themselves. Put half a dozen of your amateur road-men
among them and it will mean twenty per cent. less work done, and
perhaps trouble. They're a tough lot. I concede that. I've thought of a
way to offset the loss of Blake and the others. We can set a gang of
your men at work over at Gray Beaver Lake, and they can build up to
meet us."

Philip saw MacDougall soon after his short talk with Thorpe. The
engineer did not disguise his pleasure at the turn which affairs had
taken.

"I'm glad they're going," he declared. "If there's to be trouble I'll
feel easier with that bunch out of camp. I'd give my next month's
salary if Thorpe would take his whole outfit back where they came from.
They're doing business with the road-bed all right, but I don't like
the idea of having 'em around when there are throats to be cut, one
side or t'other."

Philip did not see Thorpe again that day. He selected his men for the
Gray Beaver work, and in the afternoon despatched a messenger over the
Fort Churchill route to meet Brokaw. He was confident that Brokaw and
his daughter would show up during the next few days, but at the same
time he instructed the messenger to go to Churchill if he should not
meet them on the way. Other men he sent to recall the prospecting
parties outfitted by MacDougall. Early in the evening the St. Pierres,
Lecault, and Henshaw joined him for a few minutes in the office. During
the day the four had done scout work five miles on all sides of the
camp. Lecault had shot a moose three miles to the south, and had hung
up the meat. One of the St. Pierres saw Blake and his gang on the way
to the Churchill. Beyond these two incidents they brought in no news. A
little later MacDougall brought in two other men whom he could trust,
and armed them with muzzle-loaders. They were the two last guns in the
camp.

With ten men constantly prepared for attack, Philip began to feel that
he had the situation well in hand. It would be practically impossible
for his enemies to surprise the camp, and after their first day's scout
duty the men on the trail would always be within sound of rifle-shots,
even if they did not discover the advance of an attacking force in time
to beat them to camp. In the event of one making such a discovery he
was to signal the others by a series of shots, such as one might fire
at a running moose.

Philip found it almost impossible to fight back his thoughts of Jeanne.
During the two or three days that fol