Dacres dragged her on to the foot of the bank. Here she tried to keep up with him, but it was steep, and she could not. Whereupon Dacres stopped, and, without a word, raised her in his arms as though she were a little child, and ran up the bank. He plunged into the woods. Then he ran on farther. Then he turned and doubled. Mrs. Willoughby begged him to put her down. "No," said he; "they are behind us. You can not go fast enough. I should have to wait and defend you, and then we would both be lost." "But, oh! we are losing Minnie." "No, we are not," cried Dacres; "that man is ten times stronger than I am. He is a perfect elephant in strength. He dashed past me up the hill." "I didn't see him." "Your face was turned the other way. He is ahead of us now somewhere." "Oh, I wish we _could_ catch up to him." [Illustration: "AT THIS DACRES RUSHED ON FASTER."] At this Dacres rushed on faster. The effort was tremendous. He leaped over fallen timbers, he burst through the underbrush. "Oh, I'm sure you'll _kill_ yourself if you go so fast," said Mrs. Willoughby. "We can't catch up to them." At this Dacres slackened his pace, and went on more carefully. She again begged him to put her down. He again refused. Upon this she felt perfectly helpless, and recalled, in a vague way, Minnie's ridiculous question of "How would you like to be run away with by a great, big, horrid man, Kitty darling?" Then she began to think he was insane, and felt very anxious. At last Dacres stopped. He was utterly exhausted. He was panting terribly. It had been a fearful journey. He had run along the bank up to that narrow valley which he had traversed the day before, and when he stopped it was on the top of that precipice where he had formerly rested, and where he had nurtured such dark purposes against Mrs. Willoughby. Mrs. Willoughby looked at him, full of pity. He was utterly broken down by this last effort. "Oh dear!" she thought. "Is he sane or insane? What _am_ I to do? It is dreadful to have to go on and humor his queer fancies." CHAPTER XXXVII. MINNIE'S LAST LIFE-PRESERVER. When Tozer started after Dacres he led Minnie by the hand for only a little distance. On reaching the acclivity he seized her in his arms, thus imitating Dacres's example, and rushed up, reaching the top before the other. Then he plunged into the woods, and soon became separated from his companion.