ng of his muscles, and
when he turned to his little companion she was as white as the snow
under her feet.

"We're in time," he breathed. "You--you stay here."

She understood. Her hands clutched at him as he left her. A gulp rose
in her throat. She wanted to call out. She wanted to hold him back--or
go with him. Yet she obeyed. She stood with a heart that choked her and
watched him go. For she knew, after all, that it was the thing to do.
Sobbingly she breathed his name. It was a prayer. For she knew what
would happen in the cabin.

CHAPTER XX

Philip came up behind the windowless end of the cabin. He noticed in
passing with Bram that on the opposite side was a trap-window of
saplings, and toward this he moved swiftly but with caution. It was
still closed when he came where he could see. But with his ear close to
the chinks he heard a sound--the movement of some one inside. For an
instant he looked over his shoulder. Celia was standing where he had
left her. He could almost feel the terrible suspense that was in her
eyes as she watched him.

He moved around toward the door. There was in him an intense desire to
have it over with quickly. His pulse quickened as the thought grew in
him that the maker of the strange snowshoe trail might be a friend
after all. But how was he to discover that fact? He had decided to take
no chances in the matter. Ten seconds of misplaced faith in the
stranger might prove fatal. Once he held a gun in his hands he would be
in a position to wait for introductions and explanations. But until
then, with their Eskimo enemies close at their heels--

His mind did not finish that final argument. The end of it smashed upon
him in another way. The door came within his vision. As it swung inward
he could not at first see whether it was open or closed. Leaning
against the logs close to the door was a pair of long snowshoes and a
bundle of javelins. A sickening disappointment swept over him as he
stared at the javelins. A giant Eskimo and not a white man had made the
trail they had followed. Their race against time had brought them
straight to the rendezvous of their foes--and there would be no guns.
In that moment when all the hopes he had built up seemed slipping away
from under him he could see no other possible significance in the
presence of the javelins. Then, for an instant, he held his breath and
sniffed the air like a dog getting the wind. The cabin door was open.
And out through