CHAPTER XLIV

HONOUR FOR NAUGHT

"No tears for those who win the martyr's crown
Through some brief hours of bitter tribulation,
Bearing a heavy cross but for a day,

To win eternity's great compensation.

"Weep for the martyrs walking in your midst,
Who bear the fire without an outward token,
Who tread the changeless round of daily care,
Wearing a smile altho' the heart be broken.

"Weep saddest tears for those who make no moaning,
The river deepens as it nears the sea;

The noisy, brawling brook runs loud and shallow,
But deepest grief is for eternity."

MONTH had dragged its slow length since all that was mortal of Major Gordon was laid away in its last sleep beneath the sods of Man-cho-nock, rightly named "the place of many dead," where, for countless moons, the bones of the red sons of the forest had reposed, but a soil that never before had pressed upon a white man's breast.

In accordance with her father's command, Damaris had consented to become Guy's wife without delay, that she might not be allowed time to renounce her pledge, and that the young couple might return to their native land on the next outgoing vessel, the Goodspeed, then lying at anchor at Saybrook Fort.

Captain Gardiner and his lady strongly urged that

the marriage was the most fitting, and the lady advocating the expediency on the ground that it would be highly improper for the maiden to make the voyage under the protection of the Lieutenant, except as his wife. The pang with which Damaris had finally consented was keen as a knife thrust.

For Guy, he acquiesced in the measures proposed by the Captain and his lady, with a carelessness that savoured of indifference, in his self-communings voting the whole proceeding "a devilishly unfortunate affair," only stipulating that his friend, the Colonel, should remain as best man. And Henry Lawrence, with a kind of gladiator's endurance, consented to be present at the ceremony, accepting the ordeal as a form of penance, to be borne for what his rigid sense of honour caused him to regard as his treachery to Guy.

Keenly reproaching himself for the misery his love had inflicted upon the being he loved best on earth, he resolved to strive to the utmost to undo the evil, and in accordance with that decision he passed a greater portion of his time in company with the Lieutenant, who rallied him unmercifully upon his distraught manner, which Guy ascribed to be the terrible experience through which the Colonel had recently passed, that were characterised as needless, harrowing memories-deucedly unpleasant, of course, but that should be exorcised, or ignored.

Had his love for the bride he was soon to wed been a tithe deeper, his eyes might have been opened to the truth, but with a total disregard of her sorrow, and with all the carelessness and blindness of his overweening self-esteem, he failed to perceive.

That Damaris spent the greater portion of the time in the solitude of her own chamber was rather a matter for congratulation than regret.

It was

eminently proper, under the circumstances, he reasoned; besides, it would be no end of trouble to play the part of consoler, a bore he was willing to be rid of, and thus the sorrowing, desolate girl was left to the self-imposed quiet she craved.

Besides, she partially misunderstood the generosity of the man she loved so fervently, and there was a bitterness in her heart that he could thus resign her without a word of protest. How little she dreamed of the fierce struggle in his soul when, for the moment he held her in his arms, an unconscious burden, while love waged a war with honour. No word or look of her own should betray the agony she was enduring, for pride was still strong and upheld her. Surely he had cast aside the love he once felt, else he could not have consented to remain in her presence while she plighted her solemn vows to another-that other the man she could never love, save as a sister.

Very dismal and melancholy was the hall, while outside the November winds were piping in mournful consonance

For days the storm clouds had lowered, the red deer had trooped away to their coverts in the deep forest, the trees writhed their giant arms in the high gale, sea and sky blended in one grey expanse, the inrolling billows tossed back their ghostly manes upon the black valleys of water in their wake, like snow-capped mountains overtopping deep dark gorges.

Each day during the period of his enforced stay upon the island. Henry Lawrence regretted that he had not sailed away in the good ship that had brought him, instead of remaining where, day by day, he was crucifying his own soul, and assailed by a temptation that forced his strong will to waver

between honour that was for naught and his unconquerable affection.

Now it was too late; Man-cho-nock was isolated by the storm as entirely as the lone isle upon which Alexander Selkirk dwelt, imprisoned by the waves of the sounding sea, and daily his heart sickened as he realised that the love he had striven to conquer still held possession of his whole being with a strength unconquerable by his iron will. His soul worshipped on.

It was terrible to mingle, hour after hour, day after day, with those whose conversation was most frequently of the coming bridal, to listen to the numerous discussions concerning the future of the bride and groom in their home beyond the sea. He formed a sudden resolution-he would not return to England, but would remain in the colonies, take up the sword and court a soldier's death in some fierce battle with the savages.

Guy's constant levity and careless jests smote heavily, betraying, as they did, his utter disregard for the death of the man so lately consigned to the grave, who, whatever his faults, had been more a father to the gay, young Lieutenant than to the daughter whom he had consigned to the faithless, conscienceless heir of a barren title, and who now displayed his real character in no enviable light.

During the days that followed the funeral Guy yawned dismally, cursing the fate that kept him confined within the narrow space bounded by the grey expanse of water, and longing to cross to Sea-wanha-ka in search of recreation.

His fears concerning Heather Flower had been lulled. She had quite forgotten the little episode, else she would not have consented to become the bride of To-cus, reasoned Guy, and on several

occasions he had accompanied one of the Montauk warriors upon a hunting expedition.

The long season of storm was over at last, and on the afternoon of the fifth day a rift of blue cleft the leaden bank in the west, the storm-rack floated away in fragments, like torn banners swept piecemeal by the wind, changing to iridescent hues, pale amber, violet, crystal, pink and crimson, as the sun, suddenly flashing out, fell upon a most welcome object, a noble ship, looming in the distance and sharply defined against the gorgeous background of sky and glittering, jewel-tipped waves, her white sails spread to the fair breeze as she gallantly breasted the long swells and came swiftly nearer, her course directed to Man-cho-nock.

Before sunset the ship dropped anchor, and a boat put off for shore, bearing two officers in the uniform of the British navy.

Captain Monckton and his first officer stepped ashore to receive a warm welcome from both Captain Gardiner and Lieutenant Kingsland, whom they greeted as old acquaintances.

"Glad to see you, Monckton!" exclaimed Gardiner, heartily, as he gripped his visitor's hand, "and you, Roswell," turning to the mate, who was shaking hands with the Lieutenant in the most cordial fashion. What lucky adventure brings you to the Isle of Wight? It warms one's heart to greet old friends after a long exile from Old England!"

"We have had a long and boisterous passage, Captain, and have put in for provisions. The ship's larder is low, and, learning that an old comrade had cast anchor on a lone island in this wild country, I put in here as a matter of choice, hoping to leave some broad pieces of real English gold in exchange for an outfit of provisions. Ship's crew and marines