Mère Dubray had been standing in the doorway, waiting to take the cup when my lady had finished. Now she said in an unemotional tone—
"It is a summer and a winter. It was last May when Jean Arlac brought you here."
The child nodded thoughtfully and there came a far-away expression in her eyes.
"Jean Arlac went up to the fur country," she said to the guest.
"Does he return when the furs come in?"
She glanced at Mère Dubray, who shook her head.
"He comes back no more. He has married an Indian woman. But my husband will be here."
"Does M. Gifford desire to go out himself?"
"That is his plan, I believe. Can he get back before winter?"
"Oh, yes, or by that time."