f her
attraction for him. But he was incapable of analyzing his feelings
closely. His life had been spent on these fringes of civilization so
long, and the generality of the women he had come into contact with
had been so much a part of the life of the country, that their appeal
had been weakened almost to the vanishing point.

Then here, in Rocky Springs, where he might reasonably expect to find
only the dregs of society, he suddenly discovered a woman obviously
belonging to an utterly different and more cultured life. A woman of
uncommon beauty and distinction; a woman, who, to his mind, fulfilled
some essentially mannish ideal, an ideal that, in idle moments, had
stolen in upon a wholly reposeful mind. A woman who----

But the thread of his pleasant reflections was suddenly broken, and
his mechanically watchful eyes warned him that a horseman was riding
along the trail ahead of him, and that he was rapidly overtaking this
stranger.

In a moment all other interests were forgotten. To the solitary rider
of the plains a fellow-creature ever becomes a matter of considerable
moment. In Fyles's case he possessed the added interest of a possible
giver of information.

As he gently urged his horse to lengthen its stride, his keen eyes
took in the details of the man's figure, and the points of the horse
he was riding. The man was of unusual stature, so unusual, in fact,
that his horse, although a big raking creature, became dwarfed under
him. Even from that distance the officer obtained a suggestion of fair
hair beneath the brim of the prairie hat, which was tilted forward at
an unusual angle. The great square shoulders of the stranger were clad
in a tweed jacket, and, from what he could make out, he wore no
chapps.

Just for a moment Fyles guessed he might be some farmer, and the tweed
jacket suggested he was out to pay a visit to friends. Then, quite
abruptly, he changed his mind, and further increased his pace. He had
detected the city-fashioned top-boots the man was wearing.

Without further speculation he pressed on to overtake the stranger,
whom, presently, he saw turn round and look back. Evidently he had
become aware of the approach. Equally evidently he either welcomed or
resented the intrusion upon his solitude. For he reined in his horse,
and waited for the officer to come up.

The greeting between the men was widely different. The stranger's face
was abeam with smiling good nature. His big blue eyes were