tear open the clothes, and feel
if the heart was beating, but for the moment he shrank back in horror,
half paralysed with the dread of learning the truth.

It was but momentary, and then he mastered the coward feeling, uttering
a gasp of relief, for there was a faint throbbing against the hand he
thrust into the poor fellow's breast.

"Alive! I am in time," he muttered, and he continued his examination in
the dark, expecting to feel blood or some trace of a wound.

But, as far as he could make out, there was nothing of the kind, though
he felt that his cousin must have been attacked; so, after laying the
sufferer in a more comfortable position, he felt for the matches on the
rough shelf, struck one, saw that the lamp stood there unused, and the
next minute he had a light and went down upon one knee to continue his
examination.

At the first glance he saw that Bel's throat was discoloured, and there
were ample signs of his having been engaged in some terrible struggle,
but that was all. No, not all; the poor fellow was like ice, and quite
insensible.

Dallas's brain was in a whirl, but he was able to act sensibly under the
circumstances. He caught up rugs and blankets, and covered the sufferer
warmly. Then, going to the open door, he dragged in the sledge, and
closed and secured the entrance after a fashion.

His next effort was to get a good fire blazing to alter the temperature
of the hut; and when this was done he went to the spirit-flask kept on
the shelf for emergencies, and trickled a few drops between the poor
fellow's lips.

As he worked at this he tried hard to puzzle out what had happened.

His first thoughts had been in the direction of attack and robbery. But
there was the fastened door. It was not likely that Abel, after being
half strangled and hurled down, could have fastened up the door again
from the inside; he would sooner have left it open in the hope of one of
their neighbours passing by and rendering help. And yet there was the
bed dragged away, the board removed, and the earth torn up.

He crossed to the place.

There was no doubt about it; the object of the attack must have been
robbery, for the bag of gold was gone.

He held his hand to his brow and stared about wildly.

Ah! A fresh thought. The dog! Hungry! Mad! It must have attacked
and seized Abel by the throat. That would account for its lacerated
state and the terrible struggle.

There was evidence, too, just ac