14 EEV. GRORriE PATTERSON 



fireworks in it. and some food and chairs and tables that had been saved from wrecks, 

 which were phxced there tor distressed people, and there were printed instructions telling 

 them what to do to keep themseh'es alive till they could he taken off. lie made a fire, 

 drew some hay out of the loft, made up a bed in one corner, and went out to take a walk 

 along the side of the lake before turning in. As he returned he was surprised to see his 

 dog at the door, seemingly thoroughly scared and barking furiously. The first thing he 

 saw inside was a lady sitting on one side of the fire, with long, dripping hair hanging over 

 her shoulders, her face pale as death, and having no clothes on but a loose, soiled white 

 dress, wet as if it had come out ot the sea and with sand sticking to it. ' Good heavens, 

 madam,' he exclaimed, ' who are you, and where did you come from ? ' 



" She did not speak to him, but only held up her hand before her, when he saw that one 

 of the fingers was cut oft" and was still bleeding. lie turned round and opened a case that 

 he had picked up in the morning from the drift ship, in which were materials for bandaging 

 the wound, and was about oftering her assistance, when she suddenly slipped by him and 

 passed out of the door. He followed her, calling her and begging her to stop, but on she 

 went, and thinking that she was out of her mind, he ran after her, and the faster he went 

 the swifter she went till she reached the lake, when she plunged in head foremost. 



"He puzzled himself over the aftair, and concluded that it was neither a ghost nor a 

 demented person, but a murdered woman, and he vowed vengeance on the piratical villain 

 who had done the deed, if he should find him. Eeturning to the hut, he found her in the 

 same place. She held up the mutilated hand again. He paused before speaking, and 

 looked intently upon her, when he recognized her as the wife of Dr. Copeland, the surgeon 

 of the 7th, the prince's own regiment, a lady well known to him and well known and 

 beloved in Halifax. ' Why, Mrs. Copeland, is that you ! ' he exclaimed. She bowed her 

 head, and then held up her hand, showing the bloody stump of a finger. ' I have it,' said 

 he; 'murdered for the sake of your ring.' She bowed her head. 'Well, I'll track the 

 villain out, till he is shot or hanged.' She looked sad and made no sign. ' Well,' said he, 

 ' I'll leave no stone unturned to recover that ring and restore it to your family.' She 

 smiled, bowed her head, and waving her hand for him to keep out of the way, as he did 

 she slipped past him. She then turned and held up both hands as pu.shing some one back. 

 She retreated in this manner, and he did not attempt to follow her. 



" ' N'ow that story is a positive fact,' said the superintendent. ' Them is the real 

 names. My father heard Torrens tell it word for word, and there is people now living to 

 Halifax who knew him well, fin- he was a great favourite with everybody. Just after that 

 there was an awful storm, and another wreck, and he was mainly the means of saving the 

 people, at the risk of his own life. His name is on the chart as the ' brave Captain Tor- 

 rens.' The House of Assembly voted him a large sum of money, and the prince thought 

 everything of him.' 



" Captain Torrens got hold of the names of three of the most noted wreckers, and on his 

 return to Nova Scotia set to work to trace them out. One of them lived at Salmon river, 

 whither the captain went. He found him away at the Labrador, but he became intimate 

 with the family by staying with tliem while fishing and hunting in the neighbourhood. One 

 evening he put on a splendid ring which he had brought down for the purpose of directing 

 conversation to the subject in which he was interested. The eldest girl admired it greatly, 

 and he took it oft" and it was handed round, when one of the daughters said that she did not 



