ly believe that this was the man who had
made at least two fatal mistakes--mistakes, at all events, which had an
ominously fatal appearance.

When Mr Craigie had wished us both a very friendly good-bye and the
door had closed behind him, I turned instantly to Eileen and cried,
perhaps more hotly than politely--

"Well, I have been nicely deceived!"

"By whom?" she asked quietly.

"By you a little and by Tiel very much!"

"How have I deceived you?"

I looked at her a trifle foolishly. After all, I ought to have
realised that she must have had some curious adventure in getting into
the islands. She had never told me she hadn't, and now I had merely
found out what it was.

"You never told me about your governess adventure--or Mr Craigie--or
that you were called Holland," I said rather lamely.

She merely laughed.

"You never asked me about my adventures, or I should have. They were
not very discreditable after all."

"Well, anyhow," I said, "Tiel has deceived me grossly, and I am going
to wring an explanation out of him!"

She laid her hand beseechingly on my arm.

"Don't quarrel with him!" she said earnestly. "It will do no good. We
may think what we like of some of the things he does, but we have got
to trust him!"

"Trust him! But how can I? He told me he preached last Sunday,--I
find it was a lie. He said nobody in the parish suspected
anything,--in consequence of his not preaching, I find they are all
'talking.' He mismanaged your coming here so badly that if old Craigie
weren't next door to an imbecile we should all have been arrested days
ago. How can I trust him now?"

"Say nothing to him now," she said in a low voice. "Wait till
to-morrow! I think he will tell you then very frankly."

There was something so significant and yet beseeching in her voice that
I consented, though not very graciously.

"I can hardly picture Herr Tiel being very 'frank'!" I replied. "But
if you ask me----"

I bowed my obedience, and then catching up her hand pressed it to my
lips, saying--

"I trust you absolutely!"

When I looked up I caught a look in her eye that I could make nothing
of at all. It was beyond question very kind, yet there seemed to be
something sorrowful too. It made her look so ravishing that I think I
would have taken her in my arms there and then, had not Tiel returned
at that moment.

"Well," asked Eileen, "what did you tell Mr Craigie?"

"I said that you were secretly ma