t which particularly distressed him was the change it
had wrought in Paloma Jones's bearing; for of a sudden the girl had
become distant and formal. The reason was not far to seek; Dave could
not doubt that the knowledge of his secret had frightened her. Well,
that was to be expected--he would probably lose all his friends in
time. It was a bitter thought; life would be very dull and flat without
friends. He wondered how he could bear to see those who loved him turn
away; to see their liking change to restraint and fear, as it
threatened to do in Paloma's case. Better anything than that.

There was, however, one friend who, Dave knew, would not shun him; one
of whose lasting affection he felt sure; and at memory of her he came
to his feet. Montrosa would trust him. She had given him her heart, and
her loyalty would never waver. With a clutch at his throat, and a
little pain in his breast, he stumbled down the steps and went in
search of her.

Now during Dave's absence Paloma had done her best to spoil the mare,
and among other marks of favor had allowed her free run of the yard,
where the shade was cool and the grass fine, and where delicious
tidbits were to be had from the kitchen for the mere asking. In
consequence, Dave did not go far until he was discovered. Montrosa
signaled, then trotted toward him with ears and tail lifted. Her
delight was open and extravagant; her welcome was as enthusiastic as a
horse could make it. Gone were her coquetry and her airs; she nosed and
nibbled Dave; she rubbed and rooted him with the violence of a
battering-ram, and permitted him to hug her and murmur words of love
into her velvet ears. She swapped confidence for confidence, too; and
then, when he finally walked back toward the house, she followed
closely, as if fearful that he might again desert her.

Phil Strange met the lovers as they turned the corner of the porch, and
warmly shook Dave's hand. "Teeny--my wife--told me you was better," he
began, "so I beat it out here. I hung around all day yesterday, waiting
to see you, but you was batty."

"I was pretty sick," Dave acknowledged. "Mrs. Strange was mighty kind
to me."

"Sick people get her goat. She's got a way with 'em, and with animals,
too. Why, Rajah, the big python with our show, took sick one year, and
he'd have died sure only for her. Same with a lot of the other animals.
She knows more'n any vet I ever saw."

"Perhaps I needed a veterinary instead of a doctor,"