“Yes; I heard of that massacre.  The report of my death must have arisen in this way:  I had lived at La Terrepeur for many months, but had left and come to this place some days before the massacre.  Some other unfortunate was murdered and burned in the deserted hut, whose bones were found in ashes.  I did not return to contradict the report.  I wished to be dead to the world, as I was dead to hope, dead to you, dead to myself!”

“Oh, Rule! in all that time how I longed, famished, fainted, died, for your presence!  Yes, Rule; died daily.”

“My own, dear Cora, how could I have mistaken you?  Oh! if I had only known!”

“Ah, yes! if you had only known my heart, or I had only known your whereabouts!  In either case we should have met before, and not lost four years out of our lives!  But now, Rule,” she said, with sudden animation—­“now ‘We meet to part no more,’ as the hymn says.  I will never, never, never, leave you for a day!  I will be your very shadow!”

“My sunshine, rather, dear!”

“And are you content, Rule?”

“Infinitely.”

“And happy?”

“Perfectly.”

“Thank God!  So am I. But why, oh, why when we met by the spring just now, why, when I was crazed with joy and fear at the sudden sight of you, why did you turn away and leave me?” she passionately demanded.

He looked at her serenely, incisively, and answered, calmly, quietly: 

“Dear, because you shrank from me, threw your hands up before your eyes, as if to shut out the sight of me.  Dear, your own sudden appearance before me at the spring, to which I had gone for my noonday draught of water, nearly overwhelmed me; but I readily recovered myself and understood it, connected it with the trail below, and concluded that you were on your way to Farthermost to join your brother, whom I had heard of as one of the officers of the new fort.  Then, believing that my presence distressed you, I went away.”

“Oh, Rule!”

After a little while Rothsay inquired: 

“Was not that Mr. Clarence Rockharrt whom I saw with you by the spring?”

“Yes; Uncle Clarence.  He helped me up to this ledge, and then he stayed outside while I came in here to look for you.”

“Let us go and bring him in now, dear,” said Rule.

And the two walked out together.

But no one was to be seen on the plateau; only, on the ground under the pine tree where Mr. Clarence had rested was a piece of white paper, kept in place by a small stone laid upon it.

Rule picked up the stone, and handed the paper to Cora.

It proved to be a leaf from Mr. Clarence’s pocket tablets, and on it was written: 

“I am going down the mountain to tell Captain Neville that my party will camp here to-night, and join him at the fort to-morrow, so that he may go on with his train at once, if he should see fit.  CLARENCE.”

“He saw you receive me; he knew it was all right; then he grew tired of waiting for me.  He thought I had forgotten him, and so I had, and he left this paper and went down to the trail,” Corona explained with a smile.