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56 A DREADFUL TEMPTATION.
swollen flesh, were two rings—plain, broad, gold bands.
Xenie’s eyes fell upon them, and witha wild, despairing
cry, ‘Oh, Lora, my sister!” she fell upon the wet sand, in
a deep and death-like swoon.
CHAPTER XVIII.
AFTER leaving Xenie on the seashore, Howard Temple-
ton walked away hurriedly to the little fishing village, a
mile distant, and gave the alarm of Lora'’s disappearance,
By a promise of large rewards, he speedily induced a party
of men tosetoutin separate directions to scour the adjacent
country for the wanderer.
But searcely had they set out on their mission when some-
one brought to Howard the news of the corpse that old
ocean had cast upon the sands.
Dreading, yet fully expecting to behold the dead body
of Lora Carroll, Howard Templeton turned back and ac- ~
companied the man to the scene.
They found a group of excited men and women gathered
onthe shore, drawn thither by that nameless fascination
which the dreadful and mysterious always possesses for
every class of minds whether high or low.
Conspicuous in the group was Ninon, the pretty young
maid-servant, and, as Howard came upon the scene, she
was volubly explaining to the bystanders that the shawl
which was tightly pinned about the shoulders of the dead
woman belonged to the missing girl for whom the men had
gone out to search.
Was she quite sure of it, they asked her. Yes, she was
quite sure,
She had seen it night after night lying across the bed in
the young lady's sleeping-apartment.
Whenshewas illand restless, as often happened, she would
put it around her shoulders and walk up and down the
room for hours, weeping and wringing her hands like one in
sore distress. _
‘Yes,’ Ninon said, ‘‘she could swear to the shawl. She
would take it home with her and show it to her mistress,
and they would see'that she was right.”
No one interfered to prevent her. -
With an irrepressible shudder at touching the dead, the
girl drew out the pins and took the wet shawl.
Then, as she started on her homeward way, Howard
Templeton, who had stood still like onein a dream of hor-
ror, started forward and told her that he himself would
send a vehicle for the ladies, that they might comeif they
wished to identify the body.