come back to his straining ears mingling
with the cries of the wolves that still follow on his trail.

The figure pauses, looks round, then continues her slow-paced movement;
but she does not answer. Still he sees her, she is there. And now he
knows that he must come up with her. He toils on.

He talks to himself, muttering as he goes; and a train of incoherent
thought passes through his brain. He tells himself that the journey is
over. She has brought him to the home which shall be theirs. The heart
of the wild, where the mountains rise sheer to the sky above; where no
man comes, where a dark peace reigns, and has ever reigned. Where snow
is not, and summer and winter are alike. It is the fitting home for a
tortured spirit.

The figure no longer moves now, but turns and faces him. The sweet
familiar features seem to bend toward him out of the deep shadows and
the grim surroundings. He shakes back his shaggy hair; he holds himself
proudly erect as he approaches the woman he loves. He summons all his
failing strength. His knees forget their weariness, his torn feet are
unconscious of their injuries. The haunting cry of the wolves comes down
to him from behind, but he heeds only the beckoning phantom.

Every trailing stride lessens the distance between them.

He sees her stoop as though to adjust her moccasin. She moves again, but
she does not stand erect. A half-articulate cry breaks from him. She is
coming to him. Now he sees that her head is bowed as though in deep
humility. A cry breaks from him, then all is silent. Suddenly she lifts
her head and her tall figure stands erect, gazing upon him with sombre,
steady eyes, eyes which seem to have caught something of the dull hue of
that awesome gorge. His heart leaps with joy. How tall she is; what a
superb form. She moves toward him, her body swaying gracefully to the
rhythm of her gait. Her arms are stretched out appealingly; and he sees
that she is clad in the rich furs of the North, clad as though for a
journey. He tells himself, with a thrill of mad desire, that she is
ready for their journey, the journey of life they will travel together.

Now the wolf cries come louder and more fierce. If he is deaf to them
the woman is not. Her head turns sharply and a fierce light leaps into
her eyes. The change is lost upon the man. He stretches out his arms and
staggers towards her. They come together, and he feels the soft touch of
her fur robes upon his face and hands. H