l discomforts seemed so little beside these
memories tinged with such a peculiar sweetness. It is a fact that a
woman is able to extract far more pleasure from memories than a man, for
there is in his nature a certain impatience which makes it impossible
for him to keep his thought fixed steadfastly upon the past. The vivid
flashes of memory which do come to him only incite a great restlessness
for its renewal, which, if it be for the time impossible, is only
disquieting and discontenting. But for a woman, her love itself, even
though it be for the time detached from its object, is a sweet and
precious thing. She can yield herself up to its influence, can steep her
mind and soul in it, till a glow of intense happiness steals through her
whole frame; and hence her patience during separation is so much greater
than a man's.

And it was so to a certain extent with Helen. Those few moments of
intense abstraction had their own peculiar pleasure for her, and it was
only the sound of the far-off clock borne by the wind across the moor
from Thurwell Court which recalled her to herself. Then she started, and
in a moment more would have been on her way home.

But that lingering farewell glance toward Falcon's Nest suddenly changed
into a startled fearful gaze. Her heart beat fast, and she took an
involuntary step forward. There was no doubt about it. A dim moving
light shone from the lower windows of the cottage.

Her first wild thought was that her lover had himself returned, and a
thrill of intense joy passed through her whole being, only to die away
before the cold chill of a heart-sickening dread. Was it not far more
likely to be an intruder of the type of Benjamin Levy, a spy or emissary
of the law, searching amongst his papers as Benjamin Levy had done, for
the same hideous reason. Her heart sank with fear, and then leaped up
with the fierce defensive instinct of a woman who sees her lover's
enemies working for his ruin. She did not hesitate for an instant, but
walked swiftly along the cliff-side towards that tremulous light.

The twilight was fast deepening, and the cold grey tint of the dull
afternoon was gradually becoming blotted out into darkness. As she drew
nearer to her destination, the low moaning of the sea below became
mingled with the melancholy sighing of the wind amongst the thick fir
trees which overhung the cottage. The misty rain blew in her face and
penetrated her thick ulster. Everything around was as