"I can't watch him;" he cried brokenly. "I must go away. Come and talk to me till it is over--help me to bear it!" His eyes met Peggy's as he finished speaking, passed on with an unsatisfied expression, and fastened upon Eunice. "You!" his expression said as plainly as words could say it, "I mean _you_!" and Eunice followed without a word. At another time the episode would have attracted universal attention, but the four remaining members of the party were so much engrossed with their own thoughts that hardly a glance was cast after the retreating couple. Mrs Bryce was eager to take Major Darcy aside, and ask his advice as a soldier and campaigner as to what steps could be taken to prepare for a possible night's vigil. "Hope for the best and prepare for the worst," was her motto; and she had already hit on a spot where, by pegging down the branches of trees, and fastening cloaks over the gaps, a very fair tent could be manufactured. She bore Hector away to survey it, and Peggy and Mellicent were left alone together, the latter staring with curious eyes in her companion's face. An hour ago Peggy had been the most agitated of the party, and had showed a terror inconsistent with her character, yet now, when there seemed an even greater need for anxiety, she was calm and quiet, a little white image of composure. "Peggy," she whispered softly, "aren't you frightened? Do you think he will--get there, Peggy? Do you think he will be--safe?" "I know he will be safe, Mellicent." "But they say it is so dangerous! They say it is a risk. He _might_ be drowned!" "He will be safe, Mellicent. I am quite sure of it." "But, oh, Peggy, how can you tell? How can you be sure?" Peggy's eyes came round with a flash, and stared full in Mellicent's face. "Because I love him, Mellicent! Because we belong to one another, Rob and I, and I cannot live without him. Because I have asked God to take care of him for me, and I know He will do it!" Mellicent shrank back aghast. What a confession to have heard from Peggy's own lips! Peggy, the reserved and dignified; Peggy, who was so scrupulously reticent about her own feelings! She could hardly believe her ears. It seemed unnatural, alarming, almost shocking. Her eyes dropped to the ground, she shuffled uneasily to and fro, and crept quietly away. CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. Peggy's faith was justified, for though the way was long, and the current often swept him aside, Rob struggled on gallantly until, after what seemed an interminable period of suspense, his friends saw him clamber into the boat as she lay on the sandbank. Then for some minutes there was no movement, and though it was to be expected that he would need a rest after his exertions, the faces on shore began to lengthen as time passed by, and brought no sign of an advance.