he Great Spirit, soul of my brother!

"But I, his sister, am left lonely and desolate; the hearth-stone of
Mamalis is deserted. Yet has my hand sought revenge for his murder, and
my bosom exults over the destruction of his destroyer! Rest with the
Great Spirit, soul of my brother!

"Rest with the Great Spirit, soul of Manteo, till Mamalis shall come to
enjoy thy embraces. Then welcome to thy spirit home the sister of thy
youth, and reward with thy love the avenger of thy death! Rest with the
Great Spirit, soul of my brother!"

As her melancholy requiem died away, Mamalis rose silently from the
seat, and bent once more over the form of the sleeping Virginia. As she
felt the warm breath of the pure young girl upon her cheek, and watched
the regular beating of her heart, and then contrasted the purity of the
sleeping maiden with her own wild, guilty nature, she started back in
horror. For the first time she felt remorse at the commission of her
crime, and with a heavy sigh she hurriedly left the room, as though it
were corrupted by her presence.

CHAPTER XXXI.

"And smile, and smile, and smile, and be a villain."
_King John._

Great was the horror of the loyalists, on the following morning, at the
discovery of the horrible crime which had been perpetrated; but still
greater was the mystery as to who was the guilty party. There was no
mode of getting admittance to the house in which Berkenhead was
confined, except through the door, the key of which was in the
possession of Alfred Bernard. Even if the position and standing of this
young man had not repelled the idea that he was cognizant of the crime,
his own unfeigned surprise at the discovery, and the absence of any
motive for its commission, acquitted him in the minds of all. And yet,
if this hypothesis was avoided, it was impossible to form any rational
theory on the subject. There were but two persons connected with the
establishment who could be presumed to have any plausible motive for
murdering Berkenhead. Hansford might indeed be suspected of a desire to
suppress evidence which would be dangerous to his own safety, but then
Hansford was himself in close confinement. Mamalis, too, had manifested
a spirit, the evening before, towards the unhappy man, which might very
naturally subject her to suspicion; but, besides that, she played her
part of surprise to perfection--it could not be conceived how she had