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Show land, a wet, dripping, but profoundly thankful party. They proceeded, as fast as the carriage could carry them, to Lin wood, where they all found plenty of employment for the remainder of the day in getting rid of the etTects of their perilous adventure so fur as they could do bo. It transpired tluit the sick woman had ' uot received any injury; Miss Hannah j had caught a blight cold; liurriet had caught a severe one, and Flo r bin had 1 caught Harriet. FOR LIFE AND LOVE. Harriet Oelder was tho most provok-i provok-i tag, pretty and altogether charming little ! coquette that ever drove a devoted lover distracted with her capricious ways. Florian Courtland was handsome and winning enough to have enslaved some other woman, but his heart was bound up in the brunotte beauty, who daily destroyed hie peace. She loved him for all that, but he tried tn vain to make her I confess it. It was in the springtime of the year, and it had rained incessantly for two weeks. Harriet resided with her auut, Misa Hannah LInwood, in Thoruway, about eight miles away from where Florian lived. Naturally, the impatient lover longed for fair weather, but as there was no immediate prospect of a cessation of the rain one Sunday morning he resolved to set the weather at dcri-1 I ance, and accordingly sent for his horse ! j and prepared for his stormy ride, ! 1 If ho bad been bound for any other j destination, he would have turned back j ! before going a mile, as the road appeared I to grow worse every Btcp, and his horse j j plodded through the mud, Btumbling I frequently in the many ruts arW pitfalls, j j After traveling for what seemed to lum j 1 to be hours, he reached the bridgo which ' i spanned the little river, two miles from I Thoruway. In the distance he could seo i the gray walls of the Lin wood mansion, ' and m his impatience he was about to j spur his horse to a gallop, when he 1 noticed that the land at a little distance I below the bridge was completely flooded, ; the river overflowing, having submerged ; It to a wide extent. j A point or knoll of land close upon the river's bank formed a little island in ; the midst of the whirling flood, and upon ! this island stood a small wooden house, 1 which Florian saw was occupied, for a ( thin wreath of amoke ascended from the chimney. If there were people in the house their position was most perilous, as the water was rising fast and would soon sweep away the house. As Florian rode towards the house he saw a female form approach the window, win-dow, aud a handkerchief was waved im- ploringly. Unhesitatingly ho rodo Into the water, which soon grew deeper, and his horse was obliged to swim. Florian urged him forward, and drawing near tho house, the door was thrown open and he cried out In surprise, for there stood Miss Linwood and Harriet Oelder. "Harrietl" cried Florian, "for heaven's ake, how came you here?" "We came to soe a 6ick woman,' replied re-plied Harriet, with prompt coolness, "and the water rose before we" "It is rising now, and fast," he interrupted, inter-rupted, excitedly, "and there is no time ! to waste. My horse will carry two; j which of you shall I take first?" 1 "The sick woman first," said Harriet, I quietly. Florian trembled as he looked at the feeble old woman whom Miss Linwood was assisting from her chair-l-v-the door, i and whom ho had not noticed until Harriet called his attention to her. He ! trembled with the appalling fear that: there would not be time to go and return twice before the swiftly rising waters should have torn the frail structure from Its foundations, for there was already an inch of water upon the floor. But he only cast one glance at Harriet's calm face and stooped to lift the sick woman up before him. Without a word he turned his horse toward the shore, and the good beast, with its double burden, struggled back through the flood. They were standing knee deep in water when he once more approached the already al-ready shaking building. He did not Bpeak a word, but looked silently from Harriet to her aunt, his white face growing grow-ing whiter yet as Harriet said. In steady tones, "Aunt Hannah first." "Harriet" commenced Miss Linwood, Lin-wood, "Go, Aunt Hannah!" "Harriet, I won't!" "You must!" eaid Harriet, firmly. "Harriet, Harrietl for pity's sake" "You are delaying her, Miss Hannah," exclaimed Florian, hoarsely. "Como she will not yield, if she dies!" With a groan Miss Linwood gave up, and be lifted her upon his horse. The turbulent waters washed Into the room, and Harriet staggered and clung to the wall for support Florinn's face was ghastly as ho bent forward and placed nia hand upon her shoulder, whispering, inachoked voice. "Kiss ine, Harriet." She put her arms around his neck and kissed him a long, pussionate kiss, which was their fin,t and might be their last. lie strained her to him, saying, "Harriet, "Har-riet, you do love mo?" "Yes, Florian." Then she leaned against the wall again, as he went, and hid her face, trying try-ing to shut out the sight of those yellow waters creeping up the side of the rooms, higher and higher with overy wave that rolled in through the door. As Florian reached tho shore a carriage was approaching in tho distance, rocking from sido to side with tho furious speed to which the driver was lashing the horses. "It's tho carriage from Linwood," said Miss Hannah; "we have been afraid of a freshet and they havo taken alarm and come to look for us." Florian did not hear her; he was urg-1 urg-1 ing his exhausted horse into the flood again. The poor beast trembled and hesitated; but Florian spurred him I fiercely on, smiting him with his clinched i fist and shouting at him in his frantic excitement. ! When the hurrying carriage reached I tho pot and Miss Linwood's coachman i leaped to the ground, Florian was half j way back to Harriet. Mistress and man I Blood with pallid faces and hearts that J hardly heal, silently watching the beautiful beau-tiful girl as she clung to hec frail sup- ori. and the young man, with Ms white i face, and his golden hair blowing back, as he dashed niadly through the flood to her rescue. While they watched a great billow j came rolling in from the river, roaring I fearfully, and tossing lis yellow water as j it dashed upon Harriet's refuge. Miss : Linwood screamed, and her servant uttered ut-tered a hoarse cry, for where the house had I men was a whirling wreck of boards and limbers, and Florian "a horse was sinrrgling. riderless, towards the shore i But another moment and they saw I that Harriet yet olung to tho floating ! rnul-and Florian was beside her ujvon it j Seizing a long board, as the waters ! whirled it within his reach, he guided the fniil rail with it towards the shore. i Ah he neand the land tho coachman j from Lin wood sprang into the water und ( came to his asM-diince. and in a few mo 1 j menu Lhey were ail standing upon the j |