'It lies with her, and I think she likes me,' returned the Colonel, twisting his moustachios. 'But though I'm little enough afraid of most things, and by no means as blind as a mole either, I'm blessed if I dare to ask her whether she'll marry me, because I can't see quite clearly enough into her heart. However, all in good time! Perhaps the glitter of the gems may serve to throw some light upon the question.' Sir Norman nodded, but he made no reply. They were now riding along a narrow and rocky road, within sight of the sea, and following the line of the coast southward. There was as yet no wind, but the waves were breaking with a hollow, rhythmical sound along the shore, telling of some tornado a hundred miles away. There was no moon, and the sky was in great part overcast with clouds, so that the darkness was considerable. The riders could see no more of each other than their black outlines, as they rode along side by side. At the distance of about a mile from Kildhurm Tower, the coast began to rise; and the road, instead of skirting the inland base of this eminence, climbed up with it, and, moreover, approached so near the verge that, in some places, it actually infringed upon it. The Colonel's military eye did not fail to take note of this peculiarity. 'I have a better opinion of the legs of the fellows who built this road than of their brains,' he observed. 'Did they think it was shorter to climb up a precipice than to go round it?' 'There were two reasons why the road was made in this way,' replied the Baronet. 'First, there is a deep morass across the inland route, which is beyond the skill of our local engineers either to bridge over or to fill up. Secondly, there existed, at the time the road was planned, a convent at the highest point of the cliff; and it was deemed advisable, in that religious age, that the way of the world should run as near as possible to the convent door. We shall come to the ruins of the convent very soon: and there, or thereabouts, I shall take leave of you.' The horses scrambled up the steep ascent, Sir Norman leading the way; and it was not until they had reached the summit that he spoke again. 'Are you a religious man, Colonel Banyon?' he abruptly asked. The Colonel turned a surprised glance at him. 'I believe in my Saviour, and pray to Him when I get a chance and a prayer comes into my head,' he replied. 'If a man were about to die, I have thought that no place could be more fitting than this from which to take a last look at the world; and from which to offer up a last prayer to heaven, if he were that way minded.' 'I will remember your suggestion when my final hour approaches; and if I'm in this neighbourhood perhaps I may avail myself of it. The spot has one recommendation--that if, after all, Death made his approach too slowly, you would need to take not more than a single step to find yourself in his arms.'