nd scolded most furiously at the intrusion of the
stranger in their domain. So funny did they appear that Jean was
compelled to laugh outright. She always enjoyed watching the tiny
creatures of the wild, especially the squirrels. She could get closer
to these saucy and daring rascals of the nimble feet than their shyer
comrades of the forest.

Presently in the midst of their antics the squirrels suddenly started,
ceased their scolding, and scurried rapidly away. That something had
frightened them Jean was certain, and she grew nervous. She was about
to back the canoe from the shore and leave the place, when the tall
form of a man unexpectedly emerged from the forest and stood before
her. So great was her own fright that for a few seconds she was
completely unnerved, although she uttered no sound. Her face became
very white, and her heart beat wildly. Then recognising the intruder
as Dane Norwood, she gave a slight hysterical laugh, and her tense body
relaxed.

"Oh, my, how you frightened me!" she gasped. "I didn't know you at
first."

"Forgive me," the young man apologised, as he stepped to the side of
the canoe. "I came upon you sooner than I expected."

"Did you know I was here?" Jean asked.

"Yes. I happened to see you as I crossed the brook farther up."

"Where were you going?"

"To see you, of course. It has taken me three months to get here, and
when I do arrive I frighten you almost out of your senses."

Jean smiled as she picked up the paddle. She had to be doing
something, for she felt the hot glow stealing into her cheeks beneath
Dane's ardent gaze. She was greatly struck by the remarkable change in
his appearance. The travel-stained buckskin suit he had worn when
first she met him had been replaced by a new one, neat and clean. It
fitted him perfectly, making him appear taller and nobler than ever.

"Have you been really travelling three months to get here?" Jean asked.
"You do not look like it." She glanced at his clothes, and this Dane
noted.

"I have not been travelling all that time to get here," he explained.
"I did not mean that. But Davidson has kept me so busy the last three
months that I could not get away, although I tried several times."

"And you were not here before?" Jean asked in surprise. "Why, I
thought it was you who gave us those presents, and stuck that arrow
into the tree."

"Oh, Pete did that. He was keeping an eye over you."

"Who is Pete?"

"My In