na met his eyes. "Nobody but me can mak' her well," she said boldly.
"I mak' her well if you not 'urt 'Erbe't. If you go after 'Erbe't, she
can die. I not look at her no more!"

This at least was honest; and Garth could respect such an opponent.
"He's safe!" he said coolly. "Provided he keeps away from here."

Rina vouchsafed no comment. "I come to-morrow," she said and disappeared
through the trees.

* * * * *

The horses offered Garth his next problem. Since immediately they were
turned out they would bolt for the sweet grass of the prairie above,
there was no way in which he could secure them from Mabyn, or keep them
within reach against a time of need. They might stray for miles over the
plains before he could leave Natalie long enough to round them up. But
there was no help for it; the beasts would all die of starvation, if he
attempted to keep them in his camp. There was a little grass between
the willows and the timber; and he determined to keep old Cy picketed
nearby, to be sure of one mount in the case of an emergency. The other
three he hobbled, hung a bell around Emmy's neck, and turned them loose.

He was now able to make Natalie more comfortable. Putting up her tent,
he spread a bed of balsam within, and her own blankets upon it. The next
time she awoke, he carried her inside; and at the door of the tent,
where he could look at her, and speak to her, he cooked her the best
invalid's supper the grub-box and his own skill could afford. This same
grub-box was an ever-fresh cause of anxiety to him; allowing for liberal
contributions from his own gun, he could not see much more than a week's
supply for two. This he kept to himself, however, while he joked and
made light of their situation for Natalie's benefit. She was very
quiet; she did not suffer much, she said; but she had little humour to
talk. When Garth thought of her, only the day before, galloping over
the prairie, he ground his teeth afresh. But the silver lining of
this blackest cloud of his was that in her weakness she clung to
him unreservedly.

Some time after supper she fell asleep again; and Garth prepared for
his night-long vigil. His head was much too busy to allow of any desire
for sleep. Sitting in the dark, he faced the situation open-eyed. There
they were in the remotest wilderness, imprisoned in the narrow valley by
Natalie's injury for weeks to come; with insufficient food and inclement
weather in pros