For a single instant Bernardine felt her terror mastering her; it was
certainly not an idle fear conjured up by her own excited brain.
The clock from an adjacent tower struck the hour of midnight as she
stood there by the brookside, peering, with beating heart, among the
dense shadow of the trees.
She gazed with dilated eyes. Surely it was her fancy. One of the
shadows, which she had supposed to be a stunted tree, moved, crept
nearer and nearer, until it took the form of a man moving stealthily
toward her.
Bernardine's first impulse was to turn and fly; but her limbs seemed
powerless to move.
Yes, it was a man. She saw that he was moving more quickly forward now,
and in a moment of time he had reached her side, and halted directly
before her.
"Ah!" he cried in a voice that had a very Frenchy accent. "I am
delighted to see you, my dear lady. Fate has certainly favored me, or,
perhaps, my note reached you and you are come in search of me. Very
kind--very considerate. They are having a fine time up at the mansion
yonder in your honor, of course. Knowing your _penchant_ for lights,
music, laughter, and admiration, I confess I am _very_ much surprised to
see that you have stolen a few minutes to devote to--me."
Bernardine realized at once that this stranger mistook her for some one
else--some one who had expected to see him. She tried to wrench herself
free from the steel-like grasp of his fingers, that had closed like a
vise about her slender wrist; but not a muscle responded to her will,
nor could she find voice to utter a single sound.
"Let us come to an understanding, my dear Mrs. Gardiner. I do not like
this new move on your part."
It was then, and not till then, that Bernardine found her voice.
"I am not Mrs. Gardiner!" she exclaimed, struggling to free herself from
the man's detaining hold on her arm.
The effect of her words was like an electric shock to the man. He reeled
back as though he had been suddenly shot.
"You--are--not--young Mrs. Gardiner?" he gasped, his teeth fairly
chattering. "Then, by Heaven! you are a spy, sent here by her to
incriminate me, to be a witness against me! It was a clever scheme, but
she shall see that it will fail signally."
"I am no spy!" replied Bernardine, indignantly, "No one sent me here,
least of all, young Mrs. Gardiner!"
"I do not believe you!" retorted the man, bluntly. "At any rate, you
know too much of this affair to suit me. You must come along with me."
"You are mad!" cried Bernardine, haughtily. "I have, as you say,
unwittingly stumbled across some secret in the life of yourself and one
who has won the love of a man any woman would have been proud to have
called--husband!"
"So you are in love with the handsome, lordly Jay, eh?" sneered her
companion. "It's a pity you had not captured the washing millionaire,
instead of pretty, bewitching, coquettish Sally," he went on, with a fit
of harsh laughter.
"Sir, unhand me and let me go!" cried Bernardine. "Your words are an
insult! Leave me at once, or I shall cry out for help!"
"I believe you would be fool-hardy enough to attempt it," responded her
companion; "but I intend to nip any such design in the bud. You must
come along with me, I say. If you are wise, you will come along
peaceably. Attempt to make an outcry, and--well, I never yet felled a
woman, but there's always the first time. You invite the blow by going
contrary to my commands. My carriage is in waiting, fortunately, just
outside the thicket yonder."
Bernardine saw that the man she had to deal with was no ordinary person.
He meant every word that he said. She tried to cry out to Heaven to help
her in this, her hour of need, but her white lips could form no word.
Suddenly she felt herself lifted in a pair of strong arms, a hand fell
swiftly over her mouth, and she knew no more. Sky, trees, the dark,
handsome, swarthy face above her and the earth beneath her seemed to
rock and reel.
Carrying his burden swiftly along a path almost covered by tangled
underbrush, the man struck at length into a little clearing at one side
of the main road. Here, as he had said, a horse and buggy were in
waiting.
A lighted lantern was in the bottom of the vehicle. He swung this into
the unconscious girl's face as he thrust her upon the seat. He had
expected to see one of the servants of the mansion--a seamstress, or one
of the maids, perhaps--but he was totally unprepared for the vision of
girlish loveliness that met his gaze.
While he had gazed with fascinated eyes at the faultlessly beautiful
face of Bernardine, his heart had gone from him in one great, mad throb
of passionate love.
"This lovely bird has walked directly into my drag-net," he muttered.
"Why should she not be mine, whether she loves or _hates_ me?"