t I should be by his side on the field of battle when, in the
hour of victory, he cast his last fond look at the miniature of the
lovely girl whom he had hoped one day to make his bride, ere she was
foully murdered by those who were now about to be driven for ever from
the land. But I anticipate events.

The account we had heard excited feelings of grief and indignation in
all our family. Norah was weeping bitterly; she had known Donna Paola.
Even had she not known her, she would have wept at the tale, and wished,
as I did, to aid in driving our tyrants from the land. I suspect that
had my worthy schoolmaster been present, his sympathies would have been
with us, and he would not have advised me to remain neutral in the
struggle. But I must quit the subject; I cannot, even at the present
day, speak of it without a choking sensation rising in my bosom.

The doctor looked surprised at the effect his narrative had produced;
and he expressed his regret that he should have spoken of her, when I
told him that I had but lately met Donna Paola.

"Now we will talk of something else," he said. "Your brother seems to
be a great sportsman for one so young, Mr Barry. I hope that he will
assist me in obtaining specimens of natural history, and enable me to
gain a further knowledge of the habits of the quadrupeds and quadrumana,
and of the feathered tribes, of this region."

"I shall be very happy to accompany you, doctor,--either into the
forests, or over the plains, or up the mountains, or on the shores of
the lakes,--whenever you wish to go," said Gerald.

"I should be ready to go to-morrow; but I must not neglect my patient,"
answered the doctor. "And he will require my care for a few days; and
trust me, I will do my best to cure him."

The rest of the evening was spent in talking of our proposed
shooting-excursion.

Some days elapsed, however, before we could set out. The doctor was
most attentive to the wounded Indian, who was now evidently recovering
under his superintendence. Still, he seemed to regard Norah as his
chief nurse; and though he hesitated to take what the doctor prescribed
for him from any one else, he received it willingly from her hands.

At last the doctor pronounced him convalescent, and declared that he no
longer needed his care. "And so, my young friends," he said, turning to
us, one evening while we sat at supper, "we will lose no more time, out
set off immediately. Life is short, remember