PLAYING WITH FIRE.
The impulse of La Tribe's foot as he landed had driven the boat into the
stream. It drifted slowly downward, and if naught intervened, would take
the ground on Count Hannibal's side, a hundred and fifty yards below him.
He saw this, and walked along the bank, keeping pace with it, while the
Countess sat motionless, crouching in the stern of the craft, her fingers
strained about the fatal packet. The slow glide of the boat, as almost
imperceptibly it approached the low bank; the stillness of the mirror-
like surface on which it moved, leaving only the faintest ripple behind
it; the silence--for under the influence of emotion Count Hannibal too
was mute--all were in tremendous contrast with the storm which raged in
her breast.
Should she--should she even now, w
