The Argosy — page 115: what you’re looking at

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

102 The Mysteries of Heron Dyke. on the snowy ground. As Susan stood there, a light appeared in Katherine’s room. She fancied she saw the curtain pulled momen- tarily aside, but she saw no more. While thus watching, Susan was startled by a cry, or scream of terror; two screams, the last very faint, but following close upon the other. ‘They appeared to come from inside the house, Susan thought inside the room, and were in her sister’s voice—of that, Susan felt an absolute certainty. A little thing served to terrify her. She took to her heels, and burst into her mother’s kitchen in a pitiable state. ‘The mother, and two or three people sitting in the inn, took it for granted that the cry must have been that of some night-bird ; and the terrified girl was got to bed. With the morning news was brought to the inn of Katherine’s strange disappearance; and, as already said, she had never been heard of from that day. Nothing could shake Susan’s belief that it was her sister’s screams ; she declared she knew her voice too well to be mis- taken. The event had a sad effect upon her mind: at times she really seemed but half-witted. She could not be persuaded but that Katherine was still in the house at Heron Dyke ; and as often as she could escape her mother’s vigilance would steal up in the dark and hover about outside, looking at the windows for Katherine: nay, more than once believing that she saw her appear at one of them. Such was the occurrence that had served to shake Miss Winter’s nerves, and that she was on her way now to the vicarage to be (as she well knew) cross-questioned about. Mr. Kettle met her with a fatherly kiss; telling her she looked bonnier than ever and that there was nothing like an English rosebud. Maria clasped her in her arms. Ella took her bonnet off and sat down with them in the bow-windowed parlour open to the summer breeze: and for some time it was hard to sayy which of the three talked the fastest. The vicar began, as a matter of course, about the shortcomings in the parish during his absence, especially about the churchwardens’ difficulties with Pennithorne—the tcx porary parson. That gentleman had persisted in having two big candle- sticks on the altar where no such articles had ever been seen before, and had attempted to establish a daily service, which had proved to be an ignominious failure, together with other changes and innovations that were more open to objection. Ella confirmed it all, and the vicar worked himself into a fume. ‘‘Confound the fellow!” he exclaimed, ‘“‘I’d never have gone away had I known. Who was to suspect that meek-looking young jackanapes, with his gold-rimmed spectacles, had so much mischief in him. He looked as mild as new milkkx——And now, my dear, what about that strange affair concerning Katherine Keen?” resumed the vicar, after a pause. ‘‘Your letter to us, describing it, was hardly —hardly credible.” ‘And it was—and is—hardly credible,” replied Ella. “Well, child, just go over it now quietly.” ECORNIECLOOKS 5 (EC)