er our progress."

"I hardly imagine," she murmured softly, "that Captain de Croix is
guilty of wasting precious time in reflection upon aught so trivial
this morning. He has been conversing with me upon the proper cut of
his waistcoat, and I am sure he is too deeply engrossed in that subject
to give heed to other things."

I glanced at him and smiled as my heart glowed to her gentle sarcasm,
for surely never did a more incongruous figure take saddle on a western
trail. By what code of fashion he may have dressed, I know not; but
from his slender-pointed bronze shoes to his beribboned hat he was
still the dandy of the boulevards, his dark mustaches curled upward
till their tips nearly touched his ears, and a delicately carved
riding-whip swinging idly at his wrist. He seemed to have already
exhausted his powers of conversation, for he remained oblivious of our
presence, fumbling with one yellow-gloved hand in the recesses of a
saddle-bag.

"By Saint Denis, Sam!" he exclaimed, angrily, to his black satellite,
"I can find nothing of the powder-puff, or the bag of essence!
_Parbleu_! if they have been left behind you will go back after them,
though every Indian in this Illinois country stand between. Come, you
imp of darkness, know you aught of these?"

"Dey am wid de pack-hoss, Massa de Croix," was the oily answer. "I
done s'posed you would n't need 'em till we got thar."

"Need them! Little you know the requirements of a gentleman! Saint
Guise! Why, I shall want them both this very day! Ride you forward
there, and see if they cannot be picked out from among the other
things."

"See, Monsieur!" cried Mademoiselle suddenly, one hand pressing my arm,
while she pointed eagerly with the other, "there goes the boat with
Mistress Kinzie and her children! That must be Josette in the bow,
with the gay streamer about her hat. She did wish so to ride with us,
but Mr. Kinzie would not permit it."

The boat had but just cleared the river mouth, and was working
off-shore, with half a dozen Indians laboring at the oars.

"Yet Josette has by far the easiest passage, as we shall learn before
night," said I, watching their progress curiously. "I imagine you will
soon be wishing you were with them."

"Never, Master Wayland!" she cried, with a little shudder, and quick
uplifting of hands to her face as if to shut out the sight. "Memory of
the hours when I was last on the lake is still too vivid. I have grown
to dre