an thee to win them."

"And the--the man who is with me?"

A little flash came in the girl's dark eyes. "That man----" she said in
a voice that had an edge like a knife, "tell me, is she thy squaw?"

"Then you know, Miskodeed?" he said, with a quick feeling of shame.

"I know that man is the bright-faced woman who came to Fort Malsun.
Tell me, is she thy squaw?"

"No?" he answered sharply. "No!"

"Then what does she in thy lodge?"

"That is due to an accident. She drifted down to the great river, and I
saved her from the water, and started to take her back to Fort Malsun.
Our canoe was stolen in the night, and when we took the land-trail my
leg was broken and we were delayed, and by the time I was fit for
travel, winter was upon us, so we sought the cabin to wait for help.
That is the explanation, and now tell me, Miskodeed, is the woman to
die?"

"The bright-faced one is to be saved alive."

"Ah! That is an order?"

"It is necessary for the winning of the rifles, and the tea and the
blankets."

Stane pursed his lips to whistle at the news. There was more behind it
than appeared; and he knew that Chigmok the murderous half-breed was
not the framer of the plot, however, he might be the instrument for its
execution. He looked at the girl thoughtfully for a moment, and as he
did so a soft look came in the wild, dark eyes that were regarding him
intently.

"Canst thou not leave the bright-faced woman, and I will show thee a
way through the woods. We will go together----"

"It is impossible! Quite impossible, Miskodeed," cried Stane almost
violently.

He did not know that other ears than those to which they were addressed
caught those words of repudiation. Helen Yardely, missing his presence
about the cabin, had stepped out to look for him, and catching a murmur
of voices in the still air, had stood listening. The words, coupled
with the girl's name, reached her quite clearly, and struck her like a
blow. She did not wait to hear more, but retreated to the cabin, her
cheeks burning with shame, her grey eyes bright with fierce scorn. She
did not know to what the words referred, but, in her haste and jealousy
she utterly misinterpreted the situation, and her scorn was as much for
herself as for Stane as she thought how she had grown to love a man
who----

The thought was an intolerable one. She could not endure it, and she
began fiercely to do a totally unnecessary task in the hope of driving
it from her. T