retain, not only LeFroy but a half-dozen others."

"It shall be as you wish. I shall speak to LeFroy and select also the
pick of the crew. They will be glad of a steady job. The others I
shall take with me. I must gather my fur from its various _caches_ and
freight it to the railway."

"You are going to the railway! To civilization?"

"Yes, but it will take me three weeks to make ready my outfit. And in
this connection I may be of further service to you. I must depart from
here tonight. Instruct LeFroy to make out his list of supplies for the
winter. Give him a free hand and tell him to fill the store-rooms.
The goods you have brought with you are by no means sufficient. Three
weeks from today, if I do not visit you in the meantime, have him meet
me at Fort Resolution, and I shall be glad to make your purchases for
you, at Athabasca Landing and Edmonton."

"You have been very good to me. How can I ever thank you?" cried the
girl, impulsively extending her hand. Lapierre took the hand, bowed
over it, and--was it fancy, or did his lips brush her finger-tips?
Chloe withdrew the hand, laughing in slight confusion. To her surprise
she realized she was not in the least annoyed. "How can I thank you,"
she repeated, "for--for throwing aside your own work to attend to mine?"

"Do not speak of thanking me." Once more the man's eyes seemed to burn
into her soul, "I love you! And one day my work will be your work and
your work will be mine. It is I who am indebted to you for bringing a
touch of heaven into this drab hell of Northern brutishness. For
bringing to me a breath of the bright world I have not known since
Montreal--and the student days, long past. And--ah--more than
that--something I have never known--love. And, it is you who are
bringing a ray of pure light to lighten the darkness of my people."

Chloe was deeply touched. "But I--I thought," she faltered, "when we
were discussing the buildings that day, you spoke as if you did not
really care for the Indians. And--and you made them work so hard----"

"To learn to work would be their salvation!" exclaimed the man. "And I
beg you to forget what I said then. I feared for your safety. When
you refused to allow me to build the stockade, I could think only of
your being at the mercy of Brute MacNair. I tried to frighten you into
allowing me to build it. Even now, if you say the word----"

Chloe interrupted him with a laugh. "No, I am not afr