.m. just to ask him a question."

Forrest stopped and gave a short laugh. "Upon my word, I had entirely
forgotten what the time was. No, you are quite right. There is no need
for such excessive hurry. Mannering is safe enough for the present."

"At least, for the next eighteen hours," I observed, after glancing at
my watch. "Meanwhile, your room has been kept ready for you."

"A little sleep will not come amiss," he answered, yawning; "though it
seems almost a pity to go to bed on such a morning."

He was right. By this time dawn was breaking with a splendour I have
never seen equalled before nor since. From east to west the sky was
stained and flecked with crimson and gold, and our faces glowed ruddily
in the reflected light. We both fell to silence, as with our faces to
the east we watched the uprising of the sun; and, until the sky paled as
the sun made its appearance above the line of the horizon, we did not
stir.

Then Forrest drew a deep breath. "There's been the beauty of destruction
in the sunrise," he remarked. "We shall have a storm before nightfall."

He followed me indoors, and, leaving him at the door of his room, I went
to my own. I got into my pyjamas, but I did not feel inclined to sleep
for the sunbeams were glancing in at my window, and all about were the
sound and movement of the awakening earth-creatures. I wheeled an easy
chair to the window, and wrapping a blanket about me, took a novel I had
been reading and strove to fix my attention on the pages. I could not do
so. Whether it was the reflex action of the brain from the excitement of
the evening or not, but the fact was I felt unaccountably depressed. I
fought against the feeling as best I could. But I could not get out of
my head the idea that some great danger was threatening, not myself, but
the one dearest to me in the world. From my window I could see her home,
and I drew the chair into a position where my eyes might rest upon the
roof which sheltered her. There was some consolation in this, and I
watched until I eventually fell into an uneasy slumber, from which I
awakened unrefreshed and ill at ease.

CHAPTER XVII

STORM

MY tub pulled me together to some extent, but I still felt restless when
I went downstairs. Forrest had already gone out, leaving word that he
expected to be back to breakfast at the usual hour. I went into the
garden, but the sun was shining in a cloudless sky and there was not a
breath of air stirring.