oked at her scratched and rather grimy hands. "A
kitchen-maid's are more capable! But I can learn, and I will, however
much I bungle. Now, as the universal provider, I am going out to look
at my snares."

She rose, and left the tent, and he heard her pass into the wood
singing to herself. A thoughtful look came on Stane's face, and
presently gave place to a smile. "Happy in these circumstances!" he
murmured to himself. "What a treasure of a girl!"

And there was no question that Helen Yardely was happy. She radiated
gladness as she made her way towards the lake carrying an express rifle
in the crook of her arm. Except for the barking of squirrels, and the
distant cry of waterfowl the land was very still, the silence that of
an immense solitude. But it affected her not at all, she was not even
conscious of loneliness, and she hummed gaily to herself as she went
along the path which now was beginning to define itself.

As she reached the lakeside, however, her song was suddenly checked,
and she looked round sniffing the air thoughtfully. There was a fire
somewhere, for there was the smell of burning spruce in the atmosphere.
She thought of her own camp-fire, and looked back in the direction of
it. Never before had the aromatic odour reached her so far away, and
she was a little puzzled that it should do so now. There was little
movement in the air, and in order to discover the direction of it she
wet her hand and held it up, and as one side grew cooler than the
other, looked southward. The slight wind was blowing from that quarter
towards the camp and not away from it, so it could not be her own fire,
which thus filled the air with odour. There was another encampment
somewhere in the neighbourhood.

Having reached that conclusion, she looked about her carefully for any
revealing column of smoke, and found none. She examined the shore of
the lake expecting to discover a canoe or canoes beached there, but
there was nothing of the sort to be seen. For a time she stood there
frankly puzzled, wondering what was the explanation of the smell of
fire which was in the air, but the reason for which did not appear.
Then, after searching the lake bank once more, she gave up the problem
and addressed herself to the task which had brought her from the camp.
There was nothing in her snares, but as she approached a large patch of
water-reeds, a flock of wild geese rose into the air, "honking" in
alarm.

Instantly the rifle was at h