very utmost, should any circumstances arise that compelled me to appeal
to him and trust him with my secret. I knew nothing of him, but his face
was stamped with God's seal of trustworthiness, if ever a human face
was.

A second man was in the boat when we reached it, and it looked well
laden. Tardif made a comfortable seat for me amid the packages, and then
the sails were unfurled, and we were off quickly out of the harbor and
on the open sea.

A low, westerly wind was blowing, and fell upon the sails with a strong
and equal pressure. We rode before it rapidly, skimming over the low,
crested waves almost without a motion. Never before had I felt so
perfectly secure upon the water. Now I could breathe freely, with the
sense of assured safety growing stronger every moment as the coast of
Guernsey receded on the horizon, and the rocky little island grew
nearer. As we approached it no landing-place was to be seen, no beach or
strand. An iron-bound coast of sharp and rugged crags confronted us,
which it seemed impossible to scale. At last we cast anchor at the foot
of a great cliff, rising sheer out of the sea, where a ladder hung down
the face of the rock for a few feet. A wilder or lonelier place I had
never seen. Nobody could pursue and surprise me here.

The boatman who was with us climbed up the ladder, and, kneeling down,
stretched out his hand to help me, while Tardif stood waiting to hold me
steadily on the damp and slippery rungs. For a moment I hesitated, and
looked round at the crags, and the tossing, restless sea.

"I could carry you through the water, mam'zelle," said Tardif, pointing
to a hand's breadth of shingle lying between the rocks, "but you will
get wet. It will be better for you to mount up here."

I fastened both of my hands tightly round one of the upper rungs, before
lifting my feet from the unsteady prow of the boat. But the ladder once
climbed, the rest of the ascent was easy. I walked on up a zigzag path,
cut in the face of the cliff, until I gained the summit, and sat down to
wait for Tardif and his comrade. I could not have fled to a securer
hiding-place. So long as my money held out, I might live as peacefully
and safely as any fugitive had ever lived.

For a little while I sat looking out at the wild and beautiful scene
before me, which no words can tell and no fancy picture to those who
have never seen it. The white foam of the waves was so near, that I
could see the rainbow colors pl