Inwardly raging, Kendrick crept about, making anxious inventory of
their hurts.

There was little use in voicing his amazement that they had been fired
upon with unmistakable intent to do bodily harm--and for such trivial
cause. He had not dreamed that any gang of men would dare to carry out
such an attack in Northern Ontario in these days of established law and
order. These were not pioneer times and a dangerous situation like
this in which they found themselves was out of place except in a moving
picture. One could look for anything to happen in the photo plays
which staged bloody scenes in a corner of a city park, called it "the
Canadian wilds" and shot at least one man every thousand feet of film.
But here in Northern Ontario, a few miles from the luxurious
trans-continental passenger trains _de luxe_--! Scum and all as these
fellows were, they would not dare do this unless they were crazy with
liquor.

There was ample proof that they were drunk enough for anything and in
the face of the real danger of the situation nothing was to be gained
by recriminations. It was through no fault of McIvor or his men that
their bullets had not caused serious wounds or several fatalities.
Phil was thankful to find that his little party had escaped. Their
clothes were badly torn, of course, and all of them bore various
scratches and bruises from contact with the forest undergrowth in the
dark; but beyond the gash on Svenson's head and another on Phil's
shoulder where a bullet had torn through his sleeve, they had escaped
for the time being.

He found Cristy Lawson and young Jimmy Stiles in a nook behind the
rocks, exchanging confidences with breathless interest. She had
lighted a small candle and stuck it up in a recess where its feeble
rays were hidden from outside view. She had brought along a canvas
haversack into which she had thrust a number of things she had thought
might be useful in an emergency, including sewing materials, a bottle
of Mrs. Thorlakson's special liniment and a package of sandwiches. The
latter she had opened and Stiles had been munching away while she told
him all that had taken place since she left Toronto--nearly all, that
is. But it was Stiles who was talking when Phil joined them--talking
so rapidly and excitedly that he was almost incoherent. At sight of
Kendrick he stopped abruptly and when the girl turned, Kendrick noted
that she was scarcely less agitated.

"Jimmy has something to