Richard Forrest, Bachelor — page 266: what you’re looking at

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

SAVLD. 257 CHAPTER XXIX SAVED. Nora was sitting disconsolately beside the kitchen fire, as she had been since early evening, with a basket of mend- ing in her lap, and Peter, the big tabby cat curled intoa ‘soft, fluffy ball on the square of the carpet near her chair. Not far off, on the cleanly swept hearth the old collie was dozing also, for long as the cat and dog had shared the same bones and common as their interests necessarily were, they had not yet become sufficiently intimate to share the same mat. Nora’s eyelids were red from loss of sleep and anxiety, for she had not been to bed all night, and it was now broad daylight. Where was her mistress? She had started to go to the convent with Father Moore early in the morning, intend- ing to return in the afternoon and had not reached home yet. There was no place where she could spend the night there, so, as she had no alternative, she must have taken the stage home, and in such a terrible storm what might not have happened to her? Nora was too excited to remain seated five consecutive minutes. It is true that to the girl’s simple mind the priest’s pres- ence boded all manner of blessings, but could even Father Moore protect Miss Rose from the blizzard of last night? She could not help doubting it. She sighed and went to the window for the twentieth time since midnight. The dog rose, too, and proceeded to shake himself so vio- (E(0) im