Those hills of his childhood. It was good to think of them. And particularly so now. The deeps of forest. The chaos of snowy crests. The vast hidden valleys that only knew the denizens of the wilderness and Nature’s flaming moods. The wild life of it all. The intense hush and infinite solitude.
The dreams of boyhood came again to the Wolf. Those early vanities and schemings. But were they dreams? It almost seemed as though they were not. Perhaps they were visions vouchsafed to him of realities to come. At any rate now the memory of them revived, and he found them to be alive with new and profound meaning.
“Wolf!”
Annette had turned. She had released the storm collar from about her throat, and the sting of the wind had restored the flush of well-being to the oval of her cheeks. Apprehension had abated in her eyes. And the Wolf’s heart quickened at the sight of it.
“Why, Wolf?” she cried quickly, anxiously. “What d’you need me back home for? It’s no sort of good my ever goin’ ther’ again. I—I just can’t. It’s cruel! Quit me, an’ let me beat it back to the city. I can get work. I can clean for folks in their houses. That way things wouldn’t seem so—so bad. I don’t want to see ’em. Any of ’em. I can’t face it.”
The Wolf reined his horse to a walk. Annette’s pony responded on the instant.
It was so different. A few weeks ago the girl’s tone, her words, would have been so very different. There would have been no appeal. She would have spoken her will and none too easily. And somehow the Wolf would rather have listened to the old hectoring.
His reply did not come at once. There flashed before his mind a picture of all that had brought about the pitiful change in this girl who could never be less than all the world to him. Those dreadful last moments of his trial. And then the almost brutal method he had used in forcing her present obedience to his will. He thrust it all aside. He had learned his lesson.
“You won’t need to face it, kid,” he said quietly. “We’ll make home at nightfall. By mornin’ we’ll be makin’ the hills.”
Annette’s lips moved, but no sound came. Her eyes were wide with incredulous amazement.