A
loose plank in the bridge floor rattled, and as she passed it freed
itself and he heard it strike the rocks faintly far below; but the figure
stole swiftly on, and he bent forward with a cry of warning on his lips,
and snatched away the light barricade that had been nailed across the
opening.
When he looked up, his words of rebuke, that had waited only for the
woman's security, died on his lips.
"Shirley!" he cried; and put forth both hands and lifted her to firm
ground.
A little sigh of relief broke from her. The bridge still swayed from her
weight; and the cables hummed like the wires of a harp; near at hand the
waterfall tumbled down through the mystical starlight.
"I did not know that dreams really came true," he said, with an awe in
his voice that the passing fear had left behind.
She began abruptly, not heeding his words.
"You must go away--at once--I came to tell you that you can not stay
here."
"But it is unfair to accept any warning from you! You are too generous,
too kind,"--he began.
"It is not generosity or kindness, but this danger that follows you--it
is an evil thing and it must not find you here.
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