A Silver Brand — page 60: what you’re looking at

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

52 A SILVER BRAND. help her escape. Oh! it made me sick to turn away. Selppel, Seippel! what will be done to us for helping in this thing?” “You know, Lisbet, I’m sore enough about it without your harrowing my mind over it. And you know it isn’t the pay, nor the fear even of sucha powerful man, that hinders my lending help to the poor, persecuted creature,” returned Seippel, in a grumbling, reproachful voice. “Yes, I know,” replied the woman, flinging her apron over her face and moaning. “I know it—woe is me, I know it too well! He holds our boy’s life in his hands. Our Konrad would be shot for a de- serter the moment we failed of this horrible trust. But, oh! I think the poor lady’s bright, agonized eyes will haunt me to my grave. Heisa terrible man. Oh! Seippel, what will become of the country when he is king’?”. | _ She dropped her voice to a whisper, and even then looked around shrinkingly, as if fearing the very walls would repeat her words. | “The Lord only knows,” sighed Seippel. “And the Lord only can prevent,” added Lisbet, looking upward. “You might go up and sit with hera little, Lisbet. Oh! it was a sore stroke to take away the flowers. — Foolish and worthless things they may seem to us, but it was plain she made all her joy out of them. Whata hard heart he has! It made me cringe to see the jeering look he gave her, standing there ath all the pretty beds dug up and the vines torn own.” | “And the crucifix, too. Only think of the sacri- lege!” echoed Lisbet. “Poor Hans’ teeth chattered half that night for fear something would come to punish us all for sucha thing. Oh! dear, I don’t want to go. What can I say or do? Nota single word of comfort! And she would rather have her own thoughts. I hope the book you left took up her mind. Don’t ask me to go, Seippel, for she will fall to begging my help. I had almost a mind to tell her why we couldn’t. But Iwas afraid in some of her angry talk to him she might let it out, How comicbooks:com