. Mr. Donald had already told them
where they would find that.

"We lit four candles, and put them on the table. The captain
ordered Mr. Donald to sit down facing him, saying with a sort of
mock politeness that they should not really enjoy their food,
unless their host took the head of the table. Several times, while
they were eating, I saw the captain looking hard at Alice and me.
Presently he said:

"'I have it now. Why, you are the Ellison girls, ain't you?'

"I was astonished, as you may suppose, but I said:

"'I am Miss Ellison, and Mrs. Donald is my sister.'

"'By Jove, who would have thought it!' he said. 'Do you know who I
am?'

"I said I didn't, although really I seemed to have some sort of
recollection of his face.

"'Why,' he said, 'don't you remember Tom Thorne, whose father the
squire turned out of the public house? And to think, now, that the
squire's daughters are waiting on me. This is a piece of luck.

"'Well, my dears,' he went on, with a horrible grin, 'you need not
tell me how you came here now, you will have plenty of time for
that. We have made up our minds to take you both with us, for it's
a horrible lonely life in the bush, without the pleasure of ladies'
society. But I never dreamt that I was in for such a slice of luck
as this.'

"Mr. Donald jumped from his seat as the fellow spoke, but in a
moment he levelled a pistol at him and shouted:

"'Sit down or I fire.'

"Alice rushed to her husband, and pushed him down into his seat.

"'I had rather die than go with you,' I said to him quietly.

"'Perhaps so, my dear,' he replied; 'but you see, you haven't got
the choice.'

"Then he went on taunting us about old times, and especially
reminding me that I had got him a thrashing, over breaking the
school house window. When I went out to get them some more wine,
for they wouldn't touch the spirits, I got a knife and hid it in my
dress; for I made up my mind to kill myself, rather than that.

"A little later I stole upstairs and brought down a brace of
pistols, which Mr. Donald kept under his pillow, and slipped one
into Alice's hand. Presently they began to get noisy, and the
captain ordered me to come and sit on his knee. Then Alice and I
showed the pistols, and said we would shoot ourselves, if one of
them laid a finger on us.

"The captain muttered some order to his men, which I didn't hear;
but I guessed it was to leave us alone, for the present. I had no
doubt what they inten