A Silver Brand — page 98: what you’re looking at

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

90) | A SILVER BRAND. also share it, Lina, darling, it no longer seems any- thing unlovely.” ia Nat was silent, still staring down upon the two pearly tinted wrists, with their odd marks so pre- cisely the same. “They are birth-marks, of course. J have often wondered if somewhere, some time, somebody or other would not know and claim me by mine,” said Lina; “but it would be no claim at all now, Serena, for you would answer to the same description— why, even to the color of the hair and eyes: IJ never thought of that before. We have both dark-blue eyes and brown hair. Do we look alike, Nat?” Nat’s eye wandered over the two faces slowly and carefully. “T never thought of it. No; I do not think you are any more alike than the humming-bird and the swan. Itis, indeed, an odd coincidence that you are marked alike.” He proceeded toward his table, hunted there a ~ moment, and returned with a small but. evidently powerful magnifying glass, with whose assistance he carefully examined Serena’s wrist. If the girls had been less absorbed with each other they would have noticed the profound astonish- ment, and, it would almost seem, the deep dismay which his observation seemed to bring with it. “You are right. It was given to seal us true friends always, Serena,” murmured Lina, kissing her companion, “You remember that you have promised to follow and hunt me up if ever I am ‘spirited away. .We are alike also in our destitution of home friends. Two lonely girls, who must be — father and mother, brother and sister, each for the OGNer : = _ “Heaven help me to keep my part, my darling!” said Serena, bending her stately head to kiss the rosy, tremulous lips. | “Let me take the glass, Nat. What do they look like by its help?” | “No improvement, certainly. I -wouldn’t try it,” answered Nat, hastily, dropping the glass into his pocket; and, as if to divert their thoughts, he. ->-Ecomicbhooks: