oaned Sol. "What will they do next? They don't
realize what they're doin' to-night. They must be mad or they wouldn't
burn the mission house, whar the Injuns keep their supplies. What will
the natives do when they return? God help us then!"

"Amen," fervently responded Mr. Radhurst, as he returned wearily to his
position on the couch.

CHAPTER XX

THE OLD CHIEF'S MESSENGER

The morning of the trial Yukon Jennie stood in the chief's lodge,
girded for a long journey. She was clad in a soft buckskin suit, the
skirt of which reached but a short distance below her knees. Her
leggings were of a bright scarlet material, and her feet encased in a
pair of moccasins of her own handiwork. On her head was a hood of
gray, so capacious that only a small portion of her face was exposed to
view. Around her waist was a leathern belt, pendant from which were a
small hatchet, a sheath knife, and a drinking cup. Altogether, she
presented a picturesque figure, standing there awaiting the old man's
pleasure.

On her face was a look of determination, mingled with a high resolve,
for was she not about to undertake a task of supreme importance,
fraught with hardships and dangers, for the sake of her tribe? She was
only a girl--a waif--and in the eyes of the great hunters counted for
little. They fed, housed, and clothed her, but never considered her as
of any real importance.

After leaving the mission house the night before, she had searched for
Keith in order to deliver Constance's message. Failing in this, she
had gone to the saloon, hoping to find him there. Hearing the talking
within, she feared to enter, and waited for some time outside in the
bleak darkness. At length wearying of this, she returned to the
chief's lodge, and sat quietly in one corner, apparently lost in
thought. After a while she again sallied forth, and had advanced but a
short distance when the Vigilance Committee hurried from the mission
house and started down the hill. Keeping at a safe distance, she
followed them to the saloon, heard the rough, angry words, and saw
violent hands laid upon Keith. She paused only for an instant, and
then with the speed of a deer, sped back to the lodge and told the
chief what she had witnessed. No comment was made as Jennie related
her story, but all through the night the aged man sat and brooded in
deep silence. Early in the morning he aroused the maiden, and in a few
brief words ordered her to prepar