luntarily deserted us
was out of the question.

"It would be no use to hunt any longer," said Arnold, "even if we had
the time to spare. Perhaps next spring, when the snow melts, some
trapper or hunter will find the body and give it decent burial."

So, after a sad and hurried dinner, we packed up and resumed our
journey. The weather held good, and about midnight we arrived safely at
Fort Charter.

I will make but brief mention of our stop at the fort, where we were
received and treated with the utmost kindness. As for Captain Rudstone,
I need only say that I had grown sincerely attached to him, and felt his
loss deeply. Not a scrap of news was waiting for us on our arrival. No
couriers had come in, and what was taking place in the North, or whether
Andrew Menzies and his party had reached Fort Elk, were matters of
conjecture. One keen disappointment I had. Contrary to expectation,
there was no priest at Fort Charter, so my marriage with Flora had to be
put off indefinitely, as I feared at the time.

But something happened shortly to raise my spirits. The factor of the
fort decided to send word down to Fort Garry of the Indian rising and
the loss of Fort Royal, and I gladly consented to be his messenger.
Moreover, since an attack was far from improbable, and the post was
weak, two of the officers seized this opportunity to dispatch their
wives to the South, believing from the reports they had heard that the
country was safe in that direction.

Preparations were pushed forward, and just three days after our arrival
we started on our long march of five hundred miles to Fort Garry through
the dead of winter. We numbered fifteen in all, including Flora, and two
other women. Christopher Burley, Baptiste and Carteret, and Luke Hutter
were of the party. We were well provided with all that was
needful--sledges and dogs, provisions and firearms.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

REST AND HAPPINESS.

Rat, tat, tat! Thump, thump! Bang!

So noisy and persistent an assault on my door roused me at length from a
delicious slumber. I sat up, rubbing my blinking eyes.

"Who's there?" I called in a drowsy tone.

"It's nine o'clock, sir," responded the voice of Baptiste. "I thought
you would wish to know it," he added, and with that he went shuffling
down the corridor.

Nine o'clock! And I had slept several hours over my usual time of
rising! This was the result of sitting up so