d felt something gently pulling at her skirts; and, although at
first frightened, she was at length impelled to obey the impulse, and,
without knowing whether it was the wind or some supernatural force which
had led her here, she had come.

"We had a great deal to say to each other. She told me that she had been
longing to send me a message to warn me that Colonel Kaldhein would
certainly kill me the next time he saw me; but she had no means of
sending me such a message, for the Colonel had had her actions closely
watched.

"When the news came of Kaldhein's death she at first feared that I had
killed him, and would therefore be obliged to fly the country; but when
it was known that he had been almost torn to pieces by wild beasts, she,
like every one else, was utterly amazed, and could not understand the
matter at all. None but the most ferocious creatures could have
inflicted the injuries of which the man had died, and where those
creatures came from no one knew. Some people thought that a pack of
blood-hounds might have broken loose from some of the estates of the
surrounding country, and, in the course of their wild journeyings, might
have met with the Colonel, and fallen upon him. Others surmised that a
bear had come down from the mountains; but the fact was that nobody knew
anything about it.

"I did not attempt to acquaint Marie with the truth. At that moment the
invisible dog was lying at my side, and I feared if I mentioned his
existence to Marie she might fly in terror. To me there was only one
important phase of the affair, and that was that Marie was now free,
that she might be mine.

"Before we parted we were affianced lovers, pledged to marry as soon as
possible. I wrote to my father, asking for his permission to wed the
lady. But in his reply he utterly forbade any such marriage. Marie also
discovered that her parents would not permit a union with a foreigner,
and would indeed oppose her marriage with any one at this time.

"However, as usual, love triumphed, and after surmounting many
difficulties we were married and fled to America. Since that time I have
been obliged to support myself and my wife, for my father will give me
no assistance. He had proposed a very different career for me, and was
extremely angry when he found his plans had been completely destroyed.
But we are hopeful, we work hard, and hope that we may yet be able to
support ourselves comfortably without aid from any one. We are youn