But Madge made no answer and could only continue to stare at the form that seemed to grow dimmer as the small oil lamp cast flickering shadows in the room. In her ears the continued, eternal sound of the great falls had taken on an ominous character. It was like some solemn dirge that rose and fell, unaccountably, like the breathing of a vast force that could reck nothing of the piteous tragedy being enacted. It appeared to be growing ever so much colder again. A few feet away from the stove it was freezing. She sought to look out of the little window but great massing clouds had hidden the crimson of sunset. A strong wind was arising and caused the great firs and spruces to groan dismally. The minutes were again becoming cruel things that tortured one with their maddening slowness. The girl became conscious of the beats of her heart, unaccountably slow, as she thought. And then, for a moment, that heart stopped utterly. A shout had come from the little lumber road and Maigan was barking at the door excitedly, in spite of the older woman's scolding. The toboggan slithered over the snow and there was a patter of dogs' feet. Madge threw the door open and let in a man in a great coonskin coat, who was carrying a bag. In spite of the heaviest fur mitts his hands were chilled and for a moment he held them to the glow of the stove, before turning calmly to his patient, after a curt nod to each of the women. CHAPTER XIII A Widening Horizon "I'm Dr. Starr," the man introduced himself. "It's turning mighty cold again. We only hit the high places after I got on Stefan's toboggan, I can tell you. How the man kept up with his team I can't tell you, but he ran all the way." He threw off his heavy coat and turned to the bunk. "Now let's see what we've got here," he said. The two women were scanning his face, holding their breaths, but Mrs. Papineau had the lamp and held it so as to cast some light on Hugo. The doctor's expression, however, was quite inscrutable. "Your husband?" he asked the girl, who shook her head. "Well, perhaps it's a good thing he's not. Put a lot of water to boil on the stove, please. Can't you find another lamp here--this one doesn't give much light?" There was no lamp but they found a package of candles which were soon flickering on the table, stuck in the necks of bottles. The doctor was pulling a lot of things out of his bag, coolly. To Madge it seemed queer that he could be so unaffected by what he saw. Presently he went to work, after baring the injured shoulder.