art.

His mind was a tumult of warring emotions. At first there had been a
wild delight when he had found himself in the presence of his heart's
desire, after he feared that he would never hear her voice again. In
the excitement of bringing her back to consciousness and listening to
her story, the fearful peril in which they stood had been relegated to
the background. Now it came back at him with re-doubled force, and he
had to close his lips tightly to suppress a groan.

He could have died alone, if escape had proved impossible, and met
death like a man. But to have to watch Ruth die--die perhaps after
enduring unspeakable suffering--the mere thought threatened to drive
him mad.

And she was here because she had feared that he might encounter danger
and wanted to meet it at his side when it came. But for that
courageous impulse, she might at this moment be safe and sound out
under the open sky instead of being buried alive in this island tomb.

Moreover her very presence here made their danger all the greater.
There was little chance now of help coming to them from the outside.
No doubt Tyke and Captain Hamilton would grow uneasy at their absence
and look them up--probably they were hunting for them now. But they
did not know of the existence of the cave, and now that the entrance
was closed there was not the slightest chance of finding them. They
would explore the mountain side, search every foot of the island, but
their quest would be doomed to failure from the beginning.

While these thoughts had been hurrying through his tortured brain, Ruth
had arranged her disordered hair as best she could in the darkness and
stood ready to go.

"Well, Allen, what are we waiting for?" she asked. "You men are always
complaining that the girls keep you waiting, but this time you're the
guilty one."

He tried to adopt her bantering mood, but failed miserably.

"I'll have to throw myself on your mercy," he said. "But wait here a
moment, Ruth, till I see if the path is clear."

Even in the darkness, he was almost conscious that she looked at him in
surprise. But he needed time to get his thoughts together and decide
on the easiest way of breaking the terrible news that weighed on his
heart.

He cudgeled his brain to find the gentlest, most reassuring phrases
that would alarm her least and keep up her courage. But there was the
stark, hideous fact that could not be blinked or dodged, and when at
last his lagging