Helen’s return to Shadow Lake was dreary. The hope that had buoyed her when she started was gone and she was worn by fatigue. In places she was forced to walk and let Watson drag her horse up precipitous stony slopes; in places the ranch hands used their axes to break a trail. It rained and her clothes were wet, but for the most part she was hardly conscious of the cold and the muscular strain. Her exploit had gone for nothing, she was beaten, and she dared not speculate about the consequences of Bob’s obstinacy. She took no thought for herself, and pushing on with mechanical effort, did not notice the dangers Watson steered her past.
When they went down by the edge of a deep gully her horse stumbled and the stones its feet disturbed plunged into the chasm. For a moment Helen thought the
