that were her answer. Then
there came through the open window the hoarse cry of a distant newsboy
who was bellowing an "extra."

There was something weird in her attitude and action, connecting, as
they did, her motives with that discordant, ominous cry.

"It's an extra," I said, as unconcernedly as possible. "I'll get a copy.
There may be some good news for you," and I made a move toward the
window.

"Don't," she said, quietly. "We were talking about going to Europe. Pa
is not familiar with the business of securing passages, and you are. You
could relieve him of a great deal of worry, and if you would go with
us----"

"Kate," I said, "do you want me to go?"

"Yes, I do," she replied. "I do not want to leave you here."

"Then," I said, "I will go. I will see your father in the morning and
tell him that I will attend to the whole business of securing passages.
I will set about arranging my affairs at once."

She then let me plague her a little about her timidity, and after a half
hour of playful badinage on my part I came away, with a parting promise
on my lips to lose no delay in making the arrangements for our
departure.

Such, however, was not my intention. I felt sure that the Judge and his
daughter would change their minds if I could only manage to delay
matters a few days. To go running off to Europe at a moment's notice
would be utter folly for me.

As I left the house I heard the voices of the newsboys in various keys
still calling the extras. I bought a paper and read it under the
gaslight of the church on Twentieth Street. "Display" headlines
announced, "As Silent as the Grave; Nothing Heard from the Pacific.
Great Excitement in Chicago and St. Louis." I must have stood there ten
minutes poring over the strange news. An expedition in a special train
had been sent west from Yuma that day, with railroad men and doctors. It
had left at 3 P. M. The train reached Mesquite in less than an hour, and
word was sent back from that station, "All right here; track clear; will
reach the springs at 9 P. M." A dispatch from Yuma sent at 10 o'clock
and received at St. Louis said, "Nothing further heard from the
special." News from Chicago, where the excitement appeared to be
momentarily growing, reflected intelligence from Denver, St. Paul, and
Kansas City, and it was vain to ignore the fact that the entire West was
in an alarming condition of anxiety. A special train was fitting out at
Cheyenne under Government or