his back in the light of the camp. Before Philip could recover himself
Jeanne's startled guards were upon him. Flung back, he still possessed
his pistol, and pulled the trigger blindly. The report was muffled and
sickening. At the same moment a heavy blow fell upon his head, and a
furious weight crushed him back to the ground. He dropped his revolver.
His brain reeled; his muscles relaxed. He felt his assailant's fingers
at his throat, and their menace brought back every ounce of fighting
strength in his body. For a moment he lay still, his eyes closed, the
warm blood flowing over his face. He had worked this game once before,
years ago. He even thought of that time now, as he lay upon his back.
It had worked then, and it worked now. The choking fingers at his
throat loosened; the weight lifted itself a little from his chest. The
lone guard thought that he was unconscious, and Jeanne, who had
staggered to her feet, thought that he was dead.

It was her cry, terrible, filled with agony and despair, that urged him
into action an instant too soon. His foe was still partly on his guard,
rising with a caution born of more than one wilderness episode, when
with a quick movement Philip closed with him. Locked in a deadly grip,
they rolled upon the ground; and, with a feeling of despair which had
never entered into his soul before, the terrible truth came to Philip
that the old strength was gone from his arms and that with each added
exertion he was growing weaker. For a moment he saw Jeanne. She stood
almost above them, her hands clutched at her breast. And as he looked,
she suddenly turned and ran to the fire. An instant more and she was
back, a red-hot brand in her hand. Philip saw it flash close to his
eyes, felt the heat of it; and then a scream, animal-like in its
ferocity and pain, burst from the lips of his antagonist. The man
reeled backward, clutching at his thick neck, where Jeanne had thrust
the burning stick. Philip rose to his knees. His fist shot out like
lightning against the other's jaw, and the second guard fell back in a
limp heap.

Even as the blow fell, a loud shout came from close back in the forest,
followed by the crashing of many feet tearing through the underbrush.

XI

Philip and Jeanne stood face to face in the firelight.

"Quick!" he cried. "We must hurry!"

He bent over to pick up his revolver from the ground. His movement was
followed by a low sob of pain. Jeanne was swaying as thou