smissal of the objection.

"I'll have Thomas wire the Governor that the situation is beyond
control. This town is miles from nowhere, and there's no militia within
easy reach. The State will be glad enough to be saved the expense,
especially with the soldiers close by at Fort Mackenzie. Besides, you
know, although Wade's ranch is inside the State, a good deal of his land
is Government land, or was until he filed on it."

When Moran had left the room in a much easier frame of mind than he came
into it, the Senator sat down heavily on the bed. He was puffing at his
cigar and thinking intently, when he caught sight of the white, startled
face of his daughter in the mirror of the bureau across the room.
Whirling about, he found her standing in the doorway looking at him.
Rexhill had never before been physically conscious of the fact that he
had a spine, but in that moment of discovery a chill crept up and down
his back, for her expression told him that she had heard a good deal of
his conversation with Moran. The most precious thing to him in life was
the respect of his child; more precious even, he knew, than the
financial security for which he fought; and in her eyes now he saw that
he was face to face with a greater battle than any he had ever waged.

"Father!"

"What, are you awake, my dear?"

He tried hard to make his tone cheery and natural, as he stood up and
wrapped the bathrobe more closely around him.

"I heard what you said to Race Moran."

Helen came into the room, with only a dressing wrapper thrown over her
thin night-dress, and dropped into a chair. She seemed to feel that her
statement of the fact was accusation enough in itself, and waited for
him to answer.

"You shouldn't have listened, Helen. Moran and I were discussing private
business matters, and I thought that you were asleep. It was not
proper...."

Her lips, which usually framed a smile for him, curled disdainfully and
he winced in spite of himself. He avoided the keen appraisement of her
gaze, which seemed now to size him up, as though to probe his most
secret thoughts, whereas before she had always accepted him lovingly on
faith.

"Certainly, they were not matters that you would want an outsider to
hear," she said, in a hard voice, "but I am very glad that _I_ listened,
father. Glad"--her voice broke a little--"even though I shall never be
able to think of you again as I...."

He went to her and put his heavy hands on her shoulders,