ou pleased with
me. Yet you do not understand; it has not been wholly my own peril
which caused me to surrender so easily."

"But I think I do understand--it was partly a sacrifice for others."

"In a way, yes, it was; but I cannot explain more fully, even to you,
now. Yet suppose I make this sacrifice, and it fails; suppose after
all they should fall into the hands of these men?"

"I will not believe that," I protested, stoutly. "I feel convinced
they had warning--there is no other way in which to account for their
disappearance, their failure to return to the house. They must have
encountered Pete and gone away with him."

"If I only knew that."

"Perhaps we can assure ourselves; we can go ashore at his place up the
river, and if his boat is gone, there will be no longer any doubt. In
any case, it is clearly your duty to save yourself."

"Do you really think so? It has seemed to me cowardly to run away."

"But, Rene," I urged. "They were the ones who deserted first. If they
had warning of danger, they fled without a word to you--leaving you
alone in the hands of those men."

"They--they, perhaps they failed to realize my peril. Oh you cannot
see this as I do," she faltered, endeavoring to conjure up some excuse.
"They may have thought they could serve me best in that way."

I laughed, but not in any spirit of humor.

"Hardly that, I imagine. Far more likely they fled suddenly in a panic
of fear, without pausing to think at all. Why, you were the very one
whose danger was the greatest; you were the one plunged into slavery."

"Yes--yes; I had forgotten that. Never for a moment does it seem real
to me. I have to keep saying over and over again to myself, 'I am a
negro and a slave.'"

"And so do I," I confessed, unthinkingly. "And even then, when I
remember you as I first saw you in that lighted room back yonder, it is
unbelievable."

Her eyes fell from my face, her head drooping, as she stared over the
rail at the sullen rush of black water alongside. She remained silent
and motionless for so long that I felt impelled to speak again, yet
before I could decide what to say, her voice addressed me, although
with face still averted.

"Yes, it is indeed most difficult--for both of us," she acknowledged,
slowly. "We are in an extremely embarrassing position. You must not
think I fail to realize this. It would be comparatively easy for me to
choose my course but for that. I do not know why y