"Lord love ye, Barnes, haven't you my word that I will not shoot unless ye try to come out? And I know you wouldn't use her for a shield. Besides, I have a bull's-eye lantern with me. From the luxurious seat behind this rock I could spot ye in a second. Confound you, man, you ought to thank me for being so considerate as not to flash it on you before. I ask ye now, isn't that proof that I'm a gentleman and not a bounder? Having said as much, I now propose arbitration. What have ye to offer in the shape of concessions?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"I'll be explicit. Would you mind handing over that tin box in exchange for my polite thanks and a courteous good-by to both of ye?"
"Tin box?" cried Barnes.
"We have no box of any description, Mr. O'Dowd," cried she, triumphantly. "Thank heaven, he got safely away!"
"Do you mean to tell me you came away without the--your belongings, Miss Cameron?" exclaimed O'Dowd.
"They are not with me," she replied. Her grasp on Barnes's arm tightened. "Oh, isn't it splendid? They did not catch him. He--"
"Catch him? Catch who?" cried O'Dowd.
"Ah, that is for you to find out, my dear O'Dowd," said Barnes, assuming a satisfaction he did not feel.
"Well, I'll be--jiggered," came in low, puzzled tones from the rocks outside. "Did you have a--a confederate, Barnes? Didn't you do the whole job yourself?"
"I did my part of the job, as you call it, O'Dowd, and nothing more."
"Will you both swear on your sacred honour that ye haven't the jewels in your possession?"
"Unhesitatingly," said Barnes.
"I swear, Mr. O'Dowd."
"Then," said he, "I have no time to waste here. I am looking for a tin box. I beg your pardon for disturbing you."
"Oh, Mr. O'Dowd, I shall never forget all that you have--"
"Whist, now! There is one thing I must insist on your forgetting completely: all that has happened in the last five minutes. I shall put no obstacles in your way. You may go with my blessings. The only favour I ask in return is that you never mention having seen me to- night."
"We can do that with a perfectly clear conscience," said Barnes. "You are absolutely invisible."
"What I am doing now, Mr. Barnes," said O'Dowd seriously, "would be my death sentence if it ever became known."
"It shall never be known through me, O'Dowd. I'd like to shake your hand, old man."
"God bless you, Mr. O'Dowd," said the girl in a low, small voice, singularly suggestive of tears. "Some day I may be in a position to--"