king in my throat,
yet I let him grasp my hand. Once I raised my eyes to his, but lowered
them instantly in strange confusion. Here was a man I did not
understand, whose real motives I could not fathom. His protest had not
yet penetrated my soul, and I felt toward him, an odd mixture of
respect and anger. He released my hand, and turned away, and I stood
motionless as he crossed the open space between the trees. At the edge
of the bluff he paused and glanced about, lifting his hat in gesture
of farewell. I do not think I moved, or made response, and an instant
later he was gone.

I know not how long I stood there staring into vacancy, haunted by
regret, tortured by fear and humiliation. Slowly all else crystallized
into indignation, with a fierce resolve to fight on alone. The sun
sank, and all about me clung the purple twilight, yet I did not move.
He had been unjust, unfair; his simple code of the woods could not be
made to apply to such a situation as this of mine.

I had a right to use the weapons of womanhood in my own defense. Ay!
and I would; and whether voluntary, or not this spotless knight of the
wilderness should be my ally. Let him pretend to high virtue, yet
surely under that outer armor of resolve there beat the heart of a
man. He meant all he said; he was honest in it; not once did I doubt
that, yet his apparent indifference, his seeming willingness to leave
me to fate, and Cassion, was all assumed.

That one glimpse I had into his eyes told me this in a sudden
revelation stronger than any words. I smiled at the recollection, the
sense of power reawakening in my heart. He did care--no less than I
cared, and this knowledge gave me the weapon I needed, and the courage
to use it.

I heard no sound of warning, yet as I turned to retrace my way to the
camp below, I became suddenly aware of the presence of Cassion.

CHAPTER XIII

WE REACH THE LAKE

He was between me and the deer trail, and enough of daylight yet
remained to enable me to perceive the man clearly. How long he may
have been there observing me I could not know, but when I first saw
him he was bent forward, apparently deeply interested in some sudden
discovery upon the ground at his feet.

"You thought me long in returning, Monsieur?" I asked carelessly, and
taking a step toward him. "It was cooler up here, and the view from
the bluff yonder beautiful. You may gain some conception of it still,
if you care."

He lifted his head w