ove even
amid the roses did not run smoothly.

He reached the hedge just in time to see a man, one of the gardeners he
seemed to be, come forward along the path from the direction of the
castle and stand before Marishka bowing. He saw the girl turn a glance
over her shoulder, an appealing glance, and Renwick had just started to
run forward when from each tree and hedge near him figures appeared
which seemed to envelop him. He struck out to right and left, but they
were too many. He felt a stinging blow at the back of his head, and had
the curious sensation of seeing the garden path suddenly rise and smite
him tremendously.

CHAPTER VI

HERR WINDT

When Renwick managed again to summon his wits, he found himself lying in
the dark where somebody was bathing his brows with a damp cloth. His
head ached a great deal and he lay for a moment without opening his
eyes, aware of soft fingers, the touch of which seemed to soothe the
pain immeasurably. He opened his eyes to the semi-obscurity of a small
room furnished with the cot on which he lay, a table and two chairs. It
was all very comfortable and cozy, but the most agreeable object was the
face of Marishka Strahni, not a foot from his own. Through eyes dimmed
by pain he thought he read in her expression a divine compassion and
tenderness, and quickly closed them again for fear that his eyes might
have deceived him. When he opened them again he murmured her name.

"Marishka," he said gently, "you--you have forgiven me?"

But she had moved slightly away from him and was now regarding him
impassively. It was too bad for his vision to have played him such a
trick. It was so much pleasanter to sleep with Marishka looking at him
like that.

"You have had a blow upon the head, Herr Renwick," her voice came as
from a distance. "I hope you are feeling better. It was necessary for me
to bathe your head with cold compresses."

Necessary! Of course. But it would have been so much pleasanter to know
that she had done it because she wanted to.

"So it was _au revoir_, after all?" he smiled, struggling to a sitting
posture.

"You had better lie still for a while," she said briefly.

His head was throbbing painfully, but he managed to make light of it.

"Oh, I'm quite all right, I think," he said looking around the room
curiously. "Would you mind telling me what happened and where we are?"

"They struck you down and brought us here. It's one of the gardener's
cottages