Carrie laughed to hide a touch of embarrassment. Jim was not trying to flatter; she saw he was naïvely following a new line of thought.
"Well, we must get back to camp," she said. "Can you walk?"
Jim got up quickly and gave her a suspicious glance. "I can walk to camp. I ought to have gone right off and sent the boys after that chopper. Looks as if you meant to keep me."
"I did mean to keep you. Let him go, Jim. He won't come back, and we have had trouble enough."
"He has not had much trouble," Jim rejoined. "However, I doubt if we could catch him, and I want the boys to move our truck at daybreak. Then, in a way, I'd sooner they didn't know. Of course, I've got to tell Jake."
"You mustn't tell him I came," Carrie said, firmly.
"Why not?" Jim asked with some surprise.
Carrie hesitated. "Oh, well, I don't want him to know. For one thing, he might think I was rash——"
"You were splendidly plucky," Jim declared. "Of course, I won't tell Jake, if you'd sooner not. For all that, I don't understand——"
"It isn't worth puzzling about," Carrie answered with a smile, and they set off.