had not been at hand? I could not leave Dido. If I had she would have
broken her leg in the effort to escape. And try as I would, I could not
force the trap apart."

"To be sure not," he said, glancing at my hands; "and I'm very glad I
came by. By the way, I was trespassing, I'm afraid. If Lord St. Leger or
any of his family had come upon me I should have been ordered out of the
woods."

"Oh no," I said, with some indignation. "That you would not have been. I
am Bawn Devereux, Lord St. Leger's granddaughter. We are not so
churlish."

He lifted his hat again.

"Lord St. Leger's popularity is well known," he said. "It has always
been a friendly and generous race. Yet I think I should have been turned
out of the woods."

"Do not say so," I implored him, in a passion of vexation. "My
grandfather would love you because of what you have done for the dog. He
is devoted to dumb animals. In any case, he would not have objected to a
gentleman walking in his woods. That the postern gate is left open is a
proof that people come and go as they will."

"That may be," he said. "The St. Legers have always been at peace with
their fellow-men, yet I would not be caught a trespasser."

There was a sudden darkness by which I conjectured that the sun had sunk
below the horizon.