he said, 'I'm very sorry for you; and I'll have the pit bricked
over at once. It had slipped my memory, Stephen; but Martha knew of it,
and she ought to have taken better care of the child. It is no fault of
mine; or it is only partly my fault, at any rate. But, whether or no, I'm
come to tell you I'm willing to bear the expenses of the funeral in
reason; and here's a sovereign for you besides, my lad.'

The master held out a glittering sovereign in his hand, but Stephen
pushed it away, and, seizing his arm firmly, drew him, reluctant as he
was, to the white-covered table in the corner. There was no look of pain
upon the pale, placid little features before them; but there was an awful
stillness, and all the light of life was gone out of the open eyes, which
were fixed into an upward gaze. The Bible, which Stephen had not looked
for that morning, had been used instead of a cushion, and the motionless
head lay upon it.

'That was little Nan yesterday,' said Stephen hoarsely; 'she is gone to
tell God all about you. You robbed us of our own home; and you've been
the death of little Nan. God's curse will be upon you. It's no use my
cursing; I can do nothing; but God can punish you better than me. A while
ago I thought I'd get away to some other country where I'd never hear of
you; but I'll wait now, if I'm almost clemmed to death, till I see what
God will do at you. Take your money. You've robbed me of all I love, but
I won't take from you what you love. I'll only wait here till I see what
God can do.'

He loosed his grasp then, and opened the door wide. The master muttered a
few words indistinctly, but he did not linger in the cabin beside that
awful little corpse. The night had already deepened into intense
darkness; and Stephen, standing at the door to listen, thought, with a
quick tingling through all his veins, that perhaps the master would
himself fall down the open pit. But no, he passed on securely; and
Martha, coming in shortly afterwards, ventured to remark that she had
just brushed against the master in the lane, and wondered where he was
going to at that time of night.

Miss Anne came to see Stephen the next day; but, though he seemed to
listen to her respectfully, she felt that she had lost her influence over
him; and she could do nothing for him but intercede with God that the
Holy Spirit, who only can enter into our inmost souls and waken there
every memory, would in His own good time recall to Stephen's he