Seite:Marsh Hallig 1856.djvu/65

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THE CITY BELLE.

and heard no more. That he could not or did not wish
to add "my betrothed," was decisive of her fate. By
this silence the happiness of her life was destroyed.
She now knew that she had lost him. Idalia had some
suspicions of the real state of things. The embarrass-
ment of both did not escape her, but the joy of having
Godber for herself almost overcame her sympathy for
the poor girL Godber, too, felt that he, by not speak-
ing of his connection with Maria, had confessed every
thing) and did not suppose it possible for her to regard
this silence as insignificant. He did not dare to look
up, and sat in the most painful uneasiness, till, to his
great relief, Mander inquired whether he had seen any
thing of the ship. He started up hastily, and with an
interest quite inconsistent with his previous silence on
the subject, told what he had seen, and the probable
fate of those they had left on board.
  They all now decided to go down to the wreck.
Maria followed slowly and alone. She only saw how,
on arriving at the above-mentioned crossing, Idalia
trembled at the giddy pass, and after several vain at-
tempts to get over with the help of Godber's hand, at
last threw her arm about his neck, and was carried by
him to the opposite side. Her tears now fell un-
checked. She thought no more of following them, but
arriving at her own home, she staggered up the wharf
and threw herself sobbing into a chair. Maria re-
mained alone with her sorrow. Curiosity had taken her
mother to the beach, where nearly all the inhabitants
of the hallig were assembled. When Godber had
joined the company, after the first greetings of wel-
come had been bestowed, it was proposed to drag a