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Chapter 2

Drawing Valid Inferences I: Internal and External Validity

A. Multiple Choice Questions

1. Internal validity is best defined as


a) The extent to which rival hypotheses can explain the findings of an experiment
b) The extent to which an experiment rules out alternative explanations of the findings
c) The extent to which the data demonstrates a relationship
d) The extent to which the findings can be applied to similar groups of people

Correct Answer: b
LO 2.1: Report four types of experimental validity used to evaluate the methodology of
a study
Topic/Concept: Types of Validity
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand

2. Which of the following is NOT a threat to the internal validity of an experiment?


a) History
b) Maturation
c) Attrition
d) Sample characteristics

Correct Answer: d
LO 2.2: Define internal validity
Topic/Concept: Internal Validity
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand

3. What is a common approach used by researchers to control for the possible influences of
history and maturation in a longitudinal experiment?

1
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
a) Include a placebo group in the design.
b) Include an additional experimental condition in the design.
c) Include a no-treatment group in the design.
d) Control for differences in the history of participants.

Correct Answer: c
LO 2.3: Classify some of the different threats to internal validity
Topic/Concept: Threats to Internal Validity
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand

4. An example of the instrumentation threat to internal validity is


a) Questions in the survey are periodically reworded.
b) Standardized tests are used.
c) The experimenter leaves the room during the test.
d) Assessments use both multiple choice and true/false questions.

Correct Answer: c
LO 2.4: Report how instrumentation serves as a threat to internal validity
Topic/Concept: Instrumentation as a Threat to Internal Validity
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand

5. Statistical regression, as a threat to internal validity, refers to


a) The shift of statistical significance as the number of participants increases
b) The tendency of modal responses to move away from the center of the distribution
c) The inability of certain designs to detect statistically significant difference, should
they exist
d) The tendency of extreme scores to move toward the mean of the distribution when a
measure is readministered

Correct Answer: c
LO 2.5: Summarize each of the additional threats to internal validity
Topic/Concept: Additional Threats to Internal Validity
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand

6. What is typically done to reduce the possibility of selection biases?


a) Choose the sample from a population that is believed to be very similar.
b) Control for the similarity of experimental participants.
c) Use random assignment to place participants into different experimental conditions.
d) Add a control group to the experiment.

Correct Answer: c

2
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
LO 2.5: Summarize each of the additional threats to internal validity
Topic/Concept: Additional Threats to Internal Validity
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand

7. External validity is mostly concerned with


a) The accuracy of experimental hypotheses
b) The importance of applying the findings of experiments to different samples
c) The generalizability of the findings beyond the setting and sample of the
experiment
d) The validity and appropriateness of using lab research in natural settings

Correct Answer: c
LO 2.8: Define external validity
Topic/Concept: External Validity
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand

8. Generalizing research findings from animals to human beings is considered to be a


potential threat to
a) Internal validity
b) Statistical conclusion validity
c) External validity
d) Construct validity

Correct Answer: c
LO 2.8: Define external validity
Topic/Concept: External Validity
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand

9. Dr. Lujan presents the same vignette that is shown on a website to each of her
experiment participants. This situation is an example of which threat to external
validity?
a) Narrow stimulus sampling
b) Underrepresented groups
c) Samples of convenience
d) Sample characteristics

Correct Answer: a
LO 2.9: Summarize different threats to external validity
Topic/Concept: Additional Threats to External Validity
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply

3
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
10. Reactivity may pose a threat to the external validity of an experiment because
a) Participants may act differently since they are aware they are being observed
b) Participants may not want to complete the experimental protocol
c) Participants may be responding to internal scripts that are dictating their behavior
d) Participants may attempt to discover the purpose of the experiment and act
accordingly

Correct Answer: a
LO 2.10: Classify each of the additional threats to external validity
Topic/Concept: Additional Threats to External Validity
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand

11. The primary problem with using a pretest in an experiment is


a) The pretest may actually encourage participants to be dishonest during the
experiment.
b) The pretest may sensitize participants and encourage them to act in a specific
manner.
c) The pretest may bias the experimenter to expect a certain experimental outcome.
d) The pretest may lessen the impact of the experimental manipulation and dilute the
findings.

Correct Answer: b
LO 2.10: Classify each of the additional threats to external validity
Topic/Concept: Additional Threats to External Validity
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand

12. A team of researchers found that during the 1940s, there was a high level of patriotism
among people in their twenties, but that in the 1960s, people in their twenties had much
lower levels of patriotism. This situation is an example of a
a) Cohort effect
b) Novelty effect
c) Test sensitization
d) Reaction to assessment

Correct Answer: a
LO 2.10: Classify each of the additional threats to external validity
Topic/Concept: Additional Threats to External Validity
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply

13. Why are proof of concept studies so important?

4
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
a) They advance theory and understanding.
b) They are high in external validity.
c) They answer common questions.
d) They are generalizable.

Correct Answer: a
LO 2.11: Evaluate the idea of proof of concept
Topic/Concept: When We Do and Do Not Care about External Validity
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand

14. A critic reviews a study and challenges the findings, pointing out that the subjects had
reactivity and were aware of the experiment due to an obvious pretest. Is this challenge
appropriate, and why or why not?
a) No, because the findings may still be applicable.
b) No, because the findings are typically generalizable.
c) Yes, because the findings lack external validity.
d) Yes, because the findings have serious internal validity errors.

Correct Answer: a
LO 2.12: Examine the importance of determining the relevance of a threat to external
validity before it is managed
Topic/Concept: Managing Threats to External Validity
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Evaluate

15. Reducing possible threats to internal validity will most likely lead to
a) Increasing the statistical significance of the findings
b) Increasing the external validity of the findings
c) Decreasing the generality of the findings
d) Decreasing the validity of the conclusions

Correct Answer: c
LO 2.13: Analyze the similarities and differences between internal validity and external
validity
Topic/Concept: Perspectives on Internal and External Validity
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand

B. Essay Questions

1. What is the notion of plausible rival hypotheses? How is this notion related to research
design?

5
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
LO 2.2: Define internal validity
Topic/Concept: Internal validity
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand

2. For any three of the following threats to internal validity, define and provide a concrete
example in the context of a research investigation: history, maturation, testing,
instrumentation, statistical regression, selection biases, attrition, combination of
selection and other threats, diffusion or imitation of treatment, and special treatment or
reactions of controls.

LO 2.3: Classify some of the different threats to internal validity


Topic/Concept: Threats to Internal Validity
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply

3. Three threats to internal validity (testing, instrumentation, regression) pertain to


assessment in some way. Explain.

LO 2.4: Report how instrumentation serves as a threat to internal validity


Topic/Concept: Instrumentation as a Threat to Internal Validity
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand

4. Compare and contrast three different threats to external validity. For each, identify the
best way to overcome the threat.

LO 2.9: Summarize different threats to external validity


Topic/Concept: Threats to External Validity
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Analyze

5. Discuss the relation of internal and external validity. Give an example where internal
validity would be a higher priority than external and another example where the reverse
might be the case.

LO 2.13: Analyze the similarities and differences between internal validity and external
validity
Topic/Concept: Perspectives on Internal and External Validity
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Analyze

6
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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He darted toward her, but she was gone, slamming the door after her,
and was down the stairs in a twinkling. She knew he would not dare to
follow her; and, reaching the dark, deserted parlor, she threw herself on a
lounge, and burst into a passionate flood of tears. In that moment, she fairly
hated her husband.

But, when the household assembled next morning, little Mrs. Courtney
looked as bright, and smiling, and breezy as ever, and met her pale, sour-
visaged husband with her customary, careless unconcern. He, too, was
calm; but, it was a delusive lull in the storm. The treacherous peace of the
sleeping volcano—the menacing quiet of a savage, seeking revenge—a
calm, more to be dreaded, than his former, fierce outburst of passion.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE FATAL NOTE.


"All my fond love thus do I blow to heaven
'Tis gone.
Arise, black vengeance, from thy hollow cell,
Yield up, oh, love, thy crown and hearted throne
To tyrannous hate! Swell, bosom with thy fraught,
For 'tis of aspics' tongues!"—OTHELLO.

Inwardly congratulating himself on his successful interview with Sibyl,


Willard Drummond sought his rooms to lay his plans for the future.

Sibyl must be his bride, and that soon—love, and pride, and ambition,
all demanded it. It would be such a triumph to carry off this beauty and
heiress—this brilliant star, who would so proudly and gloriously eclipse the
lesser lights of New York and Washington. And yet, though his darker angel
prompted this, he involuntarily shrank from the crime. What was to be done
with Christie? What would she do, when she heard of his marriage? Poor,
deceived little Christie? his heart smote him to think he had forgotten her
already.

He did not fear her much; it was not that which made him hesitate.
There was not a particle of revenge in her disposition. Meek, timid, and
yielding, he knew if he commanded her to be silent—saying his honor, his
happiness compelled him to act as he did—she would gently fold her hands
across her bosom, and die, if need be, and "make no sign." No, he need not
fear her, but he feared himself. There was a fierce struggle going on in his
breast. Once there had been before. Then it was between honor and passion;
now it was between pity and ambition. How could he tell his loving,
trusting child-bride that she would never see him more—that he had
deceived her and was to marry another? And on the other hand, after his
interview with Sibyl the previous night, it was absolutely impossible to
pursue any other course. Christie might suffer—die, if she would; but Sibyl
Campbell—this regal, beautiful heiress, this transcendently lovely Queen of
the Isle—must be his wife. His wife! Could she be that while Christie
lived? His brain was in a whirl as he paced up and down, still revolving the
question: "What next?—what next?"

Unable to answer it, he threw himself on his bed, only to live over again
the past few weeks in feverish dreams.

It was near noon when he awoke; and, with a head but slightly clearer
than it had been the preceding night, he set out for the parsonage.

"There is no other course for it," ran his thoughts, on the way, "but to
see Christie, and tell her all. But how to see her! Sibyl's jealousy is not
dead, but sleepeth; and if I visit the isle it may break out in new fury. I must
write a note to Christie, and send it to the island with some one—Lem or
Carl—and appoint a meeting, after night, unknown to every one. Yes, that is
what must be done. Poor Christie! poor Christie! Villain that I am to wrong
you so! but the hand of Destiny is upon me, driving me on. How is all this
to end? In woe for some of us, if the Egyptian's prediction come true. Well,
I am in the hands of Fate, and must accomplish her ends, come what may."
He found Sibyl alone in the drawing-room when he entered. Mrs.
Courtney and Mrs. Brantwell were conversing in the sitting-room, while
Mr. Courtney sat silently in the depths of an elbow-chair, and scowled at
them over the top of a book.

Sibyl's welcome was most cordial, and they were soon engaged in
animated conversation.

Once, as if by accident, during the conversation, he said:

"I have left some things I need on the island, which I suppose I must
soon go after."

"If you mention it to Guy, he will send Lem over with them," said Sibyl,
with an involuntary coldness in her tone.

"Jealous still—I knew it," was his inward comment.

"I presume you do not intend visiting the lodge yourself?" he asked,
after a pause.

"No; the island has few attractions for me now. I really would not care
much if I never saw it again," she answered, briefly.

And there the subject dropped.

That evening when Willard returned to his hotel, he sat down and
indicted the following note, without date or superscription, to Christie:

"DEAREST.—For reasons which I will explain when we meet I cannot


visit you during the day. Meet me to-night, on the heath below the cottage,
any time before midnight."

Lest it should by any chance fall into other hands than those for whom it
was intended, he had omitted his name—knowing, besides, that it was not
necessary, since the person to whom he would deliver it would tell Christie
who had sent it.

Folding it up, he put it in his pocket, knowing that either Lem or Carl
would in all probability visit N—— during the day, and he could seize the
first opportunity of handing it to either unobserved.

And thus, determined by his devoted attention to lull her slightest


doubts to rest, he set out early the following morning for the parsonage.

This was Thursday—the day on which Mrs. Courtney had promised to


visit the isle.

The day dawned clear and beautiful, and as the family at the Brantwell
mansion assembled round the breakfast-table, little did they dream of the
appalling tragedy with which it was destined to close.

Sibyl and her lover sat in their favorite seat in the recess formed by the
deep bay-window, talking in low, lover-like tones.

Good Mrs. Brantwell had incased her large proportions in a rocking-


chair, and was swaying backward and forward, plying her knitting-needles,
and trying to find some one to talk to—a somewhat difficult task; for Mr.
Courtney, sitting in sullen silence, answered coldly and briefly, while his
eyes continually followed his wife, who was fluttering in and out in a
restless, breezy sort of way, looking every few moments out of the window,
and starting violently whenever the door opened. Her husband saw it, and
said to himself:

"She is looking for her lover, and is watching impatiently for his
coming. This is the morning he promised to take her to the isle."

And his eyes assumed such a wild, maniac glare, that Mrs. Brantwell,
looking up suddenly from her work, uttered a stifled scream as she
exclaimed:

"Gracious me! Mr. Courtney, are you ill? You look like a ghost—worse
than any ghost, I declare. I knew your wound was not perfectly healed. You
had better retire, and lie down."

"Thank you, madam; I am perfectly well," he answered, in a hollow


tone that belied his words.

Laura, absorbed by her own thoughts, had not heard this brief
conversation. Yes, she was watching for Captain Campbell, with a nervous
restlessness, she could not control, but, with a far different object to that
which her husband supposed. She wanted to see him for a moment, before
he entered, to tell him she could not go with him, to the island, and, to beg
of him, not to allude to the subject in the presence of the others. If he did,
she knew her husband's jealousy would be apparent to all—a humiliation,
she wished to postpone, as long as possible.

Therefore, when at last she espied him coming, she flew down the
stairs, and, flushed, eager, palpitating, met him in the hall.

"Really, Mrs. Courtney," he said, smiling at her haste, "I hope I have not
kept you waiting."

"No, no," she answered, eagerly. "I wanted to tell you, Captain
Campbell, that I cannot go."

"No?" he said, looking somewhat disappointed. "Then, perhaps, you


will come to-morrow?"

"Neither to-morrow nor ever. I cannot explain now, but, I wanted to tell
you this, before you met the others. Don't say anything about this, up stairs;
and, if my conduct appears strange, set it down to woman's fickleness, to
eccentricity, to anything you like."

She did not venture to look up, but he saw the burning flush that swept
over her face, and, for the first time, guessed the secret of her husband's
gloom.

"My dear Mrs. Courtney," he said, gently, "there is no explanation or


apology needed. I intended setting out for Westport, to-morrow; but, now,
since you will not go, I will start this afternoon. You will, most probably, be
gone before I return; and so, besides the formal adieu I shall bid you up
stairs, let me say farewell, now. Should we never meet again, I hope you
will sometimes think of me as a friend."

He pressed her hand and passed up stairs; while Laura ran to hide her
burning cheeks, in the solitude of her own room.

The dark, fierce glance of hatred, which Mr. Courtney bestowed upon
the captain, as he entered, confirmed him in his opinion. Pitying Laura,
while he despised her husband, he determined to positively neglect her,
rather than give him further cause for jealousy.

"You have left Lem waiting on the beach," said Sibyl, some half-hour
after his entrance. "Is he to wait for you, there?"

"By Jove! I forgot all about him. I ought to have gone down, and told
him to return. I must go now," said Captain Campbell, starting up.

"No; ring the bell, and I will send Jenny down, to tell him," said Mrs.
Brantwell.

"Never mind, I'll go," said Drummond, rising suddenly, as he thought


what an excellent opportunity this would be, to deliver his note. "I must be
off, anyway, and, I can just take the beach in my way."

"Very well," said the young captain, resuming his seat. "Tell him I won't
need his services, and he may return home."

Making his adieu, Drummond hastened out and went down to the beach,
where Lem sat patiently sunning himself on a log, and waiting for his
master's return.

"Lem," said Drummond, as he reached him, "You are to go back to the


island without waiting for Captain Campbell."

"Yes, marser," said the obedient Lem, starting up.

"And, Lem, I want you to do me a service."


"Berry well; I's willin'."

"I want you to carry a note from me to Miss Christie."

"Yes, sar," replied Lem, inwardly wondering what the "ole 'oman"
would say to this if she heard it.

"You are to give it to no one but herself—neither to Mrs. Tom nor Carl;
and you must not let any one see you giving it either. Why, where the deuce
can it be? I surely have not lost it?"

All this time he had been searching in his pockets, but the note was
nowhere to be found. He felt in his vest-pocket, where he had placed it, then
in his coat-pockets, then back again to his vest. All in vain. The note was
gone!

"I must have dropped it on the way, confound it!" he muttered, angrily.
"What if any one should find it? But, luckily, if they do, there is no clew by
which they will discover me to be the writer. Well, I must write another, that
is all."

He took a pencil from his pocket, tore a leaf out of his tablet, and wrote
a few lines. Then he consigned them to Lem, with the caution:

"Be sure you do not lose it, nor let any one see you deliver it. And this
is for your trouble—and silence. You understand?"

"Sartin, marse," said Lem, rolling up his eyes with a volume of


meaning; and he pocketed with unfeigned delight the silver coin. "I's dumb,
and nobody'll see me givin' Miss Christie dis. Cotch a weasel asleep."

"All right, then; push off," said Drummond, as, with a mind intensely
relieved, he sprang up the bank, while his messenger set off for the island.

Meantime we must return to the parsonage.

Scarcely had Drummond gone, when Mrs. Courtney entered, and took
the seat he had just vacated beside Sibyl. Noticing Captain Campbell only
by a grave bow—for the watchful eyes of her husband were upon her—she
entered into a low-toned conversation with Sibyl.

"Ah! she is growing careful; that is a bad sign. I must watch them more
closely, now that they have become guarded," thought Mr. Courtney, setting
his teeth hard.

And, while the captain remained, every word, every look, every tone
was watched and perverted by the jealous husband. Captain Campbell
treated him with cool contempt, and scarcely noticed him at all; but Laura
watched him constantly from under her long eye-lashes, anxious and
alarmed, as she noticed his ghastly face.

"Oh! I wish Captain Campbell would go—I wish he would go," thought
Laura, looking uneasily out of the window, "Heaven help Edgar! the man is
mad!"

Did some sweet instinct tell him her wish? He rose that instant to take
his leave.

"And—oh! by the way, Sibyl," he said, suddenly, as he was departing, "I


came near forgetting I had an epistle for you. This is it, I believe," he added,
drawing a note from his pocket, and going over to where slip and Laura sat.

"For me?" said Sibyl, opening it. "Who from, I wonder?"

"Little Christie gave it to me as I was going."

"Christie?" cried Sibyl, in a voice that made them start, as her eyes ran
eagerly over the lines. They were as follows:

"DEAR MISS SIBYL.—I did not tell you all that night. I have thought
since I should have done so. When next you visit the island I shall reveal to
you my secret; for I feel you have a right to know. CHRISTIE."
Pale with many emotions, Sibyl leaned for a moment against the
window, without speaking.

"Well, Sibyl, what awful revelation does that tiny note contain, to alarm
you so?" he asked, in surprise.

"Guy," she said, impatiently, starting up. "I must visit the island to-day."

"The island! Nonsense, Sibyl!" broke in Mrs. Brantwell.

"I must—I must! My business there will not admit of delay. I must go."

"Why, what's wrong? They seemed all well when I left," said her
brother, still more surprised.

Feeling it would not do to excite a curiosity she could not satisfy, Sibyl
controlled her emotions, and said, more calmly:

"They are well enough. It is not that; but circumstances render it


necessary that I should go there to-day. Who will take me over?"

"If you wait for an hour or two, Carl Henley will be here. I heard Mrs.
Tom saying he would visit N—— to-night, for things she wanted. If you
must go, he will take you when he returns."

"Very well; I suppose that must do," said Sibyl, controlling her burning
impatience by a great effort, as she hastily left the room.

And Captain Campbell, having made his adieus, also departed, followed
by Mrs. Brantwell. Laura kept her seat by the window, while her husband
still scowled gloomily from under his midnight brow.

"Well, this is certainly pleasant," thought Mrs. Courtney. "What a prize I


have drawn in the great matrimonial lottery, to be sure. Ugh! I declare he
looks like a ghoul—a death's head—an ogre—a—I don't know what, as he
sits there, glaring at me in that hideous way. That man will be the death of
me yet, I'm sure. Positively I must have committed some awful crime, some
time or other, to be punished with such a husband. His mouth looks as if it
had been shut, and bolted, and locked, and the key forever lost. I wonder if
he could open it. I'll see."

"Mr. Courtney," she said, facing round.

An inarticulate "Well?" came growlingly forth from the compressed


mouth.

"Look pleasant, can't you? I declare, the very sight of you is enough to
make one's blood run cold."

"You would rather look at the gallant Captain Campbell, perhaps!" he


said, with an evil sneer.

"Yes, I would then—there! You don't see him wearing such a diabolical,
savage, cut-throat look as you do. I wish to mercy you'd take him for a
model, and not make such a fright of yourself, I'm positively ashamed to
present you as my husband, of late—you have got to be such a hideous-
looking creature!"

He glanced at her, without speaking, until a circle of white flamed


around his eyes. And now that Laura's by no means angelic temper was
roused, there is no telling what she would not have said, had not Mrs.
Brantwell's voice been heard at that moment at the head of the stairs,
calling:

"Mrs. Courtney—Mrs. Courtney, I want you a moment."

Mrs. Courtney hastened from the room, and Mr. Courtney was left alone
with his evil passions.

As she rose from her seat, his eye fell on something like a note under
her chair. Like a tiger pouncing on his prey, he sprang upon it, seized it,
opened it, read it, and crushed it convulsively in his hand.

It was Willard Drummond's lost note!

"This is hers; she has dropped it. He gave it to her!" said the unhappy
man his face growing absolutely appalling in its ghastly pallor. "Oh, I see it
all—I see it all! They dare not meet in day-time, and she will meet him this
night on the isle. Good Heaven! I shall go mad! Dishonored, disgraced
forever! and by the woman I have loved so madly. And she laughed,
mocked, and taunted me to my face, with this in her possession!"

He ground his teeth, to keep back the terrific groans that were making
their way up through his tortured heart.

And, as if sent by his evil demon, Laura entered at that moment,


laughing merrily at some jest she had left behind.

He stood with his back to her, as if looking out of the window.

"And is this the woman I have loved—this vilest of her sex, who dare
laugh with such a crime on her soul? I know now—oh! I know now, why
she did not go to the island with him, to-day. She thought to blind me, and
make me think she was not going at all, that I might be lulled into security.
Curses light on them both!" came through his clenched teeth.

Little dreaming of the thoughts that were passing through his mind,
Laura—ever the creature of impulse—forgetting her momentary anger,
went over, and, laying her hand on his arm, said:

"Come, Mr. Courtney, throw off this gloom, and be a little like you used
to be. There is no occasion for all this anger, for, I am not going to the
island, at all. You see, I have even given up my own, sweet will, to please
you; so, I think I deserve something in return, for being so good. Don't I?"

He turned, and she almost shrieked aloud, at the awful face she beheld.

"Edgar! Oh, Edgar! Great Heaven! do not look so wild. I never meant to
make you so angry. I will not go—indeed, I will not go. Only speak to me,
and do not wear that dreadful look!"

And, pale, trembling, and terrified, she clung to his arm.

With an awful malediction, he hurled her from him, and sent her reeling
across the room.
She struck against the sharp edge of the table, and fell to the ground, her
face covered with blood.

But he heeded her not. Seizing his hat and coat, he rushed from the
house, as if driven by ten thousand furies. And his face, upturned to the
light, was the face of a demon.

Three hours later, a boat, containing two persons, put off for Campbell's
Isle. One, was a rough fisher-boy, half simpleton, half idiot; the other, a tall,
dark man, who sat in the stern, his hat drawn far down over his brow, the
collar of his coat turned up, leaving nothing to be seen, but a pair of wild,
black, maniac eyes, that glared like live coals, with the fire of madness.

CHAPTER XIX.

THAT DAY.
"The day is lowering, stilly black,
Sleeps the grim wave."

"Really, Sibyl, my love, you are getting to be a most singular girl. Two
or three days ago you were all in the dismals; then, after the party, you got
as amiable and bright as a June morning; and scarcely had you promised to
stay with me here for an indefinite length of time, and I was congratulating
myself on having secured you here, when Guy brings you a tiny note from
this little blue-eyed island-girl, Christie, and lo! you are off on the wing
again, and I am left to go moping about like a poor old hen-turkey with the
distemper."

"But my dear Mrs. Brantwell," said Sibyl, "you have Mrs. Courtney,
who is twice as agreeable and lively a companion as I am. It's impossible
for you to go moping around, as you say, when she is here."

"Oh, yes," said Mrs. Brantwell, "that's all very fine, without being in the
least consoling. I want you. Mrs. Courtney's very lively and all that, I know;
but I invited her here as much to keep you in spirits as anything else, and
now you fly off and leave us for my pains."

"I am very sorry, Mrs. Brantwell, to disturb your amusements," said


Sibyl, gravely; "but when I tell you this affair is of the utmost importance to
me, and that my happiness, in a measure, depends upon my going, I am sure
you will withdraw your objections."

"Your happiness? Now, Sibyl Campbell, I would just like to know what
this island-girl has to do with your happiness?" said Mrs. Brantwell, folding
her fat hands, and looking in Sibyl's face.

"More than you would ever think, perhaps—more than I once ever
dreamed myself she would have," said Sibyl, while a cloud fell over her
brow. "But enough of this. I cannot explain further at present. The amount
of it is, I must go to-night!"

And Sibyl's face assumed that look of steady decision it could


sometimes wear.

"Humph! particularly mysterious all this. When do you return?"

"That depends upon circumstances. To-morrow, perhaps."

"Sibyl, do you know what I think?" said Mrs. Brantwell, with such
abrupt suddenness that the young girl started.

"No, indeed; I do not pretend to divination," she said, with a smile.

"Shall I tell you?"

"If you please. I am all attention."

"And you will not be angry with your old friend, who talks for your
good?"
"Of course not. What in the world is this preface about?"

And Sibyl's large eyes were fixed surprised on the fair, florid face of the
matron.

"Well, then, Sibyl, it's my opinion you're jealous of some one," said the
old lady, with the air of one who has made a discovery.

Sibyl's dark face flushed, and then grew very pale.

"And that's a very miserable feeling, my dear," said Mrs. Brantwell,


composedly, "and also very foolish. No sensible person ever gives way to it,
because they only bestow their affections on those in whom they can place
implicit trust. Now, I hope you have too much good sense to fancy Mr.
Drummond can care for any one in this world more than you."

Sibyl sat with her face averted, and made no reply.

"I had too high an opinion of you, Sibyl," went on the old lady, very
gravely, "to think you could stoop to be jealous of any one, much less an
insignificant little girl like this Christie. Don't be angry, my love; I am
talking for your good. And indeed you have not the slightest cause to fear a
rival; for, go where you will, you cannot find one more peerlessly beautiful
than yourself. I don't say this to make you vain—though I know you, my
queenly darling, could never be vain—but it is to inspire you with
confidence. Come, my dear child, shake off this feeling that is unworthy of
you. Mr. Drummond, I feel assured, has never for an instant wavered in his
fidelity to you."

"Who said I was jealous?" said Sibyl, passionately. "I am not. He dare
not be false to me. Let him try it at his peril. He knows I am not one to be
trifled with."

"Why, my dear, your very vehemence convinced me of what I only


suspected before. I am afraid you will be very unhappy, Sibyl, if you
indulge in such feelings. You ought to try and cultivate a more trusting
spirit, my dear; without perfect faith in the person we love, there can be no
happiness.
"I do trust! I do trust! I will trust!" said Sibyl, clenching her small hand
as though she would in a like manner shut out all doubt from her heart.
"But, oh, where we love, the faintest symptom of distrust is madness."

"Where we love truly we feel no distrust, Sibyl."

"Oh, you do not know. Do I not love truly? Have I not staked life, and
heart, and happiness on him, and yet——"

"You doubt."

"No, no—not now. I did doubt, but that time has gone," said Sibyl, with
a sort of incoherence.

"Then, wherefore this visit to the isle, Sibyl?" said Mrs. Brantwell,
fixing her eyes searchingly on her face.

Before Sibyl could reply, a sound, as if of a heavy fall below, reached


their ears.

"What can that be?" said Mrs. Brantwell, starting up.

"It sounded like some one falling," said Sibyl, listening breathlessly. "I
will go down and see."

She flew down the long staircase, followed by Mrs. Brantwell; and, on
entering the room, there they found Mrs. Courtney lying senseless on the
floor, her face deluged with blood.

"Great Heavens! what has happened!" said Sibyl, turning faint and sick
at the sight.

"Oh, I know," said Mrs. Brantwell, wildly, as she hurried forward and
raised the slender, prostrate form. "Oh, that demon of jealousy! How many
souls is it destined to torture? Sibyl, please ring the bell."

"But what does this mean? I do not understand," said Sibyl, as she
obeyed.
"Why, this poor child's husband is crazy with jealousy—I have observed
it, though she thought I did not."

"Heaven be merciful! he cannot have struck her?" said Sibyl, white with
horror.

"Oh, I do not know; but jealousy will make a man do anything—


commit murder. It has done it before now, and will again. Jenny," she said,
as the mulatto servant entered, "tell Tom to go instantly for the doctor, and
then come back and help me to carry this poor lady up stairs."

The alarmed girl flew to obey; and after dispatching the boy for the
doctor, hurried back and aided Mrs. Brantwell in conveying the slight form
of Mrs. Courtney to her room.

Then, with some tepid water, she washed off the blood and disclosed a
deep gash right above the eye, which continued bleeding so profusely as to
awaken fears for her life.

"Oh, I fear she will bleed to death! Would that the doctor were here!"
said Mrs. Brantwell, wringing her hands in deepest distress.

"And here he is," said Sibyl, as at that moment the doctor hastily
entered.

After examining the wound the doctor pronounced it dangerous, but not
fatal, and soon succeeded in stopping the bleeding. And then the dark eyes
of Laura opened wildly, and wandered with a vague, frightened look
around.

"My poor child, what has happened?" said Mrs. Brantwell, bending over
her, and parting the bright disordered hair on her pale brow.

"Where is he?" she said, grasping Mrs. Brantwell's arm, convulsively.

"Who, love?" said Mrs. Brantwell, gently.

"Oh, he—Mr. Courtney," she said, in the same frightened whisper.


"He is gone, dear. Did he strike you?"

"Oh, no!—no, no!" she cried, wildly. "I fell, and struck against
something. Oh, my head! I am going crazy, I think."

"Hush, love! You must not excite yourself. Lie still, and do not talk."

"I have been very wicked—very rash," she said, "but, I did not mean it.
Oh, I never meant it—I never—never meant it!" she moaned, pressing her
hands over her heart.

"My dearest child, I know it. But it will hurt you to talk so much."

"Yes, yes; I always did talk thoughtlessly, and it has driven him mad.
Oh! I loved him once, and I have driven him mad, now," she cried,
wringing her pale fingers.

Mrs. Brantwell looked at the puzzled doctor in deepest distress.

"Give her this; it will compose her," said that gentleman, who could not
tell what to make of all this.

"Drink this, love; it will soothe you," said that good lady, raising the
poor, wounded head of the young wife, and holding the cup to her lips.

With the passive obedience of a child, she complied, and fell back on
her pillow. And, gradually, the wild, frenzied expression left her face, and
she fell into a deep slumber.

"And now, she must be kept very quiet," said the doctor, as he took his
hat and gloves. "There is not the slightest danger, if she is not allowed to
excite herself, and is carefully nursed, which I know she will be, with Mrs.
Brantwell. Repeat the medicine, when she wakes, and I will call again, to-
morrow."

And the doctor bowed himself out, while Mrs. Brantwell sat down
beside the poor, pale sleeper, fanning her gently, and watching her while she
slept.
Sibyl, seeing her presence was not necessary, went down to the parlor,
where she found Willard Drummond awaiting her. She started in alarm, for
his countenance was grave and deeply troubled.

"Why, Willard, what has happened?". she asked, hurriedly, quick to take
the alarm, where he was concerned.

"Sibyl," he said, slowly, "I am obliged to leave you."

She turned deadly pale, and her large, dark eyes were fixed on his face,
in agonized inquiry.

"Scarce an hour ago, I received a letter from home," he went on,


"saying, that my father was at the point of death, and, if I ever wished to see
him again, I must hasten there, immediately. I have not a moment to lose. I
start instantly; but first, I have come to take leave of you."

The news came so suddenly, that, for a moment she seemed stunned.

"When do you return?" she said, in a voice faint with emotion.

"Soon, I hope; but, I cannot, as yet, tell. Farewell, my own, dearest love;
believe me, I will return to you as soon as may be."

"And you will write?" she said, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Certainly, Sibyl—that will be my first care. Remember me to our


friends, and explain to them the cause of this abrupt departure. And now,
once more, adieu."

He pressed her to his heart, and then quitted the house, and, mounting
his horse, rode rapidly away.

Once he paused, and looked anxiously in the direction of the isle. He


thought of Christie receiving his note, and waiting for him in vain, at their
lonely, trysting-place.

"What will she think of my absence?" he mused; "for, I know, poor,


faithful child, she will await my coming there, until morning dawn. What
cause will she assign for my not keeping my appointment? Well, I cannot
help it. I dare not wait until morning; and she will hear to-morrow, why I
was absent."

And he rode on, never thinking whether Christie was destined to live to
see that eventful tomorrow, dawn.

When he was gone, Sibyl sat for a few moments, with a feeling of utter
desolation. She knew he was not to be gone long; but, it was their first
parting, save the few days she was absent in New York, and there was a
dreary sense of loneliness—a passionate longing to be with him, to never
leave him—filling her heart. With her hands lying upon the table, and her
head dropped upon them, she remained wholly unconscious of the flight of
time, until the entrance of Mrs. Brantwell, aroused her.

She lifted her head and tried to listen, as the good old lady spoke of
Laura.

"She has had a quiet sleep, and now appears much better. But how pale
you are, Sibyl! Are you going to be ill, too?"

"No, I am quite well; only it gave me such a shock, it was so sudden,"


said Sibyl, pressing her hands to her throbbing brow.

"Yes, I don't wonder at it," said Mrs. Brantwell, thinking the shock she
alluded to, was the sudden sight of Laura. "I came to look for a sponge, and
must go back to Mrs. Courtney, now."

She left the room, and Sibyl went to the window, and looked out.

The afternoon was waning, the sun was slowly sinking toward the west,
and, Sibyl saw, with some concern, that a dark, dense cloud was rising.

"There is a storm coming, and perhaps there may be no boat from the
island, after all," she said, anxiously. "How can I wait until to-morrow?"

But, even while she spoke, she espied the well-known form of Carl
Henley, approaching the house.
Sibyl sprang to the bell, and rang a peal, that presently brought Jenny.

"Jenny, run down to the door, and tell the boy you will see passing to
come up here immediately," she said, excitedly.

Jennie disappeared, and soon returned with Master Carl looking


considerably amazed, not to say frightened, at this unexpected summons.

"Carl, what time do you return to the island?" asked Sibyl.

"Right off—soon's ever I get some tea, and sugar, and coffee, and
starch, and things for Aunt Tom."

"Will you take me over when you are going, Carl?"

"Yes'm, if you'll not be long getting ready; 'cause there's a storm a


comin', an' no matter how hard I pull, it'll be dark afore we get there," said
Carl.

"I will be ready in five minutes, and wait for you on the beach. That will
do," said Sibyl, rising, to close the interview.

Carl hurried out to fulfill his commissions for Mrs. Tom, and Sibyl went
to her room to dress, and take leave of Mrs. Brantwell.

"Self-willed—self-willed!" said the good old lady, sorrowfully, as she


kissed her. "Well, good-by, my love. Remember, I half expect you back to-
morrow."

"And I shall certainly try not to disappoint you," said Sibyl, as she
quitted the room.

She took her way to the beach, where she was soon joined by Carl, who,
muttering an inarticulate something about having a "stunner of a storm
pretty soon," pushed off and took the oars, and under his practiced hands
the boat was soon flying like a bird through the sparkling waves.

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