o save her from such
toil as was no woman's work in the world, certainly never the work for a
girl like Gloria.

He heard a sound at the cave's mouth. Gloria was coming back. He found
no words with which to greet her, but lay very still, waiting for her to
come in. An emotion of which he was ashamed and yet which was infinitely
sweet swept over him: it was so wonderful a thing to have Gloria come to
him, nurse him, put her hand so tenderly on his. A thrill shot down his
faintly stirring pulses as already he fancied her stealing softly to his
side. So he waited and, when she came where he could at last see her,
watched.

She set her gun down; at first he wondered at that. Poor little Gloria,
he thought; taking her rifle with her when she went down for wood,
frightened and yet strong-hearted enough to go in spite of fear. She
came on, not to him but to the smouldering coals. She had turned toward
him, but, no doubt, thought him still asleep. He watched her, still
knowing that presently she would come, awaiting her coming. And again he
was perplexed; he did not understand why Gloria walked like that. He had
never seen her walk so before; she had always been so light of foot, so
graceful--so like a fairy creature, scarcely touching the ground. Now
her feet dragged; she groped uncertainly; she was like one gone suddenly
dizzy.

She dropped down by the coals, her face in her hands. The light was bad;
he could hardly see her now. He heard a sigh that ended in a sob. She
rose, oh, so wearily. He saw her sway as she walked; she was throwing
wood on the fire. It caught; a flame flared out; other flames followed
with their merry crackling and leaping lights. And now he saw Gloria's
face. It was drawn and haggard; it had been washed with tears; her eyes
looked enormous and unnaturally bright. He saw her hair; it was in wild
disarray, a tumble of disorder. He saw that she had sacks wrapped about
her lagging feet; that her clothes were torn, that her sleeves were
ragged, that her arms were covered with long scratches! His first
thought, making his body tense with anger, was that he had not come in
time to save her from Brodie's hands....

What was Gloria doing? Struggling with something on her back. Something
which was tied across her shoulders. She got it free; it fell close to
the fire, played over by the light of the flames. He craned his neck and
saw; it was a great chunk of bear meat--he could see bits of the hide
still on