ed them
out, although they were double our number. Pete had been absent for
two weeks before that, but his timely news put him back again in
Davidson's good books."

"I hope there will be no more trouble," and Jean gave a deep sigh.
"Everything has been so quiet this summer that I can hardly imagine
that there are mischief-makers around. Perhaps those guns which Major
Studholme sent up river have been a warning to the slashers. But my,
how late it is getting! Daddy will be anxious about me. You will come
and have tea with us, will you not?"

The young courier needed no second bidding, so in a few minutes the
canoe was speeding riverward, with Dane paddling and Jean facing him.
Peace surrounded them as they moved onward, but a deeper peace than
that which brooded over river and land dwelt in their happy young
hearts.

CHAPTER IX

LOVE'S-CHARM

Through the great network of branches of maples, birches, and other
trees the light of a new day sifted down upon a little lake about a
mile back from the settlement. Dane Norwood woke from a sound sleep
and looked out over the water. He was in no hurry to rise, as he felt
very comfortable lying there on his bed of fir boughs wrapped in his
warm blanket. About half way up the lake several wild ducks were
feeding among the weeds and rushes, unconscious of any danger. To
these Dane paid little attention. He was waiting for larger game, and
his eyes and ears were keenly alert to the one sound and sight which
would electrify him into immediate action.

His mind naturally turned to the previous evening when he had sat with
the Colonel and his daughter before the big fire-place. The vision of
the girl's face, lighted by the dancing flames, stood out before him
clear and distinct. How her eyes had shone as, urged by the Colonel,
he related story after story of adventures in the heart of the untamed
forest among Indians, slashers, and wild beasts. The time had passed
all too quickly, and when he at length rose to leave, the Colonel
offered him the use of his tent near the cabin. But Dane had
reluctantly declined. He had his own camping-outfit on the shore of
the lake, where he had left gun, blanket, and a small supply of food
that afternoon. He did not mind the walk through the forest, dark
though it was. He was more at home in the woodland ways than on city
streets. His was the instinct of the wild, and he travelled more by
intuition than by sight.

Ther