Again Byrne fished, and again they sat together at a
one-course meal. As they ate the man found himself looking at the
girl more and more often. For several days the wonder of her
beauty had been growing upon him, until now he found it
difficult to take his eyes from her. Thrice she surprised him in
the act of staring intently at her, and each time he had
dropped his eyes guiltily. At length the girl became nervous,
and then terribly frightened--was it coming so soon?
The man had talked but little during this meal, and for the
life of her Barbara Harding could not think of any topic with
which to distract his attention from his thoughts.
"Hadn't we better be moving on?" she asked at last.
Byrne gave a little start as though surprised in some
questionable act.
"I suppose so," he said; "this ain't no place to spend the
night--it's too open. We gotta find a sort o' hiding place if we
can, dat a fellow kin barricade wit something."
Again they took up their seemingly hopeless march--an
aimless wandering in search of they knew not what. Away
from one danger to possible dangers many fold more terrible.
Barbara's heart was very heavy, for again she feared and
mistrusted the mucker.
They followed down the little brook now to where it
emptied into a river and then down the valley beside the river
which grew wider and more turbulent with every mile.
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