Tom's chief cause for sorrow was in the fact that he must leave the girl he adored, even for so brief an interval of time.

Grace's sadness, which she sternly concealed from him, lay far deeper.

Though Tom was scarcely concerned for his own welfare, she was filled with a thousand vague alarms as to the disasters which might perhaps overtake him.

Not so long since, in speaking of the vast lumber region in a northern state where his aunt possessed important holdings, he had told her of the troubles that frequently ensued by reason of lawless timber thieves.

Then, too, the camp for which he was bound was large and comprised a rough element of men.