hill-side, to ascend to the summit
without difficulty. It is true he was now below the point from which he
had fallen, but by swinging himself off laterally, or even by springing,
aided by the line, it was not a difficult achievement to reach it, and
he no sooner understood the nature of the change that had been made,
than he set about attempting it. The confident manner of Dutton
encouraged both the baronet and Mildred, and they drew to the cliff,
again; standing near the verge, though on the part where the rocks might
be descended, with less apprehension of consequences.

As soon as Wychecombe had made all his preparations, he stood on the end
of the ledge, tightened the line, looked carefully for a foothold on the
other side of the chasm, and made his leap. As a matter of course, the
body of the young man swung readily across the space, until the line
became perpendicular, and then he found a surface so broken, as to
render his ascent by no means difficult, aided as he was by the
halyards. Scrambling upwards, he soon rejected the aid of the line, and
sprang upon the head-land. At the same instant, Mildred fell senseless
on the grass.

CHAPTER III.

"I want a hero:--an uncommon want,
When every year and month send forth a new one;
'Till, after cloying the gazelles with cant,
The age discovers he is not the true one;--"

BYRON.

In consequence of the unsteadiness of the father's nerves, the duty of
raising Mildred in his arms, and of carrying her to the cottage,
devolved on the young man. This he did with a readiness and concern
which proved how deep an interest he took in her situation, and with a
power of arm which showed that his strength was increased rather than
lessened by the condition into which she had fallen. So rapid was his
movement, that no one saw the kiss he impressed on the palid cheek of
the sweet girl, or the tender pressure with which he grasped the
lifeless form. By the time he reached the door, the motion and air had
begun to revive her, and Wychecombe committed her to the care of her
alarmed mother, with a few hurried words of explanation. He did not
leave the house, however, for a quarter of an hour, except to call out
to Dutton that Mildred was reviving, and that he need be under no
uneasiness on her account. Why he remained so long, we leave the reader
to imagine, for the girl had been immediately taken to her own little
chamber, and he saw her no