"I'll stay and brave them!"
"No, no—what's one girl against two resolute and determined men? Terrible things happen—women have been drugged as maids and come to their senses wives. Don't pit yourself against them. Stark knows that you must escape."
She reflected a moment.
"If he wishes it—if you wish it—yes. But not now. To-morrow night, John."
"All's ready. Your parents shall learn that you are safe and well. But to find you will be beyond power of man. So that you can trust me——"
"To-morrow night, then, I'll be furnished for flight. To-morrow—kiss me, John."
"For him?"
"For yourself. Is not my life worth that? Yet 'tis poor payment for a poor thing."
"For the last time before God."
He bent over her and folded her in his arms. She felt his young heart against her own. Then he kissed her lips.