up against her. They found Lilla and Mimi at home and seemingly glad to
see them, though both the girls were surprised at the visit coming so
soon after the other.

The proceedings were a repetition of the battle of souls of the former
visit. On this occasion, however, Edgar Caswall had only the presence of
Lady Arabella to support him--Oolanga being absent; but Mimi lacked the
support of Adam Salton, which had been of such effective service before.
This time the struggle for supremacy of will was longer and more
determined. Caswall felt that if he could not achieve supremacy he had
better give up the idea, so all his pride was enlisted against Mimi. When
they had been waiting for the door to be opened, Lady Arabella, believing
in a sudden attack, had said to him in a low voice, which somehow carried
conviction:

"This time you should win. Mimi is, after all, only a woman. Show her
no mercy. That is weakness. Fight her, beat her, trample on her--kill
her if need be. She stands in your way, and I hate her. Never take your
eyes off her. Never mind Lilla--she is afraid of you. You are already
her master. Mimi will try to make you look at her cousin. There lies
defeat. Let nothing take your attention from Mimi, and you will win. If
she is overcoming you, take my hand and hold it hard whilst you are
looking into her eyes. If she is too strong for you, I shall interfere.
I'll make a diversion, and under cover of it you must retire unbeaten,
even if not victorious. Hush! they are coming."

The two girls came to the door together. Strange sounds were coming up
over the Brow from the west. It was the rustling and crackling of the
dry reeds and rushes from the low lands. The season had been an
unusually dry one. Also the strong east wind was helping forward