ash busied himself with the hot engine.

The little country town appeared dead, and buried under dust. There was
not a person in sight nor a sound to be heard. The sky resembled molten
lead, with a blazing center too bright for the gaze of man.

Anderson and Jake went into the little hotel to get some refreshments.
Lenore preferred to stay in the car, saying she wanted only a cool
drink. The moment the two men were out of sight Nash straightened up to
gaze darkly and hungrily at Lenore.

"This's a good a chance as we'll get," he said, in an eager, hurried
whisper.

"For what?" asked Lenore, aghast.

"To run off," he replied, huskily.

Lenore had proceeded so cleverly to carry out her scheme that in three
days Nash had begun to implore and demand that she elope with him. He
had been so much of a fool. But she as yet had found out but little
about him. His right name was Ruenke. He was a socialist. He had plenty
of money and hinted of mysterious sources for more.

At this Lenore hid her face, and while she fell back in pretended
distress, she really wanted to laugh. She had learned something new in
these few days, and that was to hate.

"Oh no! no!" she murmured. "I--I can't think of that--yet."

"But why not?" he demanded, in shrill violence. His gloved hand clenched
on the tool he held.

"Mother has been so unhappy--with my brother Jim--off to the war. I--I
just couldn't--now. Harry, you must give me time. It's all so--so
sudden. Please wait!"

Nash appeared divided between two emotions. Lenore watched him from
behind her parted veil. She had been astonished to find out that, side
by side with her intense disgust and shame at the part she was playing,
there was a strong, keen, passionate interest in it, owing to the fact
that, though she could prove little against this man, her woman's
intuition had sensed his secret deadly antagonism toward her father. By
little significant mannerisms and revelations he had more and more
betrayed the German in him. She saw it in his overbearing conceit, his
almost instant assumption that he was her master. At first Lenore feared
him, but, as she learned to hate him she lost her fear. She had never
been alone with him except under such circumstances as this; and she had
decided she would not be.

"Wait?" he was expostulating. "But it's going to get hot for me."

"Oh!... What do you mean?" she begged. "You frighten me."

"Lenore, the I.W.W. will have hard sledding in thi