him when he turned
on me red-eyed, mad as fire. 'Nels,' he said, 'I care a hell of a lot
fer thet boss, an' I liked you pretty well, but if you don't take him
away quick I'll shoot you both.' Wal, I lit out. I didn't even git to
say howdy to him."

"Nels, you think it useless--any attempt to see him--persuade him?"
asked Madeline.

"I shore do, Miss Hammond," replied Nels, gravely. "I've seen a few
sun-blinded an' locoed an' snake-poisoned an' skunk-bitten cow-punchers
in my day, but Gene Stewart beats 'em all. He's shore runnin' wild fer
the divide."

Madeline dismissed Nels, but before he got out of earshot she heard him
speak to Stillwell, who awaited him on the porch.

"Bill, put this in your pipe an' smoke it--none of them scraps Gene has
hed was over a woman! It used to be thet when he was drank he'd scrap
over every pretty Greaser girl he'd run across. Thet's why Pat Hawe
thinks Gene plugged the strange vaquero who was with little Bonita thet
night last fall. Wal, Gene's scrappin' now jest to git shot up hisself,
for some reason thet only God Almighty knows."

Nels's story of how Stewart wept over his horse influenced Madeline
powerfully. Her next move was to persuade Alfred to see if he could not
do better with this doggedly bent cowboy. Alfred needed only a word
of persuasion, for he said he had considered going to Rodeo of his own
accord. He went, and returned alone.

"Majesty, I can't explain Stewart's singular actions," said Alfred. "I
saw him, talked with him. He knew me, but nothing I said appeared to get
to him. He has changed terribly. I fancy his once magnificent strength
is breaking. It--it actually hurt me to look at him. I couldn't have
fetched him back here--not as he is now. I heard all about him, and
if he isn't downright out of his mind he's hell-bent, as Bill says, on
getting killed. Some of his escapades are--are not for your ears.
Bill did all any man could do for another. We've all done our best for
Stewart. If you'd been given a chance perhaps you could have saved him.
But it's too late. Put it out of mind now, dear."

Madeline, however, did not forget nor give it up. If she had forgotten
or surrendered, she felt that she would have been relinquishing
infinitely more than hope to aid one ruined man. But she was at a loss
to know what further steps to take. Days passed, and each one brought
additional gossip of Stewart's headlong career toward the Yuma
penitentiary. For he had crosse