y was not
to be taken liberties with, and seeing her by the window he crossed
the room and sat down by her side.

Betty did not remember her father or her mother. Long ago when she
was a child she had gone to her brother, laid her head on his
shoulder and told him all her troubles. The desire grew strong
within her now. There was comfort in the strong clasp of his hand.
She was not proof against it, and her dark head fell on his
shoulder.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Alfred Clarke had indeed made his reappearance in Fort Henry. The
preceding October when he left the settlement to go on the
expedition up the Monongahela River his intention had been to return
to the fort as soon as he had finished his work, but what he did do
was only another illustration of that fatality which affects
everything. Man hopefully makes his plans and an inexorable destiny
works out what it has in store for him.

The men of the expedition returned to Fort Henry in due time, but
Alfred had been unable to accompany them. He had sustained a painful
injury and had been compelled to go to Fort Pitt for medical
assistance. While there he had received word that his mother was
lying very ill at his old home in Southern Virginia and if he wished
to see her alive he must not delay in reaching her bedside. He left
Fort Pitt at once and went to his home, where he remained until his
mother's death. She had been the only tie that bound him to the old
home, and now that she was gone he determined to leave the scene of
his boyhood forever.

Alfred was the rightful heir to all of the property, but an unjust
and selfish stepfather stood between him and any contentment he
might have found there. He decided he would be a soldier of fortune.
He loved the daring life of a ranger, and preferred to take his
chances with the hardy settlers on the border rather than live the
idle life of a gentleman farmer. He declared his intention to his
step-father, who ill-concealed his satisfaction at the turn affairs
had taken. Then Alfred packed his belongings, secured his mother's
jewels, and with one sad, backward glance rode away from the stately
old mansion.

It was Sunday morning and Clarke had been two days in Fort Henry.
From his little room in the block-house he surveyed the
well-remembered scene. The rolling hills, the broad river, the green
forests seemed like old friends.

"Here I am again," he mused. "What a fool a man can be. I have left
a