The Widowed Bride — page 37: what you’re looking at

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

28 THE WIDOWED BRIDE. CHAPTER IV. ANEW FRIEND. Contrary, however, to the universally received impression at Glenhampton Castle, and throughout the entire vicinity, the two little sisters had not perished in the devouring flames, which had made a fiery mausoleum for the bones of poor old Jason Garfield. ‘’he merciful hand of Heaven had averted from them a doom so sudden and so frightful, and to explain in what manner they escaped the agonizing death by fire, which seemed almost inevitable, we must go> back to the moment in which Rena had been startled from the dead sleep of exhaustion by the touch of the yellow hair against her cheek, and the glitter of weird, watching eyes. : | ’ Aiea, roused by her sister’s reiterated cries, had started also to her feet, looking wildly around her, in the dim, un- certain starlight. ‘What is it, Rena?’ she questioned, grasping Rena’s arm, and dizzy and bew:ldered from her slumber. ‘‘Allie, didn’t you see some one?” cried Rena, with chat- tering teeth. ‘‘Some one that rushed by you with long yel- low hair and a white dress?” ‘“No!” whispered Alice, with a thrill of terror chilling the warm tide of her veins. ‘‘Rena, was it a ghost?” _ A ghost! No!” cried Rena, stamping her little foot on the floor. ‘‘I’here are no ghosts, Allie, and, if there were, this was not a ghost! It was a white woman—and I believe she meant to kill us!’ “Did she speak to you, Rena?” faltered Alice, pressing closely up against her more courageous sister. ‘‘No, but her eyes looked so fierce and horrible,” shud- dered Rena. ‘‘Where is grandpapa? Let us go to grand- apa.” | Band in hand, the two children groped their way through the door-way of the adjoining room, to the bed, over which they had bent to give the old man their last good-night kisses. ‘“Grandpapa,” cried Rena, and Alice’s softer voice echoed the word; ‘‘Grandpapa, wake up. We are frightened, grand papa!” But there was no answer. Alice climbed up on the bed comicbooks.com