We stood gazing in the direction he had taken, until the sound of his progress had died away. The shock of it all had considerably muddled my brain, and when at last I had adjusted my thoughts to the new conditions, a sensation of relief, of happiness, of joy (call it what you will), came upon me, and I could scarce restrain an impulse to toss my hat in the air. He was gone at last! But that was not the reason. I was safe from O'Meara and calumny. Nor was this all. And I did not dare to look at Miss Thorn. The knowledge that she had planned and carried out with dignity and success such a campaign filled me with awe. That I had misjudged her made me despise myself. Then I became aware that she was speaking to me, and I turned. “Mr. Crocker, do you think there is any danger that he will lose his way?” “No, Miss Thorn,” I replied; “he has only to get to the top of that ridge and strike the road for Saville, as I told him.” We were silent again until Miss Trevor remarked: “Well, he deserved every bit of it.” “And more, Irene,” said Miss Thorn, laughing; “he deserved to marry you.” “I think he won't come West again for a very long time,” said I. Miss Trevor regarded me wickedly, and I knew what was coming. “I hope you are convinced, now, Mr. Crocker, that our sex is not as black as you painted it: that Miss Thorn knew what she was about, and that she is not the inconsistent and variable creature you took her to be.” I felt the blood rush to my face, and Miss Thorn, too, became scarlet. She went up to the mischievous Irene and grasping her arms from behind, bent them until she cried for mercy. “How strong you are, Marian! It is an outrage to hurt me so. I haven't said anything.” But she was incorrigible, and when she had twisted free she began again: “I took it upon myself to speak a few parables to Mr. Crocker the other day. You know, Marian, that he is one of these level-headed old fogies who think women ought to be kept in a menagerie, behind bars, to be inspected on Saturday afternoons. Now, I appeal to you if it wouldn't be disastrous to fall in love with a man of such ideas. And just to let you know what a literal old law-brief he is, when I said he had had a hat-pin sticking in him for several weeks, he nearly jumped overboard, and began to feel himself all over. Did you know that he actually believed you were doing your best to get married to the Celebrity?” (Here she dodged Miss Thorn again.) “Oh, yes, he confided in me. He used to worry himself ill over that. I'll tell you what he said to me only--” But fortunately at this juncture Miss Trevor was captured again, and Miss Thorn put her hand over her mouth. Heaven only knows what she would have said!