The halberdier was not unaware of his condition, and his first impulse was to summon assistance; but he was deterred from doing so by the earnest entreaty of the Puritan to be left alone; and thinking this the most merciful course he could pursue under the circumstances, he yielded to the request, scarcely expecting to behold him alive again.
It was by this same man that the door of the vault was opened to Sir Jocelyn and Aveline.
The shock experienced by the maiden at the sight of her father had well-nigh overcome her.

She thought him dead, and such was Sir Jocelyn's first impression.

The unfortunate Puritan was still propped against the pillar, as the halberdier had left him, but his head had fallen to one side, and his arms hung listlessly down.

With a piercing shriek his daughter flew towards him, and kneeling beside him, raised his head gently, and gazing eagerly into his face, perceived that he still lived, though the spirit seemed ready to wing its flight from its fleshly tabernacle.
The situation was one to call forth every latent energy in Aveline's character.

Controlling her emotion, she uttered no further cry, but set herself, with calmness, to apply such restoratives as were at hand to her father.