ining her, "or the coach has
turned off somewhere. These tracks are not fresh, and as they are all
going the same way, they were made by the up coach last night. They're
not OUR tracks; I thought it strange we hadn't sighted the coach by this
time."

"And then"--said Miss Cantire impatiently.

"We must turn back until we find them again."

The young lady frowned. "Why not keep on until we get to the top?" she
said pettishly. "I'm sure I shall." She stopped suddenly as she caught
sight of his grave face and keen, observant eyes. "Why can't we go on as
we are?"

"Because we are expected to come back to the COACH--and not to the
summit merely. These are the 'orders,' and you know you are a soldier's
daughter!" He laughed as he spoke, but there was a certain quiet
deliberation in his manner that impressed her. When he added, after
a pause, "We must go back and find where the tracks turned off," she
obeyed without a word.

They walked for some time, eagerly searching for signs of the missing
vehicle. A curious interest and a new reliance in Boyle's judgment
obliterated her previous annoyance, and made her more natural. She ran
ahead of him with youthful eagerness, examining the ground, following
a false clue with great animation, and confessing her defeat with a
charming laugh. And it was she who, after retracing their steps for ten
minutes, found the diverging track with a girlish cry of triumph. Boyle,
who had followed her movements quite as interestedly as her discovery,
looked a little grave as he noticed the deep indentations made by the
struggling horses. Miss Cantire detected the change in his face; ten
minutes before she would never have observed it. "I suppose we had
better follow the new track," she said inquiringly, as he seemed to
hesitate.

"Certainly," he said quickly, as if coming to a prompt decision. "That
is safest."

"What do you think has happened? The ground looks very much cut up," she
said in a confidential tone, as new to her as her previous observation
of him.

"A horse has probably stumbled and they've taken the old trail as less
difficult," said Boyle promptly. In his heart he did not believe it,
yet he knew that if anything serious had threatened them the coach would
have waited in the road. "It's an easier trail for us, though I suppose
it's a little longer," he added presently.

"You take everything so good-humoredly, Mr. Boyle," she said after a
pause.

"It's the way to do busine