Manella nodded--her lips trembled, and she clasped her hands
nervously across her bosom.

"Well!--I believe--I won't say it for certain,--that he's got
something worse than that!" said Gwent, impressively--"And that's
why he was chosen to live up on that hill in the 'hut of the dying'
away from everybody. See? And--of course--anything may happen at any
moment. He's plucky enough, and is not the sort of man to involve
any other man in trouble--and that's why he stays alone. Now you
know! So you can put away your romantic notions of his being 'in
love'! A very good thing for him if he were! It might draw him away
from his present occupation. In fact, the best that could happen to
him would be that you should make him fall in love with YOU!"

She gave a little cry.

"With ME?"

"Yes, with you! Why not? Why don't you manage it? A beautiful woman
like you could win the game in less than a week?"

She shook her head sorrowfully.

"You do not know him!" she said--"But--HE knows!"

"Knows what?"

She gave a despairing little gesture.

"That I love him!"