The Argosy — page 301: what you’re looking at

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

282 The Village Blacksmith. on the edge of the pool facing Vera, who in a few more steps would hay walked straight into it. Her white hands were clasped in front of her, her great dark eye were open, but Reuben knew by their vacant expression that the saw nothing ; the pretty pencilled eyebrows were knit as though ir perplexity. Yes, she was dreaming, and the dream was troubled. Ty wake her the blacksmith knew was dangerous ; to attempt to alter he course without doing so was impossible; to let her go on was certair death. Fortunately he and Vera were very good friends; she hac been very kind to him during Janet’s absence, and had visited hin every day since he had been ill until the day that was just past. Tha day, as we know, he had not seen her, somewhat to his surprise, fo: she had promised to come. Knowing him so well, he trusted she would not be so frightened as if some stranger woke her; though tc wake up and find herself by the mill-pool face to face with the village blacksmith in the middle of the night would be suticiently alarming even to a brave girl like Vera. All this flashed through Reuben’s mind quicker than it takes to tell, for in less than two minutes from the time he heard the click oj the Rectory gate, he had laid one of his great iron hands—thank God still unstained with blood—on Vera’s little white ones and pushed her gently back from her perilous position. Vera gave a slight cry, shivered, started back, snatched her hands from that strong grasp and pressed them to her temples, exclaim- ing : | “Wheream I? Where am I? The mill-pool just outside the lower gate? I must save him! Oh! Reuben Foreman, where am I?” and then she burst into a fit of hysterical weeping. Don’t you be afraid, Miss Vera, you are only walking in as sleep ; you have been dreaming; you are quite safe now if you make | haste home so that you don’t catch cold. Let me help you back,” said Reuben, whose thoughts, now that Vera was safe, reverted to, the baby, which might wake at any moment and announce its al sence by crying ; and then his shame would be known. ‘Was I dreaming? It was a very vivid dream about Rex and| the mill-pool. It must have been that letter I had to-day which troubled me so that made me walk; I have not done it since I was, a child. Come home with me please, Reuben. I feel rather shaky ; and I have something to tell you I may as well tell you now, and) then it won’t trouble me any more. I wish I had done it yesterday, and then I should not have walked in my sleep again; but I put it off till you were better. But that reminds me, Reuben. Why are you" here, and without a coat, in the middle of the night, when you areso” ill? Am I really awake? It isall so strange.” And Vera paused at the gate they had just reached, and rubbed her eyes and shook back her beautiful hair and looked up at the blacksmith’s pale face. “Yes, Miss Tempest, you are awake now. I could not sleep for Gomicbooks.com |