Lisle had pushed on with a single companion on the previous night to see if he could obtain canoes; the packers were breaking a trail, and the others were resting in camp. Millicent was glad of this, for she wanted to be alone. Suddenly, as she looked down the hollow, two indistinct figures appeared out of the mist. The packers had gone up the valley, but there was no doubt that it was two men she saw, and they were apparently making for the camp. As the party had met nobody since entering the wilderness, she felt curious about the strangers. There was something in the carriage of one of them that seemed familiar; and then the uneasiness of which she had already been conscious became intensified as she recognized that he walked like Clarence. A few minutes later the men were hidden by a growth of willows and she sped back to camp, scrambling among the rocks with a haste that was born of nervous tension. She did not see the men again--it was needful to pick a path down the steep descent very carefully--and when she came, breathless, upon the clump of birches among which the tents were pitched it was evident from the hum of voices that the strangers had already arrived. Pushing in among the trees, she stopped, with her heart beating unpleasantly fast, face to face with Clarence. "Ah!" he exclaimed, moving forward to meet her; "now I'm rewarded for my journey. How fit and brown you look, Millicent!" She stood still a moment, with an expressionless face, finding no words to say; then with an effort she roused herself and shook hands with him. "You must have had a trying march if you followed our trail," she said. "But how did you get here--I mean why did you leave Switzerland?" Crestwick chuckled. "That's very much what we all asked him," he broke in. "In one way, it's hardly civil; if we'd known he was coming, we'd have been better prepared to express our delight." The lad was not, as a rule, considerate and he suffered from want of tact, but there was truth behind what he said. It is given to only a few to be sure of a warm and sincere welcome when they take their friends by surprise. Nasmyth frowned at Crestwick, who had rashly hinted at the feeling of constraint that had seized upon the party. Millicent, however, was looking at Gladwyne and her heart grew softer as she noticed his weariness and his strained expression. "Well," she said when he had answered her, "you must sit down and rest. Nasmyth and Crestwick will get you something to eat as soon as possible." It was not what she would have wished to say--it sounded dreadfully commonplace--but Batley came forward with an easy laugh. "I'm afraid our young friend"--he indicated Crestwick--"is not a diplomatist, but on the whole his fault's a good one; he's more or less honest. You'll forgive us for surprising you; it was quite impossible to send you a warning."