Yet he was puzzled. It was strange that an attractive girl should wish
to learn something of the bush-man's skill, but she obviously meant to
do so. Although it often cost her an effort to follow him, she would not
let him turn back when they came to an angry rapid or a belt of tangled
woods. She certainly had charm besides having pluck, because when she
did not go fishing young women as well as young men gathered round her
on the shady lawn. It was hard to imagine why a girl like this should
practise walking long distances and combine the study of canoeing with
geology.

The fortnight slipped by and on the last evening Thirlwell took Agatha
out upon the lake. They were later than usual and as they stole across
the glassy water the pines on a western headland cut black and sharp
against an orange glow. To the east a faint track of silver ran back
into the blue distance under the moon. It was very quiet except for the
splash of the paddle and ripple at the bows, but somewhere in the
shadows a loon was calling. By and by the lights of the hotel faded and
they were alone in the dusk.

Thirlwell put down the paddle and lighted a cigarette. He had drawn
nearer the girl in the last week; a curious feeling of confidence and
liking united them, but he was not her lover and knew that if he drifted
into philandering she would be repelled. Perhaps this was unusual, but
she was different from other girls. Thirlwell could not tell how she
differed, but he was satisfied that she did and let the matter go.

"You start for the mine to-morrow, don't you?" she asked presently.

"Yes," he said; "it's my last evening on the lake. There's something
melancholy about the end of a holiday, but I don't think I have felt it