d. "All the people of
the county are not of Watson's stripe."

"That is true," she said. "I shall try not to be unjust, but I see now
that in seeking seclusion in that lonely canyon we thrust ourselves among
the most lawless citizens of the state, and cut ourselves off from the
very people we should have known. However, I have had enough of
solitude. My mind has changed. This week's experience has swept away the
fog in my brain. I feel like one suddenly awakened. I see my folly and I
shall go back to my people--to the city."

The ranger, recognizing something inflexible in this, made no further
appeal.

There was nothing at the tank but a small, brown cottage in which the
wife of the Mexican section boss lived, and to her Hanscom committed his
charges and turned to the care of his almost exhausted team. The train
was late, the guard at the tank said, and in consequence the ranger was
torn between an agony of impatience and a dread of parting.

It was probable that some of the Kitsongs were in the raiding party, and
if they were hurt the Kauffmans were not safe till the state line was
passed. It would be easy to head them off by a wire. It was a hideous
coil to throw about a young girl seeking relief from some unusual
sorrow, and though he longed even more deeply to keep her under his
protection, he made no objection to her going.

Returning to the section-house, he shared with her the simple meal which
the reticent, smiling little Mexican woman had prepared, and did his
best to cheer Kauffman with a belief in the early arrival of the train.

"It will be here soon, I am sure," he said.

Helen detected the lack of elation in his tone, and understood in some
degree the sense of loss which made him heartsick, and yet she could not
bring herself to utter words of comfort.

At the close of the meal, as they set out to walk across the sand to the
switch, he said to her: "Am I never to see you again?"

"I hope so--somewhere, somehow," she replied, evasively.

"I wish you'd set a time and place," he persisted. "I can't bear to see
you go. You can't realize how I shall miss you."

A fleeting gleam of amusement lighted her face. "You have known me only
a few days."

"Oh yes, I have. I've known you all summer. You kept me busy thinking
about you. The whole country will seem empty now."

She smiled. "I didn't know I filled so much space in the landscape. I
thought I was but a speck in it." She hesitated a moment, then