place the
black on the side of Sandag, whence he should head my uncle towards the
house; Rorie in the west, I on the east, were to complete the cordon, as
best we might. It seemed to me, the more I recalled the configuration of
the island, that it should be possible, though hard, to force him down
upon the low ground along Aros Bay; and once there, even with the
strength of his madness, ultimate escape was hardly to be feared. It was
on his terror of the black that I relied; for I made sure, however he
might run, it would not be in the direction of the man whom he supposed
to have returned from the dead, and thus one point of the compass at
least would be secure.

When at length I fell asleep, it was to be awakened shortly after by a
dream of wrecks, black men, and submarine adventure; and I found myself
so shaken and fevered that I arose, descended the stair, and stepped out
before the house. Within, Rorie and the black were asleep together in
the kitchen; outside was a wonderful clear night of stars, with here and
there a cloud still hanging, last stragglers of the tempest. It was near
the top of the flood, and the Merry Men were roaring in the windless
quiet of the night. Never, not even in the height of the tempest, had I
heard their song with greater awe. Now, when the winds were gathered
home, when the deep was dandling itself back into its summer slumber, and
when the stars rained their gentle light over land and sea, the voice of
these tide-breakers was still raised for havoc. They seemed, indeed, to
be a part of the world's evil and the tragic side of life. Nor were
their meaningless vociferations the only sounds that broke the silence of
the night. For I could hear, now shrill and thrilling and now almost
drowned, the note of a human voice that accompanied the uproar of the
Roost. I knew it for my kinsman's; and a great fear fell upon me of
God's judgments, and the evil in the world. I went back again into the
darkness of the house as into a place of shelter, and lay long upon my
bed, pondering these mysteries.

It was late when I again woke, and I leaped into my clothes and hurried
to the kitchen. No one was there; Rorie and the black had both
stealthily departed long before; and my heart stood still at the
discovery. I could rely on Rorie's heart, but I placed no trust in his
discretion. If he had thus set out without a word, he was plainly bent
upon some service to my uncle. But what servic