They set off early the next morning, and after his forced march, Gladwyne found the load given him sufficiently heavy. He was badly jaded, aching all over, and disturbed in mind, when they camped near the summit of the divide late in the afternoon without his having been able to secure a word with Millicent alone. He felt that he must gain her consent to a formal engagement before Lisle let fall any hint of his suspicions, which he did not believe had been done so far. Afterward, knowing Millicent, he thought she would staunchly refuse to listen to anything to his discredit, and he could, if it were needful, ascribe Lisle's attack to jealousy. He must, however, also contrive to push on ahead of the party, on some excuse, and obliterate any remaining trace of the former expedition's provision caches; then he would be safe. Millicent had strolled away from the others and was standing among the rocks when he overtook her. The signs of fatigue and tension in his face softened her toward him. Still, it was only compassion; she felt no thrill, but rather an involuntary shrinking and a sense of alarm. She was to be called upon to fulfil a duty to which she had somehow pledged herself. "Millicent," he began, "things can't go on as they have been doing--pleasant as it was. I have waited patiently, but you can't expect too much. Now I have come a long way to claim my reward. I want the right to look after you, and to tell the others so." His abruptness and hoarseness were expressive, but she felt that there was something lacking and she answered with a flippancy she seldom indulged in. "You thought it needful to bring your privy counselor with you?" "No; he came without even asking my permission." "Well," she said, sitting down with forced calmness, "it doesn't matter; but are you quite sure now that you really want me?" There was no doubt that he was desperately anxious for her formal word; there was a feverish eagerness in his eyes. It puzzled her, but it left her unmoved and cold. "Want you!" he cried. "Can you ask? Haven't I constantly shown my devotion?" "For the last few months--I mean after Lisle went back to Canada," she replied with gathering color. "Before then, for a time, I think one could reasonably have doubted it." He looked confused; that Bella had attracted him had been obvious, and there was no way of getting over the fact gracefully. "I'm afraid I have my weaknesses--want of balance, impulsiveness, and a capacity for being easily piqued," he confessed. "Well, though perhaps I deserved it, you were cold and aloof enough to madden a more patient man, and I suppose I slackly yielded to wounded vanity. All the time, you were the one I had chosen, the only woman who had ever really stirred or could influence me. Nearly as long as I can remember I have loved and respected you. Occasionally you unbent enough to show me that you recognized it." There was some truth in this, and seeing the change in her expression, he went on: