Page 351 - The snake's pass

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THE CATASTROPHE. 339
Then Miss Joyce, like a true housekeeper, stirred her-
self, and the flames roared up the chimney, and the
slumbering kettle on the chain over the fire woke and
sang again ; and it seemed like magic, for all at once we
were all sipping hot whiskey punch, and beginning to
feel the good effects of it.
Then Miss Joyce hurried away Norah to change her
clothes, and Dick and I went with Joyce, and we all
rigged ourselves out with whatever came to hand; and
then we came back to the kitchen and laughed at each
other's appearance. We found Miss Joyce already
making preparations for breakfast, and succeeding pretty
well, too.
And then Norah joined us, but she was not the least
grotesque; she seemed as though she had just stepped
out of a band-box—she seemed so trim and neat, with
her grey jacket and her Sunday red petticoat. Her
black hair was coiled in one glorious roll round her noble
head, and there was but one thing which I did not like,
and which sent a pang through my heart—a blue and
-
swollen bruise on her ivory forehead where Murdock had
struck her that dastard blow ! She saw my look and
her eyes fell, and when I went to her and kissed the
wound and whispered to her how it pained me, she
looked up at me and whispered so that none of the
others could hear :
" Hush ! hush ! Poor soul, he has paid a terrible
penalty ; let us forget as we forgive!" And then I took
her hands in mine and stooped to kiss them, whilst the