e when you can. We shall always be glad to see you."

III

Hanscom rode away up the trail in a singularly exalted mood. The girl
with whom he had been so suddenly related in a coroner's inquest filled
his mind to the exclusion of all else. He saw nothing, heard nothing of
the forest. Helen's sadness, her composure, her aloofness, engaged his
imagination.

"She's been sick and she's been in trouble," he decided. "She's out
here to get away from somebody or something."

Over and over again he recounted her words, lingering especially upon
the sweetness of her voice and the searching quality of that last look
she had given him. He unsaddled his horse mechanically, and went about
his cabin duties with listless deftness.

Lonely, cut off from even the most formal intercourse with marriageable
maidens, he was naturally extremely susceptible to the charm of this
cultivated woman. The memory of her handsome foot, the clasp of her
strong fingers, the lines of her lovely neck--all conspired to dull his
appetite for food and keep him smoking and musing far into the night,
and these visions were with him as he arose the next morning to resume
his daily duties in the forest. They did not interrupt his work; they
lightened it.

As the hours went by, the desire to see her grew more and more intense,
and at last, a couple of days later while riding the trail not far above
the Kauffman ranch, he decided that it was a part of his day's work to
"scout round" that way and inquire how they were all getting on. He was
strengthened in this determination by the reports which came to him from
the ranchers he met. No other clue had developed, and the Kitsongs,
highly incensed at the action of the jury, not only insisted that the
girl was the murderess, but that the doctor was shielding her for
reasons of his own--and several went so far as to declare their
intention to see that the Kauffmans got their just punishment.

It is true, the jury admitted that they were divided in their opinion,
but that the coroner's attitude brought about a change of sentiment. The
fact that the woman didn't wear and couldn't wear so small a shoe was at
the moment convincing. It was only later, when the Kitsong sympathizers
began to argue, that they hesitated.

Mrs. Abe Kitsong was especially bitter, and it was her influence which
brought out an expression of settled purpose to punish which led to the
ranger's decision to go over and see if the old German