l of rippled gold; it was like looking down into an enchanted
well; the waters seem to rise and meet him. The glow at the curtain-edge
grew stronger; now it was a lake of liquid fire into which he gazed.

* * * * *

The threshold of the door had warped and sprung, and through the crack
crept a thin line of smoke; it raised itself sinuously, as does a snake;
it darted its head from side to side, preparing to strike.

* * * * *

Descending the staircase, Constans saw that the time was growing
perilously short. On three sides of them the buildings were burning, and
Arcadia House itself was on fire at the southern wing. The hurricane,
shifting back to the northwest, was at its wildest, and the air was full
of ashes and incandescent sparks. As Constans and Esmay emerged from the
shelter of the house, it seemed as though the universe itself was on
fire. Could they ever hope to reach the river? His heart sank as he
looked at that fiery rain through which they must pass. He turned to
Esmay.

"It is the only way," he began, and then stopped, wondering that she
should look so strangely upon him.

"I thought you dead," she answered, humbly. "It was the last thing I
heard--the silver whistle and Nanna misunderstood my question."

"Oh," said Constans, enlightened, and at the same time subtly warned
that he must not press her too far. "So you feared that it might have
been my spirit that came to fetch you?"

"No; not feared," she answered, and with such sweet confidence that
Constans's heart thrilled to new courage. By God's splendor! this woman
trusted him and he would save her.

Half way to the boat-stage they were caught in a whirlwind of choking
vapor; they struggled onward for a few steps, and then the girl fell.
With infinite difficulty Constans half carried, half dragged her down
the last slope to the landing. The boat, a small canoe or dugout, was
there, but he could find only one broken paddle. It was a mad thing to
venture out upon the wind-lashed river with equipment so imperfect, but
there could be no choice of another way.

The tide was running out strongly and Constans could do nothing more
than keep the craft on a straight course and out of the trough of the
heavier seas. He looked longingly at the opposite shore, so near to the
eye and so impossible to attain against that wind and tide; he realized
that they were drifting down into the open bay,