A Silver Brand — page 179: what you’re looking at

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

o. A SILVER BRAND. 171 And the mantle fell away from the pale face, and Lady Pauline looked up pitifully into the other happy rosy countenance. | “ Holy Mother! how could I forget!” ejaculated Carl’s tender-hearted little wife. ‘‘You are the beautiful woman who called Carl to save you. Yes, yes, I know all about it now. And he’s done it. Now who’ll say he’s crazy, and idle, and wasteful, who’ll say it, I wonder?” — She stroked the delicate hands, and patted softly at the lady’s dress, and smiled and glowed over her husband’s name, and showed to Lady Pauline just. the warm-hearted, fond, foolish little wife she was. | But as her hands followed the black folds she started up. ‘“Why, your dress is wet, draggled, and torn. And now I think of it, Carl looked strangely too. What has happened ?” At that moment her husband entered. His first movement was to draw the curtains hastily, and then he caught her in his arms, and kissed her fondly. '““My dear little fraulein, thou lttle knowest how near it came to ending thy Carl’s life this day. The Bird- of the Air has come home with her death-blow, and she had nearly given us ours. Are they right who call me a reckless vis- ionary? All that money that might have decked thee out ‘like thy friends, has vanished into air. .The balloon is ~~ ruined, Crezence.” +; “My poor Carl! but you can earn soon ‘the wherewith to fit out another, and you shall have my gold necklace.” He caught her in his arms, with a proud and happy smile. “And now, Crezence, you will look after the lady’s com- fort. Take her into the inner room, and make her comfort- able as thy skillful hands so well know how todo. And then come back, and I will tell thee the story, and thou shalt decide what course I shall take.” And Lady Pauline was led gently into a cozy little room, the best room in the house, evidently, and the damp dress was removed, and one of Crezence’s own white Sun-_ day gowns brought out. And then a cup of warm tea was given her. And when she insisted that there was nothing more to be done, the fraulein Crezence stole back to the common-room, and found her husband standing over the cradle of their sleeping boy with a grave, thoughtful face, and when at her step he turned, and making room for her bent down to kiss her rosy cheek, she saw his eyes were full of tears, COl GComicbooks