the feet of the long-vanished elk, through deep
timber where towering, seal-brown trunks shot fifty feet in the air
without a limb and met in dense, needle-foliage above, and the horses'
feet fell without sound; beside creeks fed by the hoary, old glaciers
which far away glinted gray, and ridged, and fissured, relics of the
ancient ice-cap which once overlay and over-rode the land. To Faith
these trips were a novelty, opening a fresh world new and wonderful.
Incidentally they showed her husband to advantage, in a new light and
her trust in him strengthened.

[Illustration: _To Faith these trips were a novelty, opening a world new
and wonderful._]

In such surroundings Angus was at home, adequate, competent. His
knowledge of them amazed Faith, though there was nothing at all
wonderful about it, since he had lived in the open all his life and
consorted with men who had done likewise. His camps were always
comfortable and sheltered. He constructed deep beds in which one sank
luxuriously. Rain or shine he was a wizard with a fire and a frying pan,
building browned and feathery bannocks in a minimum of time, the
doughgods he mixed were marvels, his mulligan a thing to dream of. All
was accomplished without hurry and without fuss. She saw the results
without quite appreciating the method.

Another thing which impressed her was his apparent ability to make the
horses comprehend his wishes. When he spoke to them he seldom raised his
voice. When trouble developed he was infinitely patient; when punishment
was necessary he inflicted it without temper. Faith saw no signs of the
"divil" of which Mrs. Foley had spoken. If he existed at all he dwelt
deep, in the dungeons of the man's being, securely chained.

It was natural that she should take pride in her husband's physique. His
body was hard, lean, in the condition of an athlete's in training. Her
fingers pressing his forearm made scarcely an impression. Once, as he
bent to heave out of the way fallen timber which blocked the trail, she
placed her hands upon his back. He turned his head.

"Lift!" she said, and beneath her hands she felt the long, pliant
muscles spring and tauten and harden. On another occasion a bowlder had
fallen upon the trail, partially embedding itself. It was possible to go
around, but he would not. Finally he worried out the rock and rolled it
down the hillside.

"Heavy?" she queried.

"Pretty heavy. The trouble was I couldn't get hold of it."

"D