oving inside the cabin when Fred first called her. Now
she looked out of the door, and dodged back embarrassed when she saw
the two strangers. She was in a kimono, and had her hair down;
evidently she had obeyed the professor implicitly in the matter of
going to sleep.

"Oh!" she said, "I don't know where Marion is--as usual; but I can
have luncheon ready in a very short time, I'm sure. Is the fire--"

"'Luncheon!'" snorted Fred, laughing a little. "Don't you palm off any
luncheon on us! That sounds like a dab of salad and a dab of sauce and
two peas in a platter and a prayer for dinner to hurry up and come
around! Cook us some grub, old girl--lots of it. Coffee and bacon and
flour gravy and spuds. We'd rather wait a few minutes longer and get a
square meal, wouldn't we, boys? Make yourselves at home. There's all
the ground there is, to sit down on, and there's the whole creek to
wash in, if the basin down there is too small. I'm going to get some
clean clothes and go down to the big hole and take a plunge. How long
will it be before chuck's ready, Kate?"

Kate told him half an hour, and he went off down the creek, keeping at
the edge of the little meadow, with a change of clothing under his arm
and a big bath towel hung over his shoulder. The two men followed him
listlessly, too tired, evidently, to care much what they did.

Fred, leading the way, plunged through the willow fringe and came upon
the creek bank three feet from where Marion lay curled up on her
cushions. He stood for a minute looking down at her before his
present, material needs dominated his admiration of her beauty--for
beautiful she was, lying there in a nest of green, with her yellow
hair falling loosely about her face.

"Hello! Asleep?" he called to her, much as he had called to Kate.
"Afraid we'll have to ask you to move on, sister. We want to take a
swim right here. And anyway, Kate wants you right away, quick. Wake
up, like a good girl, and run along."

"I don't want to wake up. Go away and let me sleep." Marion opened her
eyes long enough to make sure that he was standing right there
waiting, and closed them again. "Go somewhere else and swim. There's
lots of creek that isn't in use."

"No sir, by heck, I'm going to take my swim right here. I'm too
doggone tired to walk another yard. Suit yourself about going, though.
Don't let me hurry you at all." He sat down and began to unlace his
shoes, grinning back over his shoulder at the other t