heir wilderness seclusion, she looked in the tent again, smiled once
more, and dropping the fly of the tent, went to her own tepee. Though
she lay long awake, she was up betimes next morning, and after one
glance into the tent to assure herself that her patient was yet
sleeping, she moved off in the direction of the lake. When she came in
sight of it she looked towards the foot of the waterfall for Ainley's
camp. It was no longer there, but a mile and a half away she descried
the canoe making down the lake. As she did so, she laughed with sudden
relief and gladness, and hurried back to the camp to light the fire and
prepare breakfast.

CHAPTER XI

A FOREST FIRE

Sir James Yardely sat in the shelter of his tent looking anxiously at
Gerald Ainley.

"Then you have not found my niece, Ainley?"

"No, Sir James! But I have news of her, and I am assured she is alive."

"Tell me what gives you that assurance."

Ainley thereupon described the search he had made, and produced the
swastiki brooch, explaining the circumstances under which he had found
it, and then gave an account of the meeting with the half-breed and of
the latter's declaration that he had seen Helen going up the main river
in a canoe with a white man.

"But why on earth should Helen go up there?" asked Sir James
wonderingly.

"I cannot say, Sir James! I can only guess, and that is that Miss
Yardely knew that we were making for the old Fort Winagog, and
mentioned it to her rescuer who was probably journeying that way.
Anyhow I went up to the Fort. The Indians there had not seen nor heard
of any white girl in the neighbourhood, but I gave them instructions to
look for her, promising a reward if she were found, then I hurried back
here by the shorter route in the hope that possibly Miss Yardely might
have returned in the meantime."

Sir James stared through the tent-door at the wild landscape before
him. His face showed a lightening of his anxiety, though it was clear
that the turn of events puzzled him.

"I can't understand it," he said. "Why shouldn't Helen have made her
way straight back here?"

"Can't say, Sir James! Possibly the man who helped her doesn't know the
country, and of course Miss Yardely is quite ignorant of it."

"And here she is, lost in the wilderness, careering round the compass
with heaven knows what come-by-chance fellow!" commented Sir James,
adding quickly, "Ainley, she has got to be found!"

"Yes, Sir James!"

"