at strangeness result from the fact that she had not seen him
for years; or was there some truth in Dale's assertion that she was
merely an adopted daughter, and her love for Sanderson not merely the
love of a sister for a brother, but the love of a woman for a man?

Had Sanderson taken that view of it? She thought he had; for she had
told him about Dale's assertion, and his constraint had begun shortly
after.

She did not blame him a great deal--after she had thought it over. He
had done the manly thing, she divined, in not taking advantage of the
situation, and she believed she loved him more than ever because of his
attitude. But she felt that she had lost something, and the second day
had gone before she succeeded in resigning herself to the new state of
affairs.

Nothing happened. Dale did not come near the ranchhouse. Mary rode
over to the Nyland ranch and had a long talk with Peggy, and Peggy told
her that she had not seen Dale.

Ben Nyland had driven the Double A cattle over to their own range, and
so far as he was concerned the incident with Dale was closed. But,
Peggy told Mary, Ben was bitterly resentful, and had sworn that if Dale
bothered Peggy any more he would kill him.

Mary, however, was not greatly interested in Peggy's recital. She sat
on a chair in the kitchen of the Nyland cabin, listening to Peggy, but
making no replies. And it was not until she was ready to go that Mary
revealed the real reason for her visit--and then she did not reveal it
to Peggy, but to her own heart.

For she reddened when she asked the question: "I wonder if you feel
about Ben as I feel about my brother--that when you kiss him you are
kissing a strange man?"

Peggy laughed. "You would feel that way, of course. For your brother
is almost a stranger to you."

"And do you kiss Ben often?" asked Mary.

"Ben doesn't like it," smiled Peggy. "He is like most other men--he
likes to kiss the daughters of other men, but he gets sulky and balky
when I want to kiss him. So I don't try very often. Your brother is a
fine, big fellow, but you will find before you have been around him
very long that he wants to do his kissing away from home."

Mary laughed, and blushed again. "I have already discovered that," she
said. "But, Peggy," she added seriously, "I love him so much that
believe I should be jealous if I thought he kissed another girl!"

Mary rode homeward, rather comforted over her visit. And during the
r