Danger in the Dark - ZseZse

DANGER IN THE DARK. 299
gently waved their branches o'er the hermit's domicil,
and the aged man, who was lord of the vale, sat at
the door of his cottage in silent, solemn meditation.
Isadora had yet been kept in the dark with regard
to the chief object of the excursion; and knew not
~stillbut that her father had long been numbered with
the dead. She, with· the other four young ladies,
having become tired of riding, had dismounted, and
were walking a few rods in advance of the horses and
vehicle. As they began to descend the green slope
in view of the hermitage, Isadora exclaimed :
"Sure as I live, there's a human habitation."
"So there is-away here in this wilderness I" responded
Enola, as if she too was but that moment
apprised of its existence.
"And see," exclaimed Isadora again, "there sits
a the door a man I-a lone man, with snowy locke."
"True I" observed Anna, "how solitary he looks !"
"Some sorrow-stricken one, it may be," remarked
Isadora, in a plaintive tone, "whose cup of life has
been imbittered."
"He has discovered us," observed :Mary Glidewell,
"and is rising to his feet."
"No doubt, he's much astonished," said Arabella.
"How much he looks like my father!" exclaimed
Isadora, as they drew near." "If he were not in his
grave," continued she, "I'd say-"
Leaving the sentence unfinished, she suddenly
paused, turning deadly pale, and riveting her eyes
upon the hermit, who stood motionless, regarding