uld be
many-sided. Rough and knock about for a while, and then rest up
somewhere. Off to the South Seas on a yacht, then a nibble of Paris; a
winter in South America and a summer in Norway; a few months in England--"

"Good society?"

"Most certainly--the best; and then, heigho! for the dogs and sleds and
the Hudson Bay Country. Change, you know. A strong man like you, full
of vitality and go, could not possibly stand a palace for a year. It is
all very well for effeminate men, but you weren't made for such a life.
You are masculine, intensely masculine."

"Think so?"

"It does not require thinking. I know. Have you ever noticed that it
was easy to make women care for you?"

His dubious innocence was superb.

"It is very easy. And why? Because you are masculine. You strike the
deepest chords of a woman's heart. You are something to cling to,--big-
muscled, strong, and brave. In short, because you _are_ a man."

She shot a glance at the clock. It was half after the hour. She had
given a margin of thirty minutes to Sitka Charley; and it did not matter,
now, when Devereaux arrived. Her work was done. She lifted her head,
laughed her genuine mirth, slipped her hand clear, and rising to her feet
called the maid.

"Alice, help Mr. Vanderlip on with his _parka_. His mittens are on the
sill by the stove."

The man could not understand.

"Let me thank you for your kindness, Floyd. Your time was invaluable to
me, and it was indeed good of you. The turning to the left, as you leave
the cabin, leads the quickest to the water-hole. Good-night. I am going
to bed."

Floyd Vanderlip employed strong words to express his perplexity and
disappointment. Alice did not like to hear men swear, so dropped his
_parka_ on the floor and tossed his mittens on top of it. Then he made a
break for Freda, and she ruined her retreat to the inner room by tripping
over the _parka_. He brought her up standing with a rude grip on the
wrist. But she only laughed. She was not afraid of men. Had they not
wrought their worst with her, and did she not still endure?

"Don't be rough," she said finally. "On second thought," here she looked
at his detaining hand, "I've decided not to go to bed yet a while. Do
sit down and be comfortable instead of ridiculous. Any questions?"

"Yes, my lady, and reckoning, too." He still kept his hold. "What do
you know about the water-hole? What did you mean by--no, never mind. One