A Silver Brand — page 95: what you’re looking at

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

; A SILVER BRAND. aes 87 “T think so—quite of another sort. Don’t waste any of a humming-bird’s fairy. thought upon him. He said he came for a collection of birds.. I was sorry he saw the queen of the humming-birds, for fear he might take to lingering in these parts for another look. Don’t ever give him one, my child.” There was a dry chuckle in Nat’s voice. anda © secret glance toward the door which opened into his tiny bedroom, as he said this, which, while it passed unnoticed by Lina, carried deep significance to a concealed listener there, who-shook a threaten- ing hand, and made a comical grimace in response. - “Auntie Pen gave me a lecture about it last night, so there’s no necessity for you to repeat anything of the sort.” laughed Lina. “Poor Auntie Pen! I “wonder what great trouble she has seen!” she added, thoughtfully. ) “What makes you fancy such a thing?” “Oh, because I read it on her face. She was terri- bly shaken by something last night. She stood by the window looking out full an hour without stir- ring a single muscle of-her face, but when she drew . that long, long breath, and unclasped her hands, I saw the purple where the blood had settled under her finger-nails. And then. when I went to say -good-night, [found her on her knees, and her lips and cheeks were fairly gray in their pallor. Sheis . very strange, poor Auntie Pen, but she loves me, and Llove her better than I could love a dozen Theodosias. Oh!” and here the dreamy voice broke into a glad cry. “Here she comes—here is our darl-: ing Serena.” , And the next instant she had bounded to the threshold and was clasping the hand and eagerly kissing the cheek of a tall and graceful maiden, who returned her caresses with equal fondness, though less vehemence. “Dear, dear Serena! Jam so thankful to see you again, Rena.” “My precious little Lina, it is indeed a long time. 7 IT have waited in vain, night after night, on the other shore,” returned a clear, high, singularly pure yoice,. “So at last I rowed hither to learn what Nat — Comicboo “S 2 “ com — . aan