ad been too lazy and too ignorant to understand
and profit by. I suppose that next you will be hunting up a site on the
OTHER SIDE of the Canyon, where somebody else can put up a hotel and
ruin your own prospects."

A sensitive shadow of pain quickly dimmed Bradley's glance--not the
first or last time evidently, for it was gradually bringing out a
background of sadness in his intelligent eyes. But the next moment he
turned kindly to Mainwaring, and began to deplore the necessity of his
early departure, which Richardson had already made known to him with
practical and satisfying reasons.

"I hope you won't forget, my dear fellow, that your most really urgent
business is to look after your health; and if, hereafter, you'll only
remember the old Lookout enough to impress that fact upon you, I shall
feel that any poor service I have rendered you has been amply repaid."

Mainwaring, notwithstanding that he winced slightly at this fateful
echo of Louise's advice, returned the grasp of his friend's hand with an
honest pressure equal to his own. He longed now only for the coming of
Richardson, to complete his scheme of grateful benefaction to his host.

The banker came fortunately as the conversation began to flag; and Mrs.
Bradley's half-coquettish ill-humor of a pretty woman, and Louise's
abstracted indifference, were becoming so noticeable as to even impress
Minty into a thoughtful taciturnity. The graciousness of his reception
by Mrs. Bradley somewhat restored his former ostentatious gallantry, and
his self-satisfied, domineering manner had enough masculine power in it
to favorably affect the three women, who, it must be confessed, were a
little bored by the finer abstractions of Bradley and Mainwaring.
After a few moments, Mainwaring rose and, with a significant glance at
Richardson to remind him of his proposed conference with Bradley, turned
to leave the room. He was obliged to pass Louise, who was sitting by the
table. His attention was suddenly arrested by something in her hand with
which she was listlessly playing. It was the stone which he had put on
his letter to her.

As he had not been present when Bradley arrived, he did not know that
this fateful object had been brought home by his host, who, after
receiving it from Richelieu, had put it in his pocket to illustrate
his story of the discovery. On the contrary, it seemed that Louise's
careless exposure of his foolish stratagem was gratuitously and
purposely c