ir bearing which showed them to be either unfamiliar or
at enmity. The girl walked faster when she was with Northmour than when
she was alone; and I conceived that any inclination between a man and a
woman would rather delay than accelerate the step. Moreover, she kept a
good yard free of him, and trailed her umbrella, as if it were a
barrier, on the side between them. Northmour kept sidling closer; and,
as the girl retired from his advance, their course lay at a sort of
diagonal across the beach, and would have landed them in the surf had it
been long enough continued. But when this was imminent, the girl would
unostentatiously change sides and put Northmour between her and the sea.
I watched these manoeuvres, for my part, with high enjoyment and
approval, and chuckled to myself at every move.

On the morning of the third day she walked alone for some time, and I
perceived, to my great concern, that she was more than once in tears.
You will see that my heart was already interested more than I supposed.
She had a firm yet airy motion of the body, and carried her head with
unimaginable grace; every step was a thing to look at, and she seemed in
my eyes to breathe sweetness and distinction.

The day was so agreeable, being calm and sunshiny, with a tranquil sea,
and yet with a healthful piquancy and vigour in the air, that, contrary
to custom, she was tempted forth a second time to walk. On this occasion
she was accompanied by Northmour, and they had been but a short while on
the beach, when I saw him take forcible possession of her hand. She
struggled, and uttered a cry that was almost a scream. I sprang to my
feet, unmindful of my strange position; but, ere I had taken a step, I
saw Northmour bareheaded and bowing very low, as if to apologise; and
dropped again at once into my ambush. A few words were interchanged; and
then, with another bow, he left the beach to return to the pavilion. He
passed not far from me, and I could see him, flushed and lowering, and
cutting savagely with his cane among the grass. It was not without
satisfaction that I recognised my own handiwork in a great cut under his
right eye, and a considerable discoloration round the socket.

For some time the girl remained where he had left her, looking out past
the islet and over the bright sea. Then with a start, as one who throws
off preoccupation and puts energy again upon its mettle, she broke into
a rapid and decisive walk. She also was much ince