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 violence, though the cause may excuse it."

He then advanced a little before the rest, and called out, with a loud voice,—"Stand, Mr Earnscliff, or do you and Miss Vere advance alone to meet us. You are charged with having carried that lady off from her father's house, and we are here in arms to shed our best blood for her recovery, and for bringing to justice those who have injured her."

"And who would do that more willingly than I, Mr Mareschal?" said Earnscliff, haughtily,—"than I who had the satisfaction this morning to liberate her from the dungeon in which I found her confined, and who am now escorting her back to the Castle of Ellieslaw?"

"Is this so, Miss Vere?" said Mareschal.

"It is," answered Isabella, eagerly,—"it is so; for Heaven's sake, sheathe your swords. I will swear by all that is sacred, that I was carried off by ruffians, whose per-