Strangely. I heard of it in Cordova. Men like Rossland frequently
come to unexpected ends."
He went to the door which she had closed, and opened it, and stood
looking toward the blue billows of the foothills with the white crests
of the mountains behind them. She came, after a moment, and stood
beside him.
"I understand," she said softly, and her hand lay in a gentle touch upon
his arm. "You are trying to see some way out, and you can see only one.
That is to go back, face the creatures I hate, regain my freedom in the
old way. And I, too, can see no other way. I came on impulse; I must
return with impulse and madness burned out of me. And I am sorry. I
dread it. I--would rather die."
"And I--" he began, then caught himself and pointed to the distant hills
and mountains. "The herds are there," he said. "I am going to them. I
may be gone a week or more. Will you promise me to be here when
I return?"
"Yes, if that is your desire."
"It is."
She was so near that his lips might have touched her shining hair.
"And when you return, I must go. That will be the only way."
"I think so."
"It will be hard. It may be, after all, that I am a coward. But to face
all that--alone--"
"You won't be alone," he said quietly, still looking at the far-away
hills. "If you go, I am going with you.
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