Pete at once crossed to where Alec McPherson was sitting. A short whispered conversation ensued, after which both men started for the door.
"Don't begin till I come back," said Pete, as he left the building.
Constance was sitting quietly near her father when the two prospectors arrived. She was thinking hard, and the small handkerchief which lay in her lap was moist with tears. It had been a strange, lonely Christmas Day for her. She remembered the old times when they were all together in their snug little home in Vancouver. What a contrast to her present dreary surroundings! Then, her father was so happy, and Kenneth, the life of the house, was at his best. How her father had changed in such a short time, and the poor boy, she wondered where and how he was spending his Christmas.
She was feeling weary, too, as she sat there, for the excitement of the past night was telling upon her. The flush had left her cheeks, leaving her pale and wan. She felt somewhat troubled about having confided her story to an almost entire stranger. Would her father have approved of such a thing? But then it had lifted a load from her mind; she had shared her burden with another, and it was not so hard to bear. Besides, she was sure she could trust that big, rough man, who looked at her with such sympathetic eyes.
"Ye'll come to sarvice, lassie, won't ye?" Pete asked, when Constance had opened the door.
"Y-yes," she answered half doubtfully, looking at her father. "I'd like to go, but I can't leave him here alone."
"I'll see to yer father, miss," replied Alec, "sae ye gang along."
"Oh, thank you, Mr. McPherson, but I'm half afraid to go, as I will be the only woman there."
"The greater reason fer ye to come, lassie," broke in Pete. "It isn't every day the b'ys have a woman among them, an' I think yer presence'll soften 'em up a bit, an' make'm think of their mothers, sisters, an' sweethearts. An' then, ye'll sing some, won't ye?" he continued in a pleading manner.
"Why, how do you know I can sing?" asked Constance, while some of the old colour rushed back to her cheeks.