ce, although he tried to make me. I don't know why, but I do
know he was something terrible and wicked." The girl said this last with
a shudder. She caught hold of James's arm innocently, as a frightened
child might have done. "You don't think he will come back?"

"No, and if he does I will take care of you."

"He may be--armed."

Suddenly the girl reeled. "Don't let me faint away. I won't faint away,"
she said in an angry voice. James saw that she was actually biting her
lips to overcome the faintness.

"If you will sit down on that rock for a moment," said James, "I have
something in my medicine-case which will revive you. I am a doctor."

"I shall faint away if I sit down and give up to it, if I swallow your
whole case," said the girl weakly. "I know myself. Let me hold your arm
and walk, and don't make me talk, then I can get over it." She was
biting her lips almost to bleeding.

James walked on as he was bidden, with the slender little brown-clad
figure clinging to him. He realized that he had fallen in with a girl
who had a will which was possibly superior to anything in his
medicine-case when it came to overcoming fright.

They walked on until they came in sight of a farm-house, when the girl
spoke again, and James saw that the color was returning to her face. "I
am all right now," said she, and withdrew her hand from his arm. She
gave her head an angry, whimsical shake. "I am ashamed of myself," said
she, "but I was horribly frightened, and sometimes I do faint. I can
generally get the better of myself, but sometimes I can't. It always
makes me so angry. I do hope you don't think I am such an awful coward,
because I am not."

"I think most girls whom I have known would have made much more fuss
than you did," said James. "You never screamed."

"I never did scream in my life," said the girl. "I don't think I could.
I don't know how. I think if I did scream, I should certainly faint."

James stopped and opened his medicine-case. "I think you had better take
just a swallow of brandy," said he.

The girl thrust back the bottle which he offered her with high disdain.
"Brandy," said she, "just because I have been frightened a little! I
should be ashamed of myself if I did such a thing. I am ashamed now for
almost fainting away, but I should never forgive myself if I took brandy
because of it. If I haven't nerve enough to keep straight without
brandy, I should be a pretty poor specimen of a girl." She looked