isper--"I shall not really enjoy myself unless
you are there."

She stretched her hand out and laid it with the tenderest motion of
caress on his hand. Captain Twinely could not hesitate, he promised to
go with her. In the back of his mind was a feeling that if he were of
the party Maurice St. Clair could not attempt to communicate with the
fugitive.

"Maurice," said the Comtesse, "Maurice, are you ready? Captain Twinely
is coming with us to the Skerries for a pic-nic. Won't that be nice?
Come along quickly, we are starting."

She took the captain with her, and walked down to the cove where the
boat lay. Una and Maurice, with their bundles of clothes, followed.

"Una," said Maurice, "what does she mean? I can't take this man in the
boat, and I won't. What does she mean by inviting him?"

"I don't know, but we must trust her. We can trust her. She's been
wonderful all these last three days. Only for her I could never have got
food to Neal."

"Well," said Maurice, "I suppose if the worst comes to the worst it will
only be a matter of knocking him on the head with an oar. I don't want
to do that if I can help it. My lord will be angry if he has to get
me out of a fresh scrape. It will be a serious matter to assault this
captain in cold blood. I'll do it, of course, if necessary, but I would
rather not."

The boat was dragged down the beach. The Comtesse looked at it, and
protested.

"Maurice, surely you are not going in that little boat. It's far too
small. It's not safe."

"Oh, it's safe enough," said Maurice, "and anyway there's no other."

"There is," said the Comtesse. "There, look at that nice broad, flat
boat. I'll go in that."

"The cobble for lifting the salmon net!" said Maurice, with a laugh. "My
dear aunt, you couldn't go to sea in that. She can't sail, and it takes
four men to pull her as fast as a snail would crawl. Who ever heard of
going off to the Skerries in a salmon cobble?"

"Well," said the Comtesse, angrily, "I won't go in the other. I know
that one is too small. Isn't she too small, Captain Twinely? Look at the
size of the sea. Look how far off the island is! No, I won't go. If you
persist in being disobliging, Maurice, you and Una can go by yourselves.
Captain Twinely and I will stay on shore."

The boat was already in the water and Una sat in the stern. Maurice,
ankle deep in water, held her bow. Maurice laughed aloud. He began to
understand his aunt's plan.

"Come, Captain Twinel