ve men fighting at
the sink, believing their retreat secure, taken suddenly in the rear;
and so disaster, if not death, resulting to her father, to Penn, to all.

The anguish of her tones pierced the poor old negro's soul.

"Dunno', missis, no more'n you do! 'Pears like he done gnawed off de
rope wiv his teef!" For Lysander, having used the knife, had hidden it
under the skins on which he sat.

Then Salina spoke, and denounced herself. After all the pains she had
taken to conceal her agency in Sprowl's escape,--inconsistent,
impetuous, filled with rage against herself and him,--she exclaimed,--

"I did it! Here is the knife I gave him!"

Virginia stood white and dumb, looking at her sister. Toby could only
tear his old white wool and groan.

"Salina," said her father, solemnly, "you have done a very treacherous
and wicked thing! I pity you!"

Severest reproaches could not have stung her as these words, and the
terrified look of her sister, stung the proud and sensitive Salina.

"I have done a damnable thing! I know it. Do you ask what made me? The
devil made me. I knew it was the devil at the time; but I did it."

"O, what shall we do, father?" said Virginia.

"There is nothing you can do, my daughter, unless you can reach our
friends and warn them."

"O," she said, in despair, "there is not a lamp or a torch! All have
been taken!"

"And it is well! It would take you at least an hour to go and return;
and that man--" Mr. Villars would never, if he could help it, speak
Lysander's name--"will be here again before that time, if he is coming."

"He is not coming," said Salina. "He swore to me that he would not take
advantage of his escape to betray or injure any of you. He will keep his
oath. If he does not----"

She paused. There was a long, painful silence; the old man musing,
Virginia wringing her hands, Toby keeping watch outside.

"Listen!" said Salina. "I am a woman. But I will defend this place. I
will stand there, and not a man shall enter till I am dead. As for you,
Jinny, take _him_, and go. You can hide somewhere in the caves. Leave me
and Toby. I will not ask you to forgive me; but perhaps some time you
will think differently of me from what you do now."

"Sister!" said Virginia, with emotion, "I do forgive you! God will
forgive you too; for he knows better than we do how unhappy you have
been, and that you could not, perhaps, have done differently from what
you have done."

Salina was touch