first his
prayer and then Elspeth's, "O God, whatever is to be my fate, may I
never be one of them that bow the knee to masterful man, and if I was
born like that and canna help it, O take me up to heaven afore I'm
fil't." Grizel repeated it after him until she had it by heart, and even
as she said it a strange thing happened, for she began to draw back
from Tommy, with a look of terror on her face.

"What makes you look at me like that?" he cried.

"I believe--I think--you are masterful," she gasped.

"Me!" he retorted indignantly.

"Now," she went on, waving him back, "now I know why I would not give in
to you when you wanted me to be Stroke's wife. I was afraid you were
masterful!"

"Was that it?" cried Tommy.

"Now," she proceeded, too excited to heed his interruptions, "now I know
why I would not kiss your hand, now I know why I would not say I liked
you. I was afraid of you, I--"

"Were you?" His eyes began to sparkle, and something very like rapture
was pushing the indignation from his face. "Oh, Grizel, have I a power
ower you?"

"No, you have not," she cried passionately. "I was just frightened that
you might have. Oh, oh, I know you now!"

"To think o't, to think o't!" he crowed, wagging his head, and then she
clenched her fist, crying, "Oh, you wicked, you should cry with shame!"

But he had his answer ready, "It canna be my wite, for I never kent o't
till you telled me. Grizel, it has just come about without either of us
kenning!"

She shuddered at this, and then seized him by the shoulders. "It has
not come about at all," she said, "I was only frightened that it might
come, and now it can't come, for I won't let it."

"But can you help yoursel'?"

"Yes, I can. I shall never be friends with you again."

She had such a capacity for keeping her word that this alarmed him, and
he did his best to extinguish his lights. "I'm no masterful, Grizel," he
said, "and I dinna want to be, it was just for a minute that I liked the
thought." She shook her head, but his next words had more effect. "If I
had been that kind, would I have teached you Elspeth's prayer?"

"N-no, I don't think so," she said slowly, and perhaps he would have
succeeded in soothing her, had not a sudden thought brought back the
terror to her face.

"What is 't now?" he asked.

"Oh, oh, oh!" she cried, "and I nearly went away with you!" and without
another word she fled from the Den. She never told the doctor of this
incident,