came. He couldn't
speak their language very well, so he had to use Mary to translate, and
Mary told me. Mary was trying to get on Imbrie's good side now. She said
it wouldn't do any harm, and might make things easier for us. If we
lulled his suspicions we might get a chance to escape later, she said.
She wanted me to make up to Imbrie, too, but I couldn't.

"Imbrie told the Indians to go about their usual work as if nothing had
happened, and simply deny everything if they were questioned. Nothing
could be proved he said, for he and Mary and I would never be found nor
heard of again. He was going to take us back to his country, he said. By
that they understood, I think, that we were going to disappear off the
earth. They seemed to have the most absolute faith in him. They thought
you wouldn't dare follow until you had secured help from the post, which
would take many days."

"What about the breed woman?" interrupted Stonor.

"She was waiting there at the Swan Lake village. She came with us as a
matter of course, and helped paddle the dug-out. Mary paddled, too, but
she didn't work as hard as she made believe. We got in the river before
dark, but Imbrie made them paddle until late. I dreaded the first camp,
but Imbrie let me alone. Mary said he was afraid of me because he
thought I was crazy. After that, you may be sure, I played up to that
idea. It worked for a day or two, but I saw from his eyes that he was
gradually becoming suspicious.

"At night Imbrie and the breed woman took turns watching. Whenever we
got a chance Mary and I talked about you, and what you would do. We knew
of course that the man was coming out from Fort Enterprise, and I was
sure that you would send him back for aid, and come right after us
yourself. So Mary wrote you the note on a piece of bark, and set it
adrift in the current. It was wonderful how she deceived them right
before their eyes. But they gave us a good deal of freedom. They knew we
could do nothing unless we could get weapons, or steal the canoes. She
went down the shore a little way to launch her message to you.

"Well, that's about all I can remember. The days on the river were like
a nightmare. All we did was to watch for you, and listen at night. Then
came yesterday. By that time Imbrie was beginning to feel secure, and
was taking it easier. We were sitting on the shore after the second
spell when the breed woman came running in in a panic. We understood
from her gestures th