ad of death--
even of being devoured by an alligator!

Fortunately, at this moment, a gentle hand is laid on her shoulder, and
a soft voice sounds in her ear. They are the hand and voice of her
sister.

Jessie, coming out of her state-room, has glided silently up. She sees
Helen prepossessed, sad, and can somewhat divine the cause. But she
little suspects, how near things have been to a fatal climax, and dreams
not of the diversion her coming has caused.

"Sister!" she says, in soothing tone, her arms extended caressingly,
"why do you stay out here? The night is chilly; and they say the
atmosphere of this Red River country is full of miasma, with fevers and
ague to shake the comb out of one's hair! Come with me inside! There's
pleasant people in the saloon, and we're going to have a round game at
cards--_vingt-un_, or something of the sort. Come!"

Helen turns round trembling at the touch, as if she felt herself a
criminal, and it was the sheriff's hand laid upon her shoulder!

Jessie notices the strange, strong emotion. She could not fail to do
so. Attributing it to its remotest cause, long since confided to her,
she says:--

"Be a woman, Helen! Be true to yourself, as I know you will; and don't
think of him any more. There's a new world, a new life, opening to both
of us. Forget the sorrows of the old, as I shall. Pluck Charles Clancy
from your heart, and fling every memory, every thought of him, to the
winds! I say again, be a woman--be yourself! Bury the past, and think
only of the future--_of our father_!"

The last words act like a galvanic shock, at the same time soothing as
balm. For in the heart of Helen Armstrong they touch a tender chord--
that of filial affection.

And it vibrates true to the touch. Flinging her arms around Jessie's
neck, she cries:--

"Sister; you have saved me!"

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.

SEIZED BY SPECTRAL ARMS.

"Sister, you have saved me!"

On giving utterance to the ill-understood speech, Helen Armstrong
imprints a kiss upon her sister's cheek, at the same time bedewing it
with her tears. For she is now weeping--convulsively sobbing.

Returning the kiss, Jessie looks not a little perplexed. She can
neither comprehend the meaning of the words, nor the strange tone of
their utterance. Equally is she at a loss to account for the trembling
throughout her sister's frame, continued while their bosoms stay in
contact.

Helen gives her no time to ask que