"I will send the little boys to cut spruce boughs to make you comfortable beds on the raft," said Cranston.
"Have you any remedies?" asked Jim. "We came without medicines."
"I will ask my wife," said Cranston. "She knows the simples of the country."
"Much obliged to ye," said Jim.
"The poor lad!" said David, looking into the flushed face and the sightless eyes. "I took a great liking to him. He had an honest way with him." Glancing sideways at Kitty, he said: "I wondered what brought him into the country. How did this happen?"
Jim looked at his daughter and bit his lip. The quiet tears were rolling down Kitty's face. "He capsized in the Stanley rapids and hit his shoulder on a rock," he said grimly. "He came to our shack much the same as you see him now."
"Was that the first you saw of him?" asked David, in surprise.
"It was the first."
"He was in the country before. There is some strange tale behind this," said David, wagging his head.
"I believe you," said Jim grimly.