Jim shook his head in dissent.
"No. Those logs would take a good bit of burning. Somebody would give the alarm, and they'd tumble out to see the fire, and they'd see that window you'd smashed through."
"And I had to wade through some loose snow," Jack added. "They'd find my tracks fast enough."
"Tracks leading this way! I tell you, there's no time to be lost. You know the trails to Malamute. Make it as quick as you can. From there, strike across the Border."
He was interrupted by Nell, who exclaimed impulsively:
"But, Father, what about you? I can't bear the thought of leaving you now, when I've just found you after all these years."
Jim Maxwell smiled down on his daughter with deep fondness.
"When you're in Canada, write to me here—to Kalmak, telling me where you will be, and I'll join you very soon."
He turned to Jack and gave explicit directions as to how the route to Malamute might be shortened profitably. When he was sure that the young man had understood, he turned again to Nell.
"I'm not quite so poor as I look, little girl," he said, smiling. "When I join you I'll have a wedding-present ready for you—for you, and for the boy here." His glance went affectionately to Jack, who returned it with like affection.