n inner coat pocket and
began to copy. He realized at once that, though it did not relate to
floral science, he had ended by making a most notable find.

Having finished, and put away his pencil and book, he studied the figure
and letters carefully for a few moments, and then descended slowly to
the sand. All thoughts of growing things had faded from his mind; in
their stead came crowding others that pictured possible fame. He sat
down to rest and think beside the box and the hand-bag, and stayed
there, bowed over, his spectacles in his hands, his eyes roving
thoughtfully, until the sun was so low that the little canyon was in
gloom.

At suppertime he announced his discovery to the big brothers and their
mother. They received the news with amazement. The week previous he had
declared that the plains were once covered by a vast ocean, and had
proved his assertion by showing them sea-shells at the top of the
carnelian bluff. So they expressed their intention of visiting the
cliffs, never doubting his second and almost incredible statement that,
long before the Indians came to inhabit the surrounding country, it had
been the home of a superior race of Latin origin.

The little girl was at the table and heard the professor's story; and
she showed some agitation as she listened with downcast eyes. She knew
more about the red-gray rock and its scribblings than she cared to tell
before the big brothers, for she had spent one whole happy afternoon in
the canyon with the colonel's son, watching him as he scrambled up the
south bank, with the agility and sure-footedness of a goat, and hung for
an hour in mid-air by one hand. So, while she ate her bread and
smear-case, she made up her mind to follow the professor after the meal
was over and unburden herself.

But no chance to see him alone was afforded her. He disappeared to pack
his trunk while she was doing the dishes, and did not emerge again
during the evening. She squatted under his window for a while in the
dark, hoping that he would look out, and gave up her watch only when she
heard him snoring. Then she, too, went to bed, where she lay turning and
twisting until after midnight. Dropping off, at last, she dreamed that
she and the colonel's son had been court-martialed by the professor and
were to be shot at the celebration.

Breakfast was eaten at three o'clock next morning, and at sun-up the
light wagon and the buckboard were ready for the drive to the station.
Ever