tions.
Jess rose to her feet and stepped back. As she did so someone touched
her lightly on the arm, and whispered her name. Turning swiftly
around, she came face to face with the driver of the car who had
interviewed Captain Tobin outside the store that very morning.

"John!" It was all that she said, but the flush upon her face, and the
light of joy which leaped into her eyes were more expressive than many
words.

"How did you get here so soon?" the young man asked. "This is no place
for you, Jess. Let me take you back to the boat."

"No, no," was the low reply. "We must look after this poor man first.
Oh, do what you can for him at once."

For a few seconds the young man looked into the eyes of the girl before
him. The great longing of his heart was expressed in that look, and
the girl understood. She turned toward the injured man, and absently
watched his companions doing what they could for his welfare. Into her
heart stole a peace such as she had not known for days. The one she
loved was with her, and she knew that he loved her with all the
strength of his true manly nature. Forgotten for a time were Donaster
and her other persecutors. In this rough wilderness spot she felt
secure from their grasp, and with John Hampton near she was ready and
willing to defy the whole world.

The brief scene enacted between the young lovers was not noticed by the
men earnestly discussing what should be done with their battered
comrade. The accident alone so arrested and held their attention that
the thought of love-making at such a critical situation never once
occurred to them.

With Eben, however, it was different. He saw and understood far too
much for his peace of mind. In an instant he grasped the meaning of
the whispered words and the expression upon the faces of the lovers. A
feeling such as he had never before known leaped into his heart. He
forgot all about the injured man, and paid no attention to what was
being done with him. He could think only of himself, and how another
had come between him and the girl he loved. He knew John Hampton well,
and it came as a great surprise that he should be on such friendly
terms with Jess Randall.

In a few minutes the helpless man was lifted carefully from the ground,
and borne gently away on a rude stretcher which had been speedily
improvised by his comrades. Jess and John followed, talking with each
other, though so low that Eben could not understand wh