to behold the girl lying there
instead, her deathly-white face stained with blood. With a startled
cry as of a wild beast in agony, he turned and fled along the road,
down the track, and back to the refuge of the "Eb and Flo."

CHAPTER IX

MARTHA TAKES A HAND

Throughout the entire night the horror of a great dread drove all sleep
from Eben's eyes. As he lay in his bunk every sound seemed to be
magnified, and he imagined that men would come for him and lead him
away to trial. He felt quite sure that he had killed Jess and that he
would be hung for murder. The girl's white face with the bloodstain
upon it was ever before him, and he could not shut it from his mind.
And he had murdered her, the one who had meant so much to him. The
thought of John Hampton filled his soul with bitterness. He was the
cause of all his misery, so he reasoned. Why had not the stone hit him
instead of the girl?

Some time before daylight he went out on deck. The cabin was stifling,
and he felt that he would smother if he stayed there any longer. He
sauntered up forward, and looked out over the water. It was a
beautiful night, with a gentle wind drifting in from the west. The
accustomed sounds of darkness fell upon his ears, but he paid no
attention to them now. His mind was not in tune with nature's sweet
harmonies, so she brought no restful peace to his tumultuous brain. He
longed to know what was taking place in the little shack in the forest.
Was the girl lying there still in death? Would people know who did the
deed? How would they find out? He had read about detectives searching
for criminals, and following most unexpected clues. Had he left any
trace behind? he wondered. No twinge of conscience troubled his soul.
It was only regret that the stone had hit the wrong person. He was
sorry for the girl, and for himself. His nature was as clay, full of
many possibilities, and capable of being moulded by right methods into
a choice vessel. But hitherto no one had understood his peculiar
nature. Then when love for a noble woman did at length enter his soul,
its influence was quenched by the spirit of hatred and revenge.

Great excitement reigned at the quarry when the men learned of the
accident which had befallen Miss Randall. Feeling ran high and had
they known the one who committed the deed, it would have gone hard with
him. Captain Tobin heard the story when he visited the quarry during
the morning. He had