“Margaret Helmstedt! Margaret Helmstedt! I see you then at last! And now that I gaze upon your face--how like, great Heaven! to hers. Come--come! You must go with me. You must inform me of that which you alone have power to communicate. You must confirm to me that fact which I suspect, but do not know; or, rather, which I know, but cannot prove. Come, Margaret Helmstedt, come;” and, closing his hand cruelly upon hers, he drew her, blanched and unresisting, after him, into the covert of the wood, where they were quickly hidden. There had been unsuspected witnesses to this strange scene. So absorbed in their mutual subject of interest had been the maiden and the soldier, that they had not perceived that the trio, consisting of Lieutenant King, Clare Hartley, and Grace Wellworth, who were going up toward the house, had been met by another party, consisting of Mrs. Compton, Mrs. Houston, and Parson Wellworth, who were coming down toward the beach, and that a pause and a parley was the consequence. Nellie Houston, who was at the same time a furious patriot and a fearful poltroon, on seeing the hated and dreaded “redcoat,” had clenched her fist, and frowned defiance, even while she paled and trembled with terror. Mrs. Compton had remained composed. She had been an old campaigner of the long revolutionary struggle, and was not easily disconcerted by the sight of the British uniform. The old parson had put on his spectacles and taken sight. Seeing that the officer, cap in hand, walked quietly and inoffensively on, between the two girls, neither of whom betrayed the least uneasiness, he turned to the frightened and belligerent Nellie, and said: “Do not be alarmed, madam; he is an officer and a gentleman, and will, no doubt, conduct himself as such, and compel his men to the manners of men.” And the next moment, when they met, the officer made good the words of the preacher. Bowing profoundly, he explained that his party had landed on the island for the purpose of procuring a supply of fresh water and provisions. Nellie flushed to her forehead, bit her lips till the blood came, and turned away in silence. She had no good-will for the British, and would not feign even civility. Mrs. Compton satisfied the claims of conventional politeness by bowing coldly. Mr. Wellworth took upon himself to be spokesman of his party, and responded: