sat silent, toying with untasted food, out of respect to this stranger guest.  And he, with shoulders so abnormally broad as to appear deformed, clad in sober Puritan garb, ate serenely on, unconscious of her glances, making use of both his huge hands in the operation, his little gimlet eyes twinkling greedily, his head, oddly resembling a cone, blazing like a fire whenever a ray of sun chanced to fall across it.  I noticed he occasionally stole shy glances at her, nor could I wonder, for, in spite of fatigue and exposure, Madame remained a winsome sight, to do the heart of any man good to look upon.

“The Lord God of Hosts be praised; ay! with harps, cymbals, and instruments of many strings, will I give praise unto His holy name,” he exclaimed fervently, wiping his wide mouth upon his sleeve, while casting a look of regret over the debris in his front.  “Once again hath He abundantly supplied His elect with that which upbuildeth and giveth strength to the flesh.  Now my bodily requirements have been duly attended to, it behooves me to minister likewise unto the spiritual, and then seek repose.  Friends, will you not both join with me at the throne of grace?  It hath been said that I possess much unction in prayer.”

“No,” I answered, not unwilling to be left alone with Eloise; “you are welcome to put up petitions in our behalf, but this lady is not of your faith, while as for myself, I have known little about such matters since childhood.  One thing, however,—­if you propose making use of that bull voice of yours, I advise that you select the farther extremity of the island for the scene of your devotions, lest you arouse the Chevalier.”

He cast upon me a glance not altogether pleasant, but tramped off through the bushes without reply, and for several moments we heard the sturdy rise and fall of his earnest supplications, frequently interspersed with hearty groans, as of one in all the agony of deep remorse.

“’Tis an odd fish we’ve hooked out of the stream,” I said, turning my head toward the dismal sounds.  “Yet he has strong arms, and may be of considerable use, if he will consent to voyage with us.”

“I scarcely know what to make of the man,” Madame admitted candidly.  “He is unlike any I have ever met.  Yet I think he may prove honest and of good heart, although his exterior is far from attractive.”

“And his appetite hardly suggestive of economy,” I added.

The bright look I always loved to see leaped into her clear eyes.

“Have you faith his labor will offset his eating?” she replied, laughing.

“Possibly not; yet it is not labor alone I would select him for.  We may have to fight before we attain a place of safety.  For that purpose I would rank this fellow highly.  Never yet have I met a red-headed man averse to a quarrel.  Faith! by that token, this one should be worth a company if we ever come to blows.”

“But he is a priest, you told me, a preacher of the Protestants.”