Ashman ceased in his walk, for he saw, in spite of his absorbing reverie, that he had passed above the uppermost house of the village.  The condition under which he was allowed to stay in peace, even for a brief time, was that he should not wander beyond the limits of the town.

It was useless to excite resentment without reason, and he was about to turn and retrace his steps, when a slight rustling of the undergrowth, which marked the boundary of the forest on the south caused him to turn his head, stop, and hold his rifle ready for danger.

His old habit of caution came back the instant peril seemed to threaten.

While he debated whether to advance and force the stranger to reveal himself, the outlines of a form were distinguished and a slight figure stepped forth in the moonlight.

Ashman’s heart seemed to stop beating and life itself hang in suspense, when he recognized the very being that had taken such full possession of his thoughts.

Ay, Ariel, daughter of King Haffgo, stood before him.

For a moment, neither spoke or moved.  It was not strange perhaps that she was the first to recover the power of utterance.

Advancing timidly, she said in a tremulous voice and with an accent just broken enough to make it all the sweeter: 

“You are in danger and I could not help coming to tell you.”

“Heaven bless you!” he exclaimed, taking a step toward her, but still observing a respectful distance.  “You have braved danger yourself to give me the warning.”

“I left my home and waited for a chance to speak to you; I dared not go to the door of Ziffak’s house for I would have been seen.  Then, while I was wondering what to do, I saw you come forth and walk toward the river.  I thought you would go to the end of the village, so I hurried on and hid among the bushes until I could speak to you without any one seeing me.”

Ashman’s head was in a swirl.  He was trembling in every limb, while she seemed to be devoid of any agitation whatever.

“Your father King Haffgo was angry this afternoon, because I looked at you; but,” added the lover, “I could not have helped doing it, if I knew my life would have paid for the act.  Ziffak told me about you, so you see I did not feel that you were a stranger, even though I then saw you for the first time and never heard the music of your voice until now.”

“The king is angry,” said she, withdrawing a little as the happy fellow took another step; “he says you shall be killed, but Ziffak persuaded him to say your life should be spared if you went away to-night.”

Ashman felt another delicious thrill as he reflected that if such were the understanding, there would seem to be no cause for the lovely Ariel to come thus far out of her way to repeat what Ziffak was sure to explain before the departure of the explorers.

Ah, it must have been because of her interest in him that she had sought this perilous stolen interview.