e once more. She is mine,
truly mine by every law of the Church,--my wife, I tell you, and I
would die here in the wilderness rather than permit her longer to doom
herself to such a fate as this."

His words and manner were so wild they startled me. Surely, in his
present frame of mind he would prove useless on such a mission as that
before us.

"Then remain here, Monsieur!" I said, "and do your best to win her
consent to accompany us. No doubt Mademoiselle will aid you all that
is in her power."

CHAPTER XXXIV

A STUMBLE IN THE DARK

Gloomy as the hole was, there was no help for it. I could perceive
nothing below, not even my hand when held within a foot of my eyes; nor
had I the slightest previous knowledge of the place to guide me, even
had not the fire ruins above effectually blocked every passage-way with
fallen debris. Listening however intently, my ears could distinguish
only the faint lapping of the river as it crept about the log piling on
which the house had been built; but beyond this dim guidance, I had to
feel my way forward with extended hands and groping feet. Swinging to
my back the rifle that De Croix had brought, and casting an inquiring
glance backward at the little group huddled upon the bank, almost
invisible even at that short distance, I grasped the piling nearest me
and slid down into the unknown darkness.

My feet found solid earth, although as I reached out toward the left my
moccasin came in contact with water, which told me at once that only a
narrow path divided the steep bank of the excavation from the
encroaching river. The floor above was originally low, so that I could
easily touch the heavy supporting beams; and I had felt my way scarcely
a yard before coming in contact with a serious obstruction, where the
weakened floor had sagged so as almost to close the narrow passage.
This caused me to wade farther out into the water, testing each step
carefully as I followed the sharp curving of the shore-line. I had no
fear of meeting any living enemy within that silent cave, my sole doubt
being as to whether the half-breed chief had fulfilled his promise and
brought the boat, my gravest anxiety to discover it early and get my
party safely away before the Indian encampment learned the truth.

I must have reached the apex of the little cove, moving so cautiously
that not a ripple of the water revealed my progress, and feeling for
each inch of way like a blind man along city