Robin in the meanwhile was curled up contentedly in a corner of the hut, watching its inmate ravenously devour the supplies which he had so successfully secured. A thick rug had also been obtained by the boy and carried up in triumph to the Lair. The ground was still dry after an exceptionally long hot summer, and the little bower certainly made an excellent shelter with its firm sandy walls and mossy floor. Many another wayfarer has been less comfortably lodged. "I don’t think you can be a wicked man," remarked Robin, after a careful scrutiny of the worn face before him, "but I wonder why you are so anxious not to meet the other fellow you told us of. Perhaps it’s he who is the bad one, and not you." "No," answered the stranger, with a sad attempt at a smile which went to Robin’s heart. "I’m sorry to say that I’m the bad one, as you put it, but I am thankful I needn’t stop there. The sinner has been forgiven by the grace of God, though the consequences of his sin on earth cannot be rubbed out." "Then you’re not afraid of that?" said Robin, nodding his head towards the text on the wall. "I rejoice because of it," was the reply. "He Who knows all can forgive all." The blue eyes gazed out into the tangle of wood, where the sun was setting behind the interwoven branches, brown now with the touch of coming whiter. "A great sinner needs a great Saviour," he murmured half to himself. "Perhaps He can even help me to put right some of the wrong before the end comes." *CHAPTER X* *A Flash of Lightning* When Robin awoke next morning he found that the weather had completely changed during the night. Gusts of wind howled round the little cottage and rattled the casement, as if angry foes sought admittance to his room. From his bed he could hear the hollow boom of the waves upon the shore, and the old apple-tree outside his window creaked and groaned as it was forced to bend its aged limbs before the gale. His first thought was of the house in the wood and its mysterious occupant. "I’ll run up at once and see how the man has got on," he decided. "I don’t think it looks as if it had rained yet, and it’s pretty sheltered in the coppice, so I hope he has had a good night. I wonder if he is still there, or if he went at break of day as he said he would." It was not long before he was peeping through the doorway of the little hut, his hair blown like an aureole about his forehead and his cheeks flushed by the buffeting of the wind. "Of such is the kingdom of heaven," were the words that rose spontaneously to the stranger’s lips as he glanced up at the fair vision before him. "I’m not gone yet, Robin," he said as he held out his hand to the boy. "I am afraid I must ask you to put up with me for a few hours longer. I didn’t feel quite up to an early start this morning." Robin flew to his side and took the thin fingers in his.