men love goodness and flowers. To both Spurling and himself it
was worthless now; but it was the only offering which he had.

Leaving the mound sparkling white and yellow in the sunshine, he
struck the trail down the Last Chance River, returning to Murder
Point.

CHAPTER XXIII

THE LAST CHANCE

Since the middle of November he had been back at the Point: it was now
the day before Christmas, and Peggy was still absent. During the last
six weeks he had waited anxiously, always listening, even in his
sleep, for her returning footstep. It was extraordinary to him to
notice how, now that he had lost her, every other affection that he
had ever known became dwarfed and of no acount in comparison with his
love of her. He no longer thought of Mordaunt or of El Dorado; all his
anxiety was for the half-breed wife, whom he had once despised. There
was but one ambition, the fulfilment of which he greatly desired, and
that was again to see her and to look upon his child. Somewhere
outside, beneath the grey chaos of white forest and gloomy sky, in the
wigwam of a trapper, tended by Indian women, she had faced her ordeal
and had, perhaps, survived. If ever he was to see her it would be
to-night, when her kinsmen had promised to return.

At first, when he had left Dead Rat Portage, he had feared that he
would be overtaken by the Mounted Police or Robert Pilgrim before ever
he reached the Point. For six weeks he had remained there undisturbed
and solitary.

Watching from his window day by day, he had seen an occasional Indian
pass, averting his face and, if he were a Catholic, crossing himself
to avoid the overlooking of the evil eye. When such chance travellers
approached the bend, he had noticed how they seemed to see something
there, which he could not see, and climbing out of the river-trail,
making a wide circuit, hurried their steps to get quickly by. Though
he had spoken to no one for so long a time, he had not been
lonely--watching for Peggy was a continual, if painful, source of
excitement. And another matter had kept him fully occupied. Being an
honest man, he knew that since the spring of the year he had not done
well by his employers; therefore, since he thought it highly probable
that, at any moment, he might be called away on a longer journey than
any that he had yet undertaken, he had spent a large part of his
leisure in making a report of the trade and contents of the store,
which would be of service to hi