eem to strike you that I could ask him myself."

Gordon would have liked to warn her to keep away from the dam, but he
did not see how it could be done unless he offered some reason, and
that was a thing he shrank from.

"Oh, yes," he said, "you certainly could." Then he glanced down at her
hands. "Those are unusually pretty gloves you have on."

His answer was, as it happened, almost as injudicious as he could have
rendered it, since it left the girl determined to sift the matter
thoroughly. She, however, only smiled just then.

"I think there isn't a nicer pair of gloves in Canada than these," she
said.

Gordon took himself away, wondering what she could have meant by that;
and Laura waited until next day, when, although there was, as usual, a
good deal to be done about the ranch, she went down to find out what
was the matter with Nasmyth.

The injured man was sitting in his shanty, with his foot upon a chair,
but he rose when she came in, and stood leaning rather hard upon the
table.

"It is very kind of you to come," he said, taking her hand. He made
shift to limp to the door, whence he called for Mattawa.

"Bring those two chairs out, Tom, and put them in the sun," he said.

The old axeman shook his head severely. "You sit right down again.
What in the name of wonder are you on your legs for, any way?" he
asked. Then he saw Laura, and made a little gesture of resignation.
"Well, I guess it will have to be done."

The sudden change in his attitude was naturally not lost upon the
girl, but she kept her astonishment to herself, and waited until
Mattawa had made Nasmyth as comfortable as possible. Then she turned
to him.

"I am very sorry you are hurt," she said. "I understand it was an axe
cut. How did it happen?"

Nasmyth appeared to reflect. "Well," he answered, "I suppose I was a
little careless--in fact, I must have been. You see, some of the
building gang had left their axes in the dynamo-room."

"That," said Laura dryly, "certainly accounts for the axe being there.
I'm not sure it goes very much further."

"It really wasn't very much of a cut." Nasmyth's desire to escape
from the topic was a trifle too plain, as he added, "Isn't it nice out
here?"

It occurred to Laura that it was uncomfortably cold, for there was a
nip of frost in the air, though the sun hung coppery red above the
sombre pines.

"I almost fancied you were not overjoyed to see me," she remarked.

Nasmyth appeared momentari