nted by an overpowering number of opponents, but it was
probable that his men were even then on their way overland to Laughing
Fish, for he did not believe the old man would dare hold them
prisoners. At any rate, it would be best to rejoin them before
planning to gain possession of the logs in the basin, upon which he
was still determined.

Although the young man did not know it, he was keenly watched during
these moments of indecision by a pair of bright eyes that peered down
from the cliff above him. When he shiveringly re-entered his skiff the
eyes were hastily withdrawn lest he should look up. A little later a
young girl of slight figure, clad in a dark gown, stepped out from the
cliff, as from behind a curtain, and, half concealed by the stunted
cedar, watched him curiously until he was lost to view.

"He is ever so different from an ordinary miner," she soliloquized,
"and looks as though he might be interesting. I wonder if I shall ever
see him again? I am glad I thought of getting these oars and throwing
them down, even if he has used them to go away with. What will papa
think when he finds them gone? Anyhow, the monotony of this stupid
place has been broken at last, and now, perhaps, something else will
happen. I believe something must be going to happen very soon, anyhow,
from the way papa talks. Dear papa! how queerly he acts, and how I
wish I could see him happy just once! Now I must go and tell him that
the schooner is coming."

With this the girl apparently performed a miracle, for she seemed to
push aside a portion of the red-stained cliff and disappear behind it
without leaving a trace of an opening.

As Peveril rowed steadily down the coast he saw in the distance a
schooner that he believed to be the one belonging to Joe Pintaud's
friends beating up from the southward. For a moment he thought of
trying to board her, but, quickly dismissing the idea, doggedly
pursued his way.

Arrived at the cove, he was disappointed to find his camp vacant and
without a sign that his coming companions had returned to it. Building
a fire, he made a pot of coffee, and prepared to await their coming
with what patience he could command. Some of the fisher-children came
and watched him shyly, but when he attempted to draw them into
conversation they only laughed and ran away.

Feeling very lonely, and undecided as to what he should do, he had
just begun to eat a lunch of cold food prepared by Joe that morning
when a p