The six sisters of the valleys : an historical romance - University Library

THE TETSTING PLACE. 195
but deserted farm of La Baudene. For a
moment she paused, and with outstretched
neck and half-opened mouth listened to
every sound, a model for the classic chisel
of Praxiteles. She drew near the appointed
place of meeting, but there was no one
there, and her eye could dimly trace the
mound which marked her mother's grave.
jSTo danger could check the rush of feeling
with which that realization convulsed her
heart, and the silent scalding tears chased
each other down her cheeks. After some
time she thought that she saw in the distance
the figure of a young man, clad in what
appeared to be the uniform of a Piedmontese
officer. She approached nearer to the grave.
Her eyes had become more accustomed to
the light, and she perceived an object on
the mound, which at the first sight she
had overlooked. It glittered at the top,
and beneath there appeared a ray of filmy
light. She recognized the appointed signal.
It was the sword of E chard. Venturing