Page:Between Two Loves.djvu/16

Rh "Let him, if he dares," he muttered; "he'll hev more than a lass to fight with if he does." Then he opened a door, and looked down the rows of ponderous Jacquard looms with their dangling yellow harness, and their silent, patient weavers. One loom was not working, but at another, not far from it, a very handsome woman was busily engaged. She did not look up as Jonathan entered, but she was aware of his entrance, and her face flushed as he approached her. For a moment he watched the different threads of the harness rising and falling as if to a tune; then he said, softly, "Thy brother is away again, Sarah, now what wilt thou do about it?"

"I can't tell, master, till t' time comes, then I'll do my duty, whatever it may be. Hev patience a bit longer wi' him."

"Then it's for thy sake, I can tell thee that." She made a slight negative motion of her head, and bent her face resolutely over the leaves and flowers growing with every motion of the shuttle.

Jonathan then paused at the empty loom. The work in progress was of a beautiful and intricate design, and evidently the labor of a