of an
enemy, of those who must be with her--where could they be? The
delicate breathing under his heavy hand came more regularly. Then a
moan of pain checked and, again, released it.

Feeling slowly in the stormy dark for obstructions that might have
caught her, Laramie freed one of her feet caught in the stirrup and by
pushing and lifting at the shoulder of the horse succeeded after much
exertion in freeing her other foot, caught under it. He felt his way
back to Kate's head and getting on his feet placed his hands under her
shoulders to draw her toward him.

As he did so, a sharp question of fear and confusion was flung at him:
"Where am I? Who are you?"

"Who are you?" echoed Laramie, pulling her away from the horse which
had begun to struggle again. "Who's here with you?" he demanded.
There was no answer.

"Who's here with you?" he repeated sternly. "Tell me the truth."

"I've lost my way. Where am I? Who are you?"

The truth in her manner was plain. Incredible as it seemed that she
could have strayed so far, all apprehension of an attack vanished with
her questions.

"You're a long way from home," he said, shortly.

She made no reply.

"Your horse took a header. You fainted. I suppose"--he hardly
hesitated in his words--"you know who is talking to you?"

In her silence he heard his answer.

CHAPTER XXV

A GUEST FOR AN HOUR

"Can you stand on your feet?" he asked.

Supporting her as she made the trial he felt his way from where the
horse had plunged through to where he found a partial seat for her.
"Are you much hurt?" he asked again.

She could not, if she would, have told in how many places she was
broken and bruised. All she was sharply conscious of was a pain in one
foot so intense as to deaden all other pain. It was the foot that had
been caught under the horse. "I think I'm all right," she murmured, in
a constrained tone and, in her manner, briefly. "How did you find me
here?" she asked, almost resentfully. "Where am I?"

He knew from her words she had neither headed nor followed any
expedition against him but he did not answer her question: "I'll see
whether I can get the horse up."

While he worked with the horse--and once during the long, hard effort
she heard between thunder claps a sharp expletive--Kate tried to
collect in some degree her scattered and reeling senses. What quieted
her most was that her long and fear-stricken groping for hours in the
storm an