the area, and
those not the first to withdraw followed in rapid succession; until,
under the influence of that wild stimulant, curiosity, the preacher soon
found himself utterly unattended, except by the female portion of his
auditory. These, too, or rather the main body of them at least, were now
only present in a purely physical sense; for, with the true
characteristic of the sex, their minds were busily employed in the
wilderness of reflection which this movement among the men had
necessarily inspired.

Ralph Colleton, however, with praiseworthy decorum, lingered to the
last--his companion Forrester, under the influence of a whisper from one
over his shoulder, having been among the first to retire. He, too, could
not in the end avoid the general disposition, and at length took his way
to the animated and earnest knot which he saw assembled in the shade of
the adjoining thicket, busied in the discussion of some concern of more
than common interest. In his departure from the one gathering to the
other, he caught a glance from the eye of Lucy Munro, which had in it so
much of warning, mingled at the same time with an expression of so much
interest, that he half stopped in his progress, and, but for the seeming
indecision and awkwardness of such a proceeding, would have
returned--the more particularly, indeed, when, encountering her gaze
with a corresponding fixedness--though her cheek grew to crimson with
the blush that overspread it--her glance was not yet withdrawn. He felt
that her look was full of caution, and inwardly determined upon due
circumspection. The cause of interruption may as well be reserved for
the next chapter.

CHAPTER XII.

TROUBLE AMONG THE TRESPASSERS.

Ralph now made his way into the thick of the crowd, curious to ascertain
the source of so much disquiet and tumult as now began to manifest
itself among them. The words of peace which they had just heard seemed
to have availed them but little, for every brow was blackened, and every
tongue tipped with oaths and execrations. His appearance attracted no
attention, if, indeed, it were not entirely unobserved. The topic in
hand was of an interest quite too fresh and absorbing to permit of a
single glance toward any other of more doubtful importance, and it was
only after much delay that he was enabled at length to get the least
insight into the mystery. All were speakers, counsellors, orators--old
and young, big and little, illustrious and