"Why should I run the risk of my life for her? I tried to save her, and if she had not been so cowardly I would have succeeded. She will perish, but it is not my fault."
Why did she not run and spread the alarm? Some man might be found who would be brave enough to scale the window and bring out the unconscious girl.
But Ethel moved away, going backward, watching with fascinated eyes the burning building, her sister's funeral pyre.
Shrieks began to fill the air from the occupants of the shanties around, just discovering the fire. A crowd began to gather. Why did not the retreating girl pray the people to rescue her sister?
A tempting devil had recalled to her mind her sister's words of admiration for Lord Chester a little while ago—her longing for just such a splendid lover.
"Precious dead he would be yours; living she would win him from you," whispered the tempter, and she turned away muttering, "It is too late. No one could save her now."
[CHAPTER IX.]
A FAITHFUL FRIEND.