very truth it was her own
Dane. Her lips parted in a glad smile, and reaching out her arms, she
impulsively twined them about his neck.

"Dane! Dane!" she murmured. "How did you find me? Thank God, you
came in time."

Like a tired child she rested in his sheltering arms, and gave herself
up completely to his protecting care. The wind continued to roar, and
the great trees rocked and swayed. But the reunited lovers paid no
heed to the raging of the elements. They were together again, and
nothing else mattered.

CHAPTER XXX

THE ROUND-UP

Owing to the severity of the storm all the mast-cutters of Big Lake
camp suspended work, and sought refuge within their log cabins. The
latter were poor affairs, inhabited as a rule by two or three men.
One, however, contained twelve cutters, and here, while the tempest
raged outside, they were cosy and contented. Some sat before the
bright open fire, smoking and talking. Others played cards, while a
few spent their time in mending their clothes.

They were a sturdy, rollicking band of men, tucked away in the depths
of the forest. In the summer they did a little farming along the St.
John River and its tributaries. But the inducement of good wages lured
them to the camps during the long winter months. They enjoyed the
life, too, tinged as it was with the spice of adventure, for they never
knew when the slashers would cause trouble. They were well supplied
with fire-arms and ammunition, which had been sent up river the
previous summer by Major Studholme. A scrap with the rebels would have
given them much satisfaction, for they were anxious to wipe out
numerous old scores with their base and elusive enemy. The probability
of an attack formed the main topic of conversation during the winter
evenings, and many were the battles fought and won. They also
discussed the mast-business, how many masts, spars, bowsprits and other
timber would be taken out during the winter and floated down the river
in the spring. They knew how many pieces had been stored in the
mast-pond at Portland Point the previous year, and the number of
vessels which had arrived to carry the sticks to England. They could
also tell the dimensions of the largest masts ever cut, ranging from
ninety to one hundred and twenty-five feet in length, and from thirty
to forty inches in diameter, and valued at five hundred dollars and
upwards apiece. There seemed to be no limit to the knowledge these m