which he
must make amends to his mother, and to Lucy. Quite naturally he
included Lucy in the little circle of beloved ones--Lucy, whom he had
deserted for the open range, for pitching horses and running steers,
for the dust and turmoil of the roundup, for the long day ride and the
lonely night watch, for the gaming table, the bottle, the gun--for all
that made life so thrilling to the American cowboy.

Riding by stage was not new to Pan, though he had never before taken
more than a day's journey. The stage driver, Jim Wells, was an
old-timer. He had been a pony-express rider, miner, teamster and
freighter, and now, grizzled and scarred he liked to perch upon the
driver's seat of the stage, chew tobacco and talk. His keen eyes took
Pan's measure in one glance.

"Pitch your bag up, cowboy, an' climb aboard," he said. "An' what
might your handle be?"

"Panhandle Smith," replied Pan nonchalantly, "late of Sycamore Bend."

"Wal, now, whar'd I hear thet name? I got a plumb good memory fer
names an' faces. 'Pears I heerd thet name in Cheyenne, last summer....
I got it. Cowpuncher named Panhandle rode down street draggin' a bolt
of red calico thet unwound an' stampeded all the hosses. Might thet
lad have happened to be you?"

"I reckon it might," replied Pan, with a grin. "But if you know any
more about me keep it under your sombrero, old-timer."

"Haw! Haw!" roared Wells, slapping his knee. "By golly, I will if I
can. There's a funny old lady inside what's powerful afeerd of
bandits, an' there's a gurl. I seen her takin' in your size an' spurs,
an' thet gun you pack sort of comfortable like. An' there's a gambler,
too, if I ever seen one. Reckon I'm agoin' to enjoy this ride."

After the next stop, where the travelers got dinner, Pan returned to
the stage to find a young lady perched upon the driver's seat. She had
serious gray eyes and pale cheeks.

"I took your seat," she said, shyly, "but there's enough room."

"Thanks, I'll ride inside," replied Pan.

"But if you don't sit here--someone else might--and I--he--" she
faltered, flushing a little.

"Oh, in that case, I'll be glad to," interrupted Pan, and climbed to
the seat beside her. He had become aware of the appearance of a
flashily dressed, hawk-eyed individual about to enter the stage. "Are
you traveling alone?"

"No, thank you. Father is with me, but he never sees anything. I have
been annoyed," she replied.

The stage driver arr