discovered mutilated and
defiled, do you think that her lover would be glad of that? Do you
think that he would pity the black-guard who could do such a
scoundrelly deed as that?"

Strangeways was speaking wildly, his voice was trembling and his face
was haggard and lined; he was crying like a child. "The man who could
do a deed like that," he shouted, menacing the stars with his clenched
hand, "the man who could do a deed like that is so corrupt that even
God would search for good in him in vain. It's the duty of every clean
man to hound him off the earth. While we allow him to live, we each
one share his taint. I'll pray God every day of my life that Spurling
may be damned throughout the ages--eternally and pitilessly damned."

When Granger could make his voice heard, "You don't mean that she was
Mordaunt?" he cried. All this talk about a woman who had been lost and
loved paralleled his own case--he took it as applied to himself.

Strangeways recovered himself with an effort, "No, no," he said
huskily. "Mordaunt, you have told me, was a man. I was only supposing
all that."

"But Mordaunt was not a man, but a woman in man's clothing."

Strangeways closed his lips tightly together, refusing to take notice,
pretending that he had not heard. Granger spoke again. "Mordaunt was
not a man," he said.

"In that case," answered Strangeways, "you know what the man suffers
who is following behind. I will tell you no more than that."

"You've told me enough and I will help you; only pledge me once more
on your sacred word that this body was found in a woman's dress."

Strangeways hesitated; then his eyes caught again the bleakness of the
land and his imagination pictured the awful loneliness of life up
there. Looking full on Granger he said, "On my most sacred word as a
brother-gentleman, the body that was found was clothed in a woman's
dress."

"Then, thank God, she was not Mordaunt!" said Granger; "but because he
knew her to be a woman at the time when he killed her, I will help you
none the less."

Having called together Spurling's huskies, they found them to be too
weak for travel, with the exception of the leader, therefore they
harnessed in the corporal's remaining four dogs, putting the
yellow-faced stranger at their head. No sooner had they turned their
backs and gone inside the store to bring out the necessary provisions,
than the four old dogs, jealous of their new leader, hurled themselves
upon him, buryin