that day, Gerty?"

She maintained her proud attitude, but she was trembling from head to
foot.

"Do you mean to say that until I consent to be your wife I am not to be
allowed to leave this yacht?"

"You will consent Gerty!"

"Not if I were to be shut up here for a thousand years!" she exclaimed,
with another burst of passion. "Oh, you will pay for this dearly! I
thought it was madness--mere folly; but if it is true, you will rue this
day! Do you think we are savages here? Do you think we have no law?"

"I do not care for any law," said he, simply. "I can only think of the
one thing in the world. If I have not your love, Gerty, what else can I
care about?"

"My love!" she exclaimed. "And this is the way to earn it, truly! My
love! If you were to keep me shut up for a thousand years, you would
never have it! You can have my hatred, if you like, and plenty of it,
too!"

"You are angry, Gerty!" was all he said.

"Oh, you do not know with whom you have to deal!" she continued, with
the same bitter emphasis. "You terrified me with stories of
butchery--the butchery of innocent women and children; and no doubt you
thought the stories were fine; and now you too would show you are one of
the race by taking revenge on a woman. But if she is only a woman, you
have not conquered her yet! Oh, you will find out before long that we
have law in this country, and that it is not to be outraged with
impunity. You think you can do as you like, because you are a Highland
master, and you have a lot of slaves round you!"

"I am going on deck now, Gerty," said he, in the same sad and gentle
way. "Shall I send Christina to you?"

For an instant she looked bewildered, as if she had not till now
comprehended what was going on; and she said, quite wildly,--

"Oh no, no, no, Keith; you don't mean what you say! You cannot mean it!
You are only frightening me! You will put me ashore--and not a word
shall pass my lips. We cannot be far down the river, Keith. There are
many places where you could put me ashore, and I could get back to
London by rail. They won't know I have ever seen you. Keith, you will
put me ashore now?"

"And if I were to put you ashore now, you would go away, Gerty, and I
should never see you again--never, and never. And what would that be for
you and for me, Gerty? But now you are here, no one can poison your
mind: you will be angry for a time; but the brighter days are coming--oh
yes, I know that: if I was not sur