"Since it is my only chance of release, I must needs keep the secret," Jaquelina said; reluctantly. "What shall I tell them?"
"Only say that you were lost in the woods, and that the outlaw chief guided you to the road again," he replied.
"Very well," she replied; "but I warn you that if ever I see you elsewhere I will attempt to capture you."
He looked at the frank, determined face half-reproachfully a moment, then laughed at the threat.
Ten minutes after he was riding by Jaquelina's side through the stormy woods.
When the first faint beams of daylight glimmered in the cloudy east, he watched her riding safely toward home, mounted on the faithful Black Bess.
"Good-by, Miss Meredith," he had said, as they parted. "When you think of the outlaw whose love you scorned, do not forget that the bravest thing a brave man can do is to voluntarily resign the one fair woman who holds his heart."
But Jaquelina, with a cold and haughty bow, rode silently away.