" And, with another gentle bow,
Clara retired to the side of her old friend.
"You are likely to have a troublesome charge in your ward," said the
sheriff apart to the colonel, who shrugged his shoulders by way of
reply.
The heart of Traverse was torn by many conflicting passions,
emotions and impulses; there was indignation at the decision of the
court; grief for the loss of Clara, and dread for her future!
One instant he felt a temptation to denounce the guardian as a
villain and to charge the judge with being a corrupt politician,
whose decisions were swayed by party interests!
The next moment he felt an impulse to catch Clara up in his arms,
fight his way through the crowd and carry her off! But all these
wild emotions, passions and impulses he succeeded in controlling.
Too well he knew that to rage, do violence, or commit extravagance
as he might, the law would take its course all the same.
While his heart was torn in this manner, Colonel Le Noir was urging
the departure of his ward. And Clara came to her lover's side and
said, gravely and sweetly:
"The law, you see, has decided against us, dear Traverse! Let us
bend gracefully to a decree that we cannot annul! It cannot, at
least, alter our sacred relations; nor can anything on earth shake
our steadfast faith in each other; let us take comfort in that, and
in the thought that the years will surely roll round at length and
bring the time that shall reunite us.
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