that line disappeared in clear bronze tan it was as if she had been
washed clean of the stigma of Oldring's Masked Rider. The suggestion of
the mask always made Venters remember; now that it was gone he seldom
thought of her past. Occasionally he tried to piece together the several
stages of strange experience and to make a whole. He had shot a masked
outlaw the very sight of whom had been ill omen to riders; he had
carried off a wounded woman whose bloody lips quivered in prayer; he
had nursed what seemed a frail, shrunken boy; and now he watched a girl
whose face had become strangely sweet, whose dark-blue eyes were ever
upon him without boldness, without shyness, but with a steady, grave,
and growing light. Many times Venters found the clear gaze embarrassing
to him, yet, like wine, it had an exhilarating effect. What did she
think when she looked at him so? Almost he believed she had no thought
at all. All about her and the present there in Surprise Valley, and
the dim yet subtly impending future, fascinated Venters and made him
thoughtful as all his lonely vigils in the sage had not.

Chiefly it was the present that he wished to dwell upon; but it was the
call of the future which stirred him to action. No idea had he of
what that future had in store for Bess and him. He began to think
of improving Surprise Valley as a place to live in, for there was
no telling how long they would be compelled to stay there. Venters
stubbornly resisted the entering into his mind of an insistent thought
that, clearly realized, might have made it plain to him that he did
not want to leave Surprise Valley at all. But it was imperative that he
consider practical matters; and whether or not he was destined to stay
long there, he felt the immediate need of a change of diet. It would be
necessary for him to go farther afield for a variety of meat, and also
that he soon visit Cottonwoods for a supply of food.

It occurred again to Venters that he could go to the canyon where
Oldring kept his cattle, and at little risk he could pack out some beef.
He wished to do this, however, without letting Bess know of it till
after he had made the trip. Presently he hit upon the plan of going
while she was asleep.

That very night he stole out of camp, climbed up under the stone bridge,
and entered the outlet to the Pass. The gorge was full of luminous
gloom. Balancing Rock loomed dark and leaned over the pale descent.
Transformed in the shadowy ligh