse . Then she turned round to her husband . " He must go away from this , " she said , pointing over her shoulder to the retreating figure of the horseman .
" Why is he to go ? What has he been and done ? ' This last question he asked , lowering his voice to a whisper , as though thinking that she had detected his cousin in some delinquency . There was a savage purpose in her heart to make the revelation as bitter to liim as it might be . He must know her own
purity , but he must know also her thorough contempt for himself . There was no further punishment that he could inflict upon her , save that of thinking her to be false . Though he were to starve her , beat her , murder her , she would care for that not at all . He had carried her away helpless to his foul home , and all that was left her was to preserve herself strong against disgrace .
" He is a man , a young man , and I am a woman . You had better let him go . " Then he stood for a while with his mouth open , holding 3 ier hy the arm , nofc looking * at her , but with his eyes fixed on the spot whence his cousin was disappearing . After a moment or two , his lips came together and produced a long
low whistle . He still clutched her , and still looked out upon the far-retreating figure ; but he was for a while as though he had been stricken dumb . " You had better let him go , " she repeated . Then he whispered some word into her ear . She threw up the arm he was holding , so violently that he was forced to
start back from hor , and to feel how much stronger she was than he , should she choose to put out her strength . "I tell you all , " sho said , " that you have to know . Little as you deserve , 3 * 011 have fallen into honest ; hands . Let him go . " "And-he hasn't said a word ?"
" I have told you all that you are to hear . " " I would kill him . " If yon are beast enough to accuse him , he will you;—or I will do it , if you ever tell him what I have said to you . Bid him go ; and let that bc all . " Then she turned away from him ,
and passing through the house , crossed the veranhah , and went out upon the open space on the other side . He lingered about the place for half-an-hour , but did not follow her . Then he mounted his old hojse , and rode away across tho prairie after his sheep .
" Have you told him ? " she said , that night when they were alone .
"Told him what ?" " Thafc he must go . " He shook his head , not angrily , but in despair . Since that morning ho had learned to be afraid of her . " If you do not , " she said very slowly , looking him full in the face— * ¦ * ¦ if you do not—I will . He shall be told to-night , before he goes to his bed . "
" Am I to say that he—that he ? " As ho endeavoured to ask the question , he was white with despair . " You are to say nothing to him , but that he must quit Warriwa at once . If you will say that , he will understand you . " What took place between the two men on the next day she did
not know . It may be doubted whether she would ever know it . Peter said not a word further to her on the matter , lint on the morning of the second day tliere was the buggy ready , and Peter with it , prepared to drive his cousin away . It was apparent to her that her husband had not dared to say an evil word of her , nor did
she believe that he suspected her . She felt that , poor a creature as he was , she had driven liim to respect her . But the thing was settled as she would havo it , and the young man was to go . Dnring those last two days there was not a word spoken between hor and John , unless when she handed him his food .
When he was away across the land she took care that not a stitch should be wanting to his garments . She washed his things and laid them smooth for him in his box , —oh , with such loving hands ! As she kneeled down to her work , sho looked round to thc door of the room to see that it was closed , and to the window , lest thc eyes of thafc old woman should be prying
Chapter Ii.
in ; and then she stooped low , and burying her face beneath the lid , kissed the linen which her hands had smoothed . This she could do , ancl not feel herself disgraced ;— -but when the morning came she could let him go and not speak a word . She came out before he was up and prepared the breakfast , and then went
back to her own room , so that they two might eat it together and then start . But he could not bring himself to go without one word of farewell . " Say good-bye , at any rate , " he sobbed ,
standing at her door , which opened out upon the verandah . Peter the while was looking on wifch a lighted pipe in his mouth . " Good-bye , John . " The words were heard , but the sobs were almost hidden .
" Give me your hand , " said he . Then there came forth a hand—nothing but a hand . He took it in his , and for a moment thought that he would touch it with his lips . But he felt , —feeling like a man , —thafc it behoved lum to spare , her vvU he could . He pressed it in his grasp for a moment , and then the hand disappeared .
" If we are to go , we might as well be off , " said Peter . So they mounted the buggy and wont away . •JJ- " ' -Y- JJ .
The nearest town to Warriwa was a place called Timaru , through which a coach running from Dunedin to Christchurch , passed three times a week . This was forty miles off , and here was transacted what business was necessary for the carrying on of the sheep-station . Stores were bought at Timaru , snch as
sugar , tea , and flour , and here Peter Carmichael generally sold his wool . Here was the bank at which he kept his money , and in which his credit always stood high . There were not many journeys made from Warriwa fco Timaru ; but when one became necessary it was always a service of pleasure to Peter . He
could , as it were , finger his money by looking at the bank which contained it , and he could learn what mi ght probably be the price which the merchants would give him for his next clip . On this occasion he seemed to bc quite glad of an excuse for driving into Timaru , though it can hardly be imagined that he
and his companion were pleasant to each other in the buggy . From Warriwa the road , or track rather , was flat the whole way to Timaru . There was nothing to bc seen on cither way but a long * everlasting plain of grey , stunted , stony grass . At Warriwa the outlines of the distant mountains wero just visible
in the west , but the traveller , as he went eastward towards the town and the road , soon lost sight of the hills , and could see nothing but the grey plain . There were , however , three rivers to be passed , the Warriwa , and two others , which , coming down from the north-west , ran into the Warriwa . Of these the
Warriwa itself was the widest , and the deepest , and the fastest . It was in crossing this , within ten miles of her home , —crossing it after dark , —that Catherine had thought how woll it would be that the waters should pass over her head , so that she might never see that home . Often , since that , she had thought how well it would have been for her had she been saved from the
horrors of her home by the waters of the river . We may suppose that very little was said by the two men as they made their way into Timaru . Peter was ono who cared little for conversation , and could be quite content to sit for hours together in his buggy , calculating the weight of his wool , and
fche money which would . come from ifc . At Timaru thoy dined together , still , we may say , without many words . Then the coach came , and John Carmichael was carried away ,- —whither his cousin did not even inquire . There was somo small money transaction between them , ancl John was carried away to follow out his fortune .
Had it been possible Peter would have returned at once , so as to save expense , but the horses made it necessary that he should remain that ni ght in the town . And , having done so , he stayed the greater part of the following day , looking after his money and his wool , and gathering his news " At about two he
started , and made his way back over the two smaller rivers iu safety . At the Warriwa there was but one ferryman , and iii carrying a vehicle with horses over it was necessary that the man in charge of them should work also . On tho former day , though the rivers had been very high , tliere had been daylight ,
and John Carmichael had been there . Now it was pitch dark , though it was in the middle of summer , aud the waters were running very strong . The ferryman refused at first to put the buggy on the raft , bidding old Carmichael wait till the next morning . Ifc was Christmas Eve , he said , and he did not care to bo drowned on Christmas Eve .
Nor was such to be his destiny . But it was the destiny of Peter Carmichael . The water went over him and one of his horses . At three o ' clock in tho morning his body was brought
home to Warriwa , lying across thc back of tho other . 'Phe ferryman had been unable to save the man ' s life , but had got the body , and had brought it home to thc young widow just twelve months after the clay ou which she had become a wife .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Chapter Ii.
word wife crept into her ears , and she remembered words that she had read as to woman ' s virtue . She thought of her father and mother ! And how would it be with her when , after a while , she would awake from her dream ? She had sat silent for an
hour alone , now melting into softness , and then rousing herself to all the strength of womanhood . At last a frown came across hor brow , very dark ; and then , dashing her clenched hand down upon the table , she expressed her purpose in spoken words : " I will tell it him all ! "
Then she told him all , after her fashion . It was the custom of the two men to go forth together almost at dawn , and it was her business to prepare their meal for them before they went .
On the first morning after her resolution had been formed , she bade her husband stay awhile . She had thought to say it in the seclusion of their own room ; but she had felt that it would be better that John should not be in the house when it was
spoken . Peter stayed at her bidding , looking eagerly into her face , as she stood at the back door watching till the young man had started on his horse . Then she turned round to her husband . " He must go away from this , " she said , pointing over her shoulder to the retreating figure of the horseman .
" Why is he to go ? What has he been and done ? ' This last question he asked , lowering his voice to a whisper , as though thinking that she had detected his cousin in some delinquency . There was a savage purpose in her heart to make the revelation as bitter to liim as it might be . He must know her own
purity , but he must know also her thorough contempt for himself . There was no further punishment that he could inflict upon her , save that of thinking her to be false . Though he were to starve her , beat her , murder her , she would care for that not at all . He had carried her away helpless to his foul home , and all that was left her was to preserve herself strong against disgrace .
" He is a man , a young man , and I am a woman . You had better let him go . " Then he stood for a while with his mouth open , holding 3 ier hy the arm , nofc looking * at her , but with his eyes fixed on the spot whence his cousin was disappearing . After a moment or two , his lips came together and produced a long
low whistle . He still clutched her , and still looked out upon the far-retreating figure ; but he was for a while as though he had been stricken dumb . " You had better let him go , " she repeated . Then he whispered some word into her ear . She threw up the arm he was holding , so violently that he was forced to
start back from hor , and to feel how much stronger she was than he , should she choose to put out her strength . "I tell you all , " sho said , " that you have to know . Little as you deserve , 3 * 011 have fallen into honest ; hands . Let him go . " "And-he hasn't said a word ?"
" I have told you all that you are to hear . " " I would kill him . " If yon are beast enough to accuse him , he will you;—or I will do it , if you ever tell him what I have said to you . Bid him go ; and let that bc all . " Then she turned away from him ,
and passing through the house , crossed the veranhah , and went out upon the open space on the other side . He lingered about the place for half-an-hour , but did not follow her . Then he mounted his old hojse , and rode away across tho prairie after his sheep .
" Have you told him ? " she said , that night when they were alone .
"Told him what ?" " Thafc he must go . " He shook his head , not angrily , but in despair . Since that morning ho had learned to be afraid of her . " If you do not , " she said very slowly , looking him full in the face— * ¦ * ¦ if you do not—I will . He shall be told to-night , before he goes to his bed . "
" Am I to say that he—that he ? " As ho endeavoured to ask the question , he was white with despair . " You are to say nothing to him , but that he must quit Warriwa at once . If you will say that , he will understand you . " What took place between the two men on the next day she did
not know . It may be doubted whether she would ever know it . Peter said not a word further to her on the matter , lint on the morning of the second day tliere was the buggy ready , and Peter with it , prepared to drive his cousin away . It was apparent to her that her husband had not dared to say an evil word of her , nor did
she believe that he suspected her . She felt that , poor a creature as he was , she had driven liim to respect her . But the thing was settled as she would havo it , and the young man was to go . Dnring those last two days there was not a word spoken between hor and John , unless when she handed him his food .
When he was away across the land she took care that not a stitch should be wanting to his garments . She washed his things and laid them smooth for him in his box , —oh , with such loving hands ! As she kneeled down to her work , sho looked round to thc door of the room to see that it was closed , and to the window , lest thc eyes of thafc old woman should be prying
Chapter Ii.
in ; and then she stooped low , and burying her face beneath the lid , kissed the linen which her hands had smoothed . This she could do , ancl not feel herself disgraced ;— -but when the morning came she could let him go and not speak a word . She came out before he was up and prepared the breakfast , and then went
back to her own room , so that they two might eat it together and then start . But he could not bring himself to go without one word of farewell . " Say good-bye , at any rate , " he sobbed ,
standing at her door , which opened out upon the verandah . Peter the while was looking on wifch a lighted pipe in his mouth . " Good-bye , John . " The words were heard , but the sobs were almost hidden .
" Give me your hand , " said he . Then there came forth a hand—nothing but a hand . He took it in his , and for a moment thought that he would touch it with his lips . But he felt , —feeling like a man , —thafc it behoved lum to spare , her vvU he could . He pressed it in his grasp for a moment , and then the hand disappeared .
" If we are to go , we might as well be off , " said Peter . So they mounted the buggy and wont away . •JJ- " ' -Y- JJ .
The nearest town to Warriwa was a place called Timaru , through which a coach running from Dunedin to Christchurch , passed three times a week . This was forty miles off , and here was transacted what business was necessary for the carrying on of the sheep-station . Stores were bought at Timaru , snch as
sugar , tea , and flour , and here Peter Carmichael generally sold his wool . Here was the bank at which he kept his money , and in which his credit always stood high . There were not many journeys made from Warriwa fco Timaru ; but when one became necessary it was always a service of pleasure to Peter . He
could , as it were , finger his money by looking at the bank which contained it , and he could learn what mi ght probably be the price which the merchants would give him for his next clip . On this occasion he seemed to bc quite glad of an excuse for driving into Timaru , though it can hardly be imagined that he
and his companion were pleasant to each other in the buggy . From Warriwa the road , or track rather , was flat the whole way to Timaru . There was nothing to bc seen on cither way but a long * everlasting plain of grey , stunted , stony grass . At Warriwa the outlines of the distant mountains wero just visible
in the west , but the traveller , as he went eastward towards the town and the road , soon lost sight of the hills , and could see nothing but the grey plain . There were , however , three rivers to be passed , the Warriwa , and two others , which , coming down from the north-west , ran into the Warriwa . Of these the
Warriwa itself was the widest , and the deepest , and the fastest . It was in crossing this , within ten miles of her home , —crossing it after dark , —that Catherine had thought how woll it would be that the waters should pass over her head , so that she might never see that home . Often , since that , she had thought how well it would have been for her had she been saved from the
horrors of her home by the waters of the river . We may suppose that very little was said by the two men as they made their way into Timaru . Peter was ono who cared little for conversation , and could be quite content to sit for hours together in his buggy , calculating the weight of his wool , and
fche money which would . come from ifc . At Timaru thoy dined together , still , we may say , without many words . Then the coach came , and John Carmichael was carried away ,- —whither his cousin did not even inquire . There was somo small money transaction between them , ancl John was carried away to follow out his fortune .
Had it been possible Peter would have returned at once , so as to save expense , but the horses made it necessary that he should remain that ni ght in the town . And , having done so , he stayed the greater part of the following day , looking after his money and his wool , and gathering his news " At about two he
started , and made his way back over the two smaller rivers iu safety . At the Warriwa there was but one ferryman , and iii carrying a vehicle with horses over it was necessary that the man in charge of them should work also . On tho former day , though the rivers had been very high , tliere had been daylight ,
and John Carmichael had been there . Now it was pitch dark , though it was in the middle of summer , aud the waters were running very strong . The ferryman refused at first to put the buggy on the raft , bidding old Carmichael wait till the next morning . Ifc was Christmas Eve , he said , and he did not care to bo drowned on Christmas Eve .
Nor was such to be his destiny . But it was the destiny of Peter Carmichael . The water went over him and one of his horses . At three o ' clock in tho morning his body was brought
home to Warriwa , lying across thc back of tho other . 'Phe ferryman had been unable to save the man ' s life , but had got the body , and had brought it home to thc young widow just twelve months after the clay ou which she had become a wife .