round to his office and leave
a call."

"I'll go round the world fer you," he replied.

The air was deliciously cool and fragrant now that the sun was sinking,
and the town was astir with people. It was the social hour when the heat
and toil of the day were over, and all had leisure to turn wondering
eyes upon Haney and his companion. The girl felt her position keenly.
She was aware that a single appearance of this kind was equivalent to an
engagement in the minds of her acquaintances, but as she shyly glanced
at her lover's handsome face, and watched his powerful and skilled hands
upon the reins, her pride in him grew. She acknowledged his kindness,
and was tired and ready to lean upon his strength.

"When did your mother quit?" he asked, after they had left the town
behind.

"Sunday night. You see, we had a big rush all day, and on top of that,
about twelve o'clock, an alarm of fire next door. So she got no sleep.
Monday morning she didn't get up, Tuesday she dressed but was too
miserable to work, so finally I just packed her off to the ranch."

"That was right--only you should have sent for me."

She was silent, and her heart began to beat with a knowledge of the
demand he was about to make. She felt weak and unprotected here--in the
office they were on more equal terms--but she enjoyed in a subconscious
way the swift rush of the horses, the splendor of the sunset, and the
quiet authority in his voice--even as she lifted eyes to the mesa
towards which they were driving he began to speak.

"You know my mind, little girl. I don't mean to ask you till
to-morrow--that's the day set--but I want to say that I've been cleaning
house all the week, thinkin' of you. I'm to be a leading citizen from
this day on. You won't need to apologize for me. I've never been a
drinking man, but I have been a reckless devil. I don't deny that I've
planted a wide field of wild oats. However, all that I put away from
this hour. 'Tis true I'm forty, but that's not old--I'm no older than I
was at twenty-one, sure--and, besides, you're young enough to make up."
He smiled, and again she acknowledged the charm of his face when he
smiled. "You'll see me grow younger whilst you grow older, and so wan
day we'll be of an age."

Her customary readiness of reply had left her, and she still sat in
silence, a sob in her throat, a curious numbness in her limbs.

He seemed to feel that she did not wish to talk. "If you come into
partnership with