and indeed, the sweet girl is
very romantic still--very young, even after all she has gone through.'

Not understanding this, Mary let it pass in calculations on the number
of possible signatures, which the two ladies undertook to collect.

'That is well,' said Flora, as they went away. 'It could not be in
better hands. It will thrive the better for our doing nothing but
writing our names.'

They met Tom on the like errand, but not very sanguine, for he said
there had of late been an outcry against the number of reprieves
granted, and the public had begun to think itself not sufficiently
protected. He thought the best chance was the discovery of some
additional fact that might tell in favour of Leonard, and confident in
his own sagacity, was going to make perquisitions at the mill. Every
one had been visiting of late, and now that he knew more, if he and his
microscope could detect one drop of human blood in an unexpected place,
they would do better service to the prisoner than all the petitions
that could be signed.

Averil was somewhat better; the feverishness had been removed by her
long sleep of despair, and her energy revived under the bodily relief,
and the fixed purpose of recovering in time to see her brother again;
but the improvement was not yet trusted by Henry, who feared her doing
too much unless he was himself watching over her, and therefore only
paid Leonard a short visit in the forenoon, going and returning by
early trains.

He reported that Leonard was very pale, and owned to want of sleep,
adding, however, 'It does not matter. Why should I wish to lose any
time?' Calm and brave as ever, he had conversed as cheerfully as
Henry's misery would permit, inquiring into the plans of the family,
which he knew were to depend on his fate, and acquiescing in his
brother's intention of quitting the country; nay, even suggesting that
it might be better for his sisters to be taken away before all was
over, though he, as well as Henry, knew that to this Averil would never
have consented. He had always been a great reader of travels, and he
became absolutely eager in planning their life in the wild, as if where
they were he must be, till the casual mention of the word 'rifle'
brought him to sudden silence, and the consciousness of the condemned
cell; but even then it was only to be urgent in consoling his brother,
and crowding message on message for his sisters; begging Henry not to
stay, not to consider