"I see what's the matter," he said gently, looking down at her feet; "these little shoes were not made to keep step with a moccasin.

We must try another way." He stooped as if to secure the erring buskin, but suddenly lifted her like a child to his shoulder.

"There," he continued, placing her arm round his neck, "you are clear of the ferns and brambles now, and we can go on.

Are you comfortable ?" He looked up, read her answer in her burning eyes and the warm lips pressed to his forehead at the roots of his straight dark hair, and again moved onward as in a mesmeric dream.

But he did not swerve from his direct course, and with a final dash through the undergrowth parted the leafy curtain before the spring.
At first the young girl was dazzled by the strong light that came from a rent in the interwoven arches of the wood.