l bow. What
he said to Flora or how she greeted him I do not know. But as I turned
on my heel I stole a glance at the girl and I saw that she was
struggling hard to keep her composure. The sun was shining brightly but
the world looked dark and black to my eyes.

As soon as the excitement of the meeting was over Gummidge and I gave
the factor a coherent story of our adventures; and the narrative brought
a grave and troubled expression to his face.

"I will speak of these matters later," he said. "The first thing is to
get back to the fort. The wounded voyageur needs immediate attention. My
canoe is a large one and will hold us all."

"But where were you bound?" I asked. "To Fort York? You sent word that
you were not coming."

"Yes; but affairs grew more quiet," Hawke replied, "and I concluded that
I could be spared for a week or two. I was on my way to meet you,
Denzil, and it is fortunate that we did not miss each other."

A few moments later we were all tucked into the canoe. Moralle was still
unconscious, and the paddles of the voyageurs swept us down the foaming
current of the Churchill River. It was shortly after noon when on
turning a bend we saw below us the towers and palisades, the waving flag
of the Hudson Bay Company's post of Fort Royal. Since I had last seen it
months before what a change had come into my life! It was a sad and
bitter home-coming for me.

So our journey through the wilderness ended and now there was a lull
before the threatened storm broke in all its fury--before the curtain
rose on new scenes of excitement and adventure. I will pass briefly on
to the things that followed soon after our arrival at the fort, the
events that far surpassed in tragedy and bloodshed, in sorrow and
suffering, all that had happened previously; but first I must give the
reader a peep at a northern Hudson Bay Company's post as it was in those
remote days--as it exists at the present time with but few changes.

Fort Royal was a fair type of them all though it was much smaller than
some. It was built mostly of heavy timbers and stood in a little
clearing close to the river. The stockade was about six feet high, and
had two corner towers for lookout purposes. Inside, arranged like the
letter L, were the various buildings--the factor's house, those of the
laborers, mechanics, hunters and other employees; a log hut for the
clerks; the storehouses where were kept the furs, skins and pelts, and
the Indian trading ho