were out again to-day. My luck isn't very good, is it?"

He laughed pleasantly, but his heart was bitter. He believed Macdonald
had won. Some hint of proprietorship in his manner, together with her
slight confusion when she saw them on the porch, had weighted his heart
with lead.

"We've had such a good walk." Sheba went on quickly. "I wish you could
have heard Mr. Macdonald telling me how he once had a chance to save a
small Esquimaux tribe during a hard winter. He carried food five hundred
miles to them. It was a thrilling experience."

"Mr. Macdonald has had a lot of very interesting experiences. You must
get him to tell you about all of them," answered Gordon quietly.

The eyes of the two men met. The steel-gray ones of the older man
answered the challenge of his rival with a long, steady look. There was
in it something of triumph, something of scornful insolence. If this
young fellow wanted war, he did not need to wait long for it.

"Time enough for that, man. Miss O'Neill and I have the whole Arctic
winter before us for stories."

The muscles in the lean jaws of Gordon Elliot stood out like steel
ropes. He turned to Sheba. "Am I to congratulate Mr. Macdonald?"

The color in her cheeks grew warmer, but her shy glance met his fairly.
"I think it is I that am to be congratulated, Mr. Elliot."

Diane took her cousin in her arms. "My dear, I wish you all the
happiness in the world," she said softly.

The Irish girl fled into the house as soon as she could, but not before
making an announcement.

"We're to be married soon, very quietly. If you are still at Kusiak we
want you to be one of the few friends present, Mr. Elliot."

Macdonald backed her invitation with a cool, cynical smile. "Miss
O'Neill speaks for us both, of course, Elliot."

The defeated man bowed. "Thanks very much. The chances are that I'll be
through my business here before then."

As soon as his fiancee had gone into the house, the Scotchman left.
Gordon sat down in a porch chair and stared straight in front of him.
The suddenness of the news had brought his world tumbling about his
ears. He felt that such a marriage would be an outrage against Sheba's
innocence. But he was not yet far enough away from the blow to ask
himself how much the personal hurt influenced his opinion.

Though she was sorry for him, Diane did not think it best to say so yet.

Presently he spoke thickly. "I suppose you have heard that he was a
squawman."

His f