Beulah - Page 58/348

"I knew it would be so," said she, in a strangely subdued,

passionless tone.

"What do you mean, child?"

"Death and trouble come on everything I love."

"Perhaps at this very moment Eugene may be writing you an account of

his voyage. I believe that we shall soon hear of his safe arrival.

You need not dive down into my eyes in that way. I do believe it,

for the vessel was seen after the storm, and, though far out of the

right track, there is good reason to suppose she has put into some

port to be repaired."

Beulah clasped her hands over her eyes, as if to shut out some

horrid phantom, and, while her heart seemed dying on the rack, she

resolved not to despair till the certainty came.

"Time enough when there is no hope; I will not go out to meet

sorrow." With a sudden, inexplicable revulsion of feeling she sank

on her knees, and there beside her protector vehemently prayed

Almighty God to guard and guide the tempest-tossed loved one. If her

eyes had rested on the face of Deity, and she had felt his presence,

her petition could not have been more importunately preferred. For a

few moments Dr. Hartwell regarded her curiously; then his brow

darkened, his lips curled sneeringly, and a mocking smile passed

over his face. Mrs. Chilton smiled, too, but there was a peculiar

gleam in her eyes, and an uplifting of her brows which denoted

anything but pleasurable emotions. She moved away, and sat down at

the head of the table. Dr. Hartwell put his hand on the shoulder of

the kneeling girl, and asked, rather abruptly: "Beulah, do you believe that the God you pray to hears you?"

"I do. He has promised to answer prayer."

"Then, get up and be satisfied, and eat your breakfast. You have

asked him to save and protect Eugene, and, according to the Bible,

He will certainly do it; so no more tears. If you believe in your

God, what are you looking so wretched about?" There was something in

all this that startled Beulah, and she looked up at him. His chilly

smile pained her, and she rose quickly, while again and again his

words rang in her ear. Yet, what was there so strange about this

application of faith? True, the Bible declared that "whatsoever ye

ask, believing, that ye shall receive," yet she had often prayed for

blessings, and often been denied. Was it because she had not had the

requisite faith, which should have satisfied her? Yet God knew that

she had trusted him. With innate quickness of perception, she

detected the tissued veil of irony which the doctor had wrapped

about his attempted consolation, and she looked at him so intently,

so piercingly, that he hastily turned away and seated himself at the

table. Just then Pauline bounded into the room, exclaiming: "Fourteen to-day! Only three more years at school, and then I shall

step out a brilliant young lady, the--"