eam to remain unending. He saw
the old fur fort no longer the uncouth shelter of two lonely lives,
but a home made beautiful by a presence such as he had never dreamed
of, a presence that shed beauty upon all that came under the spell of
its influence. He pictured the warmth of delight which must be the
man's who lived in such an atmosphere.

His muscles thrilled at the thought of what a man might do under such
an inspiration. To what might he not aspire? To what heights might he
not soar? Success must be his. No disaster could come--

The girl stirred in his arms. He distinctly felt the movement, and
looked down into her face with sudden apprehension. But his anxiety
was swiftly dispelled, and a tender smile at once replaced the look in
his dark eyes. No, she had not yet awakened, and so he was content.

But the incident had brought him realization. His arms were stiff and
cramped, and he must rest them. Strong man that he was he had been
wholly unaware of the distance he had carried her.

He gently laid her upon the grass and looked about him. Then it was
that wonder crept into his eyes. He was at the ford of the creek, more
than two miles from the camp, and on the hither bank, where the road
entered the water, a spring cart lay overturned and broken, with the
team of horses lying head down, buried beneath the turbulent waters as
they raced on down with the flood.

Now he understood the full meaning of her presence in the camp. His
quick eyes took in every detail, and at once her coming was explained.
He turned back in the direction whence he had come, and his mind flew
to the distance of the ford from the camp. She had bravely faced a
struggle over two miles of a trail quite unknown to her when the worst
storm he had ever known was at its height. His eyes came back to the
face of the unconscious girl in even greater admiration.

"Not only beautiful but----"

He turned away to the wreck, for there were still things he wished to
know. And as he glanced about him he became more fully aware of the
havoc of the storm. Even in the brilliant sunshine the whole prospect
looked woefully jaded. Everywhere the signs told their pitiful tale.
All along the river bank the torn and shattered pines drooped
dismally. Even as he stood there great tree trunks and limbs of trees
were washed down on the flood before his eyes. The banks were still
pouring with the drainings of the hills and adding their quota to the
swelling torre