beauty and the message of
her budding womanhood.

Payne heard a soft, heavy step at his back and saw that Higgins, too,
had answered the call of dawn.

The girl stood entranced by the spectacle before her. She placed her
hands upon her bosom and stood with uplifted visage, like a young
goddess of the dawn. She stretched her arms passionately out over the
sea and said quite loudly and fervently:

"I love you, I love you!"

In the shadow of the palm Payne and Higgins began to retreat guiltily.

"No use your sticking round, Payne," whispered the engineer. "You're
too late; she's took. You heard what she said."

"Sh-h!"

"I love you," repeated the girl with the same ecstatic tone and pose.
"Ah! How I love you!"

From the arch over the path there dropped with a swish and crash the
ten-foot branch of a coco palm, falling without warning or apparent
reason, as the overripe branches of coco palms do fall. The girl
whirled round; and Payne was shocked and chilled to the marrow by the
sight of her as she faced toward them.

Beautiful she was, her face as beautiful as her vibrant young body, but
for the moment she was like a thing at bay. Fear shown in her eyes,
not the passing fear of a sudden alarm, but a deep-seated, wearing fear
suddenly awakened. Her face was a deadly white. For an instant it
seemed to Roger that the depths of her soul were revealed, and at the
mystery and dread in her eyes he took a step forward. He did not
speak. Her expression baffled him. He stood irresolute for the
moment, and in that moment she recovered her poise. She drew herself
upright slowly, the red came flowing back into the cream of her cheeks,
and she relaxed, leaning her weight upon one foot. As she looked at
Roger, and from him to the weather-beaten Higgins and back to Roger,
her eyes grew easy with assurance.

She began to smile.

"Didn't know there were tigers or other dangerous beasts on this
island, miss," chuckled Higgins. "Say the word and we'll clean 'em out
for you."

Neither the girl nor Payne appeared to hear. Payne looked at her
without attempting to speak; he had tried to smile and carry the thing
off easily, but as their eyes met his lips remained half parted without
uttering a word. He looked at her in utter helplessness, caught for
the moment, at least, in the grip of a force greater than himself. The
girl shot Higgins a smile of understanding and friendliness, but as her
eyes came back to Rog