n the gesture and in the man's whole cringing attitude that the danger
of any physical violence from him was past and done with. In the grip of
his passion, ugly as it was, he had risen somewhat from his essential
weakness; in the moment he had at least thought of himself as a
conqueror. Now he was again what he always really was at heart, a
contemptible coward.

An absolutely new sense of elation sang through Gloria's blood. She was
fully mistress of the situation, and had found within her an unguessed
strength. Physically superb at all times because nature had richly
gifted her, now she was magnificent.

"Mr. Gratton," she said swiftly, "you have made a mistake. Mr. King has
never offered me violence of that sort. Remember that, though we are
alone, and in the mountains, I am the same Gloria Gaynor that you have
known. And be sure that you treat me as such."

He nursed his battered lips and stared at her. The blow had dazed him.
Slowly, as his mind cleared, there dawned in it the realization that he
_had_ made a mistake. The stick was still in her hands; a shiver ran
through him. His desire went out of him.

"I wish to God I had never seen you," he groaned.

She had meant from the first to take the upper hand. Now she was almost
glad that this had happened. For now she was very sure of herself;
Gratton had merely been bold like other young men who had sought to
presume; he had been cruder simply because the situation seemed to his
mind to offer the opportunity; now a blow from her had accomplished the
work of a haughty look in drawing-room encounters with those other young
men. She dropped the stick and wiped her hands.

"We have other things to think of," she said. She might have been a
young queen who had punished a subject and now from her exalted place
condescended to consider that the indignity offered her royal person had
never occurred. She began dragging the blankets from her bed, tumbling
them to the floor. "Take these," she commanded.

"I was a fool for ever leaving San Francisco," he muttered bitterly.
"You let me think that you cared for me, and now you treat me like a
dog. I spent time and money trying to be the one to find gold in these
infernal mountains, and I find nothing but storm and starvation. I don't
believe there ever was gold here."

_Gold!_ He stopped at his own words, his eyes flying wide open. During
these later hours, fleeing from Brodie's men, stumbling upon Gloria,
swirled away b