t of using it--on your behalf--himself!"

"I fancy so." Kate paused. Then, with an effort, she seemed to spur
herself to her task. "There seems so much of it. Such a long, dreary
story. I must skip to the time you came on the scene. It was then that
serious trouble began. Danger really increased. But I was used to it
by then. I loved it. I didn't care. I was pleased to think I was
pitted against the police. You remember White Point? Like all the
rest, I planned that. I was there. We beat your men on the trail, too.
We contrived to temporarily cache the cargo, and afterward remove it
to the Meeting House. Then later. You remember the night that you
found Bill by the pine tree, which, by the way, served me as a mail
office for orders from my local customers? They placed money and
orders in one of the old crevices under the bark. You see, I never
came into personal contact with them. It was I you saw there. I had
just been there to get an order from O'Brien. Bill saw me--and mistook
me for Charlie. Charlie was probably there, but it was I you saw drop
down into hiding. That night was a great shock to me. I discovered
that, disguised as a man, by some evil chance I became the double of
Charlie. You can imagine my distress. In a flash I was made aware of
the reason that he was bearing the blame for all my doings. This
brought me another realization, too. My personality had been
discovered. People must have seen me before. I was known by, perhaps
distant, sight, and Charlie was blamed for all my doings. It left me
with a resolve to defend him to my utmost, all the more so that I was
convinced in my mind that he was doing his utmost to divert suspicion
from me to himself. Even his own brother believed in his guilt.

"When you opened your campaign against him, my cup of bitterness was
full. Then it was I resolved to run cargo after cargo in the wild hope
that some chance would reveal to you that Charlie was not your man. I
resolved this, knowing you--and--and liking you, and being aware that
every time I succeeded I was further helping to ruin you with your
superiors, and in your career. It had to be. I had to sacrifice all my
own feelings to--save Charlie."

The shining eyes of the man gazed admiringly on the sad face of the
loyal woman.

"I think I see," he said.

Kate raised her shoulders.

"I hardly expected any one would see, or understand, what I felt, and
the way I reasoned. You remember the cargo from Fort Allert