'

'I care not; nothing shall turn me from my purpose. You shall not leave
this wood until you promise.'

'Then I shall never leave it, sir; and if you persist in detaining me, I
will make known to every one, how a gentleman can demean himself to a
poor, unprotected girl, who has no friend near her but her God. To Him I
appeal for help in this hour, when you, sir, a gentleman and a
Christian, so far forget yourself as to insult and persecute me.'

As Gladys spoke, she lifted her eyes solemnly to heaven--both her hands
were held by Colonel Vaughan.

As he gazed at her, he suddenly relaxed his hold, saying, 'You are a
wonderful girl! I do not persecute you, but I will not give you up.'

No sooner did Gladys feel the grasp loosen, than she made a sudden
bound, almost a leap, onwards, and ran with incredible swiftness through
the path.

Colonel Vaughan pursued her, but soon found that she ran more swiftly
than he did. However, he would not give up the chase, and in spite of
the hot sun, ran on, in somewhat undignified haste and anger.

Every one knows that winding paths in plantations are not always
perfectly smooth. So found our gallant colonel to his cost.

With his eyes fixed on the quickly vanishing form of Gladys, how was he
to see the gnarled root of an oak, that sprung up through the ground,
directly in his path? His foot caught in it, and he fell with
considerable violence upon his face. He got up again as quickly as he
could, cursing his carelessness and folly.

He felt that he had knocked his somewhat prominent nose rather severely,
and to his great dismay, found that it was bleeding copiously.

All further pursuit was out of the question. He must staunch the blood
of the much-offending member, and being rather giddy for the moment, sat
down to do so.

It is said that any sudden and violent blow sobers a drunkard; so did
this unforeseen fall sober the mental intoxication of the colonel. As
his nose bled, so did his intellect clear. Bleeding, on the old system,
was never more successful.

This was truly a descent, if not from the sublime, at least from the
heroic, to the ridiculous. Panting with heat, bleeding, apostrophising,
the lover came to his senses.

Partly aloud, at intervals, partly muttered between his teeth, he gave
forth the following sentences; and when he became calm he thought the
subsequent thoughts, which, although he did not rail them forth against
the rooks and smaller birds, we w