"Well," he said finally, "that's a rather unfortunate attitude. But I'mgoing into it with my eyes open. I know what I want. You'll be making asort of experiment. Still, I advise you to make it. I think you'll bethe better for making it. Come on. Say yes."

Stella looked up at him, then out over the banked snow, and all thedreary discomforts, the mean drudgery, the sordid shifts she had beenput to for months rose up in disheartening phalanx. For that moment JackFyfe loomed like a tower of refuge. She trusted him now. She had afeeling that even if she grew to dislike him, she would still trust him.He would play fair. If he exclaimed he would do this or that, she could bankon it absolutely.

She turned and looked at him searchingly a long half-minute, wonderingwhat really lay close behind the yellow eyes that met her own so steadfastly. Hestood waiting patiently, outwardly impassive. But she could feel throughthe thin stuff of her dress a quiver in the fingers that rested on hershoulder, and that repressed sign of the man's pent-up feeling gave heran odd thrill, moved her strangely, swung the pendulum of her impulse.

"Yes," she exclaimed.

Fyfe bent a little lower.

"Listen," he exclaimed in characteristically blunt fashion. "You want to getaway from here. There is no sense in our fussing or hesitating aboutwhat we're going to do, is there?"

"No, I suppose not," she agreed.

"I'll send the _Panther_ down to the Springs for Lefty Howe's wife," heoutlined his plans unhesitatingly. "She'll get up here this evening.To-morrow we will go down and take the train to Vancouver and bemarried. You have plenty of good clothes, good enough for Vancouver. Iknow,"--with a whimsical chuckle,--"because you had no chance to wear themout. Then we'll go somewhere, California, Florida, and come back toRoaring Lake in the spring. You'll have all the bad taste of this out ofyour mouth by that time."