Dolores, upon this, cast a glance at Ashby and went out. Ashby immediately followed her.
Upon this, Harry approached Katie. Neither said a word, but, acting on one common impulse, they went upstairs together into the upper hall. As they thus went up, Russell came out of the other room, and, seeing them ascending the stairs, he followed them.
On reaching the top of the stairs, Harry and Katie stood, and Russell also stopped a little below. He wasn"t proud. He was anxious for information.
So he stood and listened to what they had to say.
The two stood there in silence for some time, until at length Katie spoke.
"Isn"t this horrible?" said she, with a heavy sigh.
Harry gave another sigh responsive to hers.
"It"s worse," said Katie, "than ever."
Harry, with another sigh, allowed that it was.
"I can"t stay here," said Katie, "in this place, and, what"s more, I won"t stay. I"m free now, and I"ve made up my mind to go away."
"Will you?" said Harry, in an eager voice.
"Yes, I will," said Katie, decidedly; "and I"ll go all alone. You needn"t come; for of course you"ll stay."
"Stay?" said Harry--"stay? and here--when you"ve gone away?"
"Oh yes," said Katie, "of course you"ll stay here with your dear Sydney!"
Harry sighed.
"But _I_ won"t stay," continued Katie, after another pause; "I"m going to leave; and I"ll walk back to the railway all alone."
"I think that would be a capital idea!" said Harry, in a tone of great animation.
At this Katie burst into tears.
Harry was now quite distracted. He caught her in his arms and kissed her over and over again.
"You don"t understand," said he. "I mean it would be a good idea to go; but, of course, you shall not go alone."
"Yes, I will go alone," said Katie, "all alone. You don"t care for me, now that you"ve got your Sydney. You don"t care for me a bit!"
"Care for you!" cried Harry; "you"re the only one, Katie, in all the world that I do care for."
Katie struggled away from his encircling arms.
"No," said she, "you"re not speaking the truth. You"ll leave me, and say those same words to your Sydney."
"Bother Sydney!" cried Harry, in unfeigned vexation.
At this Katie, whose head had been for a moment averted, now turned her tearful eyes on him, and Harry once more took her in his arms.
"But do you, after all," said she--"do you, after all, care for me just a little bit, Harry?"
"Care for you?" cried Harry, with headlong impetuosity. "I swear, Katie, that I love you better than all the world. I will give up everything for you. Will you do as much for me?"
"Why--why--how can I help it?" said Katie.
At this reply Harry kissed her again.
"You--you--offered your life for me," said Katie, in tearful agitation, "and didn"t I almost give my life for you, you dear old boy? You don"t know all yet. You don"t know that it was for your sake only, and to save you from death, that I consented to sacrifice myself to that awful man."
Katie now told Harry the whole story, and the effect of this narration was only to intensify the ardent love of this volatile youth. While he had been face to face with Talbot, he had undergone a severe struggle from conflicting emotions and impulses. But, now Katie was before him, Talbot was present no longer; and Katie was so sweet, so tender, so trustful, and, above all, she had such a story to tell, that he could not resist.
Talbot"s claims on him became less and less perceptible in those new ones which Katie presented; and so the consequence was that he yielded up everything--his honor, his loyalty, and his duty.
"Katie," said he, as he pressed her in his arms, "I love you alone--I"ll give up all for you. Let us fly from this place; let us fly. Let us not wait here where these other people are."
"Fly?" said Katie; "where?"
"Yes, fly!"
"But how can we get out? Shall we go out boldly through the gate?"
Suddenly some one came between them, and a voice chimed into the conversation.
"Yes," said the voice, "fly! That"s the ticket. There"s a devil here--a she-devil. I"ll show you the way out. If you want to get off without Ashby seeing you, I"ll show you how; I know the way. It"s a secret pa.s.sage.
That"s how I escaped the last time; and I"ll take you to it when it gets dark."
It was Russell who had thus interposed. Harry and Katie showed no resentment whatever at his intrusion, but caught at his suggestion.
Russell alluded with clumsy and rather vulgar playfulness to their tender relations, and offered, as guardian, to give Katie away the moment they should find a parson.
Meanwhile Dolores had gone out into the court-yard, followed by Ashby.
There they stopped, and looked at one another in silence.
"Who"s that fellow?" said Ashby at last.
Dolores explained that he was a friend of hers who had been of great help in Cuba. She did not tell how tender their relations had been.
"H"m!" said Ashby. "Never heard of him before. You seemed very intimate."
"He saved my life," said Dolores.
"Saved your life?"
Dolores sighed.
Then more of her story escaped her. At last the whole truth came out.
"What!" said Ashby; "and so you were engaged. In fact, the fellow is an old lover."