The clocks had long struck midnight, and the _sereno_ had several
times raised his dirge-like chaunt in the street outside, before my
companion came to me. She wasted no time in preliminaries. I think she
could see by my outward expression that I knew how danger threatened,
and so she told in as few words as possible what she had learnt. "I
hope you can understand it," she said at the conclusion. "I confess the
most is gibberish to me, but it seemed to concern you, and so I thought
would be interesting."

"I am deeply grateful. But let me explain."

"Don't think it an obligation, Mr. Pether. There seems to be some
little mystery about the matter, and I do not want to pry into your
affairs."

"I wish you would."

"Why?"

"Because then I could feel that you took an interest in me."

"Believe me, I do--a deep interest."

I groped and found her hand. It pressed mine with a slight tremble.

"You pity me because I am blind."

"I am deeply grieved for your misfortune."

"Ah"--I dropped the hand, and sighed regretfully--"only pity. But,
then, what else could I expect?"

"What would you have?" she asked softly.

"I had hoped for love. I had prayed that I might be loved, as I love."

And then? Why, honestly, I do not know how it came about, but in a
minute or so each knew concerning the other all there was to tell.

"I should not even mind resigning the Recipe now that I have got you,"
I told her.

"Ah, but," she said, with a little laugh, "if we are going into
partnership, you and I, the interests of the firm must be looked after.
There is no packet leaving the island for two days, so you must wire
Sadi in Palma to hire a steamer and have it ready for us. The train
leaves La Puebla at 7.55. We will go down to meet it by that."

"But Cospatric and his friends will most certainly go by the same
train."

She put her lips to my ear and whispered, and then we laughed, and I
took paper and pen and wrote a long letter.

She read over my shoulder.

"Admirable. Monsieur l'Aveugle, your friends will either stay here and
rave, or else start on a wild-goose chase across the mountains to
Soller. And we, you and I, Nat, we will go far away, away to----"

She did not finish the sentence. She stooped and kissed me instead.

[_Michael Cospatric again resumes speech._]

CHAPTER XVII.

VENTRE A TERRE.

"Now," said Haigh, as the anarchist reappeared dressed, and tore away
down the stairs, "it seems to me a