The Argosy — page 358: what you’re looking at

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

The White Witch. 329 He pored over these nearly illegible lines, with his head some- times in the one candle, sometimes in the other, and succeeded in reading them. ‘She loves me!” he softly breathed in trembling rapture. ‘‘She loves me.” GH AP TER Ceo FT. MAD P—OR SANEP GODFREY MAynE slept late the next morning, and the first thing he did on awaking was to take Mary Dixon’s note from underneath his pillow, and read it again. ) The misery that ran through its every line decided him to endea- vour to extricate her from it, in defiance of her injunction not to interfere, and of her assurance that all interference would be in vain. Various kinds of wild schemes and plans ran through his mind. They resolved themselves at length into this one—he would marry her without delay and carry her off straightway to the Conti- nent. ‘To Paris first, and thence to Spain; a country of which he knew nothing but that it was a half-civilised sort of place, where extradition laws were not strictly kept. It would be necessary to get Mrs. Penteith’s consent to this, as the first step, for he knew Mary would not marry him uncountenanced by his family. There was a necessary step, though, which must precede even this—and that was to get himself out of bed and to dress and go down ; and it almost seemed as if he should not be able to accom- plish so much. For he felt strangely weak and ill, and his head swam and his hands fell. . However, he managed to get dressed in time for luncheon, and was leaving his room when he met Dunning, who accosted him with an acid smile. “TI thought you’d be for getting up to luncheon to-day, Master Godfrey, though you know you ought to have stayed in bed. The young lady is in the drawing-room.” As there was only one young lady in the world, Godfrey plunged headlong down the staircase, unmindful of his still lame knee, and burst into the drawing-room, his face alight with excitement: which subsided suddenly at sight of Mr. Thornhill and Elspeth, who were sitting with his aunt. Elspeth was looking very bright, and infinitely prettier than pale Mary had been latterly : but Godfrey felt as if he had been suddenly awakened from a dream of the tropics by running his head against an iceberg. He had, however, the presence of mind to go forward with a galvanised smile of enthusiastic welcome. The vicar replied to it with a stiff and dignified handshake, which Was meant to be very cordial, and Elspeth, with a modest and limp replica of the same greeting. She giggled whenever he spoke to her, and blushed whenever she replied, with confusion not ill- bred, but simple-minded and rather pretty. Elspeth had suffered Gomichoo (E(@) m