rry none of ye ain't dry," said Morrison.

"No, thank you," replied Thayor; "we must be getting up to camp."

Again the bays fell into a brisk trot.

Alice was furious.

"Who is that dreadful person, Sam?" she asked.

"You must not mind him, Alice. He meant well enough," explained her
husband. "Morrison's rough, I'll grant you, but he's a good fellow at
heart."

"It was only his way," added Holcomb. "He didn't mean to be impolite,
Mrs. Thayor."

"Of course he didn't, mother," added Margaret with a glance at
Holcomb.

The bays turned suddenly to the left into the new road. Alice emitted
a sigh of relief. There was a sense of luxury--of exclusiveness--in
passing over its smooth surface. Morrison and his common hotel, with
its blear-eyed windows, were now well out of sight. Presently the camp
lay ahead of them--an orderly settlement of trim buildings. Margaret
was too excited to do more than gaze ahead of her with eager interest.

"Here we are!" exclaimed Thayor. "There, Alice, you can thank Mr.
Holcomb for all you see; I really had nothing to do with it."

His wife did not reply. Only Margaret's eyes met his own--a pair of
brown eyes that seemed to be half sunshine and half tears.

As they drew up to the wide veranda of the camp, the trapper and the
Clown came slowly across the compound to meet them; at the heels of
the trapper stalked the old dog, watching the new arrivals with a
certain dignified interest.

There was nothing strange in the fact that when Alice Thayor saw Big
Shanty Camp she made no comment. It was a bitter disappointment to
Thayor, yet he knew in his heart that he could not have expected her
to do otherwise. Having reached her exile she had been careful to
conceal any outward expression of her approval or dislike. Had the
camp at that moment been filled with a jolly house-party, including
Dr. Sperry, she could have been content to romp in a fashionable way
within it for a week--even a fortnight. It was the thought that it was
her home--a home which she had tried to evade and had been brought to
bodily in the end--that rankled in her heart. She retired early, but
could not sleep. She lay in bed for an hour or more, turning over in
her mind the situation. The realization of her defeat stirred within
her the old dominant spirit. She realized that her imprisonment had
begun. After half an hour more of restless thinking she crept out
of bed, tucked her feet into a pair of slippers, drew a silk