lean
flannel shirts were drawn across eyes that had scorned tears, through
sickness, discomfort, and disappointment.

Cutey came to the rescue.

"Gentlemen!" he said, waving his hand over the bar, "help yourselves.
My j'ints are stiff, and I can't go; but I'll treat the crowd. Free
drinks, gentlemen!"

And leaving his bar to the tender mercies of his thirsty friends, Cutey
offered his arm to Marian, and escorted her to her own door, where he
took leave of her with a low bow.

Then he went down stairs four steps at a time, lest his choice liquors
should be annihilated in his absence.

It was Monday noon when they returned. Marian sat at the window in the
easiest chair the house afforded, sickening with fever. She watched
them coming into town with a restless, helpless anxiety. She watched
them scatter to their cabins, and saw Circus Jack coming on toward the
hotel alone.

She buried her face in her hands. He had said that he would never come
back until he found him. Had they become discouraged, or----

She could not believe that they had found him. Her heart seemed to cry
out, "No! no!" Jack came up, with little Mrs. Sharpe at his heels.

"Be keerful!" said the faded woman. "She mighty poorly."

Jack came in as lightly as his heavy boots would allow.

"The boys said fur me ter tell yer they wus all dretful sorry fur yer.
We buried him jist whar we found him. He'd a ben dead nigh on to a
couple of weeks, I reckon. Don't yer look so, lady. Poor Jim! he warn't
never happy, even when he was drunk. He's better off up thar. We flung
a few stones together to mark the place, and I'll guide you and Mrs.
Sharpe thar any time."

Then, lowering his voice to a whisper, he added tenderly, "And I tuk
the ring offen his finger. He couldn't fight fur it now; an I thought
as mebby you'd like it."

He took it from the corner of his handkerchief; she held up her finger
for it, and he slipped it on. Then he saw that the letters spelled
"Faith." "Thet Punks!" he thought to himself contemptuously.

She looked up into his face with a stony smile--no tears now.

"Thank you," she said.

Four weeks afterward the Doctor lifted Marian into the stage. She was
strong enough for her journey now, she said. Two days before she had
visited the lonely cairn. It was a tiresome horseback ride too. She
seemed to be getting well very fast. The Doctor told her so.

"People never die when they wish to," she answered sadly.

Circus Jack came