ominous loomed the great rock on the south. He
could not see the cave or the rivulet on account of obstructing trees
and a curve in the shore, so he walked down to the very edge of the
water, expecting to obtain a view from that point.

A startling discovery flashed upon him as he strode upon the beach.
There, in the white, soft sand were plainly revealed the footprints of a
bare human foot. He rubbed his eyes and gazed again. Before him were a
number of small footprints, running to and from the water. In a dazed,
wondering way he sought to follow them, eventually finding where a
single line of tracks led directly toward a clump of trees to his left.
At the edge of this he found a confusion of bewildering barefoot moulds,
mixed with others unquestionably made by a shoe on the foot of a
civilized person. Hurrying through the trees, fearful that savages had
attacked Lady Tennys at this place, he was suddenly confronted by a
spectacle that made him gasp. Down at the water's edge, over near the
place where he had left her, he saw white garments spread upon the
rocks. She was nowhere to be seen. Like a flash the truth came to him,
and he looked at his watch in consternation. It was but three-thirty
o'clock. He had told her he would be away until five or after.

Turning about, he dashed back into the depths of the wood. It was after
five when he again approached the rendezvous, carrying a quantity of
plums and other fruits and a number of gaudy feathers that he had
found. Away back in the wood he began to shout to her, long before he
was in sight of the hill. She answered cheerily, venturing into the wood
to meet him. Her clothes were white, clean, even shapely.

CHAPTER XX

THE SIGN OF DISTRESS

The next morning before she was awake he arose and made a tour of the
beach in quest of shell fish, took a plunge in the cool waters of the
bay, and again inspected the little footprints in the sand. He smiled as
he placed his own foot, a number nine, beside the dainty imprint. On his
way back to the cave he killed a huge turtle, the meat of which he
promised should keep them alive for several days, if nothing better
could be found. As he turned the bend he saw her standing on the ledge
at the mouth of the cave, the wind blowing her hair and skirts freely.
He called to her, and she turned her face eagerly in his direction. They
met among the trees some distance from the spring.

"Where have you been?" she cried, her cheeks