Roxy Hastings — page 246: what you’re looking at

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

ROXY HASTINGS, _-gg7 *Tinklepaugh—ho, ho !” Again the laugh went round. But when the excitement abated a little Lucy Holden hastened to express hesitatingly, timidly, but in most earn est language the deep obligations which they were all under to Louis, and their lasting gratitude. She spoke from an overflowing heart, and with moist eyes, for she stood by the side of her lover, who had been rescued from an ig- nominious death, and his hand rested upon her shoulder. The merriment was over now, for a deeper feeling per- vaded all those young hearts, and even the gay lieutenant was obliged to avert his face, and affect a sudden interes in some distant object. : | Louis replied, making light of his services, and protest- ing his own greater obligations to Alfred, who had saved his life, and rescued him from sickness and starvation, by his tender and assiduous nursing. _ Miss Lee alone remained silent, for mindful of the glow- ing eulogy which she had passed on Louis to his face a week before, she dared not say more. Indeed, her emotion was so great that she could not trust herself to speak. To relieve them all Alfred hastened to tell them how he had conceived and executed this little piece of strategy, but this scarcely needs recording. Louis had been exchanged and furloughed, and having arrived in New York the day preceding that on which Al- fred and his sister were to have sailed, had sought out the lieutenant, who, keeping his arrival secret, postponed his voyage for a week and busied himself in the meantime in obtaining Hartley’s discharge from the army. To prevail on him after that to accompany him abroad, . and to obtain the co-operation of the captain of the vessel in introducing the seeming stranger to him and his sister, had been an easy undertaking. But Alfred said nothing of his chief design in bringing his chosen friend and his sister into the close companion- ship which a sea voyage necessitated, and in trying the effect of the attractions of Louis’ noble nature upon Laura, while her heart was untrammeled by the sentiment of gratitude toward him. ) How well he was satisfied with his experiment need scarcely be said. com (@) Dooks (é(0)