Arthur perceived that further argument or entreaty would be of no avail.  He was much agitated and distressed beyond measure at the possible misfortune to Miranda, which, by this untimely arrest, he was powerless to avert.  Knowing nothing of the true contents of the letter which Philip had substituted for the one received from Beverly, he could not imagine an excuse for the marshal’s inflexibility.  He was quite ill, too, and what with fever and agitation, his brain was in a whirl.  He leaned against the chair, faint and dispirited.  The painful cough, the harbinger of that fatal malady which had already brought a sister to an early grave, oppressed him, and the hectic glowed upon his pale cheeks.  The marshal approached him, and laid his hand gently on his shoulder.

“You seem ill,” he said; “I am sorry to be harsh with you, but I must do my duty.  They will make you as comfortable as possible at the fort.  But you must come.”

Arthur followed him mechanically, and like one in a dream.  They stepped into the carriage and were driven rapidly away; but Arthur, as he leaned back exhausted in his seat, murmured sorrowfully: 

“And poor little Mary, too!  Who will befriend her now?”

CHAPTER XV.

In the upper apartment of a cottage standing alone by the roadside on the outskirts of Boston, Miranda, pale and dejected, sat gazing vacantly at the light of the solitary lamp that lit the room.  The clock was striking midnight, and the driving rain beat dismally against the window-blinds.  But one month had passed since her elopement with Philip Searle, yet her wan cheeks and altered aspect revealed how much of suffering can be crowded into that little space of time.  She started from her revery when the striking of the timepiece told the lateness of the hour.  Heavy footsteps sounded upon the stairway, and, while she listened, Philip, followed by Bradshaw, entered the room abruptly.

“How is this?” asked Philip, angrily.  “Why are you not in bed?”

“I did not know it was so late, Philip,” she answered, in a deprecating tone.  “I was half asleep upon the rocking-chair, listening to the storm.  It’s a bad night, Philip.  How wet you are!”

He brushed off the hand she had laid upon his shoulder, and muttered, with bad humor: 

“I’ve told you a dozen times I don’t want you to sit up for me.  Fetch the brandy and glasses, and go to bed.”

“Oh, Philip, it is so late!  Don’t drink:  to-night, Philip.  You are wet, and you look tired.  Come to bed.”

“Do as I tell you,” he answered, roughly, flinging himself into a chair, and beckoning Bradshaw to a seat.  Miranda sighed, and brought the bottle and glasses from the closet.

“Now, you go to sleep, do you hear; and don’t be whining and crying all night, like a sick girl.”

The poor girl moved slowly to the door, and turned at the threshold.