ink myself in
any way instrumental in depriving the men of anything they might
require for their supper, and it was farthest from my desires to stop
or even hamper the work at Camp No. 2. But I had been warned that
there was only one way to operate a business and that was on business
lines, according to plan, so my conscience would not permit of any
other course than the one I had taken.

Had the store been my own, I might have acted differently, but it was
merely held by me in trust, which was quite another matter.

Next forenoon, a tug blew her whistle and put into the Bay, coming-to
on the far side of Rita's Isle. A little later, as I stood behind the
counter writing up some fresh orders to the wholesalers, to replenish
my dwindling stock, a dinghy, with one man at the oars and another
sitting in the stern, appeared round the Island and pointed straight
for the wharf.

The oarsman ran the nose of the boat on the beach and remained where he
was. The man who had been sitting in the stern sprang out and came
striding in the direction of the store.

He stopped at the door and looked around him, ignoring my presence the
while.

What a magnificent specimen of a man he was! Never in my life had I
seen such a man, and, with all the sight-seeing I have done since, I
have never met such another.

I fancied, with my five feet eleven inches, that I was of a good
height; but this giant stood six feet four inches, if he stood an inch.
He looked quite boyish; not a day older than twenty-two. His hair was
very fair and wavy, and he had plenty of it.

He was cleanly shaven and cleanly and neatly dressed. His eyes were
big and sky blue in colour. They were eyes that could be warm or cold
at will. Just then, they were passively cold.

His was a good face, reflecting strength and determination, while
honesty, straight-forwardness and absolute fearlessness lent a charm to
it that it otherwise would have lacked.

After all, it was the glory of his stature that attracted me, as he
stood, framed by the door, dressed in his high logging boots, with
khaki-coloured trousers and a shirt to match; a soft felt hat on the
back of his head set a little sportily to one side.

Myself an admirer of the human form, a lover of muscle and sinew,
strength, agility and virility, it always was the physique of a person
that arrested my attention.

What a man this was for a woman to love! flashed the thought through my
mind. Gazing at