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found outlet. Beyond the entrance she did not venture, but through it she saw,

beneath, a wooded slope, and twice deer passed quite close to her, stopping at the

brook to drink.

It was an ideal spot, one whose beauties appealed to her even under the

harrowing conditions which had forced her to seek its precarious safety. In

another land and with companions of her own kind she could well imagine the joy

of a fortnight spent in such a sylvan paradise.

The thought aroused another--how long would the mucker remain a safe

companion? She seemed to be continually falling from the frying pan into the fire.

So far she had not been burned, but with returning strength, and the knowledge

of their utter isolation could she expect this brutal thug to place any check upon

his natural desires?

Why there were few men of her own station in life with whom she would have felt

safe to spend a fortnight alone upon a savage, uncivilized island! She glanced at

the man where he lay stretched in deep slumber. What a huge fellow he was! How

helpless would she be were he to turn against her! Yet his very size; yes, and the

brutality she feared, were her only salvation against every other danger than he

himself. The man was physically a natural protector, for he was able to cope with

odds and dangers to which an ordinary man would long since have succumbed.

So she found that she was both safer and less safe because the mucker was her

companion.

As she pondered the question her eyes roved toward the slope beyond the opening

to the amphitheater. With a start she came to her feet, shading her eyes with her

hand and peering intently at something that she could have sworn moved among

the trees far below. No, she could not be mistaken--it was the figure of a man.

Swiftly she ran to Byrne, shaking him roughly by the shoulder.

Someone is coming," she cried, in response to his sleepy query.

109

The Mucker