At a Girl's Mercy, or, The Fortunes of War — page 122: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AT A GIRLS MERCY. 111 with a heart that ached with presentiment and read. She ate, too, because she would have no one guess of her thoughts, and gave her orders mechani- cally but with a semblance of interest, smiling now and then at the willing waiter, who almost guessed her desire before it could be expressed. And she gat - out the usual length of time, her mind occupied with its own thoughts, and her soul fairly sick with the dread that she could not silence, try as she might. The city was full of riot, she knew. The rabble would be swarming the streets, or had swarmed the streets, until life was a thing scarcely worth the — thought. They would make a mad dash for liberty, and vent their vengeance upon all whom they could reach. That there could be order, and consequently more danger, she was sure could not be. There was never order on the part of rioters, and therein lay their weakness. They had no leaders, and simply. crowded like wild beasts broken loose, doing all the damage they could, destroying life and property re- gardless of the consequences, and then were driven back to their dens, more sullen, more fierce than before, but having learned that their strength was their weakness, and the few of those with order at their heads could master them, as intelligence ever must master ignorance. But in spite of the victory that she was sure must come, Nan’s heart was sick with the knowledge that there must be bloodshed and a fierce struggle ere the victory came. She had been too clearly informed of these things from her father in their quiet talks not to comprehend the outcoming of this. And she knew that her father, under the government, would hold his life of little value if need called for its sacrifice, She was proud of her father and his Gcomicbooks.com