her then. Was it the same
to-night? Had her freedom already been wrested from her? Was there to be
no means of escape?

Through the jungle solitudes there came the call of an owl, weird and
desolate and lonely. Something in it pierced her with a curious pain.
Was freedom then everything? Did she truly love the silence above all?

She drew her cloak closer about her. Was there something of a chill in
the atmosphere? Or was it the chill of the desert beyond the oasis that
awaited her?

They emerged from the thickest part of the jungle into a space of
tangled shrubs that seemed fighting with each other for possession of
the way. The road was rough, and Monck slackened speed.

"We shall have to leave the car," he said. "There is a track here that
leads to the ruined palace. It is only a hundred yards or so. We shall
have to do it on foot."

They descended. The moonlight poured in a flood all about them. They
were alone.

Stella turned up the narrow path he indicated, but in a moment he
overtook her. "Let me go first!" he said.

He passed her with the words and walked ahead, holding the creepers back
from her as she followed.

She suffered him silently, with a strange sense of awe, almost as though
she trod holy ground. But the old feeling of trespass was wholly absent.
She had no fear of being cast forth from this place that she was about
to enter.

The path began to widen somewhat and to ascend. In a few moments they
came upon a crumbling stonewall crossing it at right angles.

Monck paused. "One way leads to the palace, the other to the temple," he
said. "Which shall we take?"

Stella faced him in the moonlight. She thought he looked stern. "Is not
the picnic to be at the palace?" she said.

"Yes." He answered her without hesitation. "You will find Lady Harriet
and Co. there. The temple on the other hand is probably deserted."

"Ah!" His meaning flashed upon her. She stood a second in indecision.
Then "Is it far?" she said.

She saw his faint smile for an instant. "A very long way--for you," he
said.

"I can come back?" she said.

"I shall not prevent you." She heard the smile in his voice, and
something within her thrilled in answer.

"Let us go then!" she said.

He turned without further words and led the way.

They entered the shadow of the jungle once more. For a space the path
ran beside the crumbling wall, then it diverged from it, winding darkly
into the very heart of the jungle. Monck wal