frame, with thick
gray hair, and a beard cut roughly to a point. The face, brown, thin,
and bony, was unduly emphasized by a Roman nose, too large for the other
features. But the face, as a whole, impressed the two people now
regarding it as almost handsome. He was clad in a dark gray suit, and a
soft felt hat lay upon the seat beside him.

"How long has he been here, do you think?" asked Elinor, in a low voice.

"A day or two, I should say. His clothes are a little damp, and there
are pine-needles on his shoulders and on his head."

"But how dreadfully sudden it must have come! Not a change in his
position, or in his expression, even."

"An ideal death," said Pats. "I have helped bury a good many men this
year, both friends and enemies, but very few went off as comfortably as
this."

He took out his watch, seemed to hesitate a moment, then said,
reluctantly:

"This is bad for us, you know, finding him dead this way."

"Why?"

"It means there is no boat to get away with."

A look of alarm came into her face.

"We may as well face the situation," he continued, looking off over the
water. "This man lived here alone, as we know from what we have seen in
his house. And he evidently selected this place, not wishing to be
disturbed. We are at the end of a bay at least ten miles deep, with no
settlement in sight. There is nothing whatever to bring a visitor in
here. The traffic of the gulf is away out there, perhaps thirty miles
from here."

She made no reply. Venturing to glance at her face, he saw there were no
signs of anger, only a look of anxiety.

"I will tell you just what I think, Miss Marshall, and you can act
accordingly. I shall, of course, do whatever you wish. But, as nearly as
I can judge, we are prisoners until we can get away by tramping through
the wilderness."

He indicated, with a gesture, the broad current at their feet, washing
the western edge of the point. "That river we can never cross without a
boat, or a raft; and in that direction--I don't know how many miles
away--is Boyd's Island. In the other direction, to the east, there is
nothing but wilderness for an indefinite distance. That is, I think so.
Now, if you prefer, I will go up this bank of the river at once, tie
some logs together and try for a passage; then push on as fast as
possible for our place, or the nearest settlement, and come back for
you. Or, I will stay until we can go on together. Whatever you decide
shall be done."