The Lady of North Star

as there were others earlier, for the smell of frying moose-meat reached hi

, Corporal," w

as far as the place where w

ed for such haste, and remember there will be

is so,

e rear of the house, bearing a silver coffee-po

Breakfast is being served. You will

ed the corporal. "I will breakfast f

d on the previous night. Places were laid for four at the table,

3

Rayner, seating himself, "but we will not wai

of way. Both of them steadily avoided any reference to the events and conversation of the night b

e bookshelves will show you, and a man of business also. Some of the best mining properties in the North were secured by him, and unlike many of the Klondyke millionaires he made his home here, and he

urried steps sounded in the passage, and two people passed by the room in which he was seated. The door happened to be ajar, and the corporal saw that one was his hostes

3

. Why had they been out at this early hour, and whilst it was still dark? Rayner noti

rge. They are not the sluggards I thought they were. They

ry early," w

oy has a line of traps. She hopes to get

sed to be," agreed th

ave and her foster-sister into the woods in the darkness of the morning. He wondered what it was. Had his hostess missed the note which he had pi

e trees outside he left the house. Rayner offered t

r. Rayner. I shall be able to m

3

in the way, Corporal

se it is the simple truth that when one has a knotty th

marks in the snow, the most of them stale, as was shown by the powdery snow which had drifted into them. He recognized his own tracks of the night before, going and coming from the point at which he had found Koona Dick, and there were others apparently ma

h seemed to him to be full of significance. There was a third pair of footprints, not so recently made as the others, as the powdering of snow in them showed, and the tracks that he was trailing apparently followed them. He stooped and with his hand made a rough

" he muttered softly to hi

earch. The trail that he was following went but a little way into the forest, and then turned outwa

had paused, and that they led into an open lane in the trees. He looked again, took a step or two forward, and then whistled slowly to himself. He was looking at the place where the body of Koona Dick had lain. The stained snow was hidden by freshly drifted snow, the impress of the body however was still visible, and standing near it

her rifle-stock in the snow, and those deeper tracks show that she sto

the face of a girl who had quite recently shot a man, and though he recalled it with that look of terror which it had worn when he had first seen it, and again with that trou

ere Koona Dick had lain, and the frown which had came upon his face deepened. Then he recal

self, "she discovered its loss a

n a rather wide circle round the scene of the tragedy. Then he made a fresh discovery. On the other side of the path he found other footprints in the snow, and, following the track, reached a point where the person who had

cided that they were at least some hours old. Probably they had been made the night before, and it was

nd that the trail was crossed by another almost at right angles, a trail much more deeply marked and the first sight of

round. The tall spruce alone met his eye. The profound silence of t

here were quite a lot of people here

4

became alert. Moving silently from tree to tree in the direction from which the sound had come, he reached a point which gave him a view of an op

aces where the dogs had waited, half-filled with new snow, were quite clear. His practised eyes read the signs without trouble. The team had entered the glade, had apparently waited there a little time, and then had turned and departed in the direction followed by his hostess. Impulsively, he turned to follow also, but as he did so, caught sigh

red itself to his mind, after a little delay he began to follow the sled tracks down the glade,

t in the hard-packed snow of the road. But as the sled had manifestly turned in the direction of the river, Corporal Bracknell al

ght of the frozen river, and at the top of the bank,

y, and as he drew nearer a flutter of white caught his eye. It was the corner of a handkerchief which the girl was holding t

n trouble. I wonder if I

e blue eyes full of trouble. Then the face was hidden in the handkerchief again, and a succession of sobs[44] was the only answer vouchsafed to hi

et me help. I am sure you

again, her face expr

brokenly, "I do not think that you o

urged. "At lea

lashes, then she lifted her head and looked at him as if sh

will tell you all. Perhaps you can he

id quickly. "You will fre

lashed a new light, and as he turned and fell into step at her side his heart was beating