ed
briefly toward the dining room. Katy John was still noisily at work.

"You hate it," he said positively. "I know you do. I've seen your
feelings many a time. I don't blame you. It's a rotten business for a
girl with your tastes and bringing up. And I'm afraid you'll find it
worse, if this snow stays long. I know what a logging camp is when work
stops, and whisky creeps in, and the boss lets go his hold for the time
being."

"That may be true," she returned gloomily, "but I don't see why you
should enumerate these disagreeable things for my benefit."

"I'm going to show you a way out," he said softly. "I've been thinking
it over for quite a while. I want you to marry me."

Stella gasped.

"Mr. Fyfe."

"Listen," he said peremptorily, leaning closer to her and lowering his
voice. "I have an idea that you're going to say you don't love me. Lord,
_I_ know that. But you _hate_ this. It grates against every inclination
of yours like a file on steel. I wouldn't jar on you like that. I
wouldn't permit you to live in surroundings that would. That's the
material side of it. Nobody can live on day dreams. I like you, Stella
Benton, a whole lot more than I'd care to say right out loud. You and I
together could make a home we'd be proud of. I want you, and you want to
get away from this. It's natural. Marry me and play the game fair, and I
don't think you'll be sorry. I'm putting it as baldly as I can. You
stand to win everything with nothing to lose--but your domestic
chains--" the gleam of a smile lit up his features for a second. "Won't
you take a chance?" "No," she declared impulsively. "I won't be a party
to any such cold-blooded transaction."

"You don't seem to understand me," he said soberly. "I don't want to
hand out any sentiment, but it makes me sore to see you wasting yourself
on this sort of thing. If you must do it, why don't you do it for
somebody who'll make it worth while? If you'd use the brains God gave
you, you know that lots of couples have married on flimsier grounds than
we'd have. How can a man and a woman really know anything about each
other till they've lived together? Just because we don't marry with our
heads in the fog is no reason we shouldn't get on fine. What are you
going to do? Stick here at this till you go crazy? You won't get away.
You don't realize what a one-idea, determined person this brother of
yours is. He has just one object in life, and he'll use everything and
everybody in si