out my daughter."

"You know, dear Brother," returned Jonathan, "we of the faith always
recognize in the casting of lots the most direct indication of the will
of Heaven. Each one must fulfil the duty laid upon him, and not pause
to consider if it concurs with his own wishes or not. If Carmen's hand
is still free, she must follow the call which has been given her. She
may not be separated from us forever. Perhaps in a few years she will
return with her husband."

"A few years! Will they be granted to me?" said Mauer, sadly.

"Dear brother, I have already remarked that if Carmen is already
betrothed, the choice made by lot is null and void, and the elders must
be requested to give their consent to the alliance she has in view,"
replied Jonathan, sharply, emphasizing each word.

Carmen's lip curled scornfully as he spoke, and the cutting, scathing
glance she gave him was enough to wither a braver man than he. She
surmised what he was aiming at, but uttered never a word. Leaning
against her father's heart, she felt sure of finding there a secure
resting-place, and a precious sense of sheltering love made her able to
endure anything. But her proud glance roused Jonathan's spirit, which
grew hotter and hotter under his calm exterior. Would he be compelled
to give her up?

He could not satisfy himself whether his feeling for the girl was love
or hate; at any rate, he thought within himself that to bend her pride
and destroy her fancied security would afford him infinite satisfaction.

"But she is not betrothed," said Mauer, when Jonathan ceased speaking.
"I, as her father, am the natural guardian of her destiny. I have the
right to decide."

"The right, dear Brother?" interposed Jonathan, with a scornful smile.
"That depends. It could not be granted to every parent in the
Brotherhood." And as the old man before him dropped his eyes, he added
smiling: "Yet if I asked, for the sake of old times, that you would
give me Carmen for my wife, would I be able to gain your consent, as
her father?"

It was a helpless, imploring look that Mauer now directed towards his
daughter; his hands clasped over hers with a convulsive grasp; his lips
moved, as if to speak, but no sound came from them.

Carmen looked at her father in perfect amazement.

"Father, dear father, indeed I cannot become the wife of this man," she
whispered with a beseeching tone.

"Child, cannot you make yourself do it for my sake?" were the word