e have said--she was
in total ignorance of those two portraits which he cherished in secret.

"Here, father," she called out, as they reached the place where Le Sage
and Wyvern were standing, "call those boys back. The horses won't be
wanted till to-morrow. Just look what an awful storm there is working
up. Right across the way too."

"By Jove, so there is," said Le Sage. "Hope it means real rain, that's
all. You two 'll have to shake down here to-night."

The swift glance exchanged between Wyvern and Lalante did not escape
Warren. To those two the coming storm had brought reprieve. Only of a
few hours it was true, but--still a reprieve. Their real farewell had
been made, still--

Throwing out its dark and jagged streamers in advance, the black curtain
of cloud came driving up. A blinding gleam, and one of those awful
metallic crashes that are as though the world itself were cleft in
twain, and, ever growing louder as it drew nearer, a confused raving
roar.

"Hail, by Jove!" pronounced Le Sage. "That's a nuisance because it
means little or no rain. Where are those two youngsters, Lalante?"

"Indoors."

"And that's where we'd better get, and pretty soon," pronounced Wyvern.

But before they got there a hard and splitting impact caused all to
hurry their pace, for it was as though they were being pelted with
stones; and indeed they were, for the great white ice-globes came
crashing down, as with a roar like that of an advancing tidal wave the
mighty hailstorm was upon them; in its terrific clamour almost drowning
the bellowing of the thunder.

"We're well out of that," went on Wyvern, as they gained the shelter of
the house. "By George, if one had come in for it in an open camp, it
would have been a case of covering one's head with one's saddle. The
stones are as big as hens' eggs. I've only seen it like that once
before. Look."

Outside, the enormous hailstones lay like a fall of ice; and as the blue
spectral gleams of lightning fell upon the scene the effect was one of
marvellous beauty. It was as though a rain of gigantic diamonds was
cleaving and illuminating the darkness, while the layer which overspread
the ground flashed out a million points of incandescence. Then, with
receding roar, the hail cloud whirled on its course, and there was
stillness as of death, save for an intermittent roll of thunder.

Lalante had found herself drawn to a window--the others were crowding
the doorway--an