The dead! Could it be that she, the girl in the picture....?
He shook himself, set his lips tight to get the thought away from him.

And the woman--the woman in the coach, the woman who had left in her seat this picture that was growing in his heart like a living thing--who was she?
Was her quest one of vengeance--of retribution?
Was Tavish the man she was seeking?
Up in that mountain valley--where the girl had stood on that rock--had his name been Michael O'Doone?
He was trembling when he went on, deeper into the forest.

But of his determination there was no longer a doubt.

He would say nothing to Father Roland until Tavish had seen the picture.
Until now he had forgotten Baree.

In the disquieting fear with which his thoughts were weighted he had lost hold of the fact that in his hand he still carried the slightly curved and solidly frozen substance of a fish.