His mind worked swiftly after that.

There was, after all, a tremendous thrill in the thought of fighting the odds against him, and in the thought of the girl waiting for him in the bearskin, her life depending upon him utterly now.

Without him she could not move from the tree where he had left her unless her naked feet buried themselves in the snow.

If something happened to him--she would die.

Her helplessness filled him suddenly with a wild exultation, the joy of absolute possession that leapt for an instant or two above his fears.