CHAPTER XIX.

Mercy would not leave Sylvia that night, but slept beside her, holding the girl in a loving embrace, and trying to soothe and reassure her. At times Sylvia shook and trembled, and at others she cried quietly, for the sight of Lavarick had not only terrified her, but recalled Jack’s death, so that she was tortured by fear and sorrow at the same time. “My dear, dear child!” Mercy whispered, lovingly. “Even supposing you were not mistaken, and I think you must have been——” “No, no,” said Sylvia, with a shudder; “I was…