ntences
he had said, and that influence which always makes it more or less
difficult for one man to oppose the will of another caused Caius to make
his questions as few as possible.

Was it safe, he asked, to drive to Cloud Island that day?

The other looked at him from head to foot. "Not safe," he said, "for
women and childer; but for men"--the word was lingered upon for a
moment--"yes, safe enough."

The innkeepers were too mindful of their manners as yet to disturb the
colloquy with open interruption; but with every other sort of
interruption they did disturb it, explaining by despairing gestures and
direful shakings of the head that, should Caius go with this gentleman,
he would be driving into the very jaws of death.

Nevertheless, after O'Shea's last words Caius had assented to the
expedition, although he was uncertain whether the assent was wise or
not. He had the dissatisfaction of feeling that he had been ruled,
dared, like a vain schoolboy, into the hasty consent.

"Now, if you are servant to Madame Le Maitre at The Cloud, how is it
that you've never been seen on this island?" It was the liveliest of the
sisters who could no longer keep silence.

While Caius was packing his traps he was under the impression that
O'Shea had replied that, in the first place, he had not lived long at
The Cloud, and, in the second, visitors from The Cloud had not been so
particularly welcome at the other islands. His remarks on the last
subject were delivered with brief sarcasm. After he had started on the
journey Caius wondered that he had not remembered more particularly the
gist of an answer which it concerned him to hear.

At the time, however, he hastened to strap together those of his bundles
which had been opened, and, under the direction of O'Shea, to clothe
himself in as many garments as possible, O'Shea arguing haste for the
sake of the tide, which, he said, had already begun to ebb, and there
was not an hour to be lost.

The women broke forth once more, this time into open expostulation and
warning. To them O'Shea vouchsafed no further word, but with an annoying
assumption that the doctor's courage would quail under their warnings,
he encouraged him.

"There's a mere boy, a slim lad, on my cart now," he said, "that's going
with us; he's no more froightened than a gull is froightened of the
sea."

Caius showed his valour by marching out of the door, a bag in either
hand.

No snow had as yet fallen on the i