A Silver Brand — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

6 A SILVER BRAND. eastern side was a door, swinging open like a trap, which revealed a flight of stairs leading into the © building below. The landscape without had few attractions. The building was set in a hollow, and all around were dense woods, rising gradually with the land, and shutting off with their dark, somber foliage all hints of anv life beyond. Not another roof, no sign of human vicinity was observable. The lady—that she was not of low or plebeian blood was betrayed by every look and gesture— never gave asingle glance off to the surrounding dreary country. When her attention left the flow- ers, it was turned upward to the broad blue, as if - seeking to pierce through the ether to the unknown sphere above. Therefore she was not aware when, through a narrow road, cleared in a zig-zag line through the forest, came cantering a party of three horsemen, until the noise of hooffalls was near enough to reach her ears, and then the high v:ne- twined fencing hid them from her view. She turned her head and listened, until there came a confused murmur of voices and then the clang of some heavy gate shutting after them, as the horsemen rode int9 the court-yard. Then a singular look, blending un- utterable anguish and fierce determination, swept across her eyes; those large brilliant orbs, of such rare and matchless blue, that they had made beauti- ful a face even of unlovely features. But hers were symmetrical and delicate, and though it was evident that she was lone past the bloom of youth, and had been scathed by some heavy sorrow, she was still a beautiful and rarely graceful woman. After some little time, she heard a slow and heavy step upon the stairs. At the sound of the first foot- fall, the lady bent down, and began plucking the half-opened roses on the bush near her. “My lady,” called in German a stolid voice; “my lady, his royal highness is here. He summons you to an audience below.” The stately head rose more haughtily. “Why waste your breath idly, good Seippel? You know I will never answer such a summons.” _ A shock of sandy hair had by this time appeared comicbooks.co