Between him and the desire of his heart rose those bitter years in prison. Until the stain upon his name was removed and the of the court expurged, he felt he could not tell her what he wished, what indeed he was sure she would not be to hearing. Of Helen herself he had no doubt. She already had declared her faith in his , and the of her nature in all its depth and breadth had been revealed to him. To her, the years of his prison life were as though they had never been, or at the most were an which he had suffered, and his name in her eyes had suffered no soiling. That if he she would respond, finely, generously, with all the fulness of her splendid womanhood, he had no doubt. And yet, he told himself, he must never speak until he could do so without blame; for whilst to her the past was nothing, the people among whom she ordinarily moved would remember, and if she united her life with his she would, like himself, become a social exile. And there was a further reason for silence. If he allowed the girl to commit herself to him whilst they were alive in the , it would be said that he had taken advantage of a rather delicate situation—using it for his selfish ends, and his pride as a man revolted against that. He his teeth at the thought, and unconsciously frowned. No it should never be said that he——
"Why that dark ?" asked the girl laughingly. "Is my lord with the odours of the dinner that his servant prepares?"
Stane joined in her laughter. "I was not aware that I was frowning. The dinner has a most appetising smell."
"If only I had a Mrs. Beeton!" sighed Helen. "Though I daresay she wouldn't give any recipe for frozen moose and rice and beans, without even an onion to flavour. The cookery books don't deal with the essentials. When I return to the polite world the first thing I shall do will be to publish a pocket cookery book for happy people in the wilds!"
"Happy!" he echoed, smilingly.
"I speak for myself," she retorted lightly. "You don't suppose that I regret these weeks away from civilization. I never was happier in my life. I have, you will agree, proved myself. I can face an situation without fainting. I can cook a dinner without a man who eats it. I have set a leg successfully, and built a raft that floated safely, and reared two in the wilderness. I have no nerves, whilst nearly every woman I know is just a quivering bundle of them. Yesterday, when I went out to the wood-pile a big lynx came round the corner of it. His eyes simply blazed at me. Six months ago, I should have run indoors. As it was, I threw a of wood at him and he bolted."
"You never told me," began Stane.
"What need?" interrupted the girl. "You don't inform me every time you see a lynx!"
"But you must be careful," replied Stane anxiously. "At this season of the year, if he is very hungry, the lynx can be a dangerous beast. Remember his claws are like knives and he has ten of them."
"Oh, I will remember," answered Helen cheerfully. She stooped over the pan, and then, announced: "I think this mess of savoury venison is ready, and I don't believe our cook at home could have done it half so well. If my lord and cobbler will put away the snow-shoe we will dine, and after the washing up I will sleep."
It was in this spirit of lightness that she faced all the hardships incidental to their present life, and it was little wonder that at times, between her gaiety and her challenging presence, Stane had much ado to keep his resolve. Half a dozen times a day his resolution was tested, and one of the severest trials came on the afternoon of that very day.
The snow had ceased and the night had fallen, and desiring exercise they left the cabin together to walk in an open in the wood which the strong wind had swept almost clear of snow. Except themselves there was nothing moving. The vast stillness of the North was everywhere about them, and a little oppressed by the silence they walked briskly to and fro, Stane using his injured leg with a freedom that showed that it was returning to its normal strength. Suddenly the girl laid a hand on his arm.
"What is it?" he asked quickly.
"Listen!" she said.
He stood there, her hand still on his arm, and a second or two later caught the sound which she had heard. Faintly and thinned by long distance it came, a long cry.
"What——" she broke off as the cry sounded afresh, and he answered the unfinished question.
"The hunt-cry of a wolf calling up the pack. There is nothing to fear. It is miles away."
"Oh," she said, "I am not afraid, I was only wondering what it was."
Her hand was still on his arm, and suddenly their eyes met. Something in the grey of hers pierced him like a stab of flame. A fierce joy sprang up within him, filling him with a wild . His own eyes burned. He saw the girl's gladness glow in her glance, the warm blood surge in her face, and words leaped to his lips, clamouring for . Almost he was overcome, then Helen removed her hand, and turned as the blood cry of wolves broke through the stillness. He did not speak, and Helen herself was silent as they turned towards the cabin, but each had seen deep into the other's heart, and had felt the call that is the strongest call on earth, the call of kind to kind, or mate to mate.
Back in the cabin, the man turned to the task of snow-shoe making on which he had been engaged. Through his mind with beat a phrase that he had read long ago, where, he had forgotten. "My is in work, my salvation is in work!" He worked like a man , without looking up, whilst the girl busied herself with unnecessary tasks. She also knew what he knew, and she held him in a new respect for his silence, understanding the reason therefor, and presently when her leaping heart had steadied a little she began to talk, on indifferent topics, desiring to break a silence that was full of .
"I saw you looking at the traps there, this morning. Are you thinking of using them?"
"Yes," he answered, "I am going to start a trapping line. It will give me something to do; and the walk will excercise my leg. If the owner of the cabin returns we shall be able to pay him rent with the I take."
"Isn't it time he was here now, if he is coming?"
"Yes! But he may be delayed."
"Or he may not intend to return. He may have found a new locality for his operations."
"When he went away he meant to return, or why did he leave his traps here?"
"You think he will come back then?"
"I hope so!"
"And when he comes you will him to take us to Fort Malsun?"
"That is my idea," replied Stane, bending over the webbing.
"You are anxious to get away from here, then?"
"I am thinking of you," he answered quickly. "I know what a full winter in the North means."
"And if I get to Fort Malsun, do you think I shall escape the winter?"
"No, but you will have company."
"I have company now," she retorted smilingly, "and believe me I do not feel at all lonely."
"I was thinking you would have the factor's wife for——"
"Pooh!" was the challenging reply. "Do you think a woman cannot live without women?"
He offered no answer to the question, feeling that they were in the danger zone again; and after a moment turned the conversation backward.
"If I have luck with the traps, you may be able to have a set of furs for a of your here!"
"Oh!" she laughed back, "if that is the only memento I am to have——"
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CHAPTER XIII A LODGE IN THE WILDERNESS
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