d you turn away and leave me?" she passionately demanded.

He looked at her serenely, incisively, and answered, calmly, quietly:

"Dear, because you shrank from me, threw your hands up before your eyes,
as if to shut out the sight of me. Dear, your own sudden appearance
before me at the spring, to which I had gone for my noonday draught of
water, nearly overwhelmed me; but I readily recovered myself and
understood it, connected it with the trail below, and concluded that you
were on your way to Farthermost to join your brother, whom I had heard
of as one of the officers of the new fort. Then, believing that my
presence distressed you, I went away."

"Oh, Rule!"

After a little while Rothsay inquired:

"Was not that Mr. Clarence Rockharrt whom I saw with you by the spring?"

"Yes; Uncle Clarence. He helped me up to this ledge, and then he stayed
outside while I came in here to look for you."

"Let us go and bring him in now, dear," said Rule.

And the two walked out together.

But no one was to be seen on the plateau; only, on the ground under the
pine tree where Mr. Clarence had rested was a piece of white paper, kept
in place by a small stone laid upon it.

Rule picked up the stone, and handed the paper to Cora.

It proved to be a leaf from Mr. Clarence's pocket tablets, and on it was
written:

"I am going down the mountain to tell Captain Neville that my
party will camp here to-night, and join him at the fort to-morrow,
so that he may go on with his train at once, if he should see fit.
CLARENCE."

"He saw you receive me; he knew it was all right; then he grew tired of
waiting for me. He thought I had forgotten him, and so I had, and he
left this paper and went down to the trail," Corona explained with a
smile.

"Shall we go down and see your friends, Cora? Tell me what you wish,
dear," said Rothsay.

Corona looked at her watch, and then replied:

"Courtesy would have required me to go down and take leave of Captain
and Mrs. Neville before leaving them, but it is too late now. Their
caravan is on the march by this time. They were to have resumed their
route at two o'clock. It is after three now."

"We can go to Farthermost later, dear. It is but half a day's ride from
here. Shall we go down the mountain and join Clarence? Is it your wish,
Cora?"

"No, not yet. He is very well as he is. He can wait for us. Let us sit
down here together. I have so much to tell, and so much to hear,"