as it that there's
blood upon his hand, an' that the downfall of himself and his family is
only the vengeance of God, an' the curse of murdher that's pursuin' him
and them."

"Why," inquired the other, eagerly, "was he accused of it?"

"Ay, an' taken up for it; but bekaise the body wasn't found, they could
do nothing to him."

"May Heaven assist me!" exclaimed the stranger, "but this day
is----however, God's will be done, as it will be done! Are you goin'?"

"I'm goin'," replied Nelly; "by crossin' the fields here, I'll save
a great deal of ground; and when you get as far as the broken bridge,
you'll see a large farm-house widout any smoke from it; about a quarter
of a mile or less beyant that you'll find the house you're lookin'
for--the house where Condy Dalton lives."

Having thus directed the stranger, the prophet's wife entered a gap that
led into a field, and proceeded on her way homewards, having, ere
she parted, glanced at her with a meaning which rendered it extremely
difficult to say whether the singular language addressed to her had left
behind it any such impression as the speaker wished to produce. Their
glances met and dwelt on each other for a short time: the strange
woman pointed solemnly towards the sky, and the prophet's wife smiled
carelessly; but yet, by a very keen eye, it might have been noticed
that, under this natural or affected indifference, there lurked a blank
or rather an unquiet expression, such as might intimate that something
within her had been moved by the observations of her strange companion.

CHAPTER X. -- The Black Prophet makes a Disclosure.

The latter proceeded on her way home, having marked the miserable hovel
of Condy Dalton. At present our readers will accompany us once more to
the cabin of Donnel Dhu, the prophet.

His wife, as the reader knows, had been startled into something like
remorse, by the incidents which had occurred within the last two days,
and especially by the double discovery of the dead body and the Tobacco
box. Sarah, her step-daughter, was now grown, and she very reasonably
concluded, her residence in the same house with this fiery and violent
young female was next to an impossibility.--The woman herself was
naturally coarse and ignorant; but still there was mixed, up in her
character a kind of apathetic or indolent feeling of rectitude or
vague humanity, which rendered her liable to occasional visitations of
compunction for whatever she did