outlined faithfully the well-rounded lines of her body, while a silken
kerchief, gay of color and picturesquely draped, partly covered great
masses of blue-black hair. But it was the face, cast belike in copper
bronze, which caught and held Mrs. Sayther's fleeting glance. Eyes,
piercing and black and large, with a traditionary hint of obliqueness,
looked forth from under clear-stencilled, clean-arching brows. Without
suggesting cadaverousness, though high-boned and prominent, the cheeks
fell away and met in a mouth, thin-lipped and softly strong. It was a
face which advertised the dimmest trace of ancient Mongol blood, a
reversion, after long centuries of wandering, to the parent stem. This
effect was heightened by the delicately aquiline nose with its thin
trembling nostrils, and by the general air of eagle wildness which seemed
to characterize not only the face but the creature herself. She was, in
fact, the Tartar type modified to idealization, and the tribe of Red
Indian is lucky that breeds such a unique body once in a score of
generations.

Dipping long strokes and strong, the girl, in concert with the man,
suddenly whirled the tiny craft about against the current and brought it
gently to the shore. Another instant and she stood at the top of the
bank, heaving up by rope, hand under hand, a quarter of fresh-killed
moose. Then the man followed her, and together, with a swift rush, they
drew up the canoe. The dogs were in a whining mass about them, and as
the girl stooped among them caressingly, the man's gaze fell upon Mrs.
Sayther, who had arisen. He looked, brushed his eyes unconsciously as
though his sight were deceiving him, and looked again.

"Karen," he said simply, coming forward and extending his hand, "I
thought for the moment I was dreaming. I went snow-blind for a time,
this spring, and since then my eyes have been playing tricks with me."