away. But Crusoe's emotions
were all for me, and swiftly becoming uncontrollable they burst
forth in a volley of shrill yelps.

A loud cry answered them. It came from Captain Magnus, who had
scrambled to his feet and was staggering across the clearing. One
hand was groping at his belt--it was flourished in the air with the
gleam of a knife in it--and staggering and shouting the captain
came on.

"Ah, you would, would you? I'll teach you--but first I settle
_him_, the porridge-eatin' Scotch swine--"

The reeling figure with the knife was right above me. I sprang up,
in my hand the little two-inch weapon which was all I had for my
defense--and Dugald Shaw's. There were loud noises in my ears, the
shouting of men, and a shrill continuous note which I have since
realized came from the lungs of Miss Higglesby-Browne. Magnus made
a lunge forward--the arm with the knife descended. I caught
it--wrenched at it frantically--striving blindly to wield my little
penknife, whether or not with deadly intent I don't know to this
day. He turned on me savagely, and the penknife was whirled from
my hand as he caught my wrist in a terrible clutch.

All I remember after that is the terrible steely grip of the
captain's arms and a face, flushed, wild-eyed, horrible, that was
close to mine and inevitably coming closer, though I fought and
tore at it--of hot feverish lips whose touch I knew would scorch me
to the soul--and then I was suddenly free, and falling, falling, a
long way through darkness.

XIX

THE YOUNG PERSON SCORES

My first memory is of voices, and after that I was shot swiftly out
of a tunnel from an immense distance and opened my eyes upon the
same world which I had left at some indefinite period in the past.
Faces, at first very large, by and by adjusted themselves in a
proper perspective and became quite recognizable and familiar.
There was Aunt Jane's, very tearful, and Miss Higglesby-Browne's,
very glum, and the Honorable Cuthbert's, very anxious and a little
dazed, and Cookie's, very, very black. The face of Dugald Shaw I
did not see, for the quite intelligible reason that I was lying
with my head upon his shoulder.

As soon as I realized this I sat up suddenly, while every one
exclaimed at once, "There, she's quite all right--see how her color
is coming back!"

People kept Aunt Jane from flinging herself upon me and soothed her
into calm while I found out what had happened. The penknife that