l vote me one of the best fellows that
ever lived; to-morrow they will begin to doubt, and by and by the
sweetest privilege they can ask will be to shoot me."

Perhaps the most curious feature of the tragical incidents that
followed was the obtusiveness of Captain Dawson. What every one else
saw was veiled from him, until at times he almost seemed wilfully
blind. The two men had gone through many perilous experiences
together, and sometimes alone. It had been the fortune of the younger
officer to serve the elder, more than once when in imminent danger
and none could be more grateful than the captain.

As for Nellie Dawson herself, it is unlikely that for a time she
suspected the truth in all its fulness. She knew that hers was a
peculiarly sweet enjoyment, while her deft fingers were busy with some
needlework, to listen to the reminiscences of the two. Sometimes she
started with a shock of alarm, when the father pictured in his graphic
way a situation from which it seemed no escape was open to him.
Forgetful for the moment of the fact that he was there before her,
alive and well, she fairly held her breath, until the _denouement_
came. Not until then were her fears wholly relieved.

And when the parent rendered such glowing tributes to the bravery of
the young officer, recalling events of so thrilling a nature that the
lieutenant never would have dared to describe them in similar terms,
how could the daughter help the kindling of admiration for the
handsome young man? How could she avoid feeling grateful, when she
knew that he had risked his life for her parent, even on their late
journey through the mountains? In truth, everything tended to fan the
flame that had already been kindled in both hearts.

It was late one night, after the tired Nellie had withdrawn, that the
visitor made her the subject of the conversation, the approach being
so tactful, that the captain had no suspicion of its object.

"Do you intend to spend all your life in this out of the way corner of
the world?" was the question of the lieutenant.

"Probably I shall. Just before I went to war, I became convinced that
my duty to my daughter demanded I should move to the East, in order to
give her the education she can never receive here. However, when I
went to the war, there was no place except this where I could leave
her. When I come back, I find her a young woman, with excellent book
knowledge, thanks to Brush and the kind attention of the oth