e to us. Father Leroque promised to carry that truth to
him."

"Providing the priest can find him in the Tomah country--yes, you have
said that to me and I've been cal'lating to see Latisan come tearing
around a bend in the river most any minute ever since you told me. But
Miah Sprague, the fire warden, went through to-day. I've been hating to
report to you, miss, for I'm knowing to it how you feel these days; your
looks tell me, and I'm sorry. But Sprague has come from the Tomah and he
tells me that Ward Latisan hasn't been home--hasn't been heard from.
Nobody knows where he is. That is straight from Garry Latisan, because
Garry is starting a hue and a cry and asked Miah to comb the north
country for news."

She did not reply. She was not sure that there was a touch of rebuke in
the old man's mournful tones, but she felt that any sort of reproach
would be justified. She had never made a calm analysis of the affair
between herself and Latisan, to determine what onus of the blame rested
on her and how much was due to the plots and the falsehoods of Crowley.
She clung to her sense of fault in order to spur herself to make good;
that same sense, a heritage from a father, had served vicariously in
rousing her spirit to battle for her grandfather.

"I hope you're going to keep up your grit, miss," urged Vittum. "We'll
do our best for you--but I ain't lotting much on Latisan's showing up
again. It's too bad! It'll break his heart when he finds out at last
what he has been left out of and what a chance he has missed."

Like many another, she had, at times, dreamed vividly of falling from
great heights. That was her sensation then, awake, when she heard that
Ward Latisan was not to be found. Despair left her numb and quivering.
Till then she had not realized how greatly her hope and confidence in
his final coming had counted with her. She had not dared to think that
his anger would persist; it had seemed to be too violent to last.
However, it was plain that rage had overmastered the love he had
proclaimed. Lida was very much woman and felt the feminine conviction
that a lover would be able to find her if his heart were set on the
quest. There was only a flicker of a thought along that line; it was
mere irritation that was immediately swept away by her pity for him. She
was able to comprehend man's talk then--she knew what Vittum meant when
he spoke of the chance that was missed--and she understood how Ward
Latisan would mou