door of my room. And they are coming up to see me to-night and
to-morrow, they said in their note, in spite of the prohibition. But, of
course, they will have to be careful. Father is very set when he makes
up his mind to do anything, and he is very stern at times, though he
loves me. He thinks he is doing the thing that he ought to do, and that
he is really keeping me from throwing myself away----"

"On a drunkard!" said the Westerner bitterly.

"But you don't drink now, Buck! And you never were a drunkard!"

"Perhaps I oughtn't to blame him any whatever!" he grumbled.

"His intentions are good, but it is going to make it hard for us, for,
of course, I do not mean to give you up, if he keeps on ordering me to
do so from now until the day of----"

"Our marriage!"

She laughed.

"I was going to say the day of my death!"

"I allow that the day of our marriage sounds a good deal better."

"I think it does myself," she admitted, and the Kansan took this as an
excuse to kiss her again.

"We'll pull out of this snarl in some way," he hopefully declared. "I
don't know just how, but we'll plan something."

"Oh, I'm afraid of father!" and she shivered.

"I don't see just how we are to get round the old man's objections
myself at this moment, but something may come our way. If we can
continue to meet, I reckon we can plan something."

"We can meet to-morrow evening right here."

"Good. That's all right."

"And many more nights, if we are not discovered. I'll be as nice to
father as I can, and perhaps he will not dream I am such a disobedient
thing, after all. But I do hate to deceive him! I never did before in my
life, and it strikes me as something awful. He doesn't dream that I
would do such a thing."

"I think he does, or he wouldn't have locked you in. If he had trusted
you, there would have been no need of that."

"True," she admitted.

"And I shall be a living lie, just as you were, Buck, when you made me
think I knew all about that _Crested Foam_ affair. So you see I am not
much better than you were, if any. But you will never deceive me about
anything again, will you, Buck?"

"Never!" the Kansan asserted.

"And if you should find out who told father?"

"I'll punch his head."

"And get into more trouble? You mustn't!"

"I know who it was. Don Pike did that, I'm certain, and if I don't pay
him for it, I allow it will be because I don't get a chance."

"Don't get into more trouble!" she begged.