and lichen, lay between, and over all lay the curtain of the night and
the great whispering winds from the forests of Scandinavia.

And the very last thing, just before floating away on that mighty wave
that carries one so softly off into the deeps of forgetfulness, I again
heard the voice of John Silence as the train moved out of Victoria
Station; and by some subtle connection that met me on the very threshold
of consciousness there rose in my mind simultaneously the memory of the
girl's half-given confidence, and of her distress. As by some wizardry
of approaching dreams they seemed in that instant to be related; but
before I could analyse the why and the wherefore, both sank away out of
sight again, and I was off beyond recall.

"Unless you should send for me sooner."


II

Whether Mrs. Maloney's tent door opened south or east I think she never
discovered, for it is quite certain she always slept with the flap
tightly fastened; I only know that my own little "five by seven, all
silk" faced due east, because next morning the sun, pouring in as only
the wilderness sun knows how to pour, woke me early, and a moment later,
with a short run over soft moss and a flying dive from the granite
ledge, I was swimming in the most sparkling water imaginable.

It was barely four o'clock, and the sun came down a long vista of blue
islands that led out to the open sea and Finland. Nearer by rose the
wooded domes of our own property, still capped and wreathed with smoky
trails of fast-melting mist, and looking as fresh as though it was the