news to her,
followed her within the poop-house, and bade Abiad bring lights.

When these had been kindled they faced each other, and he perceived her
profound agitation and guessed the cause of it. Suddenly she broke into
speech.

"You beast! You devil!" she panted. "God will punish you! I shall
spend my every breath in praying Him to punish you as you deserve. You
murderer! You hound! And I like a poor simpleton was heeding your false
words. I was believing you sincere in your repentance of the wrong you
have done me. But now you have shown me...."

"How have I hurt you in what I have done to Lionel?" he cut in, a little
amazed by so much vehemence.

"Hurt me!" she cried, and on the words grew cold and calm again with
very scorn. "I thank God it is beyond your power to hurt me. And I thank
you for correcting my foolish misconception of you, my belief in your
pitiful pretence that it was your aim to save me. I would not accept
salvation at your murderer's hands. Though, indeed, I shall not be
put to it. Rather," she pursued, a little wildly now in her deep
mortification, "are you like to sacrifice me to your own vile ends,
whatever they may be. But I shall thwart you, Heaven helping me. Be
sure I shall not want courage for that." And with a shuddering moan she
covered her face, and stood swaying there before him.

He looked on with a faint, bitter smile, understanding her mood just as
he understood her dark threat of thwarting him.

"I came," he said quietly, "to bring you the assurance that he has got
safely away, and to tell you upon what manner of errand I have sent
him."

Something compelling in his voice, the easy assurance with which he
spoke, drew her to stare at him again.

"I mean Lionel, of course," he said, in answer to her questioning
glance. "That scene between us--the blow and the swoon and the rest of
it--was all make-believe. So afterwards the shooting. My challenge to
Marzak was a ruse to gain time--to avoid shooting until Lionel's head
should have become so dimly visible in the dusk that none could say
whether it was still there or not. My shaft went wide of him, as I
intended. He is swimming round the head with my message to Sir John
Killigrew. He was a strong swimmer in the old days, and should easily
reach his goal. That is what I came to tell you."

For a long spell she continued to stare at him in silence.

"You are speaking the truth?" she asked at last, in a small voice.

He shrug