For the Faith | Page 7

his shoulder.
"It is not what I would do, what I would say, Anthony. The charge is
given by the Spirit of God: 'Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give
thee the crown of life.'"
He took her hand and kissed it passionately.
"That crown will I win, my Freda," he cried, "for I will be faithful unto
death!"
There was a curious mingling of tenderness and admiration in the
glance she bent upon him. He was a goodly youth to look at, tall and
strongly knit in figure, upright as a young spruce fir, with a keen,
dark-skinned face, square in outline and with a peculiar mobility of
expression. The eyes were black and sparkling, and the thick, short,
curling hair was sombre as the raven's wing. There was no lack of
intellect in the face, but the chief characteristic was its eager intensity
of ever-changing expression.
The girl facing him was as straight and almost as tall as he, but slender
and graceful as a young deer. Her hood had fallen back from her
chestnut locks, which glistened in the sunshine like burnished copper.
Her eyes were of a curious tawny tint, not unlike the colour of her hair,
and her complexion was delicately fair, just tinged with rose colour at
the cheeks, but of a creamy pallor elsewhere. Her features were delicate
and regular, and she, too, was remarkable for the look of intellect in the
broad brow and deep, steadfast eyes.
Their expression at this moment, as they were fixed upon Dalaber, was
one which thrilled him to his heart's core.
He had been filled with a passion of self renunciation inspired by her

words. But as he gazed into her eyes, something more personal, more
human, sprang up within him. He put his lips once more to the hand he
held, and his voice shook as he said:
"Freda, I love thee! I love only thee!"
She did not answer. She did not withdraw her hand. Perhaps she had
known this thing before Dalaber spoke the words. She stood before him,
looking very earnestly and tenderly into his eyes. It was scarcely the
look of a young maiden who is being wooed by the man she loves; and
yet there was love in that unfaltering glance, and his heart leapt up as
he saw it.
"I ask nothing yet, Freda!" he cried--"at least, I ask only the right to
love thee! Let me continue to be thy friend, thy companion, as before.
Let me see thee and speak with thee as of old. Be thou my star and my
guardian angel. I ask no more. I am but a poor student yet, but I will be
more one day. Others have said so beside myself. I will rise to fame
and fortune. And thou--if thou dost love me, even a little--thou wilt
wait, and see what I can do and dare for thy sweet sake!"
She smiled her full, gracious smile at him, and again laid a hand upon
his shoulder.
"Be ever true to thine own noblest self, Anthony Dalaber," she
answered, in her rich, musical tones--"be true to thy conscience and to
thy friends. Be steadfast and true; and that not for my sake, but for His
in whose holy name we are called, and to whose service we are bound.
Be faithful, be true; and whether for life or for death, thy reward will be
assured."
He gazed at her with a glow of rapture in his eyes.
"The reward of thy love?" he whispered breathlessly.
"That may well be," she answered; "but I was not thinking of that. Fix
thine eyes rather on that crown of life which shall be given unto those
who overcome."

"I will think of both," he answered, in an access of enthusiasm, "for
God is our Father; He loves us. I fear not to take all good at His hand.
Love to Him--love to thee--faithfulness to both. What more can heart of
man desire than such an object to strive after?"
His earnestness could not be mistaken. She caught the reflex of his
passionate devotion, and thrilled a little beneath his touch. He felt it in
a moment, and caught her hands again.
"Give me a word of hope!" he cried. "Ah, my beloved, wilt thou not
say that some day thou wilt love me?"
Freda was not one who would dally and trifle with her heart.
"In sooth, methinks I love thee now, Anthony. Nay, hear me a moment
longer. I love thee with a strong and sisterly love; but I would know
mine own heart better ere I promise more. We will be content with this
knowledge for the nonce. I shall watch thee, Anthony; I shall hear of
thee; I shall know what