cried.

Then suddenly a thought flashed into her mind. She did not stop to
think of it; she acted upon it.

The Doctor's partner, profoundly studying his cards, was somewhat
disconcerted to see the table kicked over, and the Doctor's "hand" on
the floor. Without a question, he put his hand back for his pistol,
when the sudden stillness in the room caught his attention, and all
that followed caused him to forget the affront.

In the centre of the room, her disordered hair flying about her face,
her clear eyes flashing with excitement, her cheeks flaming with color,
more beautiful than they had ever seen her look before, Marian stood
waiting for silence. Men crowded up to the doorways and filled the
windows, certain from the sudden quiet that "something was up."

"Won't you _help_ me?" she cried out. "What can _I_ do to find him? He
may be starving to death! He would not have left you to starve!
You"--she gasped and drew her breath hard--"you--whom he was good
to--you remember--a hundred things, but you forget him! and let
him--rave his life away--and starve to death--alone." She choked. She
could not speak another word! but she stood with her lips parted, her
eyes flashing, looking eagerly, almost angrily, from one face to
another.

Circus Jack bounded on to a table; it was rickety, and reeled with his
weight; but Punks and Bob Jinks steadied it; they were friends of
Jack's; besides, they had just won from him at poker, and felt very
friendly. "Fellers!" said Jack, "to-morrow's Sunday. I'm going out ter
hunt fer poor Jim, and ain't comin' back till I find him. Them as wants
ter 'comp'ny me kin call at my cabin to-night."

"I will go with you, Jack," said the Doctor impressively.

"Me, too, you bet!" cried Scotty.

"Count me in," growled a bass voice from the window.

"Me too," squeaked Punks. "All as'll go say, 'Ay!'"

And an "Ay!" came from those rough voices with such a ringing burst of
good will as must have startled the very birds asleep in the distant
trees.

Nay! some faint echo of it may have been heard at the very gates of
heaven itself. The tears rolled down Marian's cheeks. She tried to say,
"God bless you!" but the tears had the right of way, and the words
broke into something unintelligible.

A sudden shame came over them that they had not thought of this before.
Memories of homes, of mothers, of wives, came knocking at their hearts,
and would not be denied. The sleeves of rough and not over c