this girl? It would be only a just compensation for the loss of his physical strength, and with it all he had hoped to be. For a moment he loathed his own body: his spirit panted to rush forth upon the air, freed from all its trammels of flesh. He was not conscious of a temptation to commit suicide; but for an instant the vistas of Heaven seemed to open on his longing eyes, the perplexities and sorrows of life to roll away. Death would be a sweet, a lovely friend to him, not the grisly terror that so many shrank from. He knew every nook and fastness of Bush Mountain, having spent many of the idle days of his boyhood in roaming over it, and now it was a favorite refuge when he wished to think out his sermons, or to wrestle in prayer over some wayward soul gone astray. It was a fair sight to look down on Laurel Cove from the heights, and see its freshly plowed fields and blossoming orchards. The settlers in that fertile region were more industrious and thrifty than their neighbors over the mountains, and they were unusually quiet and law-abiding. Very few moonshiners were to be found in Laurel Cove, and not a distillery. Those were hidden in remote and secret places on the mountains. Let it be said to the enlightenment of Sile Ed’ards, that he was bold enough to preach against the making of illicit whiskey, as against all manner of evil, and many listened and heeded his words. But while he climbed the heights that day, seeking solitude and God, in Laurel Cove things were going very wrong. It was past the noon hour, and at the Hardings all evidences of the midday meal had been cleaned away. The boys had gone back to the fields, Mrs. Harding raked the garden beds preparatory to seed sowing, and Sarah Betsy had returned to her weaving. She had been through a trying interview with her mother, listening to scolding and reproaches in silence, and promising only one thing; to wait awhile before seeing John Hurd again. "I can’t promise _never_ to see him ag’in," she said, half in tears. "I don’t, fer the life o’ me, understan’ how you could ’a’ tuk such a fancy to him, when there’s plenty o’ better-lookin’, pearter boys for you to ’a’ liked," exclaimed Mrs. Harding, despairingly. "I’ve never seen the man he couldn’t equal," Sarah Betsy murmured; and with a shake of her head Mrs. Harding went away. Sarah Betsy was thinking it all over as she stood by the loom, putting a quill of thread in the shuttle, when a shadow fell athwart the door and a man’s voice, softened and eager, exclaimed: "Sarah Betsy, Sarah Betsy!" She turned quickly, troubled joy breaking through the enforced stillness of her face; but she did not speak. The young man boldly entered. "I ’lowed I must come to see you before I left the Cove," he said, in explanation and apology for his untimely visit. "Air you goin’ away, John?" Sarah Betsy asked, and laid the shuttle down for fear it would slip through her trembling fingers. "Yes." "Why? Where do you think o’ goin’?"