THE DARK-HOUSE.
In less than an hour after Lina French fell so helplessly upon the snow
drifted around that old house, the storm swept by, and forcing the
leaden clouds aside, came the moon, followed by ten thousand stars, that
shone calmly and pure in the frosty atmosphere. Directly, bright
scintillations of frost arose upon the white waste of snow, and the
whole earth seemed crusted with diamond dust. The midnight was supremely
beautiful, and the stillness around that old house had something that
seemed holy in it, but now and then a faint howl broke over the
glittering hills, which gave warning that sorrow, pain, and, perhaps,
death were near.
A woman coming up from the shore heard the cry, and stopped to listen.
She, too, was weary and panting from a toilsome struggle with the storm.
But a cloak of soft Russian sables and a hood of crimson silk protected
her as far as it was possible from the weather. Still her feet sunk
heavily in the snow at each step, and her footprints filled with shadows
as she passed on, blackening her way over the universal whiteness that
covered the earth. Thus it had always been in her life--that woman never
moved without leaving shadows and darkness behind her.
She came forward, guided by the wail of Fair-Star, tramping down the
snow and breathing heavily, from her up-hill toil.
At last her searching eyes detected the black sleeve, which fell away
from an arm flung upward, as if its owner had made a vain effort to
prevent herself falling. And there prone upon the earth, her garments
frozen stiff, till they rattled to the touch, and covered with a slight
sprinkling of snow, which had fallen off in waves during her struggles
to rise, the woman found Lina French.
A cold, half-sneering smile at the easy success of her own schemes,
stole over the woman's face, but as she stooped and touched the cold
hand with her finger, the smile gave way to a look of affright, and
bending down, she raised the prostrate girl in her arms, tearing her
garments up from the ice, and wrenching open a little gate, before which
Lina had fallen, bore her into the house.
Fair-Star followed, shivering and whining, with a piteous attempt at
joy, and, after a moment, both the mistress and her hound lay upon a
mattress the woman had dragged from the next room, and spread upon the
hearth-stone, which a bed of hot ashes had kept warm. With a look of
wild apprehension, the woman whom we have seen in her rooms at New York,
and later, in General Harrington's library--proceeded to divest the cold
form before her of its frozen garments.
She took the fur mantle from her shoulders, and folded it over the
insensible girl; then dragging blankets and quilts from the next room,
heaped them over her, burying poor little Fair-Star up with his
mistress, while she proceeded to rake open the fire and throw armful
after armful of dry wood upon it. The woman was evidently well prepared
for this task of humanity, for, as the fire blazed up and went roaring
in a volume of flame through the chimney, she began to chafe the small
hands and feet buried in those blankets, and from time to time rubbed
the pale lips with brandy.
It was long before the half-perished girl began to feel the warmth,
great as it was. The woman kept on her labor patiently, but she grew
paler and more anxious each moment, fearing that the young creature was
really dead. At last, the little hound, revived by the warmth, crept up
to the pale bosom of his mistress, and began to lick her face. Either
the animal warmth so close to her heart, or some more powerful impulse
of nature followed this act with a thrill of life. Lina did not open her
eyes, but softly, as the limbs move in a dream, her arms folded
themselves over Fair-Star, and a tear stole from under her trembling
lashes, chasing away those that had melted on her cheeks.
Zillah regarded her with a look of profound satisfaction. She had placed
a cup of spiced wine on the hearth, ready for use, and with her soft
voice and caressing touch, now bent over the girl.
"Take this," she said, holding the spicy draught to Lina's lips. "Drink,
it is warm and invigorating--after that you can sleep."
Lina opened her eyes and looked dreamily at the woman, but her hands
wandered as she attempted to take the cup, and she had no power to lift
her head.
Zillah put her arm softly beneath the drooping head, and raised it to
her bosom. Then with gentle words of persuasion she lifted the cup, and
Lina drank off the wine with thirsty eagerness. Her eyes were open and
lifted to the strange face bending over her with a glance, half wonder,
half content, as we often remark in an infant when its hunger is
satisfied, and it lies with drops of milk trembling like pearls upon the
red of its lips.
"My child--my child!" whispered Zillah, pressing her lips down upon the
forehead of the passive young creature, "my child!" As the kiss touched
her forehead, Lina uttered a sharp cry, for, with that keen intuition,
which is a rare and sometimes fatal gift, she felt the moral poison of
that kiss in all her veins, and began to struggle in the woman's
embrace, but without the power to cast it off.
Zillah's brow blackened, and her eyes shot forth gleams of anger, but
the hushing tones of her voice were unbroken, and she made a gentle
effort to cradle the restless head once more upon her bosom. Lina ceased
to resist. Some narcotic had evidently been mingled with her drink, for
the white lids fell drowsily over her eyes, and she surrendered herself
more and more helplessly to that evil embrace, dropping at last into a
heavy slumber, that seemed like death.
The woman soon wearied of her position, and after a little, thrust the
sleeping girl from her bosom with a degree of loathing quite equal to
that Lina had suffered under her first kiss.
"There is no danger that she will be found dead on my hands now," she
muttered, huddling the blankets rudely over the prostrate girl, "let her
sleep while I take a little care of myself. This awful night has almost
killed me. I wonder the girl is alive."
The woman drew a chair close to one end of the hearth after preparing a
fresh cup of the spiced wine, which she sipped with thoughtful slowness
while her eyes were fixed on the pale face at her feet.
"This snow has proved unfortunate," she muttered. "I fear that no
carriage will be able to cut through it, and in this place she will
prove very troublesome. Still, Agnes may be trusted, even against the
storm; the girl has a spirit that will conquer anything, when her
passions are concerned. Heavens, how cold it is! I can hear the snow
crack, the frost crusts it so suddenly over; the window-panes seem
curtained over with lace, which the moonbeams are turning to silver; it
is a bitter cold night. I fancy half an hour more would have settled all
things for the young lady. How she sleeps; but there is unrest about
her yet. She knits her brows and moans in her dreams, as if some enemy
were near. Oh, ha! ha! my pretty hound, what is the matter now?"
Fair-Star had provoked this question by thrusting his head out from
under the blankets, and giving a low bark, as if disturbed by something
that he disliked.
"Hush!" said the woman, sharply. "Hush, sir!" and she listened keenly
for the noise that had disturbed him.
It was a quick footstep on the snow-crust--a fluttering sound near the
window; and then the keen eyes of the woman saw a hand softly brushing
away the frost traceries on the window, and a human face looking
through. Zillah arose with an eager look, and opened the door.
"Agnes, is it you?"
"I should like to know what other person you expect?" said the girl in a
whisper.
"She is sound asleep, of course; trust you for that."
"Yes, yes," said the woman; "but, have you brought the carriage? Can
anything penetrate this depth of snow?"
"Not a carriage, certainly; but I have a sleigh and two good horses
outside. It will be a hard drag, but she must be out of his reach before
morning."
"And you expect me to go out again, this bitter cold night?" said the
woman, shuddering. "I would rather run some risks than attempt it."
"Nonsense, nonsense!" exclaimed the young woman, speaking more boldly as
she saw the deathly nature of Lina's slumber. "The whole thing must be
arranged before sunrise, and I safe at home again. This has been a
terrible night; I almost despaired of reaching you!"
"And who comes with you?"
"Your own people; no one else."
"But the cold!"
"It is nothing, with cushions and plenty of buffalo robes. An hour will
take you safely into the city. I must be let out on the way, and get
home on foot. Come, are you ready?"
"In a moment--in a moment!" answered Zillah, gathering up her furs, and
putting on a warm hood. "But, how can we get her dressed and out to the
sleigh? Her clothes are like ice; they were absolutely frozen down!"
"Here, here!" cried Agnes, going into the inner room, and coming forth
with some dark garments across her arms; "fortunately, I left these
things at home. We must get them on, as she sleeps. There is no fear of
waking her, I suppose?"
"No, no! Make haste, if it must be to-night!"
The two women lifted Lina from her couch upon the floor; arranged her in
the garments that Agnes had selected; and, wrapping her in a large
cloak, bore her between them out to a sleigh that had been drawn up near
the house.
The driver appeared quite prepared for the singular appearance of a girl
evidently insensible, for he flung back the fur robes without any
appearance of curiosity; and, when the women had taken their places,
drove away as rapidly as the drifted snow would permit.