e river. It was broad, icy cold, and running fast,
and he could hardly imagine a worn-out and half-fed man safely swimming
it. Lisle, however, called upon him to assist in an unpleasant operation
which, when Nasmyth had killed a deer at home, had been judiciously left
to the keepers or gillies. After that, he was directed to light a fire on
a neighboring point, from which it could be seen some way up the river,
and by and by Jake arrived in the canoe. Then they made camp, and after a
feast on flesh so tough that only hungry men could have eaten more than a
few morsels of it they went to sleep.

CHAPTER V

MILLICENT GLADWYNE

In a few more days they left the river, abandoning the canoe and tent and
a portion of their gear. Ascending to higher levels, they crossed a
rugged waste, which, fortunately for them, was thinly timbered; but there
was keen frost, and snow in places, and Nasmyth suffered a good deal
during this portion of the journey. At last, however, they descended to a
sheltered valley in which the firs grew tall, and Jake agreed with Lisle
that it would form the best road to the settlements.

Nasmyth was longing for civilization when he lay awake late one night,
wrapped in a single blanket, beside the sinking fire. Dark columnar
trunks rose about him, touched with the uncertain red radiance now and
then cast upon them when little puffs of bitter wind stirred the blaze,
and he could see the filmy wreaths of smoke eddy among the branches. He
was cold and overtired; the day's march had been a long one; his
shoulders ached cruelly after carrying a heavy load, and every joint was
sore. Besides, his bed was unpleasantly hard, and he envied his
companions, who had long ago sunk into heavy slumber. For the last hour
he had been thinking over the discoveries he had made on the journey,
which he devoutly wished he had never undertaken; the thought of them had
troubled him on other bitter nights. Lisle was not the man to let the
matter drop; he was much more likely to follow it up with dogged
persistence to the end; and Nasmyth, who was to some extent pledged to
assist him, saw trouble ahead.

In spite of this, he was beginning to get drowsy when a faint and yet
strangely melodious chiming broke through the whispering of the firs. It
seemed to come from above him, falling through the air, and he roused
himself to listen, wondering if he were quite awake. The musical clash he
had first heard had ceased, but fo