“Upon my word! Your gallant knight must have given you a pretty sharp description of me.” Cordelia’s first impulse was one of anger at this slur; but she thought how foolish it would be, and straightway resolved that nothing his tongue could frame should cause her to betray or forget herself. She looked at him steadily for a moment, and then, with a tinge in her tone which paid him back in full, she said: “Captain Tryon, if you will look into a mirror when you next see one I think you will discover a face not likely to be forgotten when once seen, and not at all difficult to describe.” “Will you tell me how you would describe it?” “No, sir. I will not.” “Why not?” “You would be angry.” “Oho! Am I so ugly?” “I prefer not to tell you what you are.” “Well I’m sorry for that. Do you know, dear lady, I had almost made up my mind to ask you to be my wife.” She did not start; the speech did not frighten her, for she had not the least thought that he meant anything more than simple badinage. So it was for a little time; by and by, as the man continued to eye her sharply, she asked herself--why had he done this thing? Merciful heaven! Was it possible that he had seen her, and that he had conceived a passion to possess her for his own? The thought came to her like a bolt of thunder from a clear sky. “Captain Tryon, for what purpose have you laid ruffianly hands upon me and dragged me away with yourself in this manner?” “Wait for a little time, dear lady. I will explain by and by. We must land here.” They had gone down to a point near to the village, but shut away from it by intervening woods, where, on the side of the stream opposite to that from which they had set forth, was another small inlet, into which the boat had been steered. There was an easy, natural landing, on a bit of bold shore, where a table of rock came out into the water, against the edge of which the boat lay without difficulty. The girls were here helped out, and conducted a short distance up into the woods. Cordelia knew that the sloping foot of Witch’s Crag was not a great way off, and a few moments later, when they had stopped, and Tryon told them they must be blindfolded, she was able to give a pretty close guess as to their destination. “Why should you wish to blind us?” she asked. “Have you a secret which you are afraid we might discover?” “Never mind my reason. I choose that you shall be hoodwinked. It will not hurt you; and I promise you no indignity shall be offered while you are in that situation.” For one brief moment our heroine’s thoughts were deep and rapid; the result was she submitted without opposition and without further remark. The kerchiefs which had been before bound over their mouths were now bound tightly over their eyes, after which they moved on; and ere long, as she had anticipated, they emerged from the wood upon the rough and ragged slope of the crag.