mine, I reckon. They ordered horses an' a outfit,
and Shag Bunce is goin' with 'em. He got a letter 'bout a week ago
tellin' what they wanted of him. Yes, I knowed all about it. He brung
the letter to me to cipher out fer him. You know Shag ain't no great at
readin' ef he is the best judge of a mine anywheres about."

Thus the station agent explained in low thrilling tones; and even the
Indians watched and grunted their interest.

At eleven o'clock the horses arrived, four besides Shag's, and the rest
of the outfit. The onlookers regarded Shag with the mournful interest
due to the undertaker at a funeral. Shag felt it and acted accordingly.
He gave short, gruff orders to his men; called attention to straps and
buckles that every one knew were in as perfect order as they could be;
criticized the horses and his men; and every one, even the horses, bore
it with perfect composure. They were all showing off and felt the
importance of the moment.

Presently the car door opened and Mr. Radcliffe came out on the platform
accompanied by his son--a handsome reckless looking fellow--his daughter
Hazel, and Mr. Hamar, a thick-set, heavy-featured man with dark hair,
jaunty black moustache and handsome black eyes. In the background stood
an erect elderly woman in tailor-made attire and with a severe
expression, Mr. Radcliffe's elder sister who was taking the trip with
them expecting to remain in California with her son; and behind her
hovered Hazel's maid. These two were not to be of the riding party, it
appeared.

There was a pleasant stir while the horses were brought forward and the
riders were mounting. The spectators remained breathlessly unconscious
of anything save the scene being enacted before them. Their eyes
lingered with special interest on the girl of the party.

Miss Radcliffe was small and graceful, with a head set on her pretty
shoulders like a flower on its stem. Moreover she was fair, so fair that
she almost dazzled the eyes of the men and women accustomed to brown
cheeks kissed by the sun and wind of the plain. There was a wild-rose
pink in her cheeks to enhance the whiteness, which made it but the more
dazzling. She had masses of golden hair wreathed round her dainty head
in a bewilderment of waves and braids. She had great dark eyes of blue
set off by long curling lashes, and delicately pencilled dark brows
which gave the eyes a pansy softness and made you feel when she looked
at you that she meant a great d