"I'll ... I'll
scratch _his_ out, anyway, for what he did to Nisikoos!"
David stared at her. She was looking away from him, her eyes on the
break between the mountains, and he noticed how tense her slender body
had become and how tightly her hands were clenched.
"They won't dare to touch me or swear at me when you are there," she
added, with sublime faith.
She turned in time to catch the look in his face. Swiftly the excitement
faded out of her own. She touched his arm, hesitatingly.
"Wouldn't ... you want me ... to scratch out their eyes?" she asked.
He shook his head.
"It wouldn't do," he said. "We must be very careful. We mustn't let them
know you ran away. We must tell them you climbed up the mountain, and
got lost."
"I never get lost," she protested.
"But we must tell them that just the same," he insisted. "Will you?"
She nodded emphatically.
"And now, before we start, tell me why they haven't followed you?"
"Because I came over the mountain," she replied, pointing again toward
the break. "It's all rock, and Tara left no marks. They wouldn't think
we'd climb over the range. They've been looking for us in the other
valley if they have hunted for us at all. We were going to climb over
_that_ range, too.
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