supper
ready by the time the others arrived.

"I wonder where daddy can be," Glen remarked as they sat down to the
table. "I was hoping that he might be here to receive us."

"Oh, he's all right, an' will be back soon," Samson replied. "He'll be
here this evenin' fer sure."

The sun had just disappeared beyond the far off mountain peaks as Glen
and Reynolds walked down to the shore of the lake. Not a ripple
disturbed the water, and the sombre trees along the shore were mirrored
in the clear depths. It was a scene of restful peace and quietness.

"Isn't it beautiful here to-night!" Glen exclaimed, while she gave a
sigh of contentment. "I have no fear now of any danger lurking within
those dark shadows, such as I had the last time we were here."

"And were you fearful then?" Reynolds asked.

"Indeed I was, for I thought Curly might be lurking around. He was
here that day, and I do not mind confessing it now." She then briefly
told of Curly's visit, and how she had guarded him until Sconda arrived.

They were walking along the shore now, about one hundred yards from the
cabin. Reynolds was amazed at the story, and when Glen finished he
suddenly stopped.

"Oh, I wish I had known of this sooner," he declared, while his hands
clenched hard. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I was afraid," Glen confessed in a low voice.

"Afraid! Of what?"

"Of what you might do to Curly."

For an instant Reynolds stared at the girl. Could it be possible that
she was concerned about the villain's welfare?

"And you thought I might kill him?" he asked.

"Yes; that was it."

"But he deserves to be killed after doing such a contemptible thing.
Why, it is as bad as the Huns would do, and you know what we did to
them."

"But that was war," Glen reminded. "If you shot an enemy over there,
you were not considered a murderer, and condemned to death, were you?"

"No, certainly not," Reynolds emphatically replied, as the meaning of
the girl's words dawned upon his mind. "And so you kept silent for my
sake?" he asked. "Were you afraid that I might do something desperate
to Curly, and become a murderer?"

"Yes, I was," and Glen lifted her shining eyes to his.

"And you really care that much for me?"

"Why shouldn't I? Wouldn't anyone think of a friend, and his welfare?"

Only for an instant did Reynolds hesitate, while his heart beat wildly
with hope. Then he caught the girl's hands in his, and looked
longingly