d joyous?"

"Her voice is music itself!" declared Philip quickly and warmly. "There
is nothing she says, or does, or looks,--that is not absolutely
beautiful!"

Then, suddenly aware of his precipitation, he stopped abruptly. His face
flushed as Gueldmar regarded him fixedly, with a musing and doubtful air.
But whatever the old man thought, he said nothing. He merely held the
young baronet's arm a little closer, and together they joined the
others,--though it was noticeable that during the rest of the day the
_bonde_ was rather abstracted and serious,--and that every now and then
his eyes rested on his daughter's face with an expression of tender
yearning and melancholy.

It was about two hours after luncheon that the _Eulalie_ approached the
creek spoken of by the pilot, and they were all fascinated by the
loveliness as well as by the fierce grandeur of the scene. The rocks on
that portion of Soroe appeared to have split violently asunder to admit
some great in-rushing passage of the sea, and were piled up in toppling
terraces to the height of more than two thousand feet above the level of
the water. Beneath these wild and craggy fortresses of nature a shining
stretch of beach had formed itself, on which the fine white sand, mixed
with crushed felspar, sparkled like powdered silver. On the left-hand
side of this beach could be distinctly seen the round opening of the
cavern to which Valdemar Svensen directed their attention. They decided
to visit it--the yacht was brought to a standstill, and the long-boat
lowered. They took no sailors with them, Errington and his companions
rowing four oars, while Thelma and her father occupied the stern. A
landing was easily effected, and they walked toward the cavern, treading
on thousands of beautiful little shells which strewed the sand beneath
their feet. There was a deep stillness everywhere--the island was so
desolate that it seemed as though the very seabirds refused to make
their homes in the black clefts of such steep and barren rocks.

At the entrance of the little cave Gueldmar looked back to the sea.

"There's a storm coming!" he announced. "Those clouds we saw this
morning have sailed thither almost as quickly as ourselves!"

The sky had indeed grown darker, and little wrinkling waves disturbed
the surface of the water. But the sun as yet retained his sovereignty,
and there was no wind. By the pilot's advice, Errington and his friends
had provided themselves each wi