part without seeking to discover if you are
alive. The thought that you may be with me will only serve to spur him
to quicker action. My fear is he may be delayed by some accident, and
we might suffer from lack of food."

"I had not thought how helpless we were."

"Oh, we are not desperate," and he laughed, getting up from his knees.
"You forget I am bred to this life, and have been alone in the
wilderness without arms before. The woods are full of game, and it is
not difficult to construct traps, and the waters are filled with fish
which I will devise some means of catching. You are not afraid to be
left alone?"

"No," in surprise. "Where are you going?"

"To learn more of our surroundings, and arrange some traps for wild
game. I will not be away long but someone should remain here to signal
any canoe returning in search."

I watched him disappear among the trees, without regret, or slightest
sense of fear at thus being left alone. The fire burned brightly, and
I rested where the grateful warmth put new life into my body. The
silence was profound, depressing, and a sense of intense loneliness
stole over me. I felt a desire to get away from the gloom of the
woods, and climbed the bank to where I could look out once more across
the waters.

CHAPTER XX

I CHOOSE MY DUTY

The view outspread before me revealed nothing new; the same dread
waste of water extended to the horizon, while down the shore no
movement was visible. As I rested there, oppressed by the loneliness,
I felt little hope that the others of our party had escaped without
disaster.

De Artigny's words of cheer had been spoken merely to encourage me, to
make me less despondent. Deep down in his heart the man doubted the
possibility of those frail canoes withstanding the violence of the
storm. It was this thought which had made him so anxious to secure
food, for, if the others survived, and would return seeking us, as he
asserted, surely they would appear before nightfall, and there would
be no necessity for our snaring wild game in order to preserve life.

De Artigny did not believe his own words; I even suspicioned that he
had gone now alone to explore the shore-line; seeking to discover the
truth, and the real fate of our companions. At first this conception
of our situation startled me, and yet, strange as it may seem, my
realization brought no deep regret. I was conscious of a feeling of
freedom, of liberty, such as had not been mine s