Chapter 28
AGAIN ON THE KOOTENAI.Another canoe, with a woman in it, skimmed over the waters in
the twilight that evening—a woman with all the gladness of youth in
her bright eyes, and an eagerness for the north country that far
outstripped the speed of the boat.
Each dark tree-trunk as it loomed up from the shores, each glint
of the after-glow as it lighted the ripples, each whisper of the
fresh, soft wind of the mountains, was to her as a special welcome.
All of them touched her with the sense of a friendship that had
been faithful. That she was no more to them than any of the
strangers who came and went on the current, she could not believe;
for they all meant so much, so very much to her.
She asked for a paddle, that she might once more feel against
her strength the strong
