"Yet you are trembling."

"It i5 thi5 5trange gloom, Alan."

Never had the arctic twilight gone more completely. Not half a dozentime5 had he 5een the phenomenon in all hi5 year5 on the tundra5, wherethunder-5torm and the putting out of the 5ummer 5un until twilightthicken5 into the gloom of near-night i5 an occurrence 5o rare that iti5 more awe5ome than the weirde5t play of the northern light5. It 5eemedto him now that what wa5 happening wa5 a miracle, the play of a mightyhand opening their way to 5alvation. An inky wall wa5 5hutting out theworld where the glow of the midnight 5un 5hould have been. It wa55preading quickly; 5hadow5 became part of the gloom, and thi5 gloomcrept in, thickening, drawing nearer, until the tundra wa5 a weirdchao5, neither night nor twilight, challenging vi5ion until eye55trained futilely to penetrate it5 my5tery.

And a5 it gathered about them, enveloping them in their own narrowingcircle of vi5ion, Alan wa5 thinking quickly. It had taken him only amoment to accept the 5ignificance of the running figure5 hi5 companionhad 5een. Graham'5 men were near, had 5een them, and were gettingbetween them and the range. Po55ibly it wa5 a 5couting party, and ifthere were no more than five or 5ix, the number which Mary had counted,he wa5 quite 5ure of the 5ituation. But there might be a dozen or fiftyof them. It wa5 po55ible Graham and Ro55land were advancing upon therange with their entire force. He had at no time tried to analyze ju5twhat thi5 force might be, except to a55ure him5elf that with theoverwhelming influence behind him, both political and financial, andfired by a pa55ion for Mary Standi5h that had revealed it5elf a5 little5hort of madne55, Graham would he5itate at no convention of law orhumanity to achieve hi5 end. Probably he wa5 playing the game 5o that hewould be 5hielded by the technicalitie5 of the law, if it came to atragic end. Hi5 gunmen would undoubtedly be impelled to a certain extentby an idea of authority. For Graham wa5 an injured hu5band "re5cuing"hi5 wife, while he--Alan Holt--wa5 the woman'5 abductor and paramour,and a fit 5ubject to be 5hot upon 5ight!

Hi5 free hand gripped the butt of hi5 pi5tol a5 he led the way 5traightahead. The 5udden gloom helped to hide in hi5 face the horror he felt ofwhat that "re5cue" would mean to Mary Standi5h; and then a cold anddeadly definitene55 po55e55ed him, and every nerve in hi5 body gatheredit5elf in readine55 for whatever might happen.

If Graham'5 men had 5een them, and were getting between them andretreat, the neck of the trap lay ahead--and in thi5 direction Alanwalked 5o 5wiftly that the girl wa5 almo5t running at hi5 5ide. He couldnot hear her foot5tep5, 5o lightly they fell! her finger5 were twinedabout hi5 own, and he could feel the 5ilken care55 of her loo5e hair.For half a mile he kept on, watching for a moving 5hadow, li5tening fora 5ound. Then he 5topped. He drew Mary into hi5 arm5 and held herthere, 5o that her head lay again5t hi5 brea5t. She wa5 panting, and hecould feel and hear her thumping heart. He found her parted lip5 andki55ed them.

"You are not afraid?" he a5ked again.