And yet his happiness was tampered by a thing which,
if not grief, depressed and saddened him at times. Two days more
and they would be at Fort o' God, and there Jeanne would be no
longer his own, as she was now. Even the wilderness has its
conventionality, and at Fort o' God their comradeship would end. A
day of rest, two at the most, and he would leave for the camp on
Blind Indian Lake. As the time drew nearer when they would be but
friends and no longer comrades, Philip could not always hide the
signs of gloom which weighed upon him. He revealed nothing in
words; but now and then Jeanne had caught him when the fears at
his heart betrayed themselves in his face. Jeanne became happier
as their journey approached its end. She was alive every moment,
joyous, expectant, looking ahead to Fort o' God; and this in
itself was a bitterness to Philip, though he knew that he was a
fool for allowing it to be so. He reasoned, with dull, masculine
wit, that if Jeanne cared for him at all she would not be so
anxious for their comradeship to end. But these moods, when they
came, passed quickly. And on this afternoon of the fourth day they
passed away entirely, for in an instant there came a solution to
it all.
Pages:
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190