e in the route he had chosen; for the solemn
whisperings of the gloomy old pine wood had their influence even upon
him; and, as his heart beat painfully, he shudderingly recalled the
past. So strong were the impressions made by memory, that he had not a
word to say in opposition when Brace gently disengaged his arm, and
seated himself upon one of the fallen trunks, to bury his face in his
hands. Captain Norton even felt that he could have followed his son's
example, as, like spectres of the past, came trooping by the thoughts
and scenes of the bygone, as the old pine wood grew more and more dim
and sombre, for the sun had just dipped below the distant horizon.

There was the old scene at the church porch; the encounter at the
rectory; the walk over the moor; his madman's acts; and, lastly, his
awaking to the fact that the devoted woman who had followed him was
lying bleeding at his feet--perhaps breathing her last sighs. Then came
a change, and he saw again Marion, his old love, returned from abroad;
the meeting in his own garden; the scene at the party; the disappearance
of the cross; the blow stricken by Sir Murray Gernon; and, lastly, the
news that Lady Gernon had, in one short hour, as it were, passed from
this life. And now, here was his son--apparently persecuted by the same
sad fate--crouching before him, heart-broken and despairing. What was
in the future for them both?

He asked himself the question; and then, as if electrified, he started,
and stood listening.

"What was that, Brace?" he cried, excitedly.

"Nothing but the men leaving work," said the young man drearily.

"Nonsense!--rouse yourself!" cried the Captain, "and come on: there is
something wrong. Hark at the hurried buzz of voices! The dam must have
burst! Let us go."

"It is only the wind in the pine-tops sighing as if all the sad spirits
of the air were there in debate," said Brace. "I like staying here,
father; for it is as if one was once more at sea, with the heralds of
the coming storm whispering through the rigging, and telling the news of
the fierce winds, soon to shake spar and cord. Father," he said
dreamily, "I ought not to have stayed at Merland so long."

"There is something going on out there!" cried the Captain, who had not
heeded his son's words. "Come, Brace--once more be a man, and let us go
and see."

The young man started up, and together they hurried to where the navvies
had been at work, to find that, half-d