The Bronze Statue, or, The Virgin's Kiss — page 186: what you’re looking at

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

ee pd ae ri > H 4) aa! ‘ Vie wal ¢ : i Piha i oad ing her presence. Ne Fix we : her. Bet ep i Beat : baroness, accosting him. a ee | to vexation and annoyance ? * tion know no bounds !’ cried the priest, ty fixing ominous and reproachful looks upon her. ‘Not content with having the other ‘night introduced Sir Ernest aisha} |e de Colmar’s pages into the man- BME sion ' BCE ‘But are they not properly disposed Pe ae of?’ demanded the baroness: has not Bie ih | hw the Bronze Statue done its work? Or Ag? TEE is it to tell me the youths have escaped bic tf 3 your vigilance, that you have come back | 80 speedily and now look so angrily ?” Fy ek hae ‘No; they have not escaped me, la- Bs 8) dy,’ answered the monk: ‘and there a cae can be no doubt that they have perished ES as they deserve, with the sweet pressure of the Virgin’s Kiss,’ he added, a fero- cious triumph gleaming in his eyes and appearing in his accent. ‘ But it is not sufficient that they are thus put out of our path, for their master, Sir Ernest de Colmar ‘What have we to dread at his Rink ty hands?’ cried the baroness, interroga- we tively. ) ‘Everything!’ was the impressive er i response. ‘At least my fears indicate Le es this much, else wherefore should he seek admission within these walls ?° ‘You are speaking in enigmas, Fa- ther Cyprian,’ exclaimed the lady. ‘ He Lk has not renewed that applidation for an | interview which he made some time ago, and to which I returned no an- swer.’ | ‘No; he has not renewed his demand at in writing,’ said the priest; + because 1 ade - . he has practised a stratagem the bold- ness of which has been crowned with success. Ina word,’ added the Carthu- sian solemnly, the individual who calls | himself Sir Ernest de Colmar is at this | moment an inmate of the White Man- ABT ae sion.’ i A light flashed to the mind of the ba- > oe - ahd OE at - - _ 7 SEEPS he ele se — ss - # ® an ge . _ = ie: | the soft tint of the rose which art had pita ith shed upon her cheeks, she exclaimed, pole ead tex ‘is | LC ates = ~ pee a ee - ‘ 5" . +: uv | ~~ who received it: and in a few minutes fi the baroness repaired to the handsome i aie apartment where the monk was await- ae r But she was both surprised and ARs Raa ks ie alarmed to observe that his countenance Baie aNd) | (a | was sorely troubled and that he was ea pacing to and fro in an agitated man- foc) Hae ‘So soon returned!’ exclaimed the et ‘You must Reset have ridden day and night, holy father ee ath i tig But wherefore are you thus a prey ‘Your ladyship’s folly and indiscre- THE BRONZE STATUE. ‘Is it possible that this should be the case?’ ‘Itis so possible,’ replied the monk, ‘that the groom at the cemetery recog- nised him just now as the same warrior who acéompanied me a few weeks back; and upon learning this fact from the faithful dependant’s lips, I hurried hither to ward off, if possible, the storm that is threatening. But how was it that the groom gave you not a hint to the ef- fect that the knight was no stranger te him ?? ‘The man doubtless supposed that I was well aware of the nature of the step I was taking in thus introducing De Col- mar to the mansion,’ responded the ba- roness: ‘ especially as the rule is occa- sionally broken ‘As in the case of the two pages,who were introduced a second time within these walls,’ observed the priest, in a tone of bitter ill-humor. ‘But I have many things whereupon to consult with you,’ he added, assuming a milder voice and throwing himself on a downy otto- man. ‘lam all attention,’ said the baroness, taking a seat near him; ‘and we have yet more than an hour to midnight.’ ‘First and foremost,’ resumed the Carthusian, ‘let me ask you whether any dependant of your household is missing 2? ‘Yes; Dame Martha,’ exclaimed the baroness. ‘You remember the parti- cular evening that she met youat the vil- lage-inn near the heath, when she brought you the disguise that you had ordered to be conveyed thither ?” ‘Most assuredly do I recollect the evening well,’ answered the priest :. ‘for after my interview on that occa- sion with the old woman, circumstances. induced me to hasten hither—and well was it that I took this step, inasmuch as I arrived in time to prevent the flight of the Princess and to capture the two pages of Sir Ernest de Colmar.’ ‘True,’ observed the Baroness: + but. it is ever since that night whereof we are speaking that Dame Martha has disappeared—for she is the dependant whom [ have missed.’ ‘And at the same time that I was travelling southward on horseback.’ said the priest, ‘ the old woman was hasten- ing in the same direction with the tide of the Moldau.’ ‘ What mean you, holy father?’ asked roness; and turning ale, even beneath the Baroness, shuddering at the suspi- clon which sprang up, though dimly and vaguely, in her mind. comicbooks.com