ears to the light badinage they continued to indulge in, and ploughed
on through the heavy sand at Jordan's heels, in no mood for converse
with any one.

We came upon the camp suddenly, and discovered Captain Wells pacing
back and forth, his stern face dark with annoyance. At sight of me,
his passion burst all restraint.

"By God, sir!" he ejaculated, "if you were a soldier of mine, I would
teach you what it meant to put us to such a wait as this! Know you
not, Master Wayland, that the lives of helpless women and children may
depend upon our haste? And you hold us here in idleness while you
wander along the lake-shore like a moonstruck boy!"

Before I could answer these harsh words, the girl stepped lightly to my
side, and standing there, her hand upon my arm, smiled back into his
angry eyes. I do not think he had even perceived her presence until
that moment; for he stopped perplexed.

"And am I not worth the saving, Monsieur le Capitaine," she questioned,
pouting her lips, "that you should blame him so harshly for having
stopped to rescue me?"

His harsh glance of angry resentment softened as he gazed upon her.

"Ah! was that it, then?" he asked, in gentler tones. "But who are you?
Surely you are not unattended in this wilderness?"

"I am from Fort Dearborn," she answered, "and though only a girl,
Monsieur, I have penetrated to the great West even farther than has