At a Girl's Mercy, or, The Fortunes of War — page 115: what you’re looking at

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

104 ss AT A GIRL’S MERCY. with their uprising. She and her father had gone over the ground so many times, she knew what must of necessity follow such an outbreak. She was per- fectly aware of the danger her father was in from day to day, but every day he returned home with- out the dread thing having happened, and she had almost grown to lose her fear. Now it was upon her in all its terror. She could not sit silently there on the steps, with only the dog for coinpany, with that thought in her mind. She must be up and doing, she must go, she must not be idle. How could she sit there doing absolutely nothing when her fa- ther might be in the midst of such perilas even Frank and Charlie and Ned would not have to face, for this rabble would be composed of brutes that would sneak up to one and give the stab in the dark, while the others were men, and would fight as sol- diers should. How she wished for her brothers and her friends at that time. Perhaps she had never wished more for them. She arose and descended the steps, the dog following her without her call. He seemed to know something was wrong. He watched her with his large eyes as a friend might. Uncon- sciously she paused and stroked his head. She must have sympathy in the sore trial that might be upon her. She wondered vaguely what had made her heart so light if there was such sorrow upon her. She wondered if God was as good as she thought as she sat there on the steps, singing her foolish song. What had she to do with love or the hope of love when these terrible things were abroad in the land? What had she to do with the happiness that came to other girls? Itseemed to her that her life was sadder than the lives of others. The tender red mouth drooped with the depth of \ comicbooks.co