se and the beams entered, that every omen had been against
him; the adder under foot, the bandit's bolt, the Bushman's poisoned
point. He slept till noon, and, upon going out, unrefreshed and still
weary, he found that they had already buried the horse, and ordered a
mound to be raised above his grave. The day passed slowly; he wandered
about the castle and the enclosed grounds, seeking comfort and finding
none. His mind vacillated; he recalled all that Aurora had said,
persuading him not to do anything in haste or despair. Yet he could not
continue in his present condition. Another day went by, and still
undecided and doubting, he remained at home.

Oliver began to jest at him; had he abandoned the expedition? Oliver
could not understand indecision; perhaps he did not see so many sides to
the question, his mind was always quickly made up. Action was his forte,
not thought. The night came, and still Felix lingered, hesitating.

CHAPTER XIII

SAILING AWAY

But the next morning Felix arose straight from his sleep resolved to
carry out his plan. Without staying to think a moment, without further
examination of the various sides of the problem, he started up the
instant his eyes unclosed, fully determined upon his voyage. The breath
of the bright June morn as he threw open the window-shutter filled him
with hope; his heart responded to its joyous influence. The excitement
which had disturbed his mind had had time to subside. In the still
slumber of the night the strong undercurrent of his thought resumed its
course, and he awoke with his will still firmly bent in one direction.

When he had dressed, he took his bow and the chest bound with the
leathern thongs, and went down. It was early, but the Baron had already
finished breakfast and gone out to his gardens; the Baroness had not yet
appeared. While he was making a hurried breakfast (for having now made
up his mind he was eager to put his resolve into execution), Oliver came
in, and seeing the chest and the bow, understood that the hour had
arrived. He immediately said he should accompany him to Heron Bay, and
assist him to start, and went out to order their horses. There were
always plenty of riding horses at Old House (as at every fortified
mansion), and there was not the least difficulty in getting another for
Felix in place of his old favourite.

Oliver insisted upon taking the wooden chest, which was rather heavy,
before him on the saddle, so that Felix