now of turning; but, though she pedalled her
hardest, she could not see any signs of a highroad in front of her, and
was sure she must have taken the wrong lane. Indeed, to her dismay,
when she got a little farther down the road, it narrowed still more and
ran through a wood. She was quite sure now that the man was chasing
her, and wondered if she would ever get to Dol at all. It seemed to be
her fate to be chased by something on her excursions, and she was not
quite sure whether she preferred escaping on her own feet or a bicycle.

At first he did not gain upon her much, and, if she had had her own
machine, and had been in good training, perhaps she might have
outdistanced him; but there did not appear to be much chance of that at
present. She was thankful to see a sharp descent in front of her, and
let herself go at a break-neck speed; but, unfortunately, there was an
equally steep hill to climb on the other side, and she would have to
get off and walk.

She was just making up her mind to turn round and brave it out, and
keep her watch--if possible--when she saw something on the grass by the
roadside, a little ahead of her, that made her heart leap with relief
and pleasure--namely, a puff of smoke, and a figure clad in a brown
tweed suit. She was sure, even after a mere hurried glance, that the
owner of the suit must be English, for it bore the stamp of an English
tailor, and the breeze bore her unmistakable whiffs of "Harris."

She did not wait a moment, but leaped from her bicycle and sank down
panting on the grass near, alarming the stranger--who had been nearly
asleep--considerably. He jerked himself into a sitting position, and
burned himself with his cigarette.

"Who the dickens----" he began; then hastily took off his cap and
begged the girl's pardon, to which she could not reply for
breathlessness. But he seemed to understand what was needed at once,
for, after a swift glance from her to the man who was close at hand
now, he said in loud, cheerful tones--

"Ah! Here you are at last. I am glad you caught me up. We'll just
have a little rest, then go calmly on our way. You should not ride so
quickly on a hot day."

The man was abreast of them now, and looked very hard at both as he
passed, but did not stop, and Barbara heaved a long sigh of relief.

"I'm so very sorry," she said at last. "Please understand I am not in
the habit of leaping down beside people like that, only I've had this
watch