The Price He Paid — page 250: what you’re looking at

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

THE CY NOSURE OF INTEREST. 241 Gabrielle, with flashing eyes. “Arno is incapable of a dishonorable action; he never has committed one. He declares this tale to be false, and, though the whole world should be of one voice to accuse him, I wiil believe his word, and his alone!” “Arno? You will believe him, and him alone?” repeated George, slowly. “What—what does this mean?” “Every one is deserting him now,” Gabrielle went on, with passionate vehemence. “Troubles are coming upon him from all sides. While he was great and powerful, no one ventured to raise a fin- ger against him but ;since you gave the signal for the onset, he has been persecuted and slandered by all his enemies, and hounded as they hoped, to his ruin. But, seeing that in spite of them all he holds his ground, they have recourse now to their last re- source, and seek to wound him mortally in his honor. Oh, I know only too well why he sent me away! He divined what was coming; he wished to be alone in his fall!” George had grown deadly pale. His eyes were fixed anxiously on the girl’s fair face, all glowing with excitement. Her vehemence betrayed too much, and the young man’s heart thrilled witha ereat dread. He felt that his dream of happiness was over. | “What has taken place between you and the baron?” he asked. “Itis not so that a girl defends her guardian, her relative. You might have spoken so of me, had I been exposed to any danger. What has happened during this separation of ours, Gabri- elle? No,I cannot believe it. You cannot—can- not love this Raven?” She made no answer, but sank on to a chair, and, hiding her face in her hands, broke into loud nd passionate weeping. For some minutes a direful silence reigned, broken only by Gabrielle’s sobs. George stood motionless. This discovery came upon ~ him too abruptly, too unexpectedly. “It is so, then,” he said at length, in a very low voice. “And he—yes, now I understand his hatred of me, his fierce anger on hearing of our engage- Eomichboo <S (Eo)