didn't wait for me," said Bridalbin.

As for Gabriel, he lay out on the Bermuda hill, contemplating himself
and the rest of the world. The stars rode overhead, all moving together
like some vast fleet of far-off ships. In the northwest, while Gabriel
was watching, a huge star seemed to break away from its companions and
rush hurtling toward the west, leaving a trail of white vapour behind
it. The illumination was but momentary. The Night was quick to snuff out
all lights but its own. Whatever might be taking place on the other side
of the world, Night had possession here, and proposed to maintain it as
long as possible. A bird might scream when Brother Fox seized it; a
mouse might squeak when Cousin Screech-Owl swooped down on noiseless
wing and seized it; Uncle Wind might rustle the green grass in search of
Brother Dust: nevertheless, the order of the hour was silence, and Night
was prompt to enforce it.

It is a fine night, Gabriel thought--and the Silence might have
answered, "Yes, a fine night and a fateful." It was a night that was to
leave its mark on many lives.

At supper, Gabriel's grandmother had informed him that three of his
friends had come by to invite him to accompany them to a country dance
on the further side of Murder Creek--a dance following a neighbouring
barbecue. These friends, his grandmother said, were Francis Bethune,
Paul Tomlin, and Jesse Tidwell. They had searched the town over for
Gabriel, and were disappointed at not finding him at home.

"Where do you hide yourself, Gabriel?" his grandmother had asked him.
"And why do you hide? This is not the first time by a dozen that your
friends have been unable to find you."

Gabriel shook his curly head and laughed. "Let me see, grandmother:
directly after dinner, I said my Latin and Greek lessons to Mr. Clopton.
Bethune was upstairs in his own room, for I heard him singing. After
that, I went into the library, and read for an hour or more. Then I
selected a book and went over the hill to the big poplar--you know where
it is--and there I stayed until dark."

"It is all very well to read and study, Gabriel, and I am sure I am glad
to know that you are doing both," said his grandmother, with a smile,
"but you must remember that there are social obligations which cannot be
ignored. You will have to go out into the world after awhile, and you
should begin to get in the habit of it now. You should not avoid your
friends. I don't mean, of course, tha