n the small sitting room her
father was reading under a shaded lamp at the table. At times the
worried look in the girl's eyes would change to one of wistfulness,
and twice the tears welled.

Presently she straightened and listened intently, looking into the
south instead of northwest. Her ears, keen as are those of the desert
born, had caught a sound--a succession of faint sounds--in the still
night air. Gradually the sound became more and more distinct, and the
worried expression of her face increased. She hurried into the sitting
room.

"Father, Fred Doane is coming out from town," she said breathlessly.
"Do you suppose they've got him?"

"Maybe so, girlie," said the old man. "It was a bold business, an'
what could you expect?"

"Oh, I don't know. I can't seem to understand. All this trouble is
coming so suddenly. Father, are you sure you heard Roger refuse to aid
that man Eagen in some shady scheme last night?"

"Ab-so-lutely," declared Mallory. "I've been wondering, daughter, if
he didn't turn Eagen down because he had this scheme of his own."

The purr of a motor came to them from outside, and Laura, hastily
wiping her eyes with a small handkerchief, went slowly out.

"Laura!" cried Fred Doane, as he came up the steps, holding out his
hands.

"What--what is it, Fred?" she faltered. "Have they caught----"

"Not yet," said Doane briskly, as Mallory appeared in the door. "An'
they probably won't get him. He's clever, that fellow."

The bank cashier indulged in a frown, but he was plainly nervous.

"Then what news do you bring here?" Mallory demanded. "Did you come to
tell us he'd got away clean?"

"Why, not--not exactly," said Doane. "I meant to tell you that, of
course, but I also want to have a little talk with Laura. Can I see
you alone, Laura, for a few minutes?"

"Oh, _that's_ it," snorted Mallory, as he stamped back into the
house.

"You have something to tell me you don't want father to hear?" asked
the girl in a worried voice.

"Laura, there's something I must tell you right away," said Doane
nervously, leading her to the shadow of the far end of the porch.
There he turned and faced her, taking her hands.

"Laura, you must have seen it for a long time. You could hardly help
but see it. I love you, Laura--I love you with all my heart, and I
want you to be my wife."

The girl drew back in astonishment.

"But why do you have to tell me this so suddenly?" she asked, her
color coming and g