Nor could he, logically, bear any malice towards the man
who was taking her from him.

Presently he heard voices and footsteps on the walk below, and the next
moment Laura reappeared, dragging John Madison after her. The big
fellow's clothes were dusty after the long ride. His corduroy trousers
were encased in leggings, and on his boots were brass spurs, such as
are worn in the army. In his hand he held rather awkwardly a gray
cowboy hat. As the two men faced one another, there was a dramatic
pause. Each looked at the other interrogatively, with ill-disguised
hostility. One felt it needed but a spark to bring about an explosion.
Physically, they were both fine-looking men, although the contrast was
most marked. Brockton was tall and well-built, and many considered him
a handsome man, but by the side of the big Westerner, he suffered by
comparison. The broker was the conventional type of Eastern business
man, the style of man one meets in clubs and drawing-rooms, well
dressed, well groomed; John Madison, in his six feet of muscular
manhood, careless and picturesque in attire, suggested the free, open
life on the plains, where men face danger as a matter of course, and
are prepared to defend their lives at an instant's notice. Each man
took the other's measure in silence, neither flinching a muscle. The
smile faded from Madison's face, and his mouth dropped into an
expression of fierce determination. For a moment, Laura almost lost her
self composure. Nervous, frightened, now that she had brought them
together, her voice trembled slightly from apprehension:

"Oh, I beg your pardon! Mr. Madison--this is Mr. Brockton, a friend of
mine from New York. You've often heard me speak of him. He came out
here to keep me company when I go home."

Madison advanced with hand outstretched. Looking the broker straight in
the eye, he said:

"I am very glad to know you, Mr. Brockton."

"Thank you," returned the New Yorker with forced cordiality.

The newspaper man shuffled uneasily on his feet, as if he realized the
false position in which both of them were placed, but was ready enough,
if only for convenience sake, to avoid hostilities. Indeed, the
broker's easy and friendly manner entirely disarmed the antagonism that
Madison had long been nursing. With a side glance, at Laura, he went
on:

"I've heard a great deal about you and your kindness to Miss Murdock.
Anything that you have done for her in a spirit of friendliness, I am