ned bitterly, would have spared her all this knowledge.

"But why," she said, with knitted brows, "why, if you knew it was so
precious and so harmless--why did you fire upon it?"

"Because," he said almost fiercely, turning upon her, "because you
SCREAMED, and THEN I KNEW IT HAD FRIGHTENED YOU!" He stopped instantly
as she momentarily recoiled from him, but the very brusqueness of his
action had dislodged a tear from his dark eyes that fell warm on the
back of her hand, and seemed to blot out the indignity. "Listen, Miss,"
he went on hurriedly, as if to cover up his momentary unmanliness.
"I knew the bear was missing to-night, and when I heard the horses
scurrying about I reckoned what was up. I knew no harm could come to
you, for the horses were unharnessed and away from the wagon. I pelted
down that trail ahead of them all like grim death, calkilatin' to get
there before the bear; they wouldn't have understood me; I was too high
up to call to the creature when he did come out, and I kinder hoped
you wouldn't see him. Even when he turned towards the wagon, I knew it
wasn't YOU he was after, but suthin' else, and I kinder hoped, Miss,
that you, being different and quicker-minded than the rest, would see
it too. All the while them folks were yellin' behind me to fire--as if
I didn't know my work. I was half-way down--and then you screamed! And
then I forgot everything,--everything but standing clear of hitting
you,--and I fired. I was that savage that I wanted to believe that he'd
gone mad, and would have touched you, till I got down there and found
the honey-pot lying alongside of him. But there,--it's all over now!
I wouldn't have let on a word to you only I couldn't bear to take YOUR
THANKS for it, and I couldn't bear to have you thinking me a brute
for dodgin' them." He stopped, walked to the fire, leaned against the
chimney under the shallow pretext of kicking the dull embers into
a blaze, which, however, had only the effect of revealing his two
glistening eyes as he turned back again and came towards her. "Well,"
he said, with an ineffectual laugh, "it's all over now, it's all in the
day's work, I reckon,--and now, Miss, if you're ready, and will just
fix yourself your own way so as to ride easy, I'll carry you down." And
slightly bending his strong figure, he dropped on one knee beside her
with extended arms.

Now it is one thing to be carried up a hill in temperate, unconscious
blood and practical business fash