an, as he refilled the cup. "It
won't give out."

She knelt and wet her face and neck; the sensation was so grateful that
she was tempted to fling herself bodily into the pool. The man was
still talking, but she took no heed of what he said. Then at last she
sank back, her feet curled under her, her body sagging, her head
drooping. She felt the stranger's hands beneath her arms, felt herself
lifted to a more comfortable position. Without asking permission, the
stranger unlaced first one, then the other of her dusty boots, seeming
not to notice her weak attempt at resistance. Once he had placed her
bare feet in the water, she forgot her resentment in the intense relief.

The man left her seated in a collapsed, semi-conscious state, and went
back to his fire. For the time she was too tired to do more than refill
the drinking-cup occasionally, or to wet her face and arms, but as her
pores drank greedily her exhaustion lessened and her vitality returned.

It was dark when for the first time she turned her head toward the
camp-fire and stared curiously at the figure there. The appetizing odor
of broiling bacon had drawn her attention, and as if no move went
unnoticed the man said, without lifting his eyes:

"Let 'em soak! Supper'll be ready directly. How'd you like your
eggs--if we had any?"

Evidently he expected no reply, for after a chuckle he began to whistle
softly, in a peculiarly clear and liquid tone, almost like some
bird-call. He had spoken with an unmistakable Texas drawl; the woman
put him down at once for a cowboy. She settled her back against a
boulder and rested.

The pool had become black and mysterious, the sky was studded with
stars when he called her, and she laboriously drew on her stockings and
boots. Well back from the fire he had arranged a seat for her, using a
saddle-blanket for a covering, and upon this she lowered herself
stiffly. As she did so she took fuller notice of the man, and found his
appearance reassuring.

"I suppose you wonder how I--happen to be here," she said.

"Now don't talk 'til you're rested, miss. This coffee is strong enough
to walk on its hands, and I reckon about two cups of it'll rastle you
into shape." As she raised the tin mug to her lips he waved a hand and
smiled. "Drink hearty!" He set a plate of bread and bacon in her lap,
then opened a glass jar of jam. "Here's the dulces. I've got a sort of
sweet tooth in my head. I reckon you'll have to make out with this,