Beyond this there was no other
sound or sign of life. For many minutes Nathaniel stood in the open, his
eyes on the path along which he knew that Strang's wife would come--if
she came at all. Suddenly he began to examine the ground where the girl
had stood the previous night. The dainty imprints of her feet were
plainly discernible in the soft earth. Then he went to the path--and
with a laugh so loud that it startled the birds into silence he set off
with long strides in the direction of St. James. From the footprints in
that path it was quite evident that Strang's wife was a frequent visitor
at Obadiah's.
At the edge of the forest, from where he could see the log house
situated across the opening, Nathaniel paused. He had made up his mind
that the girl whom he had seen through the king's window was in some way
associated with it. Obadiah had hinted as much and she had come from
there on her way to Strang's. But as the prophet's wives lived in his
castle at St. James this surely could not be her home. More than ever he
was puzzled. As he looked he saw a figure suddenly appear from among the
mass of lilac bushes that almost concealed the cabin. An involuntary
exclamation of satisfaction escaped him and he drew back deeper among
the trees. It was the councilor who had shown himself. For a few moments
the old man stood gazing in the direction of St. James as if watching
for the approach of other persons. Then he dodged cautiously along the
edge of the bushes, keeping half within their cover, and moved swiftly
in the opposite direction toward the center of the island.
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