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FORAGES
THE SCIENCE VOLUME II
OF GRASSLAND
AGRICULTURE
7TH EDITION
FORAGES
THE SCIENCE VOLUME II
OF GRASSLAND
AGRICULTURE
7TH EDITION
Edited by
Kenneth J. Moore
Michael Collins
C. Jerry Nelson
Daren D. Redfearn
With 93
contributing
authors
This seventh edition first published 2020
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Edition History
© 1951, 1962, 1973, 1985, 1995 Iowa State University Press
© 2007 Blackwell Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice
on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
The right of Kenneth J. Moore, Michael Collins, C. Jerry Nelson and Daren D. Redfearn to be identified as Editors of
the editorial material in this work has been asserted in accordance with law.
Registered Office
John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK
Editorial Office
The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK
For details of our global editorial offices, customer services, and more information about Wiley products visit us at
www.wiley.com.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some content that appears in
standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats.
Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In Praise of Grass
Next in importance to the divine profusion of water, light, Grass softens the rude outline of the world. Its tena-
and air, those three great physical facts which render exis- cious fibers hold the earth in place. It invades the solitude
tence possible, may be reckoned the universal beneficence of deserts, climbs the inaccessible slopes and forbid-
of grass. ding pinnacles of mountains, modifies climates, and
Grass is the forgiveness of nature her constant determines the history, character, and destiny of nations.
benediction . . . . Forests decay, harvests perish, flow-
ers vanish, but grass is immortal. It yields no fruit in John James Ingalls
earth or air, and yet should its harvest fail in a single year, Kansas Magazine
famine would depopulate the earth. 1872
v
Grassland Science
Whoever could make . . . two blades of grass to grow upon a spot of ground where only one
grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country
than the whole race of politicians put together.
Jonathan Swift
from Gulliver’s travels, 1726
vii
Contents
Preface, xiii
List of Contributors, xv
Dedication, xxi
2 Grass Morphology, 23
C. Jerry Nelson, Professor Emeritus and Kenneth J. Moore, Distinguished Professor
ix
x Contents
21 Forage Systems for the Temperate Subhumid and Semiarid Areas, 387
John R. Hendrickson, Research Rangeland Management Specialist and Corey Moffet, Research Rangeland Management
Specialist
Glossary, 893
Index, 919
Preface
xiii
xiv Preface
sources and erosion control. Perennial legumes in crop and pastures as components when scaled to cropping
rotations will protect the soil and support wildlife while or livestock systems within a larger area. Third, authors
providing fixed nitrogen for subsequent crops. considered potential effects of resource limitations and
Fortunately, there are many new technologies in the pending climate change to support production and pro-
pipeline such as global positioning systems, precision vide ecosystem services. Collectively, Volume II presents
agriculture, drones, improved harvesting and packaging a comprehensive assessment of forages and their roles in
machinery, safer pesticides, improved efficiency of fertil- agricultural systems that are changing in character and
izer use and many findings from biotechnology that are function.
leading to major changes in plant and animal agriculture.
Scientists are learning about managing marginal soils, Thanks to Contributors
how ecosystems work, how new technologies might The editors are very appreciative of the contributions of
be transferrable to other areas and how the benefits of the 93 authors who delivered this work through their
plant diversity assist in maintaining ecosystem services. vision, commitment and knowledge. Their generosity,
The private sector will continue to help by developing good will and talent made this 7th edition of Volume
new cultivars, improved farm machinery, new research II possible. The completed edition also continues the
methodologies and instruments for monitoring hayfields, tradition of providing the most comprehensive reference
pastures and animal behavior. book available on forages and grasslands that is written
by national leaders in their areas of education, extension,
Forages and the Role of Volume II and research expertise.
For Volume II of Forages, The Science of Grassland Agri- In some chapters, concepts and descriptions include
culture, authors assembled a thorough review of relevant material from chapters on similar topics in earlier editions,
literature to glean, evaluate and integrate the most impor- especially the 5th and 6th editions. The current authors and
tant factors for current and potential use. Unfortunately, editors are indebted to those authors who helped form
the number of forage researchers in the US and Canada the foundation and format for chapters in the 7th edition.
is decreasing, similar to trends in Europe, Australia, New With great respect, we thank those earlier authors for their
Zealand and South America. This requires more use of efforts to advance the science of grassland agriculture and
international literature when the information is transfer- the roles of forages and pastures in dynamic ecosystems.
able or is validated or modified in the new environment. Ken Moore provided administrative leadership for the
In addition, especially at basic levels, there is a need to use project and also edited and co-authored chapters. Michael
data and evaluations from non-forage species to provide Collins, Jerry Nelson, and Daren Redfearn shared in the
insight to important features of forage and pasture plants. editorial work and also co-authored chapters. We hope
More transdisciplinary research with social and environ- you can learn from and be reassured and stimulated by
mental scientists has aided evaluation of applications for the publication. We welcome your responses about our
economic viability and social acceptance. collective effort, both negative and positive.
As a first priority, authors considered how research
improves adaptation, quality and persistence of forage and Kenneth J. Moore
pasture plants. Second, authors evaluated technologies Michael Collins
and management systems for sustainability within a field C. Jerry Nelson
or pasture. In systems chapters, they considered forages Daren D. Redfearn
List of Contributors
xv
xvi List of Contributors
Craig A. Roberts
Renata N. Oakes
Professor of Agronomy,
Assistant Professor of Forage Systems and Management,
University of Missouri,
University of Tennessee,
Columbia, MO, USA
Spring Hill, TN, USA
C. Alan Rotz
John F. Obrycki
Agricultural Engineer, USDA-Agricultural Research
ORISE Fellow, USDA National Laboratory for
Service,
Agriculture and the Environment, US Dairy Forage Research Center,
Ames, IA, USA Madison, WI, USA
This volume is dedicated to the memory of Drs. Steven Lowell edited several important books and monographs
Louis Fales, Lowell E. Moser and Walter F. Wedin. related to forages including Cool-Season Forage Grasses
Devoted and passionate grasslanders all, they were also and Warm-Season (C4) Grasses, both published by
highly productive researchers and enthusiastic educators. the Tri-Societies (ASA-CSSA-SSSA). Walt and Steve
They inspired and trained many of the authors contribut- co-edited Grassland: Quietness and Strength for a New
ing to this volume. Their lives and careers crossed paths American Agriculture their homage to Grass, the 1948
many times over the years and all three were contributors Yearbook of Agriculture.
to earlier editions of Forages.
This volume is also respectfully dedicated1 :
To the Memory of Those gone on before, who, envision-
ing the needs of the future and the possibility of bet-
ter things, lived purposively, giving of themselves.
In Recognition of Those of our own day, who, endowed
with leadership ability in research and education,
continue to stimulate us to more productive effort.
For the Inspiration of Those who today follow on, but
who tomorrow, building upon established founda-
tions, will be charged with the responsibility of solv-
ing problems with which those of their day will be
confronted.
Steven L. Fales Lowel E. Moser
Walter F. Wedin
1 From , Hughes, H.D., Heath, M.E., and Metcalfe, D.S. (eds.)
(1951). Forages: The Science of Grassland Agriculture, 1e. Ames,
IA: The Iowa State College Press.
xxi
PART
I
FORAGE PLANTS
A mixed stand of alfalfa and timothy. Timothy mixtures with alfalfa in Kentucky provide mixed forage on the first cutting or
grazing but nearly pure alfalfa through the remainder of the growing season. Source: Photo courtesy of Mike Collins.
Part I covers basic physiologic and physical properties of their properties when grown in dense stands or mixtures.
forage species at the cellular and whole-plant levels that Critical topics such as photosynthesis, root growth,
guide genetic improvement and underscore management canopy architecture, lignification of cell walls and pres-
practices. The goals are to improve yield and quality of the ence of antiquality factors such as alkaloids in leaves need
biomass and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. These to continue to be evaluated. Most perennial forage plants
processes often have negative correlations that are species are polyploids and cross-pollinated, making it difficult
dependent, and responses of spaced-plants may not reflect to identify and transfer genes using biotechnology, but
1
2 Part I Forage Plants
CRISPR-Cas9 and other new technologies are opening feasible or environmentally friendly. Thus, increasing
new ways to supplement traditional breeding methods. efficiency of energy, radiation, nutrient, water and
Genetic potential for growth and persistence set other natural resources are objectives. These processes are
the upper limits for yield. Management strategies utilize integrated to understand and optimize plant growth, flow-
resources efficiently to achieve the actual annual yield, but ering and seed development. The integrated system is what
it rarely nears the genetic potential. Reducing the yield gap the manager must understand to achieve the desired objec-
by more intense management may not be economically tive in a way that is sustainable for now and the future.
CHAPTER
1
Perspectives, Terminology, and
Classification
C. Jerry Nelson, Professor Emeritus, Plant Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia,
MO, USA
Kenneth J. Moore, Distinguished Professor, Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames,
IA, USA
Michael Collins, Professor Emeritus, Plant Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia,
MO, USA
Daren D. Redfearn, Associate Professor, Agronomy, University of Nebraska, Lincoln,
NE, USA
As it has for millennia, the earth is changing physically, forage crops, pastures, range, and livestock that describe
especially during the past few decades, while human pop- their underlying science and practical use. Terms in
ulation is growing very rapidly. Forage management has bold face are defined in a comprehensive glossary in the
advanced to help meet the expanding needs for ruminant appendix.
animal products, nitrogen acquisition, fuel resources and While many terms have a history of usage, they can
environmental stewardship. However, changes in climate, be confusing when moved from one culture or location
conflicts and shortages of water supplies, increased public to another. New terms appear regularly along with new
emphasis on ecosystem management, and the challenges technologies, and need to be clear and used correctly. For
of world hunger and energy remain in the news almost example, a few years ago, a drone would have referred to
daily. Other concerns include food safety, food quality and a male bee, which it still does, but with the advent of
animal welfare. Each raises questions about how to deal precision agriculture, a drone is also now an unmanned
with hunger, the environment and quality of human life; aircraft guided by remote control or onboard computers
especially how management of pastures, forage fields and using global positioning systems (GPSs). Drones can carry
the products they support can help provide solutions. instruments that measure plant health, forage quality, for-
age production and monitor animal behavior in a pasture.
Need for Consistent Terminology Many other applications will soon follow.
Clear communication depends on terminology that is Most definitions are written for the practitioner and
common among the individuals involved. Many terms may not be fully understood by the general public or
are common to production of all crops and animals. In policy makers. Practitioners are more aware than the
this book, however, emphasis is on those terms unique to public or legislators about the intrinsic values of forages
3
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of The queen of the isle
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Language: English
Credits: Al Haines
A Novel.
BY
NEW YORK:
COPYRIGHT, 1886.
G. W. Dillingham, Publisher,
SUCCESSOR TO G. W. CARLETON & Co.
LONDON: S. LOW, SON & CO.
MDCCCLXXXVI.
CONTENTS.
Chapter
I. Campbell's Isle
II. The Magic Mirror
III. The Maniac's Curse
IV. The Haunted Room
V. The Midnight cry
VI. "Off with the Old Love, and on with the New."
VII. The Heart's Struggle
VIII. The Triumph of Passion
IX. The Vision of the Isle
X. One of Fortune's Smiles
XI. The Storm—The Wreck
XII. Sibyl's Return to the Isle
XIII. The Meeting
XIV. Jealousy
XV. Self-Torture
XVI. Falsehood and Deceit
XVII. A Lull Before the Tempest
XVIII. The Fatal Note
XIX. That Day
XX. What Came Next
XXI. That Night
XXII. Next Morning
XXIII. Morning in the Island
XXIV. Christie
XXV. The Maniac's Story
XXVI. Remorse
XXVII. The Widowed Bridegroom
XXVIII. The Thunderbolt Falls
XXIX. The Devotion of Love
XXX. Sibyl's Doom
XXXI. The Bankrupt Heart
XXXII. Another Storm Within and Without
XXXIII. The Dead Alive
XXXIV. Explanations
XXXV. Meetings and Partings
A HASTY WOOING.
CHAPTER I.
CAMPBELL'S ISLE.
"The island lies nine leagues away,
Along its solitary shore
Of craggy rock and sandy bay
No sound but ocean's roar,
Save where the bold, wild sea-bird makes her home,
Her shrill cry coming through the sparkling foam."—R. H. DANA.
About six miles from the mainland of M——, with its rock-bound coast
washed by the waters of the broad Atlantic, was an islet known in the days
of which I write as Campbell's Isle.
The island was small—about two miles in length and the same in
breadth, but fertile and luxurious. The dense primeval forest, which as yet
the destroying ax had scarcely touched, reared itself high and dark in the
northern part of the island. A deep, unbroken silence ever reigned here, save
when some gay party from the opposite coast visited the island to fish or
shoot partridges. Sometimes during the summer, pleasure parties were held
here, but in the winter all was silent and dreary on the lonely, isolated little
spot.
His son and successor, Gasper, born on the isle, grew up tall, bold, and
handsome, with all his father's daring and undaunted courage, and his
mother's beauty, and torrid passionate nature. He, in the course of time, took
to himself a wife of the daughters of the mainland; and, after a short, stormy
life, passed away in his turn to render an account of his works, leaving to
his eldest son, Hugh, the bold spirit of his forefathers, the possession of
Campbell's Isle, and the family mansion known as Campbell's Lodge.
And so, from one generation to another, the Campbells ruled as lords of
the isle, and became, in after years, as noted for their poverty as their pride.
A reckless, improvident race they were, caring only for to-day, and letting
to-morrow care for itself; quick and fierce to resent injury or insult, and
implacable as death or doom in their hate. Woe to the man who would dare
point in scorn at one of their name! Like a sleuth-hound they would dog his
steps night and day, and rest not until their vengeance was sated.
Fierce alike in love and hatred, the Campbells of the Isle were known
and dreaded for miles around. From sire to son the fiery blood of Sir Guy
the Fearless passed unadulterated, and throbbed in the veins of Mark
Campbell, the late master of the lodge, in a darker, fiercer stream than in
any that had gone before. A heavy-browed, stern-hearted man he was, of
whose dark deeds wild rumors went whispering about, for no one dared
breathe them aloud, lest they should reach his vindictive ears, and rouse the
slumbering tiger in his breast. At his death, which took place some two or
three years previous to the opening of our story, his son Guy, a true
descendant of his illustrious namesake, became the lord and master of the
isle, and the last of the Campbells.
Young Guy showed no disposition to pass his days in the spot where he
was born. After the death of his father, Guy resolved to visit foreign lands,
and leave Campbell's Lodge to the care of an old black servant, Aunt Moll,
and her son Lem, both of whom had passed their lives in the service of the
family, and considered that in some sort the honor of the house lay in their
hands.
Vague rumors were current that the old house was haunted. Fishermen
out, casting their nets, avowed that at midnight, blue, unearthly lights
flashed from the upper chambers—where it was known Aunt Moll never
went—and wild, piercing shrieks, that chilled the blood with horror, echoed
on the still night air. The superstitious whispered that Black Mark had been
sent back by his master, the Evil One, to atone for his wicked deeds done in
the flesh, and that his restless spirit would ever haunt the old lodge—the
scene, it was believed, of many an appalling crime. Be that as it may, the
old house was deserted, save by Aunt Moll and her hopeful son; and young
Guy, taking with him his only sister, spent his time in cruising about in a
schooner he owned, and—it was said, among the rest of the rumors—in
cheating the revenue.
The most frugal, the most industrious of housewives was Mrs. Tom. No
crime in her eyes equaled that of thriftlessness, and all sins could be
pardoned but that of laziness. Unfortunately for her peace of mind, she was
afflicted with an orphan nephew, the laziest of mortals, whose shortcomings
kept the bustling old lady in a fever from morning till night. A wild young
sister of Mrs. Tom's had run away with a Dutch fiddler, and dying a few
years after, was soon followed to the grave by her husband, who drank more
than was good for him one night, and was found dead in the morning.
Master Carl Henley was accordingly adopted by his living relative and, as
that good lady declared, had been "the death of her" ever since.
A young girl of sixteen, known only as "Christie," was the only other
member of Mrs. Tom's family. Who this girl was, where she had come from,
and what was her family name, was a mystery: and Mrs. Tom, when
questioned on the subject, only shut her lips and shook her head
mysteriously, and spoke never a word. Although she called the old lady
aunt, it was generally believed that she was no relation; but as Christie was
a favorite with all who visited the island, the mystery concerning her,
though it piqued the curiosity of the curious, made them like her none the
less. A big Newfoundland dog and a disagreeable chattering parrot
completed the widow's household.
Mrs. Tom's business was flourishing. She made a regular visit each
week to the mainland, where she disposed of fish, nuts, and berries, in
which the island abounded, and brought back groceries and such things as
she needed. Besides that, she kept a sort of tavern and place of refreshment
for the sailors and fishermen, who sometimes stopped for a day or two on
the island; and for many a mile, both by land and sea, was known the fame
of Mrs. Tom.
Such was Campbell's Isle, and such were its owners and occupants. For
many years now it had been quiet and stagnant enough, until the
development of sundry startling events that for long afterward were
remembered in the country around and electrified for a time the whole
community.
CHAPTER II
The sun was sinking in the far west as the little schooner Evening Star
went dancing over the bright waves towards Campbell's Isle. Captain Guy
Campbell stood leaning negligently over the taffrail, solacing himself with a
cigar, and conversing at intervals with a slight, somewhat haughty-looking
young man, who stood beside him, watching the waves flashing, as they
sped along. No two could be more opposite, as far as looks went, than those
two, yet both were handsome and about the same age.
Like all his race, young Campbell was very tall, and dark as a Spaniard.
His short, black, curling hair shadowed a forehead high, bold, and
commanding. Dark, keen, proud eyes flashed from beneath jetty eye-brows,
and the firm, resolute mouth gave to his dark face a look almost fierce. His
figure was exquisitely proportioned and there was a certain bold frankness,
mingled with a reckless, devil-may-care expression in his fine face, that
atoned for his swarthy complexion and stern brows.
His companion was a tall, elegant young man, with an air of proud
superiority about him, as though he were "somebody," and knew it. His
complexion was fair as a lady's, and would have been effeminate but for the
dark, bold eyes and his dashing air generally. There was something
particularly winning in his handsome face, especially when he smiled, that
lit up his whole countenance with new beauty. Yet, with all, there was a
certain faithless expression about the finely formed mouth that would have
led a close observer to hesitate before trusting him too far. This, reader, was
Mr. Willard Drummond, a young half-American, half-Parisian, and heir to
one of the finest estates in the Old Dominion. The last five years he had
passed in Paris, and when he was thinking of returning home he had
encountered Campbell and his sister. Fond of luxury and ease as the young
patrician was, he gave up all, after that, for the attraction he discovered on
board the schooner Evening Star. And Captain Campbell, pleased with his
new friend, invited him to cross the ocean with him, and spend a few weeks
with him in his ancestral home, whither he was obliged to stop while some
repairs were being made in his vessel, which invitation Willard Drummond,
nothing loth, accepted.
"Don't know," replied Captain Campbell, carelessly; "I haven't seen him
since morning. Sibyl is with him now."
"By the way, where did you pick him up? He was not one of your crew,
I understand."
"Well, I haven't much experience as nurse myself, but I think it's brain
fever, or something of that kind; Sibyl, however, thinks that bitter remorse
for something he has done is preying on his mind, and girls always know
best in these cases."
"He is, if I may judge by his looks, of humble station," said Mr.
Drummond, in an indifferent tone.
"We must now be quite near this island home of yours, Captain
Campbell; I grow impatient to see it."
"And what, may I ask, do you intend doing with this—Richard Grove,
when you get there? Will you take him into your Robinson Crusoe castle
and nurse him until he gets well, as that enterprising canoe-builder did
Friday's father?
"No, I think not. There is an old lady on the island, who is never so
happy as when she has some one to nurse. I think we'll consign him to her."
"Yes; old Mrs. Tom, a distant connection of our family, I believe. And,
by the way, Drummond, there is a pretty little girl in the case. I suppose that
will interest you more than the old woman."
"Pretty girls are an old story by this time," said Drummond, with a
yawn.
"I never saw but one girl in the world worth the trouble of loving," said
Drummond, looking thoughtfully into the water.
"Ah, what a paragon she must have been. May I ask what quarter of the
globe has the honor of containing so peerless a beauty?"
"I never said she was a beauty, mon ami. But never mind that. When do
you expect to be ready for sea again?"
"As soon as possible—in a few weeks, perhaps—for I fear that we'll all
soon get tired of the loneliness of the place."
"Not I, faith! It's now three years since I have been there."
"Is it possible? I thought you Campbells were too much attached to your
ancestral home to desert it so long as that."
"Well, it's a dreary place, and I have such an attachment for a wild,
exciting life that positively I could not endure it. I should die of stagnation.
As for Sibyl, my wild, impulsive sister, she would now as soon think of
entering a convent as passing her life there."
"Yet you said it was partly by her request you were going there now?"
"Yes, she expressed a wish to show you the place." A slight flush of
pleasure colored the clear face of Drummond. "I don't know what's got into
Sibyl lately," continued her brother. "I never saw a girl so changed. She
used to be the craziest leap-over-the-moon madcap that ever existed; now
she is growing as tame as—as little Christie."
Drummond's fine eyes were fixed keenly on the frank, open face of
Captain Campbell; but nothing was to be read there more than his words
contained. With a peculiar smile he turned away, and said, carelessly:
"She's the protege of the old lady on the island—fair as the dream of an
opium-eater, enchanting as a houri, and with the voice of an angel."
"Whew! the bold Campbell, the daring descendant of old Guy the
Fearless, has lost his heart at last!" laughed Willard Drummond.
"Not I," answered Guy, carelessly. "I never yet saw the woman who
could touch my heart, and, please Heaven, never will."
"Well, here's a wonder—a young man of three-and-twenty, and never in
love! Do you expect me to believe such a fable, my good friend?"
"What—do you mean to say you have never felt a touch of the grande
passion—the slightest symptom of that infectious disorder?"
"Pooh! boyish fancies go for nothing. I have now and then felt a queer
sensation about the region of my heart at the sight of sundry faces at
different times, but as for being fatally and incorrigibly in love, never, on
my honor!"
"Well, before you reach the age of thirty, you'll have a different story to
tell, or I'm mistaken."
A cloud passed over the brow of his companion; but it cleared away in a
moment as a quick, light footstep was heard approaching, and the next
instant Sibyl Campbell, the haughty daughter of a haughty race, stood
bright, dazzling, and smiling before them.
No one ever looked once in the face of Sibyl Campbell without turning
to gaze again. Peerlessly beautiful as she was, it was not her beauty that
would startle you, but the look of wild power, of intense daring, of fierce
passions, of unyielding energy, of a will powerful for love or hate, of a
nature loving, passionate, fiery, impulsive, and daring, yet gentle and
winning.
"How's your patient, Sibyl?" said Captain Campbell, who, not being in
love, found Mr. Drummond's high-flown compliments very tiresome
sometimes.
"After all, the human soul is an awful possession for a guilty man," said
Captain Campbell, thoughtfully. "Things can be smoothed over during life,
but when one comes to die—"
"They feel what retributive justice is, I suppose," said Drummond, in his
customary careless tone; "and apropos of that, somebody will suffer terrible
remorse after I die. I am to be murdered, if there is any truth in fortune-
telling."
He spoke lightly, with a half smile; but Sibyl's face paled involuntarily
as she exclaimed:
"You are not fool enough to believe such nonsense, I hope," said
Captain Campbell.
"I don't know as it is nonsense. 'There are more things in heaven and
earth than are dreamed of in philosophy,' you know."
"Yes—I was sure you would quote that; everyone does that when he
advances some absurd doctrine; but it's all the greatest stuff, nevertheless."
Sibyl stopped short; even in jest she could not pronounce the word.
"Murdered by?" said Willard, quietly finishing the sentence for her.
"No, he told me nothing. I saw it all."
"Oh, the story is hardly worth relating, and ought not to be told in the
presence of such a skeptic as Captain Guy Campbell," said Drummond,
running his fingers lightly through his dark, glossy locks.
Her radiant face flushed with pride, love, and triumph at his words.
"Do you believe in omens?" she said, laughingly. "See how brightly and
beautifully yonder moon is rising! Now, if it reaches the arch of heaven
unclouded, I shall believe your prediction."
Even as she spoke, a dense cloud passed athwart the sky, and the moon
was obscured in darkness.
The dark, bright face of Sibyl paled at the dread omen. Involuntarily her
eyes sought Drummond's who also had been gazing at the sky.
"Heaven avert the omen!" she cried, with a shudder. "Oh, Willard, the
unclouded moon grew dark even while I spoke."
"And now the cloud is past, and it sails on brighter than ever," he said,
with a smile. "See, fairest Sibyl, all is calm and peaceful once more. My
prediction will be verified, after all."
"I know you must think me weak and childish; but I am superstitious by
nature. Dreams, inspirations, and presentiments, that no one else thinks of,
are all vivid realities to me. But you promised to tell me the German
wizard's prediction concerning your future, so, pray, go on."
"Well, let me see," said Willard Drummond, leaning his head on his
hand. "It is now three years ago that a celebrated Egyptian fortune-teller
visited the town in Germany where I resided. His fame soon spread far and
wide, and crowds of the incredulous came from every part to visit him. He
could not speak a word of any language but his own; but he had an
interpreter who did all the talking necessary, which was very little.
"Our object in going was more for sport than anything else; but when
we saw the first who was called—a wild, reckless young fellow, who feared
nothing earthly—return pale and serious, our mirth was at an end. One by
one the others were called, and all came back grave and thoughtful. By
some chance, I was the last.
"I am not, like you, bright Sibyl, naturally superstitious; but I confess,
when the interpreter ushered me into the presence of this wizard, I felt a sort
of chilly awe creeping over me. He was the most singular-looking being I
ever beheld. His face was exactly like that of one who has been for some
days dead—a sort of dark-greenish white, with pale-blue lips, and sharp,
Asiatic features. His eyes, black and piercingly sharp, looked forth from
two deep caverns of sockets, and seemed the only living feature in his
ghastly face. There were caldrons, and lizards, and cross-bones, and tame
serpents, and curious devices carved on the walls, ceiling and floor, and the
white, grinning skulls that were scattered about formed a hideously
revolting sight in that darkened room.
"The Egyptian stood before a smoking caldron, and, drawn up to his full
height, his size appeared almost colossal. His dress was a long, black robe,
all woven over with scorpions, and snakes, and other equally pleasing
objects, that seemed starting out dazzlingly white from this dark
background. Altogether, the room looked so like a charnel-house, and the
wizard so like a supernatural being, that I am not ashamed to own I felt
myself growing nervous as I looked around.
"My heart beat faster than was its wont as I approached this strange
being, and found myself completely alone with him in this ghostly, weird
place. He took a handful of what I imagined to be incense of some kind, and
threw it on the red, living coals, muttering some strange sounds in an
unknown tongue as he did so. Presently a cloud of smoke arose, dense,
black, and suffocating, filling the whole room with the gloom of Tartarus.
Slowly, as if endowed with instinct, it lifted itself up and spread out before
me. And, looking up, I beheld—"
"Go on."
"I saw," he continued, looking beyond her, as if describing something
then passing before him, "the interior of a church thronged with people.
Flowers were strewn along the aisles, and I seemed to hear faintly the grand
cadences of a triumphal hymn. A clergyman, book in hand, stood before a
bridal pair, performing the marriage ceremony. The features of the man of
God are indelibly impressed on my memory, but the two who stood before
him had their backs toward me. For about five seconds they remained thus
stationary, then it began to grow more indistinct; the forms grew shadowy
and undefined, and began to disappear. Just before they vanished altogether,
the faces of the wedded pair turned for an instant toward me, and in the
bridegroom, Sibyl, I beheld myself. The vapor lifted and lifted, until all was
gone, and nothing was to be seen but the black walls of the room and the
glowing, fiery coals in the caldron.
"Again the Egyptian threw the incense on the fire, and again mumbled
his unintelligible jargon. Again the thick, black smoke arose, filling the
room; and again became stationary, forming a shadowy panorama before
me. This time I saw a prison-cell—dark, dismal, and noisome. A rough
straw pallet stood on one side, and on the other a pitcher of water and a loaf
—orthodox prison fare from time immemorial. On the ground, chained to
the wall, groveled a woman, in shining bridal robes, her long midnight
tresses trailing on the foul floor. No words can describe to you the utter
despair and mortal anguish depicted in her crouching attitude. I stood spell-
bound to the spot, unable to move, in breathless interest. Then the scene
began to fade away; the prostrate figure lifted its head, and I beheld the face
of her whom a moment before seemed to stand beside me at the altar. But
no words of mine can describe to you the mortal woe, the unutterable
despair, in that haggard but beautiful face. Sibyl! Sibyl! it will haunt me to
my dying day. I put out my hand, as if to retain her, but in that instant all
disappeared."
Once more Willard Drummond paused; this time he was deadly pale,
and his eyes were wild and excited. Sibyl stood near him, her great black,
mystic eyes dilated, every trace of color fading from her face, leaving even
her lips as pale as death.
"The third time this strange enchanter went through the same ceremony
as before," continued he; "and, as in the previous cases, a new scene
appeared before me. Now, the time appeared to be night; and the place, a
dark, lonesome wood. A furious storm of lightning, and thunder, and rain,
was raging, and the trees creaked and bent in the fierce wind. On the ground
lay the dead body of a man weltering in blood. A dark, crimson stream
flowed from a great, frightful gash in his head, from which the life seemed
just to have gone. As the white face of the murdered man was upturned to
the light—cut, bloody, and disfigured as it was—Sibyl, I recognized myself
once more, As Heaven hears me, I saw it as plainly as I see yonder pale, fair
moon now. A white, ghostly form, whether of woman or spirit I know not,
seemed hovering near, darting, as it were, in and out amid the trees. Even as
I gazed, it grew thin and shadowy, until all was gone again.
"For the fourth and last time, the Egyptian threw a strange incense on
the fire, and 'spoke the words of power," and a new vision met my horrified
gaze. I seemed to behold an immense concourse of people, a vast mob,
swaying to and fro in the wildest excitement. A low, hoarse growl, as of
distant thunder, passed at intervals through the vast crowd, and every eye
was raised to an object above them. I looked up, too, and beheld a sight that
seemed freezing the very blood in my veins. It was a scaffold; and standing
on it, with the ignominious halter round her white, beautiful neck, was she
who had stood beside me at the altar, whom I had seen chained in her
prison-cell, doomed to die by the hand of the public hangman now. Her
beautiful hands were stretched out wildly, imploringly, to the crowd below,
who only hooted her in her agony and despair. The executioner led her to
the fatal drop, a great shout arose from the crowd, then all faded away; and
looking up, as if from an appalling dream, I saw the interpreter beckoning
me from the door. How I reeled from the room, with throbbing brow and
feverish pulse, I know not. Everything seemed swimming around me; and,
in a state of the wildest excitement, I was hurried home by my companions.
"The next day the Egyptian left the city, and where he went after, I
never heard.
"Such was the glimpse of the future I beheld. It was many months after
before I completely recovered from the shock I received. How to account
for it I do not know. Certain I am that I beheld it, truly, as I have told it in
every particular, for the impression it made upon me at the time was so
powerful that everything connected with it is indelibly engraven on my
memory. It may seem strange, absurd, impossible; but that I have nothing to
do with; I only know I saw it, incredible as it seems. But, good heaven!
Sibyl, dearest, are you ill—fainting!"
Pale, trembling, and excited, the once fearless Sibyl Campbell clung to
his arm, white with vague, sickening horror. Superstitious to an unusual
degree, an awful presentiment had clutched her heart; and, for a moment
she seemed dying in his arms.
"Strange, wild girl that you are! has this idle talk frightened you so?" he
said, smiling at her wild, dilated eyes.
"If it should prove true," she said, covering her face with a shudder.
"Willard, tell me—do you believe it?"
"I would rather not answer that question, Sibyl," he said, while a cloud
darkened for a moment his fine face.
"You must tell me," she cried, starting up, and looking at him with her
large, lustrous eyes.
She put up her arm in a vague, wild sort of way, as if to ward off some
approaching danger.
"Well, I should be obliged to do the best I could. What will be, will be—
you know. But I have no such fear. Nonsense, Sibyl! a Campbell of the Isle
trembling thus at imaginary danger!—the ghost of Guy the Fearless will
start from his grave, if he discovers it!"
The color came proudly back to her cheek at his bantering words, as she
said, more coldly and calmly:
"For me, then, dear love, those fears are," he said tenderly. "A thousand
thanks for this proof of your love: but, believe me, the cause is only
imaginary. Why, Sibyl, I had nearly forgotten all about the matter, until your
brother's remark to-night recalled it to my memory. Promise me, now, you
will never think of it more—much less speak of it."
"Tell me one thing more, Willard, and I promise—only one," said Sibyl,
laying her hand on his shoulder, and looking up in his face earnestly, while
her voice trembled in spite of all her efforts.
"Did you recognize the face of the person whom you saw beside you at
the altar, and who afterward died on I the scaffold?"
He was silent, and looked with a troubled eye out over the shining
waters.
"Willard, dearest Willard! tell me, have you, ever yet seen her?"
"Why will you question me thus, dearest Sibyl?"
Sibyl drew her breath quick and short, and held his arm with a
convulsive grasp.
Willard turned, and looking steadily into her wild, searching eyes,
replied, in a thrilling whisper:
CHAPTER III.
As the boat touched the shore, Drummond leaped out, and extended his
hand to Sibyl; but the wild sea-nymph, declining the needless aid, sprang
lightly out, and stood beside him.
"Laws-a-massy, Miss Sibyl! Who ever s'posed we'd see you here again?
Where hev you been to this long time?"
"My dear Mrs. Tom!" said Sibyl, smilingly, holding out her hand; "I am
delighted to see you. Where I have been is a troublesome question to
answer, seeing I have been almost everywhere you could mention."
"Laws, now! hev you? 'Spect you had nice times sailin' round, though it
does seem odd how you could stand all the sea-sickness you must have
come through. 'Tain' every young critter would do it. But then you allus was
different from most young folks. Jemimi! how you've growed, an' how
handsome you've got! Jest as pooty as a picter! An' that, I s'pose, is young
Master Guy!" continued the loquacious new-comer, eagerly, as the young
captain leaped lightly ashore.
"Master Guy!" said the officious Mrs. Tom, bustling forward; "you
hain't forgotten your old aunty, I hope? My gracious! you've got as tall as a
hop-pole! Growed out of my knowledge altogether!"
"Oh, well, Mrs. Tom, he'll outgrow that. The best thing you can do is to
let me take him to sea with me the next time I go, and that will cure him of
his laziness, if anything will. In the meantime, I have a patient for you to
take care of, if you have no objection. He can't last much longer, poor
fellow, and you are a better nurse than Sibyl. What do you say, Mrs. Tom?
Shall I send him up to your house?"
Nursing was Mrs. Tom's peculiar element. Nothing delighted her more
than to get possession of a patient, whom she could doctor back to health.
But unfortunately this desire of her heart was seldom gratified; for both
Carl and Christie were so distressingly healthy that "yarb tea" and "chicken
broth" were only thrown away upon them. Her frequent visits to the
mainland, however, afforded her an opportunity of physicking
indiscriminately certain unfortunate little wretches, who were always
having influenza, and measles, and hooping-cough, and other little
complaints too numerous to mention, and which fled before Mrs. Tom's
approach and the power of her "yarb tea." Of late there had been a "plentiful
scarcity" even of these escape-valves, so her eyes twinkled now with their
delight at the prospect of this godsend.
"Send him up? Sartinly you will, Master Guy. I'll take care of him. This
here's the best road up to the side of the rocks; 'tain't so rough as it is here."
"Lift him up," said Captain Campbell to the sailors who had rowed them
ashore, "Gently, boys," he said, as the sick man groaned. "Don't hurt him.
Follow Mrs. Tom to her cottage—that's the way. I'll be down early to-
morrow to see him, Mrs. Tom. This way, Drummond; follow me. I'll bid
you good-night, Mrs. Tom. Remember me to Christie."
Mrs. Tom, with a rapidity which the two sturdy seamen found it difficult
to follow, burdened as they were, walked toward her cottage.
The home of Mrs. Tom was a low, one-story house, consisting of one
large room and bed-room, with a loft above, where all sorts of lumber and
garden implements were thrown, and where Master Carl sought his repose.
A garden in front, and a well-graveled path, led up to the front door, and
into the apartment which served as kitchen, parlor, dining-room, and
sleeping-room for Christie and Mrs. Tom. The furniture was of the plainest
description, and scanty at that, for Mrs. Tom was poor, in spite of all her
industry; but, as might be expected from so thrifty a housewife, everything
was like waxwork. The small, diamond-shaped panes in the windows
flashed like jewels in the moonlight; and the floors and chairs were
scrubbed as white as human hands could make them. Behind the house was
a large vegetable garden, nominally cultivated by Carl, but really by Mrs.
Tom, who preferred doing the work herself to watching her lazy nephew.
As the men entered with their burden, Mrs. Tom threw open the bed-
room door, and the sick man was deposited on the bed. Lights were brought
by Carl, a round-faced, yellow-haired, sleepy-looking youth, of fifteen, with
dull, unmeaning blue eyes, and a slow, indolent gait; the very opposite in
every way of his brisk, bustling little aunt.
"Be off with you to bed!" said Mrs. Tom. "It's the best place for any one
so lazy as you are. Clear out, now, for I'm going to sit up with this here sick
man, and want quiet."
With evident willingness Carl shuffled off, leaving Mrs. Tom alone with
her patient.
The little woman approached the bed, and looked at his pinched, sallow
features with an experienced eye. It was evident to her he could not survive
the night.
"I wonder if he knows his end's so near at hand?" said Mrs. Tom to
herself. "He ought to know, anyhow. I'll tell him when he awakes, 'cause it's
no use for me trying to do anything with him."
The man was not asleep. As she spoke he opened his large, wild-looking
black eyes, and gazed around vacantly.
"Mister," began Mrs. Tom, "I don't know your name, but 'taint no odds.
Do you know how long you have to live?"
"How long?" said the man, looking at her with a gaze so wild that, had
Mrs. Tom been the least bit nervous, would have terrified her beyond
measure.
"Listen," said the man, turning to Mrs. Tom, and speaking rapidly in his
excitement. "One night, about thirteen years ago, as I was returning home
from my day's labor, I was overtaken by a violent storm. I was a
considerable distance from home, and there was no house near where I
could remain for the night. It was intensely dark, and I staggered blindly
along in the drenching rain until, by a sudden flash of lightning, I chanced
to espy the ruins of an old house, that had long been deserted. Thankful
even for this refuge from the storm, I entered it, and, retreating into a
corner, I sat on an empty box waiting for the tempest to abate.