onem tuam, per mortem et
sepulturam tuam, per sanctam resurrectionem tuam, et per admirabilem
ascensionem tuam--I am guilty, truly, of weakness and ignorance, and
unintentional sin, but not of want of faithfulness to that whereunto
thou hast called me."

"Sir Christopher! Oh! Sir Christopher," cried the lady, falling at his
feet, "Wherefore, when I besought thee before to explain thy conduct,
did you treat me so slightingly? Wherefore ever refuse to satisfy my
questions?"

"Because I considered them unworthy of thee and me; because I regarded
them as the petulance of a passing feminine curiosity; because I knew
not how serious was thy desire?

"_Deus adjuva me!_" sobbed the lady.

"Rise, my sister," said the Knight, assisting her to a seat.
"Henceforth let no distrust exist between us, and, that it may be so,
inquire, and I will answer as at the confessional."

Of the conversation which ensued we shall give no account, save that,
at its conclusion, tears were flowing plentifully from the eyes of the
lady, while the Knight seemed puzzled at her extraordinary emotion.

"Celestina," he said, "thou art moved beyond what thy venial fault
requires. Forgive thyself as freely as I forgive thee."

"Thou knowest not all my sin," she answered, "nor dare I trust it to
the air, lest my own words should strike me dead. _Sancta Maria, ora
pro nobis!_"

When the Knight left the room, she fell upon her knees before the
crucifix and buried her face in her hands. She remained in this
position for perhaps a quarter of an hour, during which time only an
occasional sob escaped her, and then rising, passed into an inner
chamber.

As for Sir Christopher, neither did he make his appearance until late
in the afternoon, when he emerged from the house in the company of the
soldier Joy and the Indian, whom he called Mesandowit. The course they
took was in a northerly direction, and as they proceeded, the Knight
was engaged in earnest conversation with the Indian. In this manner
they went on long after the sun had set, even until the position of
the stars announced that the hour of midnight was at hand. There must
have been some danger to the savage feared by the Knight to induce him
to lend his escort thus far. But they met nothing to excite
apprehension. Silence reigned throughout the unviolated forest,
unbroken save by the cry of a night bird, or the stealthy step of some
wild beast stealing through the thickets, or the cracking of dr