herself failing. She tottered along
the wall of the building, searching for a door. She found the porch. She
found the church door. But by this time she was quite spent; her senses
reeled; her cry was a moan.

She knocked once with her hands. She tried to knock again; but the
door flew suddenly open, and, in the vain endeavor to knock again, her
helpless body, like a pillar of snow, fell forward; but Henry Little
caught her directly, and then she clutched him feebly, by mere instinct.

He uttered a cry of love and alarm. She opened her filmy eyes, and
stared at him. Her cold neck and white cheek rested on his bare and
glowing arm.

The moment he saw it was really Grace Carden that had fallen inanimate
into his arms, Henry Little uttered a loud cry of love and terror, and,
putting his other sinewy arm under her, carried her swiftly off to his
fires, uttering little moans of fear and pity as he went; he laid her
down by the fire, and darted to the forge, and blew it to a white heat;
and then darted back to her, and kissed her cold hands with pretty moans
of love; and then blew up the other fires; and then back to her, and
patted her hands, and kissed them with all his soul, and drew them to
his bosom to warm them; and drew her head to his heart to warm her; and
all with pretty moans of love, and fear, and pity; and the tears rained
out of his eyes at sight of her helpless condition, and the tears
fell upon her brow and her hands; and all this vitality and love soon
electrified her; she opened her eyes, and smiled faintly, but such a
smile, and murmured, "It's you," and closed her eyes again.

Then he panted out, "Yes, it is I,--a friend. I won't hurt you--I won't
tell you how I love you any more--only live! Don't give way. You shall
marry who you like. You shall never be thwarted, nor worried, nor made
love to again; only be brave and live; don't rob the world of the only
angel that is in it. Have mercy, and live! I'll never ask more of you
than that. Oh, how pale! I am frightened. Cursed fires, have you no
warmth IN you?" And he was at the bellows again. And the next moment
back to her, imploring her, and sighing over her, and saying the
wildest, sweetest, drollest things, such as only those who love can say,
in moments when hearts are bursting.

How now? Her cheek that was so white is pink--pinker--red--scarlet. She
is blushing.

She had closed her eyes at love's cries. Perhaps she was not altogether
unwilling