r one hope was that her father
had given her up for lost and had not attempted her rescue.

She realized perfectly the perfection of Ben's plans. She knew that he
had provided for every contingency; and besides, he had every natural
advantage in his favor. The end was inevitable: his victory and the
destruction of his foes. There would be little mercy for these three in
the hands of this iron man from the eastern provinces. If they were to
be saved it must be soon, not a week from now, nor when another moon had
waned. If Ben was to be checkmated there were not many hours to waste.

She had had no opportunity to escape, at first. Ben knew that she could
not make her way over the hundreds of miles of howling wilderness
without food supplies, and always the wolf had been on guard. He was
like a were-wolf, a demon, anticipating her every move, knowing her
secret thoughts. But the wolf had gone now to join his fellows. She was
not aware of his almost nightly return. Perhaps the fact of his absence
gave her an opportunity, her one chance to save her father from Ben's
ambush.

Conditions for escape were more favorable than at any time since their
departure from the canoe landing, that late spring day of long ago. The
wolf was gone; Ben's guard of her was ever more lax. The season was
verdant: she could supplement what supplies she took from the cave with
roots and berries, and the warm nights would enable her to carry a
minimum of blankets. She knew that she could never hope to succeed in
the venture except by traveling light and fast. On the other hand she
would need all of Ben's remaining supplies to bring her through: in a
few more days the stores would be so low that she could not attempt the
trip. Human beings cannot survive, in the forests of the north, on roots
and berries alone. Tissue-building flour and sustaining meat are
necessary to climb the ridges and battle the thicket.

How could she obtain these things? For all his seeming carelessness Ben
kept a fairly close watch on her actions, and he would discover her
flight within a few hours. Stronger than she, and knowing every trail
and pass for miles around he could overtake her with ease. He gave her
no opportunity to seize his rifle, load it and turn it against him, thus
making her escape by force.

The fact that she would leave him without food mattered not one way or
another. He would still have his rifle, and his small stock of rifle
cartridges would procur