am not strong
enough to trust in. I am stronger than I look."

"My dear Miss Barholm," he protested, "I am sure of that. I ought to
have known better. Forgive me if--"

"Oh," she interposed, "you must not blame yourself. But I wanted to ask
you to be so kind as to think better of me than that. I want to be sure
that if ever I can be of use to anybody, you will not stop to think of
the danger or annoyance. Such a time may never come, but if it does--"

"I shall certainly remember what you have said," Fergus ended for her.

CHAPTER X - On the Knoll Road

The moon was shining brightly when he stepped into the open road--so
brightly that he could see every object far before him unless where the
trees cast their black shadows, which seemed all the blacker for the
light. "What a grave little creature she is!" he was saying to himself.
But he stopped suddenly; under one of the trees by the roadside some one
was standing motionless; as he approached, the figure stepped boldly out
into the moonlight before him. It was a woman.

"Dunnot be afeard," she said, in a low, hurried voice. "It's me,
mester--it's Joan Lowrie."

"Joan Lowrie!" he said with surprise. "What has brought you out at this
hour, and whom are you waiting for?"

"I'm waiting for yo'rsen," she answered.

"For me?"

"Aye; I ha' summat to say to you."

She looked about her hurriedly.

"Yo'd better come into th' shade o' them trees," she said, "I dunnot
want to gi' any one a chance to see me nor yo' either."

It was impossible that he should not hesitate a moment. If she had been
forced into entrapping him!

She made a sharp gesture.

"I am na goin' to do no harm," she said. "Yo' may trust me. It's th'
other way about."

"I ask pardon," he said, feeling heartily ashamed of himself the next
instant, "but you know--"

"Aye," impatiently, as they passed into the shadow, "I know, or I should
na be here now."

A moonbeam, finding its way through a rift in the boughs and falling on
her face, showed him that she was very pale.

"Yo' wonder as I'm here at aw," she said, not meeting his eyes as she
spoke, "but yo' did me a good turn onct, an' I ha' na had so many done
me i' my loife as I can forget one on 'em. I'm come here--fur I may as
well mak' as few words on't as I con--I come here to tell yo' to tak'
heed o' Dan Lowrie."

"What?" said Fergus. "He bears me a grudge, does he?"

"Aye, he bears thee grudge enow," she said. "He bears thee tha