t.

They waited in silence, smoking cigarettes, until their quick ears
caught the sound of footsteps on the hillside. And then the grind of a
key in the great lock of the gate.

As Mr. Spokesly came into the room he barely sensed the tension of the
atmosphere. He broke breathlessly into his news at once.

"Quick!" he said in a low tone. "We must go to-night, dear. After
to-night I may not have any boat. It is all ready. Come now. We have
time to get out of sight of land before daylight."

"To-night!" exclaimed Evanthia, clutching her breast, and thinking
rapidly. "Impossible."

"It will be impossible any other night," he retorted gently. "We _must_
go."

Evanthia backed away, thinking clearly, concisely, and skilfully behind
her astonishment. He turned to Esther.

"You tell her," he said. "We must go. It is our last chance. It was
lucky I heard about it. They are going to fortify the Gulf. Go and get
ready, dear. Bring me a blanket and I'll carry it down, and some bread
and meat. Enough for a day, anyhow."

"Where is my 'usband'?" demanded Esther.

"He's coming by the road. He's got some friends with him, from the
hotel. You mustn't mind them being a bit elevated. Plenty of wine
to-night. They will be here soon, I expect. I want to get down and away
before they arrive."

Evanthia, folding a blanket in the bedroom, stood perfectly still. She
could hear her own pulses thumping, and she put her hand to her throat.
She felt as though her heart would burst if she did not gain control of
herself. She stood perfectly still thinking, her mind darting this way
and that, as a trapped animal tests the resistance of the trap in every
direction. For a moment she thought of killing him as they went down to
the boat. She was strong: she felt she could do it. Under the
shoulder-blades and in the throat. No, she must wait. Only as a last
resource, that. She folded up the blanket and walked back into the room
to give him the food.

He stood for a moment with the blanket and loaves of bread in his arms,
unable to utter what he felt for her sacrifice for him. He could only
say stumblingly:

"I sha'n't forget this. I know that much," and hurried away with his
burden.

Esther sprang up from her seat by the window. Her misfortunes had not
made her hard. She saw a light in Evanthia's amber eyes as she made her
preparations, a light that frightened her.

"Nobody will ever be able to do anything with you," she muttered. "I
mu