"No, I would not."
"But you would laugh at me, and call me silly just as they all did."
"No, I would not."
"Well, then, some time I will tell you all about it, but not now."
"Bessie, Bessie," called a voice outside.
"Oh, there's Ross. Now, if I just knew where to hide. Can't you hide me some place?"
"No. I would not dare; but who is Ross?"
"Why, Ross is my brother; don't you know him? At least they say he is."
Before Miss Elsworth had time to reply, a shadow darkened the doorway, and looking up she saw Ross Graves standing there, looking straight into the girl's face.
"Bessie."
A shrill scream burst from the girl's lips, and the wild light in her eyes grew deeper.
"I won't go, I won't go, and you can't take me. I have promised to stay here and live with this beautiful lady."
"Pardon me, Miss Elsworth, if I have troubled you, but you see we dare not let Bessie go where she will, for we do not know what will happen her. She is very reckless sometimes, and, beside, we have had a double fright this morning, for when we discovered that she had gone we looked around for a little revolver, that she delights in handling, and could not find it."
"Oh, you need not look at me, Ross, you can't have it. Go away."
"No, Bessie, I will ask him to let you keep it."
"Miss Elsworth," said Ross, "I am sorry if Bessie has frightened you very badly."
"Oh, she has not frightened me in the least."
"I am very sorry she has troubled you, but it is almost impossible to keep her at home, unless we keep her in close confinement, and that seems very hard, as she is fond of roving."
"You need not keep her in confinement on my account, for I assure you I am not afraid of her."
"There, now, Ross, you see she is not afraid of me, and I am sure I would not hurt her ma out there, would I?" she said, bursting into a loud laugh, then quickly checking herself as Ross frowned and spoke her name.
"Come, Bessie, let us go home."
"I won't go one step until I have looked at all these pretty pictures, so, Ross, you can wait."
Ross accepted the chair Miss Elsworth offered him, and a full hour passed before Bessie consented to go home.
"Let me tell you something before I go," she said, going to Blanche's side, and placing her arm about her neck. "You are not afraid of me, and when I come to see you again," here she bent close and whispered, "I'll tell you if you'll never tell. I only tell it to people who are not crazy."
Blanche promised that Bessie should come again some day after tea, and to make Ross sure that Bessie had done no harm, she very slyly slipped the cartridges into his hand. He looked his surprise as well as his thanks, and, taking Bessie's hand, he led her home.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
BESSIE'S VISIT.
A chilly, drizzling October rain. How the wind whistled about the old house, leaping around the corners, and driving against the shutters, which creaked as they flew back and forth. The night was coming on, and the darkness was intense. The hickory wood fire in the sitting-room stove sent out its inviting warmth, and Miss Elsworth sat down beside it with a feeling of extreme satisfaction.
Suddenly a wild, shrill laugh rang out through the storm, and as Blanche was about to raise the window, a white face, and a heavy mass of hair, dripping with rain, arose before her. It was enough to make a strong heart quail, and for a moment Blanche stood speechless, for the mournful wail of the wind and the dashing of the gusts of rain gave a still more frightful sound to the weird laugh, and the tapping of the white fingers on the panes.
"Oh, Miss Robin, let me in; it's so cold out here," said a voice outside.
The second glance told Miss Elsworth who the strange visitor was.
"Come to the door," she said, "and I will let you in."
"La me, you ain't a-goin' to take that crazy girl in, are you?" Mrs.
Morris asked in a frightened tone.
"Certainly," Miss Elsworth said, opening the door. "The way is very long to her home, on such a night as this especially."
"Oh, I won't hurt you," Bessie said, as she stepped into the room, her garments dripping with rain. "You are a coward. I couldn't hurt you, for I am only a dove, a dear little dove. Oh, you do not know how sweet he used to say it to me. I can hear him now. Hark! Don't you hear his voice? I do, out there in the storm."
"You must come and let me give you some dry clothing," said Miss Elsworth.
"Oh, I must tell you all about it first."
"No, let me change your clothing, and then you may tell me."
"Sure."
"Yes."
"Because it is so nice to talk to you, for you do not scold me like the rest. They say they have to, but you don't have to."
"No, I will not scold you if you will let me make you comfortable, and when you are dressed you may tell me all about it."
"May I? I knew you would let me tell you. They won't let me for fear I will go mad. You are not mad, are you?"
Blanche hastened to make Bessie comfortable, then persuaded her to sit beside the fire to warm her shivering limbs, thinking more than likely some member of the family would soon be in search of the truant. She really hoped they would be, for the thought of staying through that stormy night with a maniac was not a very pleasant one.
But she was determined to make the best of the situation, unpleasant though it was.
"You promised you would not tell any one, and you must not let that old woman know."
"I will promise, too," said Mrs. Morris, with a shiver.
"Sure?"