d
blood. I will not have it!"

With which, she dragged me unresistingly to the spot where her sister
and the children stood, and then, without a word of warning, flung
herself prone upon the sand and burst into a perfect passion of tears.

"Nay, do not give way thus, I pray you," I said, as I knelt beside her
and raised her prostrate form in my arms. "Our plight is bad enough, I
grant you, though not so bad that it might not easily be very much
worse. And if you will only try to be brave and patient we will soon
arrange matters so that you shall not be altogether destitute of comfort
and--"

"Do you think I care for my own comfort?" she interrupted me,
passionately. "No! as that wretch said, we are not likely to starve;
and I suppose you and Edgar will be able to build such a shelter as will
suffice to protect us from the sun and rain. It is not that; it is--oh,
the base, ungrateful, contemptible creatures, to treat you like this! I
am _sure_ they will be punished for it."

"Ay, that they will!" exclaimed Sir Edgar, cheerily, as he joined the
group. "Well, Emmie darling--and you, chicks--will it be a very
dreadful hardship for you all to sleep on this beautiful, soft, white
sand to-night? To-morrow we shall have light enough to work by, and I
have no doubt that before the end of the day Saint Leger and I will have
contrived to stick up a hut or something to cover you. Why, children,
this is a regular genuine picnic, in which we shall have everything to
do for ourselves, and you will be able to help, too. It will be
glorious fun for you, will it not?"

And so on. Never in all my life before had I seen a man take a heavy,
bitter blow so bravely as this gallant gentleman did. He knew--for he
had already had time to fully realise it--all that so cruel an
abandonment meant to him and his; yet his courage never faltered for a
moment; not the faintest glimpse did he allow to appear of the anguish
that must have at that moment been wringing his heart. No; his voice,
his manner, and his whole bearing were inflexibly dominated by the
determination to cheer and encourage the dear ones who were now
absolutely dependent upon him, and him alone, for support and
encouragement to meet and face this sudden, dreadful reverse of fortune.
As I looked at and listened to him in astonishment and admiration I
felt ashamed at my own despondency--at the condition--temporary only
though I believed it to be--of complete helpless