nd from which none of us can hope to escape." The Duke was silent for
a few moments, and then added, with some hesitation: "Then, too, she is
quite a pagan; never saw a prayer-book, you know."

And so it came about, chiefly through The Duke's influence, I imagine,
that I was engaged by the Old Timer to go up to his ranch every week and
teach his daughter something of the elementaries of a lady's education.

My introduction was ominous of the many things I was to suffer of that
same young maiden before I had finished my course with her. The Old
Timer had given careful directions as to the trail that would lead me to
the canyon where he was to meet me. Up the Swan went the trail, winding
ever downward into deeper and narrower coulees and up to higher open
sunlit slopes, till suddenly it settled into a valley which began with
great width and narrowed to a canyon whose rocky sides were dressed out
with shrubs and trailing vines and wet with trickling rivulets from the
numerous springs that oozed and gushed from the black, glistening rocks.
This canyon was an eerie place of which ghostly tales were told from
the old Blackfeet times. And to this day no Blackfoot will dare to pass
through this black-walled, oozy, glistening canyon after the moon has
passed the western lip. But in the warm light of broad day the canyon
was a good enough place; cool and sweet, and I lingered through, waiting
for the Old Timer, who failed to appear till the shadows began to darken
its western black sides.

Out of the mouth of the canyon the trail climbed to a wide stretch of
prairie that swept up over soft hills to the left and down to the bright
gleaming waters of the Devil's Lake on the right. In the sunlight the
lake lay like a gem radiant with many colors, the far side black in the
shadow of the crowding pines, then in the middle deep, blue and purple,
and nearer, many shades of emerald that ran quite to the white, sandy
beach. Right in front stood the ranch buildings, upon a slight rising
ground and surrounded by a sturdy palisade of upright pointed poles.
This was the castle of the princess. I rode up to the open gate, then
turned and stood to look down upon the marvellous lake shining and
shimmering with its many radiant colors. Suddenly there was an awful
roar, my pony shot round upon his hind legs after his beastly cayuse
manner, deposited me sitting upon the ground and fled down the trail,
pursued by two huge dogs that brushed past me