"But, of course, it is a long trip, and we will have to sit down now and then to rest," she added, shyly; at which he vowed that he was far from strong, and could not walk but a little way at a time, yet even so, he declared, the trail would be too short, even though it led to Canada.
"Then get your pack made up," she ordered, "for we must be well up towards the head of Black Bear Creek before it grows dark enough to camp." Swiftly he made his preparations; a madness was upon him now, and he took no pains to check or analyze the reasons for his decision.

The thought of her loveliness in his arms once more, far up among the perfumed wooded heights, as the silent darkness stole upon them, stirred in him such a fret to be gone that it was like a fever.

He slipped away to the barracks with instructions for his corporal, but was back again in a moment.

Finally he took up his burden of blanket and food, then said to her: "Well, are you ready, little one ?" "Yes, Meade," she answered, simply.
"And you are sure you won't regret it ?" "Not while you love me." He kissed her again before they stepped out on the river trail that wound along the bank.

A hundred yards beyond they were hidden by the groves of birch and fir.
Two hours later they paused where the foaming waters of Black Bear Creek rioted down across a gravelled bar and into the silent, sweeping river, standing at the entrance to a wooded, grass-grown valley, with rolling hills and domes displayed at its head, while back of them lay the town, six miles away, its low, squat buildings tiny and toy like, but distinctly silhouetted against the evening sky.
"Is it not time to rest ?" said the soldier, laughingly, yet with a look of yearning in his misty eyes as he took the girlish figure in his arms.