168 THE WITCH OF SMOKY HOLLOW 
1 We ain't sin much of ye lately, William,' said her 
father ; ' no more ain't Annie. Have ye bin night- 
watchin', or what ? ' 
Weeks passed and no tidings of Annie reached 
the penitent lover. Then a note came to her in the 
same handwriting as that on her ' charm,' stating that 
William had given notice to leave his situation, and 
intended going as a soldier. 
Before his time of service expired, however, going 
on his rounds one day near the hollow, he met 
Annie. That evening he returned to the farm with 
her, and the kind farmer asked for no explanations, 
but greeted him with a pleasant speech of welcome : 
' I be glad to see ye, son William, that I be,' and 
the mother echoed his words. 
On their wedding-day, when they returned to 
the farm from church, Annie was told that a lady 
wished to see her alone for a few minutes. To her 
surprise there stood the lady of the hollow dressed in 
the black garb of a Sister of Mercy, and from her 
neck, suspended by a golden chain, hung a large 
crucifix. Taking the blushing girl by the hand, she 
said, ' We may not meet again on earth, little one, for 
I have not long to tarry here. Accept this packet 
for a wedding present ; and this coral and amber 
necklace place round the neck of your first-born. 
