"Assuredly, I will come to see you often," I answered; "for till this is decided, you are still my own Bessy; and although I thought of returning speedily to England, I will not quit this land till our fate is fixed." She drew a deep sigh, as if there was some relief in the words I spoke, and then she said, suddenly,-- "Now let us go back, Richard. It is growing quite dark, and they will send somebody to see after us." I drew her arm through mine, and we walked slowly homeward, nearly in silence. We both thought that it was the last solitary walk we should take together for many a day, and the present had been a very eventful one. But, as usual with human calculations, our conclusions were all wrong. We had another walk to take ere long, and that more eventful still. CHAPTER XIX. Bessy seated herself in the hall before entering the drawing-room, where we heard many voices and gay laughter going on. "Go in, Richard, go in," she said, giving me her hand; "let me recover myself a little. I shall be better soon. The worst is over; I shall join you presently." I pressed my lips upon her hand, and went into the drawing-room. Though still anxious--though still grieved--I was not near so much agitated as she was. As she had said, the worst was over, and ever buoyant hope had risen up again speedily in my heart. She had promised to tell me all within the next three months; and I could not, I would not, believe that any barrier really existed between herself and me, which a little argument, a little persuasion, would not overcome. Woman's mind, I thought, more timid, more delicate than man's, magnified difficulties and dangers, and sometimes even _created_ them where they did not exist. "But there can be no obstacle between us," I said to myself, "which reason and love cannot overcome." In about ten minutes, Bessy joined the rest of the party, and was certainly more cheerful than she had been the night before. The evening passed heavily enough, however; and about half-past nine she retired to rest. Half an hour after, the whole party separated, and I proceeded to my own room, not to sleep, but to meditate. I was anxious to think of every possible obstacle which could lie between Bessy and myself; and, as we are often inclined to do, to lay out plans for removing that of which I had no means of ascertaining the weight or the nature. When I entered the room, I found the candles lighted, and Zed, in one corner, upon his knees, very busy over something lying on a chair. He did not hear me enter; and, while throwing off my coat and waistcoat, I asked him a little sharply,-- "What are you about there, Zed?" "Only looking up your pistols, master," said Zed, raising his head. "Why, you seem to be loading them," I exclaimed. "Just loaded the little ones, master; will load the big ones in a minute." "Stay, stay. Why are you loading them?" I demanded, "I don't want them loaded."