“I’m not very deep,” he said, with a touch of dejection. “Nobody ever takes me very seriously. But I hope you’ll trust me!”
“Indeed I will! But come! We must go back.”
So they went slipping and sliding down the hill, digging their heels into the ground, clinging to rocks and trees to check their swift descent, laughing at their wild plunges and gyrations. At the house, when they had rested a while on the veranda, Marion dismissed Smythe as quickly as she could without abruptness; and when he had gone she hastened to her room, and locked the door, and flung herself down on the bed, with her hands clasped behind her head, to stare up at the ceiling in a whirl of thoughts. There was a mystery! There was a motive behind Haig’s conduct! “The most unselfish man in the world” And she repeated the words over and over again, and gathered them to her heart.
CHAPTER XI
AVALANCHE
Huntington soon had his revenge on Marion, though, in his blindness, he never knew it. She and Claire, after an unusually protracted Small Talk the night before, arose late one morning to find the house topsy-turvy from masculine activity. On the veranda they discovered Seth cleaning rifles, surrounded by cartridge boxes, hunting knives, canvas bags and wrappings, rubber coats, leather straps, fishing tackle and what not.
“In the name of goodness, Seth Huntington! What are you doing?” shrilled Claire.
“Guess!” replied Huntington, with a rather heavy attempt at tantalizing.