ed me," he challenged the lights in the hollow, "he
never whipped me--and he never tried but once! I--I--ain't never
been--whipped--yet!"

There had been no sound to herald her coming as she darted up to the
door. Reeling giddily there in the middle of the room, he had not even
heard the one low cry that she choked back as she stopped at the
threshold, but he half turned that moment and met the benumbed horror
of Dryad Anderson's eyes. Minute after minute he merely stood and
stared back at her stupidly, while bit by bit every detail of her
transformation began to penetrate his brain, still foggy with the
force of the blow that had laid his chin wide open. Her tumbled hair
was piled high upon her head; she was almost tall with the added
height of the high-heeled satin slippers; more slender than ever in
the bespangled clinging black skirt and sleeveless scarlet waist which
the old cloak, slipping unheeded from her shoulders, had disclosed.

As his brain began to clear Young Denny forgot the dripping blood that
made his white face ghastly, he forgot the stinging odor of the broken
demijohn, thick in the room--forgot everything but Judge Maynard's
face when the latter had looked up and found him standing at the
Tavern door. He knew now what the light was that had lurked in their
shifty depths; it was fear--fear that he--Young Denny--might speak up
in that moment and disclose all the hypocrisy of his suave lies. He
even failed to see the horror in the eyes of the girl before him.
Sudden, reckless laughter rang from his lips.

"Dryad," he cried out. "Dryad, it's all right--it's always been all
right--with us! They lied--they lied and they knew they were lying!"

She shrank back, as if all the strength had been drained from her
knees, as he lurched unsteadily across toward her and reached out
his arms. But at the touch of his hands upon her shoulders the power
of action came rushing back into her limbs. She shuddered and
whirled--and shook off his groping fingers. Her own hands flashed out
and held his face away from her.

"Don't you touch me!" she panted huskily. "Oh, you--you--don't you
even dare to come near me!"

He tried to explain--tried to follow her swift flight as she leaped
back, but his feet became entangled in the cloak on the floor and
brought him heavily to his knees. He even tried to follow her after
she had been swallowed up in the shadows outside, until he realized
dully that his shuffling feet would n