"Yes."
"His testimony would be invaluable to us. He might be able to prove to the court that as my father never owned the land in reality, he couldn't possibly have deeded it to the Turners. Do you know where this Hudson is?"
"I asked old Elmira last night. She thinks she knows. A man told her he had his trap line on the upper Umpqua, and his main headquarters—you know that trappers have a string of camps—was at the mouth of Little River, that flows into the Umpqua. But it is a long way from here."
Bruce was still a moment. "How far?" he asked.
"Two full days' tramp at the least—barring out accidents. But if you think it is best—you can start out to-day."
Bruce was a man who made decisions quickly. He had learned the wisdom of it,—that after all the evidence is gathered on each side, a single second is all the time that is needed for any kind of decision. Beyond that point there is only vacillation. "Then I'll start—right away. Can you tell me how to find the trail?"
"I can only tell you to go straight north. Use your watch as a compass in the daytime and the North Star at night."
"I didn't suppose that it was wisdom to travel at night."
She looked at him in sudden astonishment. "And where did you learn that fact, Bruce?"
The man tried hard to remember. "I don't know. I suppose it was something I heard when I was a baby—in these mountains."