His words were broken and confused, but she gathered enough, in part, to comprehend the affair, though still ignorant of the precise actors and sufferers.
The heart of Katharine was one of deep-seated tenderness, and it may not be easy to describe the shock which the intelligence gave her.

She did not hear him through without ejaculations of horror, sufficiently fervent and loud to provoke the glance of her mother, who did not, however, though turning her looks frequently upon the two, venture upon any inquiry, or offer any remark.

The girl heard her lover patiently; but when he narrated the catastrophe, and told of the murder of the guard, she no longer struggled to restrain the feeling, now too strong for suppression.

Her words broke through her lips quickly, as she exclaimed-- "But you, Mark--you had no part in this matter--you lent no aid--you gave no hand.

You interfered, I am sure you did, to prevent the murder of the innocent men.