Her feet were beginning to drag; he
could tell that by the effort she made to keep up with him. From time
to time he paused to allow her to rest. Always she leaned heavily
against him, seldom speaking; when she did it was to assure him that
she would be all right in a moment or two. There was no sentimental
motive behind his action when he finally found it necessary to support
her with an encircling arm, nor was she loath to accept this tribute
of strength.
"You are plucky," he once said to her.
"I am afraid I could not be so plucky if you were not so strong," she
sighed, and he loved the tired, whimsical little twist she put into
her reply. It revived the delightful memory of another day.
To his dismay they came abruptly upon a region abounding in huge
rocks. This was new territory to him. His heart sank.
"By Jove, I--I believe we are farther away from the road than when we
started. We must have been going up the slope instead of down."
"In any case, Mr. Barnes," she murmured, "we have found something to
sit down upon."
He chuckled. "If you can be as cheerful as all that, we sha'n't miss
the cushions," he said, and, for the first time, risked a flash of the
electric torch.
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