ad not found his trail and it was possible he would reach the
American frontier.

Lister thought the thing was done with, and when a letter arrived from
the construction office, telling him to stay until he felt able to
resume his work, resigned himself to rather dreary idleness. For some
days his head ached and he could not go out; the other guests were
engaged in the city and there was nobody to whom he could talk. He got
badly bored, and it was a relief when one afternoon the gentleman he had
met at the construction camp arrived with his daughter. For all that,
Lister was surprised. Duveen was a man of some importance, Miss Duveen
was a fashionable young lady, and Lister had imagined they had forgotten
him. He took his guests to a corner of the spacious rotunda where a
throbbing electric fan blew away the flies, and Duveen gave him a
cigarette.

"The _Record_ did not give your name, but we soon found out who was the
plucky passenger," he said with a friendly smile. "Ruth thought she'd
like to see you, and since I wasn't engaged this afternoon we came
along."

"I did want to come, but I really think you proposed the visit," Ruth
remarked.

"Oh, well," said Duveen, "I don't know if it's important, but perhaps we
oughtn't to make Mr. Lister talk."

Lister declared he wanted to talk, and Duveen said presently, "I don't
see why you butted in."

For a moment or two Lister hesitated. He was resolved to say nothing
about the girl; it was obvious she would not like her adventure known,
but he must be cautious. Duveen was clever, and he thought Miss Duveen
gave him a curious glance.

"The trooper was young and I sympathized with his keenness. Looked as if
it was his first important job and he meant to make good."

"A romantic impulse?" Duveen remarked, and laughed. "Well, when one is
young, I expect it's hard to stand off while a fight's going on. All the
same, it's strange you didn't sympathize with the fellow who was
corraled. That's youth's natural instinct, although I allow it's not
often justified."

"The trooper was corraled. He'd put down his rifle and Shillito had a
gun; I reckon it was the sharp butt of a heavy automatic that cut my
head. Then I didn't like the fellow; he'd come through the train before
and looked a smart crook."

"He is a crook and got away with a big wad of the lumber firm's money.
However, you were rash to jump for a man with a pistol. You didn't know
he'd use the butt. All the same,