.

Opposite the rock where Pierre and Jeanne were to have met him he
stopped and stood up in the canoe. The wind had dispelled the smoke
shadow. Between him and the distant ship lay an unclouded sea.
Two-thirds of the distance to the vessel he made out the larger canoe,
rising and falling with the smooth undulations of the tide. He sank
upon his knees again and unstrapped Pierre's rifle. There was a
cartridge in the chamber. He made sure that the magazine was loaded,
and resumed his paddling.

His mind worked rapidly. Within half an hour, if he desired, he could
overtake the other canoe. And what then? There were three to one, if it
came to a fight--and how could he rescue Jeanne without a fight? His
blood was pounding eagerly, almost with pleasure at the promise of what
was ahead of him, and he laughed softly to himself as he thought of the
odds.

The ship loomed nearer; the canoe vanished behind it. A brief stop, a
dozen words of explanation, and Philip knew that he could secure
assistance from the vessel. After all, would that not be the wisest
course for him to pursue? For a moment he hesitated, and paddled more
slowly. If others joined with him in the rescue of Jeanne what excuse
could he offer for not bringing her back to Churchill? What would
happen if he returned with her? Why had Pierre roused himself from
something that was almost death to entreat him to take Jeanne to Fort
o' God?

At the thought of Fort o' God a new strength leaped into his arms and
body, urging him on to cope with the situation single-handed. If he
rescued Jeanne alone, and went on with her as he had promised Pierre,
many things that were puzzling him would be explained. It occurred to
him again that Jeanne and Pierre might be the key to the mysterious
plot that promised to crash out the life of the enterprise he had
founded in the north. He found reasons for this belief. Why had Lord
Fitzhugh's name had such a startling effect upon Pierre? Why was one of
his assailants a man fresh from the London ship that had borne Eileen
Brokaw and her father as passengers? He felt that Jeanne could explain
these things, as well as her brother. She could explain the strange
scene on the pier, when for a moment she had stood crushed and startled
before Eileen. She could clear up the mystery of Gregson's sketch, for
if there were two Eileen Brokaws, Jeanne would know. With these
arguments he convinced himself that he should go on alone. Yet, behind
t