Going behind the boat Mànus guided it back to the smack. It was not long before, with MacNeil’s help, he righted the punt. One oar had drifted out of sight, but as there was a sculling-hole in the stern that did not matter. “What shall we do with it?” he muttered, as he stood at last by the corpse of Marcus. “This is a bad night for us, Aulay!” “Bad it is; but let us be seeing it is not worse. I’m thinking we should have left the boat.” “And for why that?” “We could say that Marcus Achanna and Gloom Achanna left us again, and that we saw no more of them nor of our boat.” MacCodrum pondered a while. The sound of voices, borne faintly across the water, decided him. Probably Anne and the lad Donull were talking. He slipped into the boat, and with a sail-knife soon ripped it here and there. It filled, and then, heavy with the weight of a great ballast-stone which Aulay had first handed to his companion, and surging with a foot-thrust from the latter, it sank. “We’ll hide the—the man there—behind the windlass, below the spare sail, till we’re out at sea, Aulay. Quick, give me a hand!” It did not take the two men long to lift the corpse, and do as Mànus had suggested. They had scarce accomplished this, when Anne’s voice came hailing silver-sweet across the water. With death-white face and shaking limbs, MacCodrum stood holding the mast, while with a loud voice, so firm and strong that Aulay MacNeil smiled below his fear, he asked if the Achannas were back yet, and if so for Donull to row out at once, and she with him if she would come. It was nearly half an hour thereafter that Anne rowed out toward the _Luath_. She had gone at last along the shore to a creek where one of Marcus’s boats was moored and returned with it. Having taken Donull on board, she made way with all speed, fearful lest Gloom or Marcus should intercept her. It did not take long to explain how she had laughed at Seumas’s vain efforts to detain her, and had come down to the haven. As she approached, she heard Mànus singing, and so had herself broken into a song she knew he loved. Then, by the water-edge she had come upon Donull lying upon his back, bound and gagged. After she had released him they waited to see what would happen, but as in the moonlight they could not see any small boat come in, bound to or from the smack, she had hailed to know if Mànus were there. On his side he said briefly that the two Achannas had come to persuade him to leave without her. On his refusal they had departed again, uttering threats against her as well as himself. He heard their quarrelling voices as they rowed into the gloom, but could not see them at last because of the obscured moonlight.