trust Virginia had imposed on her. He had always shown himself sensitively
responsive to her influence--like a penitent boy if she scolded him,
radiant if he had won her approval. And he had a very special niche of his
own in her heart. Next to Robin, there was no one she loved more.

... A sudden cloud across the sun roused her to the fact that she had been
sitting still for some time, and that, at that altitude, the air held all
the mountain keenness. She felt chilled, and scrambled up hastily to her
feet. She would go to the crest of the hill and signal to Tony that she was
ready to return.

But, to her utter astonishment, when she had climbed to the top, he was
not in sight. The hill brow apparently commanded a view of the surrounding
country for a distance of at least two miles, and as far as she could see
there was no sign of any living creature in the whole expanse. Hardly
believing her own senses, she brushed her hand across her eyes and looked
again. But she had made no mistake. Tony was nowhere to be seen. The ground
stretched bleakly away on every hand, untenanted by any human soul except
herself.

She stood still, staring dazedly around. Tony would never have gone back
without her. He must be hidden from view by some dip or inequality of the
ground. Or--her heart stood still at the thought--had he slipped and fallen
headlong into some hideous crevasse?

Curving her hands on either side her mouth, she called him, sending her
voice ringing through the clear, crisp air. But there came no answer.
Instead, the utter loneliness and silence seemed to surge up round her
almost like a concrete thing. For a moment, sheer terror of what might have
happened to him overwhelmed her.