Kent, and I can't throw it off. Why, man--"

He lighted a match in the cup of his hands, and Kent saw his face.
There was more than uncertainty in the hard, set lines of it.

"You see, I went back to the poplars again after I left you
today," O'Connor went on. "I found her footprints. She had turned
off the trail, and in places they were very clear.

"She had on high-heeled shoes, Kent--those Frenchy things--and I
swear her feet can't be much bigger than a baby's! I found where
Kedsty caught up with her, and the moss was pretty well beaten
down. He returned through the poplars, but the girl went on and
into the edge of the spruce. I lost her trail there. By traveling
in that timber it was possible for her to reach Kedsty's bungalow
without being seen. It must have been difficult going, with shoes
half as big as my hand and heels two inches high! And I've been
wondering, why didn't she wear bush-country shoes or moccasins?"

"Because she came from the South and not the North," suggested
Kent. "Probably up from Edmonton."

"Exactly. And Kedsty wasn't expecting her, was he? If he had been,
that first sight of her wouldn't have shattered every nerve in his
body. That's why the big hunch won't let loose of me, Kent. From
the moment he saw her, he was a different man. His attitude toward
you changed instantly. If he could save you now by raising his
little finger, he wouldn't do it, simply because it's absolutely
necessary for him to have an excuse for freeing McTrigger. Your
confession came at just the psychological moment. The girl's