to Fern's Hollow.
No! he would get away to some far-off country, where he should never more
hear the master's name spoken. Let him keep the place, he thought, and
let it be a curse to him, for he had bought it with a child's blood. If
the law gave him back Fern's Hollow, it would not avenge little Nan's
death; and he had no power. But the master was a murderer; and Stephen
knelt down on the desolate hearth, where no prayer had ever been uttered,
and prayed God that the sin and punishment of murder might rest upon his
enemy.

Was it consolation that filled Stephen's heart when he rose from his
knees? It seemed as if his spirit had grown suddenly harder, and in some
measure stronger. He did not feel afraid now of going down to the cabin,
where the little lifeless corpse was stretched out; and he strode away
down the hill with rapid steps. When the thought of Martha, and his
grandfather, and Miss Anne crossed his mind, it was with no gentle,
tender emotion, but with a strange feeling that he no longer cared for
them. All his love was gone with little Nan. Only the thought of the
master, and the terrible reckoning that lay before him, sent a thrill
through his heart. 'I shall be there at the judgment,' he muttered half
aloud, looking up to the cold, cloudy sky, almost as if he expected to
see the sign of the coming of the Lord. But there was no sign there; and,
after gazing for a minute or two, he turned in the direction of the
cabin, where he could see a glimmer of the light within through the
chinks of the door and shutter.

Bess and Martha were still sitting hand in hand as Miss Anne had left
them; but they both started up as Stephen entered, pale and ghastly from
his long conflict with grief and temptation on the hills. He was come
home conquered, though he did not know it; and the expression of his face
was one of hatred and vengeance, instead of sorrow and love. He bade
Black Bess to be off out of his sight in a voice so changed and harsh,
that both the girls were frightened, and Martha stole away tremblingly
with her. He was alone then, with his sleeping grandfather on the bed,
and the dead child lying in the corner, from which he carefully averted
his eyes; when there came a quiet tap at the door, and, before he could
answer, it was slowly opened, and the master stepped into the cabin. He
stood before the boy, looking into his white face in silence, and when he
spoke his voice was very husky and low.

'My lad,'