"I think it extremely unlikely that they would believe it，" he replied. "But even if they believed every word of it they would not cease to believe in Mr. Courtland's bravery. What is a hecatomb of cannibals compared to the discovery of the meteor-bird，--that is， in the eyes of the general public， or for that matter， the Nonconformist public who turn up their eyes at the suggestion of a massacre of natives of an island that is almost as unknown to them as Ireland itself？ The people of this country of ours respect bravery more than any other virtue， and I'm not altogether sure that they are generally astray in this matter. The Christian faith is founded upon bravery， and the same faith has inspired countless acts of brave men and women.
Oh， no！ Mr. Courtland will not suffer from the attacks of these foolish persons."
"I saw him this--a short time ago，" said Phyllis， "and he told me that his publishers were delighted at the result of the agitation which that newspaper tried to get up against him： they said it was selling his book."
"I saw you talking with Mr. Courtland after the first production of 'Cagliostro.' I envied you--and him，" said Mr. Holland. "I wonder if he was really placed in the unfortunate position of having to massacre a horde of cannibals."
Phyllis laughed， and forthwith told him the truth as it had been communicated to her regarding the dynamite outrage upon the unsuspecting natives， and George Holland was greatly amused at the story--much more highly amused， it would have occurred to some persons， than a clergyman should be at such a recital. But then George Holland was not as other clergymen. He was quite devoid of the affectations of his cloth. He did not consider it necessary to put the tips of his fingers together and show more of the white portion of the pupil of his eye than a straight-forward gaze entailed， when people talked of the overflowing of a river in China and the consequent drowning of a quarter of a million of men--that is to say， Chinamen.
He was no more affected by such tidings than the Emperor of China. He was infinitely more affected when he read of the cold-blooded massacre by David， sometime King of Israel， in order to purchase for himself a woman for whom he had conceived a liking. He knew that the majority of clergymen considered it to be their duty to preach funeral service over the drowned Chinamen， and to impress upon their hearers that David was a man after God's own heart. He also knew that the majority of clergymen preached annual sermons in aid of the missionaries who did some yachting in the South Seas， and had brought into existence the sin of nakedness among the natives， in order that they might be the more easily swindled by those Christians who sold them shoddy for calico， to purge them of their sin. George Holland could not see his way to follow the example of his brethren in this respect. He did not think that the Day of Judgment would witness the inauguration of any great scheme of eternal punishment for the heathen in his blindness who had been naked all his life without knowing it. He knew that the heathen in his blindness had curiosity enough at his command to inquire of the missionaries if the white beachcomber and his bottle of square-face represented the product of centuries of Christianity， and if they did not， why the missionaries did not evangelize the beachcomber and his bottle off the face of the earth.
Phyllis， being well aware of George Holland's views， was not shocked at the sound of his laughter at the true story of Mr. Courtland's dynamite outrage at New Guinea； but all the same， she was glad that she was not going to marry him.
He had not， however， been altogether uninteresting in her eyes while sitting beside her， and that was something to record in his favor.
She drove home early， and running upstairs found herself face to face with Ella Linton.
第一章CHAPTER XX. I HAVE HEARD THE PASSIONATE GALLOP OF THOSE FIERY-FOOTED STEEDS.
Ella was standing waiting for her outside the open door of a drawing room. She was wearing a lovely evening dress with a corsage of white lace covered with diamonds and sapphires. Her hair--it was of the darkest brown and was very plentiful--was also glittering with gems under the light that flowed through the open door. The same light showed Phyllis how deathly white Ella's face and neck were--how tumultuously her bosom was heaving. She had one hand pressed to her side， and the other on the handle of the door when Phyllis met her； and in that attitude， even though the expanse of white flesh， with its gracious curves that forced out her bodice， had no roseate tint upon it， she looked lovely--intoxicating to the eyes of men.
Phyllis was certainly surprised. The hour was scarcely eleven， but Ella had given no notice of her intention to pay a visit to her friend that night. When the girl raised her hands with a laugh of admiration， of pleasure， Ella grasped her hands with both of her own and drew her into the drawing room without a word. Then with a cry，--a laugh and a cry mingled，--she literally flung herself into the girl's arms and kissed her convulsively a dozen times， on the throat， on the neck， on the shoulder whereon her head lay.
"My darling， my darling！" she cried，--and now and again her voice was broken with a sob，--"my darling Phyllis！ I have come to you--I want to be with you--to be near you--to keep my arms about you， so tightly that no one can pluck us asunder. Oh， you don't know what men are--they would pluck us asunder if they could； but they can't now. With you I am safe--that is why I have come to you， my Phyllis. I want to be safe--indeed I do！"
She had now raised her head from Phyllis' shoulder， but was still holding her tightly--a hand on each of her arms， and her face within an inch of the girl's face.
Phyllis kissed her softly on each cheek.
"My poor dear！" she said， "what can have happened to you？"
