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50: A DREADFUL TEMPTATION.
‘You should have left the child at home. It will perish
in the rain and cold,” he said, looking at her keenly.
She shivered and grew white as death, but pressed. the
babe) closer to her breast that the warmth of her own heart
might protect its tender life.
‘* Why did you bring the child?” he persisted, still watch-
ing her keenly.
‘*T will not tell you,” she answered, defiantly, but witha
little shiver of dread. What if he had seen her when she
found it on the sands?
‘Very well; you shall not stay out Jonger with it, at
least. Granted that we are deadly foes—stil! [have a man’s
heart in my breast. I would not willingly see a woman
perish. Go home, Xenie, and care for your mother. » I will
undertake the search for Lora, If I find her you shall know
itimmediately. I promise you.”
He took the heavy cloak from his own shoulders and fast-
ened it around her shivering form.
She did not seem to notice the action, but stood still me-
chanically, her dark, tearful eyes fixed on the must-crown-
ed sea. He followed her gaze, and said ina quick tone, of
orror:
‘*You do not believe she is in there? It would be too
horrible?”
‘Oh, my God!” Mrs, St. John groaned, with a quiver of
awful dread in her voice.
He shivered through all his strong, lithe young frame.
The thought of such a death was terrible to him.
‘‘'You said she was ill and delirious?” he ‘said, abruptly.
“Yes,” she wailed.
“* Poor Lora—poor little Lora!” he exclaimed, with a sud-:
den tone of pity. ‘‘Alas! is it not too probable that. she
has met her death in those fatal waves?”
‘*Oh, she could not, she could not,” Xenie moaned, wild-
ly. .‘‘She hated the sea. Her lover was drowned in it.
She could not bear the sight or the sound of it.”
He did not answer fora moment. He was looking.away:
from her with a great, solemn dread and pity in his beauti-
ful, blue eyes. Suddenly he said, abruptly :
. **Go home, Mrs. St. John, and stay there until you hear
news. I will goand arouse the village. I will have help in:
the search, and if she is found we will bring her home. ‘If- .
she is not, God help you, for I fear she has drowned herself.
in the sea.” ‘
With a long, moaning cry of anguish, Xenie turned from
him and sped along the wet sand back to her’ mother.
Howard Templeton watched 'the flying figure on its way.
with a grave trouble in his handsome face, and when she
was out of sight, he turned in an opposite direction and
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