did not greatly
trouble me, my confidence fortified by the pistol concealed in my
waist. No doubt he was already asleep yonder in the shadows, but this
night was only the beginning. The opposition he had met would prove a
spur to endeavor, and the desire to win me a stronger incentive than
ever. He may have been indifferent, careless before--deeming me easy
prey--but from now on I meant to lead him a merry chase.

I cannot recall any feeling of regret, any conception of evil, as my
mind settled upon this course of action. There was no reason why I
should spare him. He had deliberately lied, and deceived me. His
marriage to me was an act of treachery; the only intent to rob me of
my just inheritance. There seemed to me no other way left in which I
could hope to overcome his power. I was a woman, and must fight with
the weapons of my sex; mine was the strength of the weak.

How dark and still it was, for the fires had died down into beds of
red ash, and only the stars glimmered along the surface of the river.
The only movement I could perceive was the dim outline of a man's
figure moving about near the canoes--a watchman on guard, but whether
red or white I could not determine. It was already late, well into the
night, and the forest about us was black and still. Slowly my head
sank to the blanket, and I slept.

CHAPTER X

WE ATTAIN THE OTTAWA

It was not yet dawn when the stir in the camp aroused me, and the sun
had not risen above the bluffs, or begun to tinge the river, when our
laden canoes left the bank and commenced their day's journey up
stream. De Artigny was off in advance, departing indeed before I had
left the tent, the chief seated beside him. I caught but a glimpse of
them as the canoe rounded the bend in the bank, and slipped silently
away through the lingering shadows, yet it gladdened me to know his
eyes were turned toward my tent until they vanished.

Cassion approached me with excessive politeness, waiting until the
last moment, and escorting me to the shore. It made me smile to
observe his pretense at gallantry, yet I accepted his assistance down
the bank with all possible graciousness, speaking to him so pleasantly
as to bring a look of surprise to his face. 'Twas plain to be seen
that my conduct puzzled him, for although he sought to appear at ease,
his words faltered sadly. He, who had so long considered himself as
past master of the art of love-making had most unexpectedly
encountere