re the green whispering trees. Townley sat beside
the bed, book in hand, and almost started when I spoke.

[Illustration: He pointed his Gun at me]

'Mr. Townley!'

'Yes, dear boy.'

'Have I been long ill?'

'For weeks--four, I think. How glad I am you are better! But you must keep
very, _very_ quiet. I shall go and bring your mother now, and Flora.'

I put out my thin hand and detained him.

'Tell me, Mr. Townley,' I said, 'have I spoken much in my sleep, for I
have been dreaming such foolish dreams?'

Townley looked at me long and earnestly. He seemed to look me through and
through. Then he replied slowly, almost solemnly,

'Yes, dear boy, you have spoken _much_.'

I closed my eyes languidly. For now I knew that Townley was aware of more
than ever I should have dared to reveal.

-----

[1] Triton.

[2] Smothered.

[3] Birch-trees.

CHAPTER IV.

THE RING AND THE BOOK.

My return to health was a slow though not a painful one. My mind, however,
was clear, and even before I could partake of food I enjoyed hearing
sister play to me on her harp. Sometimes aunt, too, would play. My mother
seldom left the room by day, and one of my chief delights was her stories
from Bible life and tales of Bible lands.

At last I was permitted to get up and recline in fauteuil or on sofa.

'Mother,' I said one day, 'I feel getting stronger, but somehow I do not
regain spirits. Is there some sorrow in your heart, mother, or do I only
imagine it?'

She smiled, but there were tears in her eyes.

'I'm sure we are all very, _very_ happy, Murdoch, to have you getting well
again.'

'And, mother,' I persisted, 'father does not seem easy in mind either. He
comes in and talks to me, but often I think his mind is wandering to other
subjects.'

'Foolish child! nothing could make your father unhappy. He does his duty
by us all, and his faith is fixed.'

One day they came and told me that the doctor had ordered me away to the
seaside. Mother and Flora were to come, and one servant; the rest of our
family were to follow.

It was far away south to Rothesay we went, and here, my cheeks fanned by
the delicious sea-breezes, I soon began to grow well and strong again. But
the sorrow in my mother's face was more marked than ever, though I had
ceased to refer to it.

The rooms we had hired were very pleasant, but looked very small in
comparison with the great halls I had been used to.

Well, on a beautiful after