into the forest, where he wandered during the day
without other aim or purpose than to hide the brand
of guilt, which he almost felt upon his brow, from
the curious gaze of his fellow men. It was dark
when he returned to the hotel, and as, on his way
to his own private apartment, he passed the low large
room chiefly used as an ordinary, the loud hum of
voices which met his ear, mingled with the drawing
of corks and ringing of glasses, told him that the
entertainment provided for his unconscious victim
had already commenced. Moving hastily on, he
gained his own apartment, and summoning one of the
domestics, directed that his own frugal meal (the
first he had tasted that day) should be brought up.
But even for this he had no appetite, and he had recourse
once more to the stimulant for assistance. As
the night drew on he grew more nervous and agitated,
yet without at all wavering in his purpose. At
length ten o’clock struck. It was the hour
at which he had promised to issue forth to join Matilda
in the path, there to await the passage of his victim
to his home. He cautiously descended the staircase,
and in the confusion that reigned among the household,
all of whom were too much occupied with the entertainment
within to heed the movements of individuals, succeeded
in gaining the street without notice. The room
in which the dinner was given was on the ground floor,
and looked through numerous low windows into the street,
through which Gerald must necessarily pass to reach
the place of his appointment. Sounds of loud
revelry, mixed with laughter and the strains of music,
now issued from these, attesting that the banquet
was at its height, and the wine fast taking effect
on its several participators.
A momentary feeling of vague curiosity caused the
degraded youth to glance his eye through one of the
uncurtained windows upon the scene within, but scarcely
had he caught an indistinct and confused view of the
company, most of whom glittered in the gay trappings
of military uniforms, when a secret and involuntary
dread of distinguishing from his fellows the man whom
he was about to slay, caused him as instantaneously
to turn away. Guilty as he felt himself to be,
he could not bear the thought of beholding the features
of the individual he had sworn to destroy. As
there were crowds of the humbler citizens of the place
collected round the windows to view the revelry within,
neither his appearance nor his action had excited surprise;
nor indeed was it even suspected, habited as he was
in the common garments of the country, that he was
other than a native of the town.
On gaining the narrow pass or lane, he found Matilda
wrapped in her cloak, beneath which she carried the
disguise prepared for both. The moon was in the
last quarter, and as the fleecy clouds passed away
from before it, he could observe that the lips and
cheek of the American were almost livid, although
her eyes sparkled with deep mental excitement.
Neither spoke, yet their breathing was heavy and audible
to each. Gerald seated himself on a projection
of the hill, and removing his shoes, substituted those
which his companion had wrought for him. He then
assumed the hood, and dropping his head between his
hands, continued for some minutes in that attitude,
buried in profound abstraction.