do what's done!"

"I can mak' her well, maybe," said Rina, still affecting indifference.
"I know what to do. My mot'er, she teach me. If you let me look at her,
I tell you."

A wild hope sprang up in Garth's breast. If the girl were only able to
help Natalie, his hate of her could very well content itself a while.
But dare he trust her? With keen, hard eyes he sought to read her face.
Her own eyes avoided his; and she made a picture of savage indifference;
but as he looked he saw two great tears roll down her cheeks. In his
desperate situation it was well worth the risk.

Raising his gun, he said coldly: "You may look at her. If you try to
injure her, I will send a bullet through your head."

Receiving the permission, Rina came forward, careless of the threatening
gun; and dropped to her knees beside Natalie. She examined the wound on
both sides; and felt of the fracture with delicate fingers. To judge of
the normal position of the bones, she manipulated her own arm. Garth never
took his eyes from her; but she was tenderer with the patient than he
could have been.

Finally she raised a mask-like face to Garth. "I can fix it," she said.
"If you let me."

Whatever her private feelings were, she had a confident air, that could
not but convey some assurance to him. He nodded silently; after what he
had suffered, he scarcely dared believe in such good fortune.

Rina quickly rose. "You mak' a fire to heat water," she said coolly. "I
go to bring everyt'ing."

With the words, she was gone among the trees; and Garth, overjoyed to be
able to do something with his hands, hastened to build a fire.

Before he really expected her, she was back with what she needed, a pot
for heating the water, a basin, several kinds of herbs, some strips of
yellowed linen for bandages, a blanket and a knife. While the water was
heating, she cut a deep segment of the smooth white bark of a young
poplar for a splint--the curve of it was judged to a nicety to fit
Natalie's arm. During the operation of setting the bone, Garth watched
her unswervingly, clenching his teeth to bear the spectacle of Natalie's
agony. For every pang of hers he suffered a sharper; the sweat coursed
down his face.

But at last it was over; the wound washed and fomented with bruised
leaves, the splint fitted snug, and the whole neatly bandaged. Natalie,
wrapped in the blanket, soon fell into the sleep of exhaustion.

Rina looked at the pale and shaken Garth with an o