"She is but a simple child," the outlaw said to himself, pityingly. "Only a little wild bird. I have caged it, but it would never sing for me. I must let it fly back to its nest." He touched the girl's damp, clinging curls lightly. "Miss Meredith, look up at me," he said. Jaquelina lifted her wet eyes inquiringly. "Cannot you leave me in peace?" she asked, shrinking from his light touch impatiently. He did not appear to notice the pretty, childish petulance. "Little bird," he said, "I will give you your freedom if you will promise me just one thing--you will not reveal the secret of this cavern retreat to my enemies? It is the only price by which you can purchase freedom." "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. CHAPTER VI. "All the people we invited are here, mamma," said Violet Earle, "all except Jaquelina Meredith. Do you think she will come?" Laurel Hill, the beautiful home of the Earles, was in a blaze of light and gayety. The handsome, roomy mansion, with its wide and long piazzas and large bay windows, was lighted "from garret to basement," and thrown open to the guests. The beautiful green lawn, with its sprinkling of laurel trees that gave the place its name, was almost as light as day with the glitter of colored lamps and Chinese lanterns. A pretty summer-house in the center of the lawn was decorated with garlands of cedar and fluttering silken banners. It was here that Violet was standing when she spoke to her mother. She looked very sweet and winning as she stood there, the light shining down on the fair, flushed face, and on the golden ringlets looped back with sprays of lilies-of-the-valley nestling among dark green leaves. She wore a soft, filmy white robe, and a wide sash of pale-blue satin was knotted carelessly around the slender waist. The pretty dimpled neck and arms were quite bare, and golden ornaments, studded with pearls and turquoise, gleamed upon their whiteness.