He laughed. “Danger! Not the slightest! I think I know where Imbrie is. I’m going after him.”
Clare’s eyes widened. “I thought you had given him up for the present.”
He shook his head. “I couldn’t tell you back there, but I found his canoe among the others.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the Kakisa village at Swan Lake.”
He saw Mary’s expression change slightly, and took encouragement therefrom. Mary, he knew, divided between her loyalty to Clare and her allegiance to her own people, was in a difficult position. Stonor was very sure, though, that he could depend on her to stand by Clare.
“Haven’t you come far out of your way?” Clare asked.
“Not so far as you might think. We’ve been travelling south the last few miles. By crossing the Meander here and heading east through the bush I’ll hit the Swan River in four miles or so. I’ll be out of the bush long before dark. I’ve heard there’s a short-cut trail somewhere, if I only knew where to find it.”
He said this purposely within Mary’s hearing. She spoke up: “Other side this little prairie where the ford is. There the trail begins.”
Stonor was not a little touched by this. “Good for you, Mary!” he said simply. “I shan’t forget it. You’ve saved me a struggle through the bush.”