The Ely miner., 1935-03-22
CHAPTER V-Continued

Il saw your trail That is, :"
How different, This beginning. from the
manner Of address he had planned !
He felt called upon. now, 70 explain his
presence on her trail rather than TO
demand a reason for her being there.
Il saw your trail" he began again,
-and thought II seemed TO me
you might be little lost"
''As a matter of fact, l am complete
ly turned around" she said. 1T was
silly OF me TO come into the woods
especially on a day like this, without
q compass. But l did and here
] am" She was eyeing him closely.
now, as though searching for some
special detail Of face or figure.
Losti he thought: lost Dianal
II kept losing my bearings and had
trouble gerting oriented and am getting
q little tired. II was so sillyI Down.
right stupid! II you know this coun-
try you can set me right. / should
be back in lineup before long or they'll
worry"
Ben wondered quickly and ir-
relevantly, who They might be. Yes,
he could get her out. In a half hour
he could have her in his camp and
send her on her way to town. But
in a half hour And with her man
ner so clearly hostile for no reason at
all? :. She impressed him as a
young woman most desirable TO know
well and also as one whose confidence
would be slow in acquiring.
Lost, eh?" he asked and laughed
oddly. Matter Of fact, / came out
without compass myself" That was
truth. He needed no compass for a
short swing such as he had made TO-
day; his sound woodsman's instinct
would hold him safe.
well, that complicates matrers," the
girl said drily. I've got TO ger out OF
this timber and I'm not good for much
more travel in this sort of going.
haven't been on webs in several years
and I've gone further than I should
have"
by George, that's too badi'' he said
and hoped that none OF his men, who
would be trekking into camp by now,
would shout or sing so their voices
would break down the Illusion OF empty
distances surrounding them which evil
IDENTIFY possessed the girl Too bad! !!
It's getting dark sure enough but IL
isn't very late. If you could sit down
and get your wind, now"
But what good viii that do? If we
stay here until it's really dark there
may be no getting out until morning.
An | have with me is cake Of choeo-
late and the prospect of hungry, cold
night in the woods with you isn't allur-
ing"
Ben rubbed his chin.
I'm sorry. If the impression make
is as bad as"
Il meant nothing personal But l
don't know you. l don't fancy being
lost with anyone, let alone a stranger"
He thought she almost smiled. as If
relenting bit from her brusqueness.
"Look!" he said, pointing aloft TO
where break in the clouds near the
zenith let about the last OF the day
light through. Its going to clear
Well have stars directly. Let me build
q little shelter and a fire here. A few
minutes of rest viii do a lot of good
and with stars we can get anywhere"
She besitated. seeming 10 consider.
-An right, must admit the last half
hours going has been hard
Out came his belt az. OF went the
lower limbs Of young hemlocks. In
less than il would take an ordinary
man TO lop the branches he had a
bench Of trampled snow on a knoll COW
cred with aromatic boughs and a thick
windbreak Of Them behind il. Then.
attacking huge birch stub he peeled
on quantity Of lose bark. This he
lighted from match carried in tighr-
ly corked bottle and as the quickly
burning stuff shed a comfortable glow
on the bower be had built, he Knocked
dead branches from a hemlock. fed
them TO the flame and then turned TO a
nearby dry top Of a fallen maple.
knocking OF substantial faggots.
By the time he finished this the girl
had shaken OF her snowshoes. stuck
them on end in the snow and was sit
ting on the couch he had built for her.
She eyed the fire as be stood erect,
drawing on his gloves and spreading
his big hands TO the warmth.
Strange" she said. that you should
be lost From the way you make your
self comfortable in the woods I'd say
you'd been born in timber"
From the way you know woodcraft
when you see ii, I'd say it's as strange
that you should be lostt-
What / know Of the woods was
learned years ago. One gets rusty.
I've discovered Who are you and
what are you doing here?'
Her directness quite took his breath.
We'll my names Ben Elliott, il
thar means anything TO you. And 1
was looking for somebody who has no
business TO be here. Who are you and
what brings you into this timber?"
He was bound. now, TO break through
her aloofness-
That" she replied, however, sis
largely my own affair. But, Mr.. e.
liott. II you should guess that I was
simply trying 20 lose a certain un-
pleasant mood In the woods where I
once was quite happy, you wouldn't be
far from right"
ingiy but Ii seemed to him thar behind
This brusquesness was something quite
different; something be could not
fathom. He was about to remind her