gh the end was expected at
any moment.

Indeed, it was a wonder that he had not died instantly, declared all
three doctors who examined him. The bullet had crashed through the side
of his head near the top, and was certainly imbedded in his brain, for
all endeavors to locate it failed of success, and they decided not to
worry the poor fellow with these useless attempts, but to let him pass
away in peace.

Love lay with closed eyes in a comatose condition, breathing heavily,
his pulse sinking fast, and it was believed that each moment must be his
last.

But as the minutes ebbed and the frail breath of life still fluttered
feebly in his frame, they became mystified by his tenacity of life, and
decided to risk removing him to his bed, which was accordingly done
without any appreciable harm to his condition.

Meanwhile, the house was full of hysterical women sobbing in earnest
fright and demanding as much attention as the victim himself, not the
least of whom was Mrs. Ellsworth.

She had followed Lovelace to the parlors after his startling
communication to her in wild excitement, and had swooned on beholding
his fall, recovering from one long spell only to go into another, and
actual fears for her life began to be entertained.

It was touching, said all, to see how devoted she had been to her
step-son, seeing that the events of to-day would make her the mistress
of his splendid fortune.

CHAPTER XXI.

WOULD HEAVEN TURN AWAY FROM HER WILD APPEAL?

"Oh, Thou to whom my thoughts are known,
Calm, oh, calm these trembling fears;
Oh, turn away the world's cold frown,
And dry these falling tears!
Oh, leave me not alone in grief--
Send this anguished heart relief!
Oh, make my life Thy future care!
Sweet Spirit, hear my prayer--
Ah, hear my prayer!"

Beneath the ruined wing of Castle Ellsworth were mysterious underground
passages and chambers, and in one of these grewsome places Dainty Chase
was held a prisoner, while over her head, in the golden light of the
summer day, the stirring events of the interrupted wedding were in
progress.

While wrapped in the unconsciousness of a drugged sleep the night
previous, the hapless girl had been borne away from her mother's side in
the arms of the person who had so successfully enacted the part of the
monk's ghost, and placed on a couch, where she slept on heavily till the
day was far advanced toward its meridian.

She woke