progressing along the slippery, lonely road towards the barn where Miss
Clairville was awaiting rescue, the first of whom to arrive was
Ringfield. Striding to the half-open door he boldly called her name,
and shoving the lantern inside perceived her to be entirely alone.

"Oh--it is you then! I am so glad--it seems hours since you went away.
I have not been exactly frightened, for I know these woods and there is
nothing alive in them, but the position of this barn--so remote, so
down by itself in the little hollow--if anything did attack me, my
voice would never be heard."

"But you were not alone when I left you! You may not be alone now!"

"How did you find that out?" her face changed; she had not calculated
on his having seen Crabbe.

"I think I knew all the time; your restlessness, your anxiety to get me
away, your pushing me down on that box and changing the subject--why,
when I saw him come out, and--and wind his arm around your waist, then
I knew you had been lying to me! How could you do it!" He waved the
lantern towards the loft but could see nothing there.

"He is gone, gone," said she earnestly; "he has gone to the village to
get some rig or other and come back with it for me, but of course I
would rather go with you."

"I cannot believe a word you say!" exclaimed Ringfield in an agony,
setting the lantern down. "Not a word--not a word. Do you think you
can play all your life like this with men? You cannot play with me at
all events. There are forces here (he struck his breast), passions
here, instincts here I never dreamed of, I never knew I possessed. It
is not good, nor wise, nor necessary for me to love you, Pauline, but I
do--I do! And you must fear them, you must respect them, these
instincts, these forces, as much in me as you would do in other men."

"I do, I do! Only I do not like to see you and that other man
together--I always feel something happening, I do not know what! but I
will tell you all about it. Father Rielle drove me to this place; we
got out, came in, and then he talked most foolishly, most wildly--hurt
my wrist--see here! And while I was wondering how I could put him off,
get rid of him, I discovered that the other man was in the loft. I saw
his stick, then I heard him; and then he came down and he and Father
Rielle went away together."

"But he came back--for I saw him, I saw you both. You went outside to
look at the tree."

"Yes--he went away, but he came ba