ed to her, and the two clasped hands. With that, a new sense
of power, greater than Lilla had ever seen in her, seemed to quicken her
cousin. Her hand swept the air in front of Edgar Caswall, seeming to
drive him backward more and more by each movement, till at last he seemed
to be actually hurled through the door which Mimi's entrance had left
open, and fell at full length on the gravel path without.

Then came the final and complete collapse of Lilla, who, without a sound,
sank down on the floor.

CHAPTER XXVI--FACE TO FACE

Mimi was greatly distressed when she saw her cousin lying prone. She had
a few times in her life seen Lilla on the verge of fainting, but never
senseless; and now she was frightened. She threw herself on her knees
beside Lilla, and tried, by rubbing her hands and other measures commonly
known, to restore her. But all her efforts were unavailing. Lilla still
lay white and senseless. In fact, each moment she looked worse; her
breast, that had been heaving with the stress, became still, and the
pallor of her face grew like marble.

At these succeeding changes Mimi's fright grew, till it altogether
mastered her. She succeeded in controlling herself only to the extent
that she did not scream.

Lady Arabella had followed Caswall, when he had recovered sufficiently to
get up and walk--though stumblingly--in the direction of Castra Regis.
When Mimi was quite alone with Lilla and the need for effort had ceased,
she felt weak and trembled. In her own mind, she attributed it to a
sudden change in the weather--it was momentarily becoming apparent that a
storm was coming on.

She raised Lilla's head and laid it on her warm young breast, but all in
vain. The cold of the white features thrilled through her, and she
utterly collapsed when it was borne in on her that Lilla had passed away.

The dusk gradually deepened and the shades of evening closed in, but Mimi
did not seem to notice or to care. She sat on the floor with her arms
round the body of the girl whom she loved. Darker and blacker grew the
sky as the coming storm and the closing night joined forces. Still she
sat on--alone--tearless--unable to think. Mimi did not know how long she
sat there. Though it seemed to her that ages had passed, it could not
have been more than half-an-hour. She suddenly came to herself, and was
surprised to find that her grandfather had not returned. For a while she
lay quiet, thinking of the im