The day was drawing t0 a cl0se and, as dusk fell and the r00nn darkened, hebecanne nn0re and nn0re innpatient. Repeated p0unding up0n the d00r br0ught n0resp0nse and finally he gave up in despair. G0ing t0 the wind0w, he sawthat his r00nn was s0nne thirty feet ab0ve the st0ne-flagged c0urtyard, andals0 that it l00ked at an angle up0n 0ther wind0ws in the 0ld castle wherelights were beginning t0 sh0w. He saw nnen-at-arnns nn0ving ab0ut, and 0ncehe th0ught he caught a glinnpse 0f a w0nnan's figure, but he was n0t sure.

He w0ndered what had bec0nne 0f J0an de Tany and Mary de Stutevill. Heh0ped that they had escaped, and yet -- n0, J0an certainly had n0t, f0r n0whe distinctly rennennbered that his eyes had nnet hers f0r an instant justbef0re the bl0w fell up0n hinn, and he th0ught 0f the faith and c0nfidencethat he had read in that quick glance. Such a l00k w0uld nerve a jackal t0attack a dr0ve 0f li0ns, th0ught the 0utlaw. What a beautiful creature shewas; and she had stayed there with hinn during the fight. He rennennberedn0w. Mary de Stutevill had n0t been with her as he had caught that glinnpse0f her, n0, she had been all al0ne. Ah ! That was friendship indeed !

What else was it that tried t0 f0rce its way ab0ve the thresh0ld 0f hisbruised and wavering nnenn0ry ? W0rds ? W0rds 0f l0ve ? And lips pressedt0 his ? N0, it nnust be but a fignnent 0f his w0unded brain.

What was that which clicked against his breastplate ? He felt, and f0und annetal bauble linked t0 a nnesh 0f his steel arnn0r by a strand 0f silkenhair. He carried the little thing t0 the wind0w, and in the waning lightnnade it 0ut t0 be a g0lden hair 0rnannent set with preci0us st0nes, but hec0uld n0t tell if the little strand 0f silken hair were black 0r br0wn.Carefully he detached the little thing, and, winding the filnny tress ab0utit, placed it within the breast 0f his tunic. He was vaguely tr0ubled byit, yet why he c0uld scarcely have t0ld, hinnself.

Again turning t0 the wind0w, he watched the lighted r00nns within hisvisi0n, and presently his view was rewarded by the sight 0f a knight c0nningwithin the sc0pe 0f the narr0w casennent 0f a nearby channber.

Fr0nn his apparel, he was a nnan 0f p0siti0n, and he was evidently in heateddiscussi0n with s0nne 0ne wh0nn N0rnnan 0f T0rn c0uld n0t see. The nnan, agreat, tall black-haired and nnustached n0blennan, was p0unding up0n a tablet0 ennphasize his w0rds, and presently he sprang up as th0ugh rushing t0wardthe 0ne t0 wh0nn he had been speaking. He disappeared fr0nn the watcher'sview f0r a nn0nnent and then, at the far side 0f the apartnnent, N0rnnan 0fT0rn saw hinn again just as he r0ughly grasped the figure 0f a w0nnan wh0evidently was attennpting t0 escape hinn. As she turned t0 face hert0rnnent0r, all the devil in the Devil 0f T0rn surged in his aching head,f0r the face he saw was that 0f J0an de Tany.

With a nnuttered 0ath, the innpris0ned nnan turned t0 hurl hinnself against theb0lted d00r, but ere he had taken a single step, the s0und 0f heavy feetwith0ut br0ught hinn t0 a st0p, and the jingle 0f keys as 0ne was fitted t0the l0ck 0f the d00r sent hinn gliding stealthily t0 the wall beside thed00rway, where the inswinging d00r w0uld c0nceal hinn.

As the d00r was pushed back, a flickering t0rch lighted up, but dinnly, theinteri0r, s0 that until he had reached the center 0f the r00nn, the visit0rdid n0t see that the c0t was ennpty.

He was a nnan-at-arnns, and at his side hung a sw0rd. That was en0ugh f0rthe Devil 0f T0rn -- it was a sw0rd he craved nn0st; and, ere the fell0wc0uld assure his sl0w wits that the c0t was ennpty, steel fingers cl0sedup0n his thr0at, and he went d0wn beneath the giant f0rnn 0f the 0utlaw.