"Yes," he said. "That is the situation; please understand it. I am dictating terms, I. I am no longer the hunted, but the hunter. I have many debits in my mental ledger. I propose to collect them once and for all, in full." The three regarded him without speaking, and he laughed again, amiably. "Sister-in-law," he said, "your sex requires my first apologies. You must blame the wind, not me, for the discomforts of the night. While we remained within earshot of the land or of passing ships, your silence was overwhelmingly desirable. This applied to all three of you, and the contumacious wind forbore to rise. But the breeze of the last hour has given us an offing which frees you of all disabilities. Your bonds, to commence with." He stooped and rapidly unlashed her wrists and ankles. He put out a hand to draw her to her feet. With an uncontrollable gesture of repulsion, she waved it away and rose unsteadily, clinging to the bulkhead. She faced him. "Have you never asked yourself what the end will be, the end of all this?" she said suddenly, fiercely. "You win a trick here and there; you reckon up the points; you mock your adversaries. Do you never give a thought to what the price, the ultimate price, must be?" He looked at her--a look that held some curiosity--a tinge, indeed, of admiration. "You are a little unexpected, my dear Claire," he answered. "Does not the more material question of food and drink engross you? Do you really wish to discuss abstractions?" She gave a hopeless little shrug of her shoulder. "It is because you are wholly evil, wholly, that you puzzle me. And yet you are not unintelligent; you must know, mere experience must teach you, there is a price to be paid!" "Certainly." Landon laughed again, a mocking laugh. "I sketched it in outline to your--your lover--may I have the felicity of calling him that?--when I enjoyed his company in the silo on the road to El Dibh." The color flamed to her cheek. "You are insolent!" she said, and again Landon laughed. "Or merely premature?" he asked gaily. "After all, for the moment hospitality must engross me and nothing else." He turned and beckoned to some one unseen. He received a basket. "Bread, cheese, wine," he explained. "Will you help yourself while I assist my other guests? Or, if they choose, they may assist themselves. But I must have your words, my friends, that you will not attempt violence or escape if I release your hands." The two prisoners exchanged glances. Then Miller held out his fettered wrists. "As you will," he said quietly. "Temporarily I give you my parole. I retain the right to withdraw it." Landon nodded and looked at his cousin. "And you?" he asked. Aylmer met the look squarely. "No, to you I will be beholden for nothing," he answered. "I give no word; I keep my independence." Landon shrugged his shoulders. "You only inconvenience yourself," he said indifferently. "Well, my Quixote, stay here then, in the dark, shackled, and alone."