en with the fierce suddenness of a wild thing trapped. She
wrenched herself from him in furious disgust.

"You hound!" she began to say. But the word was never fully uttered, for
as it sprang to her lips, it went into a desperate cry. The ground had
given way beneath her feet, and she fell straight backwards over that
awful edge. For the fraction of an instant she saw the stars in the deep
blue sky above her, then, like the snap of a spring, they vanished into
darkness...

It was a darkness that spread and spread like an endless sea, submerging
all things. No light could penetrate it; only a few vague sounds and
impressions somehow filtered through. And then--how it happened she had
not the faintest notion--she was aware of someone lifting her out of the
depth that had received her, and there came again to her nostrils that
subtle aroma of cigarette-smoke that had mingled with the scent of the
gorse. She came to herself gasping, but for some reason she dared not
look up. That single glimpse of the wheeling universe seemed to have
sealed her vision.

Then a voice spoke. "I say, do open your eyes, if you don't mind! You're
really not dead. You've only had a tumble."

That voice awoke her quite effectually. The mixture of entreaty and
common sense it contained strangely stirred her curiosity. She opened her
eyes wide upon the speaker.

"Hullo!" she said faintly.

He was kneeling by her side, looking closely into her face, and the first
thing that struck her was the extreme brightness of his eyes. They shone
like black onyx.

He responded at once, his voice very low and rapid. "It's perfectly all
right. You needn't be afraid. I was just in time to catch you. There's an
easier way down close by, but you wouldn't see it in this light. Feeling
better now? Like to sit up?"

She awoke to the fact that she was propped against his knee. She sat up,
still gasping a little, but shrank as she realized the narrowness of the
ledge upon which she was resting.

He thrust out a protecting arm in front of her. "It's all right. You're
absolutely safe. Don't shiver like that! You couldn't go over if you
tried. Don't look if it makes you giddy!"

She looked again into his face, and again was struck by the amazing
keenness of his eyes.

"How did you get here?" she said.

"Oh, it's easy enough when you know the way. I was just coming to help
you when you came over. You didn't hear me shout?"

"No. They were all making such a ho