They went down and found him, but he was dead, with two of the
Bridesdale kitchen-knives planted in his heart. In part, at least, the
murder of Nash was avenged. They picked the slain assassin up and
carried him to the road, where the post office stood, and deposited the
body in an outbuilding to await the verdict of the morning.
Meanwhile, the dominie was happy; his rival, the parson, his tormentor,
the lawyer, were away, and even that well-meaning Goth, the tired
Captain, was asleep in the guard-room, opposite a half-empty glass of
the beverage in which he indulged so rarely, but which he must have
good. The doctor's lively daughter had left Mrs. Du Plessis to guard the
front of the house, and was talking to her father on his beat, and he
had a suspicion that Mrs. Carmichael was wrapping that cloud again round
the minister's neck. When the battle commenced below, the colonel was
everywhere, directing Maguffin, inspecting the posts, guarding on all
sides against the possibility of the enemy's attack being a mere feint.
All unknown to the rest of the company, Miss Carmichael was up in the
glass-enclosed observatory at the top of the house, without a light,
watching the movements of the hostile ranks beyond the bush, and
inwardly praying for the success of the righteous cause and for the
safety of those she loved.
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