ninjured out of
the eddying smoke.

Geoffrey, shaking the dust from his garments, turned to his companion
with a somewhat nervous laugh:

"We cut it rather fine," he said, "but I felt reasonably sure there
would be just sufficient time, and it might have spoiled the whole
blast if the two bad fuses had failed to fire their shots. Of course,
I'm grateful for your company, but as it was my particular business I
don't quite see why you turned back after me."

Bransome, who mopped his forehead, stared at the speaker with some
wonder and more admiration before he answered:

"There's a good deal of cast iron about you, and I guess I'd a long way
sooner have trusted the rest than have gone back to stir up those two
charges. What took me?--well, I figured you had turned suddenly crazy,
and I was in a way responsible for you. Made the best bargain for your
time I could, but I didn't buy you up bones and body--see?"

"I think I do," answered Geoffrey, and that was all, but it meant the
recognition of a bond between them. Bransome, as if glad to change the
subject, asked:

"Say, after you had fired the fuse what did you waste precious seconds
looking for? If I wasn't too scared to notice anything clearly I'd
swear you found something and picked it up."

"I did!" declared Geoffrey, smiling. "It was something I must have
dropped before. Only a trifle, but I would not like to lose it, and--I
had one eye on the fuses--there seemed a second or two to spare.
However, for some reason my throat feels all stuck together. Have you
any cider in your wagon?"

Half-an-hour later, when most of the spectators stood watching the
released waters thunder down the gorge, for the blast had been
successful, Helen Savine said:

"I don't quite understand what happened, Mr. Bransome."

"It was this way!" answered the rancher, glad to profit by any
opportunity of interesting the girl. "That Thurston is a hard, tough
man. Two fuses that were to fire small charges petered out, and sooner
than risk anything he must light them again. I don't quite understand
all the rest of it, either, for he's not a mean man, and why he should
stay fooling on top of a powder mine looking for one dollar when I've a
hatful to pay him is away beyond me. Yet I'm sure he picked up a piece
of silver just before we ran. Curious kind of creature, isn't he?"

Helen thought the incident distinctly odd. She could not comprehend
why a man should risk his life