At a Girl's Mercy, or, The Fortunes of War — page 213: what you’re looking at

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

202 | AT A GIRI’S MERCY. man who had braved her in her room, and set at de- fiance all the laws of daring burglary. She stood before him icily, no bending of the slight form, though there was a wistful light in the steady eyes lifted to his that. set his cool attempt at their old form of raillery at defiance, and left him for the mo- ment discomposed. But he recovered himself in- stantly. He had not dared the laws of his country, and al! the laws of humanity, and the laws of God as well, to stand like a foolish boy in the presence of this mite of a woman, be she brave and proud as she might. ‘My friend is late in coming,’’ he s1id, smiling, the glittering black eyes upon the pure, cold face that had lost much of its rose hue since last he saw it. ‘‘But I knew that you would come. I knew that you must obey me in this as you obeyed me in that other order of mine. I thank you for your prompt- ness in replying, and would ask, if | may, sweet friend, in how far you have met with success?” “What mercy could you expect?” she asked, quietly, her red lips curving in their old scorn. ‘Did you expect me to plead for such as you? Did you think I would sully my womanhood by asking for the life of a murderer, for the life of a thief and a villain in every sense of the word? Did you think I left my brave soldiers suffering from cruelty of such men as you—did you think I would have left them to come here and plead for you? No,” there was the ringing scorn that he well remembered, and the daring spirit that had braved his power in . her voice and manner as she spoke. She held her proud little head as well up as any duchess of the land. Her hands were dropped earelessly at her side. She was once more in his presence, but now he was at her mercy, all her pity was gone, and he ‘should be paid in his own coin. “You have lost none of your high spirit, I see,”’ he said, gallantly bending before her, as though to do homage to her bravery. ; There was a new light in the black eyes so in- tensely scanning her face. “Why should I lose one atom of my spirit?’’ she *-comicbooks.com | a A > , ss : 7 . - a ha » | 7 x ow mp ee. i ‘ ee a i im iN i PS all re or . - eae a oe lee