rk my
words, it's catch Lord Fitzhugh within the next few days--or fight!"

Philip sat down, breathing heavily.

"I'll send word to MacDougall," he said. "But I--I must wait for the
ship!"

"Why not leave word for Brokaw and join MacDougall?"

"Because when the ship comes in I believe that a large part of this
mystery will be cleared up," replied Philip. "It is necessary that I
remain here. That will give us a few days in which to make a further
search for these people."

Gregson did not urge the point, but replaced the second letter in his
pocket with the first. During the evening he remained at the cabin.
Philip returned to Churchill. For an hour he sat among the ruins of the
old fort, striving to bring some sort of order out of the chaos of
events that had occurred during the past few days. He was almost
convinced that he ought to reveal all that he knew to Gregson, and yet
several reasons kept him from doing so. If Miss Brokaw was on the
London ship when it arrived at Churchill, there would be no necessity
of disclosing that part of his own history which he was keeping secret
within himself. If Eileen was not on the ship her absence would be
sufficient proof to him that she was in or near Churchill, and in this
event he knew that it would be impossible for him to keep from
associating with her movements not only those of Lord Fitzhugh, but
also those of Jeanne and Pierre and of Brokaw himself. He could see but
two things to do at present, wait and watch. If Miss Brokaw was not
with her father, he would take Gregson fully into his confidence.

The next morning he despatched a messenger with a letter for
MacDougall, at Blind Indian Lake, warning him to be on his guard and to
prepare the long line of sub-stations for possible attack. All this day
Gregson remained in the cabin.

"It won't do for me to make myself too evident," he explained. "I've
called for Lord Fitzhugh's mail, and I'd better lie as low as possible
until the corn begins to pop."

Philip again searched the forests to the north and west with the hope
of finding some trace of Pierre and Jeanne. The forest people were
beginning to come into Churchill from all directions to be present at
the big event of the year--the arrival of the London ship--and Philip
made inquiries on every trail. No one had seen those whom he described.
The fourth and fifth days passed without any developments. So far as he
could discover there was no Fort o' God, no Jeanne