e....

There was nothing else for it; he must absolutely dismiss Zen--Zen
Transley--from his mind. That was not only the course of honor; it was
the course of common sense. After all, he had not sought her for his
bride. He had not pressed his suit. He had given her to Transley. The
thought was rather a pleasant one. It implied some sort of voluntary
action upon Grant's part. He had been magnanimous. Nevertheless, he was
cave man enough to know pangs of jealousy which his magnanimity could
not suppress.

"If things had been different," he remarked to himself; "if I had been
in a position to offer her decent conditions, I would have followed up
the lead. And I would have won." He turned the incident on the river
bank over in his mind, and a faint smile played along his lips. "I would
have won. But I couldn't bring her here.... It's the first time I ever
felt that money could really contribute to happiness. Well--I was happy
before I met her; I can be happy still. This little episode...."

He crossed the room and picked up the newspaper he had thrown away; he
crumpled it in his hand as he approached the stove. It said the
bride was beautiful--the happy couple--the groom, prosperous young
contractor--California--three months.... He turned to the table,
smoothed out the paper, and studied it again. Of course he had heard
the whole thing from the Landsons; they had done Y.D. and his daughter
justice. He clipped the article carefully from the sheet and folded it
away in a little book on the shelf.

Then he told himself that Zen had been swept from his mind; that if ever
they should meet--and he dallied a moment with that possibility--they
would shake hands and say some decent, insipid things and part as people
who had never met before. Only they would know....

Grant occupied himself with the work of the ranch that winter, spring,
and summer. Occasional news of Mrs. Transley filtered through; she was
too prominent a character in that countryside to be lost track of in
a season. But anything which reached Grant came through accidental
channels; he sought no information of her, and turned a deaf ear,
almost, to what he heard. Then in the fall came an incident which
immediately changed the course of his career.

It came in the form of an important-looking letter with an eastern
postmark. It had been delivered with other mail at the house, and
Landson himself brought it down. Grant read it and at first stared at it
somewha