It was only the guards that Reivers did not make enemies of. He knew that he had need of their loyalty. At night the “white men” sat on the edges of their bunks and tried to concoct feasible schemes for securing possession of the shotguns of the guards. On the morning of the shortest day of the year Toppy heard a scratching sound at the window near his bunk and sprang up. It was still pitch dark, long before any one should be stirring around camp save the cook and cookees. “Who’s there?” demanded Toppy. “Me. Want talk um with you,” came the low response from without. “You no come out. No make noise. Hear through window. You can hear um when I talk huh?” “Tilly!” gasped Toppy. “What’s up?” “You hear um what I talk?” asked the squaw again. “Yes, yes; I can hear you. What is it?” “You like um li’l Miss Pearson, huh?” said Tilly bluntly. “What?” Toppy’s heart was pounding with sudden excitement. “What—what’s up, Tilly? There hasn’t anything happened to Miss Pearson, has there?” “Uh! You like um Miss Pearson? Tell um Tilly straight or Tilly go ’way and no talk um more with you. You like her? Huh?” “Yes,” said Toppy breathlessly, after a long pause. “Yes, I like her. What is it?” “You no like see um Miss Pearson get hurt?” “No, no; of course not. Who’s going to hurt her?” “Snow-Burner,” said Tilly. “Tilly tell you this before she go ’way. Tilly going ’way now. Tilly going ’way far off to father’s tepee. Snow-Burner tell um me go. Snow-Burner tell um me go last night. Snow-Burner say he no want Tilly stay in camp longer. Tilly know why Snow-Burner no want her stay in camp. Snow-Burner through with Tilly. Snow-Burner now want um Miss Pearson. So.” “Tilly! Hold on!” She had already turned away, but she halted at his voice and came close to the window. “What is this? Are you going away at once—because the Snow-Burner says so?” The squaw nodded, stoically submissive. “Snow-Burner say ‘go’; Tilly go,” she said. “Snow-Burner say go before any one see um me this morning. I go now. Must go; Snow-Burner say so.” “And Miss Pearson?” whispered Toppy frantically. “Did he say anything about her?” Tilly nodded heavily. “Tell um me long ’go. Tell um me before Miss Pearson come. Tell um me he going marry Miss Pearson for um Christmas present. Christmas Day come soon now. Snow-Burner no want Tilly here then. Send Tilly ’way.” The breath seemed to leave Toppy’s body for an instant. He swayed and caught at the window-frame. “Marry her—Christmas Day?” he whispered, horrified. “Yes. He no tell um Miss Pearson yet. He tell me no tell um her, no tell um anybody. I tell you. Now go.” Before Toppy had sufficiently recovered his wits to speak again he heard the crunch of her moccasins on the snow dying away in the darkness as the cast-off squaw stolidly started on her journey into the woods. “Tilly!” called Toppy desperately, but there was no answer.