id, questioningly, "neither can they
find us?"

"Not unless they know the cave," I replied.

"Oh, I hope not," was her response, and although Tresidder was her
guardian and Pennington was her home, it did not feel strange at that
moment that she should be hiding with me, who was being sought for by
the minions of the law.

The sea was by this time getting nearer the foot of the cliff, and there
was now only twenty feet of shingle between water and land. So I stood
and watched, but I could not as yet see them, for the promontory, behind
which we had first hidden, stood between us and them.

"Do you see them?"

"Not yet," I replied, "they have had scarcely time to get here yet, but
I think they will soon be here."

As I spoke I looked on her face, the most beauteous I had ever seen, and
when I remembered what she had done to shield me my love grew more
fervent. For I had no claim on her, who was a stranger, save that I had
carried her to the shore, which of course was nothing. By that I mean to
say it was nothing for which she should serve me; rather it was I who
owed gratitude to her, for my joy at serving her made my heart leap in
my bosom, until I could even then have sung aloud for gladness.

"Are they coming?" she asked again, presently.

"Yes, they are close to us," I replied, for at that moment they had
passed the rock by which we had at first stood.

CHAPTER VI

I DISCOVER ANOTHER CAVE, AND HEAR A CONVERSATION BETWEEN RICHARD
TRESIDDER AND HIS SON

"I am sure I saw a man and woman," I heard Nick Tresidder say.

"I thought I did, too," replied his father; "but we must have been
mistaken, I suppose. Of course, they could have got behind Great Bear
and then kept along under the cliff."

"Then they must have gone past, for they are nowhere to be seen."

"Perhaps they wanted to hurry to be before the tide."

"Yes; I suppose that must be it," replied Nick, doubtfully.

"Still, I don't know that it matters. We should not have troubled at all
if we hadn't thought it might be Naomi."

"No; where can she be, I wonder?"

"She's a strange girl, Nick. She doesn't seem to feel happy at
Pennington, neither does she make friends with Emily. She's always
roaming among the woods or along the beach. I shouldn't wonder at all if
she hasn't lost herself among the woods. You must be careful, my lad."

"Oh, it's all right, there's no danger. I say, do you know that Jacob
Buddie told me he believed he saw