nt
a slumberous atmosphere to the whole place.

Jessie laughed. To her the thought seemed ridiculous.

"If the stories are true I guess it would be a mighty brave coyote
would come near you--dead," she said. Then of a sudden the happy light
died out of her eyes. "But--but--you nearly did--pass over. The Bell
River neches nearly had your scalp."

It was the man's turn to laugh. He shook his head,

"Don't worry a thing that way," he said.

But the girl's smile did not so readily return. She eyed the ominous
bandage which was still about his neck, and there was plain anxiety in
her pretty eyes.

"How was it?" she demanded. "A--a chance shot?"

"A chance shot."

The man's reply came with a brevity that left Jessie wondering. It
left her feeling that he had no desire to talk of his injury. And so
it left her silent.

They wandered on, and finally it was Kars who broke the silence.

"Say, I guess you feel I ought to hand you the story of it," he said.
"I don't mean you're asking out of curiosity. But we folks of the
north feel we need to hold up no secrets which could help others to
steer a safe course in a land of danger. But this thing don't need
talking about--yet. I got this getting too near around Bell River.
Well, I'm going to get nearer still." He smiled. "Guess I've been hit
on one cheek, and I'm going to turn 'em the other. It'll be a dandy
play seeing 'em try to hit that."

"You're--you're going to Bell River--deliberately?"

The girl's tone was full of real alarm.

"Sure. Next year."

"But--oh, it's mad--it's craziness."

The terror of Bell River was deep in Jessie's heart. Hers was the
terror of the helpless who have heard in the far distance but seen the
results. Kars understood. He laughed easily.

"Sure it's--crazy. But," his smiling eyes were gazing down into the
anxious depths the girl had turned up to him, "every feller who makes
the northern trail needs to be crazy some way. Guess I'm no saner than
the others. It's a craziness that sets me chasing down Nature's
secrets till I locate 'em right. Sometimes they aren't just Nature's
secrets. Anyway it don't figger a heap. Just now I'm curious to know
why some feller, who hadn't a thing to do with Nature beyond his shape,
fancied handing it me plumb in the neck. Maybe it'll take me all next
summer finding it out. But I'm going to find it out--sure."

The easy confidence of the man robbed his intention of half its