l therefore and met the baronet at
the bottom. His face was flushed with anger and his brows were
wrinkled, like one who is at his wit's ends what to do.

"Halloa, Watson! Where have you dropped from?" said he. "You don't
mean to say that you came after me in spite of all?"

I explained everything to him: how I had found it impossible to
remain behind, how I had followed him, and how I had witnessed
all that had occurred. For an instant his eyes blazed at me, but
my frankness disarmed his anger, and he broke at last into a
rather rueful laugh.

"You would have thought the middle of that prairie a fairly safe
place for a man to be private," said he, "but, by thunder, the
whole country-side seems to have been out to see me do my
wooing--and a mighty poor wooing at that! Where had you engaged a
seat?"

"I was on that hill."

"Quite in the back row, eh? But her brother was well up to the
front. Did you see him come out on us?"

"Yes, I did."

"Did he ever strike you as being crazy--this brother of hers?"

"I can't say that he ever did."

"I dare say not. I always thought him sane enough until to-day,
but you can take it from me that either he or I ought to be in a
strait-jacket. What's the matter with me, anyhow? You've lived
near me for some weeks, Watson. Tell me straight, now! Is there
anything that would prevent me from making a good husband to a
woman that I loved?"

"I should say not."

"He can't object to my worldly position, so it must be myself
that he has this down on. What has he against me? I never hurt
man or woman in my life that I know of. And yet he would not so
much as let me touch the tips of her fingers."

"Did he say so?"

"That, and a deal more. I tell you, Watson, I've only known her
these few weeks, but from the first I just felt that she was made
for me, and she, too--she was happy when she was with me, and
that I'll swear. There's a light in a woman's eyes that speaks
louder than words. But he has never let us get together, and it
was only to-day for the first time that I saw a chance of having
a few words with her alone. She was glad to meet me, but when she
did it was not love that she would talk about, and she wouldn't
have let me talk about it either if she could have stopped it.
She kept coming back to it that this was a place of danger, and
that she would never be happy until I had left it. I told her
that since I had seen her I was in no hurry to leave it, and that
if she