he
sisterhood. She satisfied herself that her own people had no suspicion
of the flight, as none of the crew of the belated boat had reached the
shore; and she gathered, from the transfer of the maiden to the convent,
that Father Austin was, on his side, resolved not to make known the
elopement of Garthmund's intended wife. Her paramount wish was to
recover her niece, but she perceived that she must act warily, and must
be ready to deal with the many contingencies which would inevitably
arise during the development of her schemes. Hilda's position under the
immediate protection of the religious communities was a serious
obstacle. Judith believed that against them her magic arts would be of
no avail; she was therefore driven to confine herself to earthly
combinations; but she was in no wise daunted by this difficulty, which
in point of fact cleared her judgment, and assisted her by inducing her
to make the best of the materials at her disposal. The obvious plan for
the recovery of the girl was to induce Garthmund to attack the nunnery,
and drag his bride from it; but to this there were many objections.
Acknowledgment of Hilda's flight would be in itself a confession of
failure. She had promised to produce the girl when she was required; to
seek the chief's assistance to enable her to fulfil the promise would be
a diminution of her prestige, and consequently of her power. Again, it
was by no means certain that the chief who, it has been said, was no
love-sick bridegroom, would consent to undertake the enterprise; nor, if
he did undertake it, was his prospect of success unquestionable, for the
islanders, though not ready listeners to the Christian teaching, would
have united to repel a heathen attack on their teachers whom they
honoured and respected. Judith therefore rejected this expedient,
arranging her plan of operations with remarkable ingenuity.

Her first aim was to promote ill-feeling between the Voizins and their
neighbours; this part of the campaign was prosecuted with vigour. Cattle
were lost on either side of the boundary; houses were burnt; old wells
ran dry; rumours, mysteriously circulated, spoke of these as no
accidental mishaps; suspicions were whispered; instances of retaliation
followed. At the time when a dangerous feeling was thus growing up a
famine broke out in the Voizin country while the islanders were well
supplied. The hungry Voizin men heard voices in the darkness scoffing
at them, laughter and