you really believe that any jury would convict
Gordon of such a thing?"

"I hope not."

Never had Senator Rexhill felt himself more hopelessly a scoundrel than
now as he smoothed her hair from her forehead; but he told himself that
the pain of this must be less than to be engulfed in bankruptcy, or
exposure, which would submerge them all. Moreover, he promised himself
that if future events bore too heavily against Wade, he should be saved
at the eleventh hour. The thought of this made the Senator's position
less hard.

"I hope not, Helen," he repeated. "Of course, the serving of the warrant
at this time will help my own interests, but since a warrant must be
served, anyway, I feel justified, under the circumstances, in availing
myself of this advantage."

"Y-e-s, of course," Helen agreed doubtfully. "Oh, it is all too bad. I
wish none of us had ever heard of Crawling Water."

"Well, maybe the Grand Jury will not indict him, feeling runs so strong
here," her father continued, and she took fresh hope at this prospect.
"But, anyway, he will feel the pressure before all is done with, and
very likely he'll be only too glad to dispose of his ranch and say
good-by to Wyoming when he is free to do as he pleases. Then you and he
can make a fresh start, eh? All will be sunshine and roses then, maybe,
forever and aye."

"That's what I want to do--get away from here; and that was all I meant
when I said to punish Gordon."

The Senator patted her cheek tenderly and drew a deep breath of relief.

"By the way, father," Helen said casually, when she started back to her
room, a little later, "I saw Miss Purnell on the street yesterday. You
know, she was out when Gordon took me to see her."

"Well, is she dangerous?"

Helen looked at him in amusement, and shrugged her shoulders.

CHAPTER XI

TANGLED THREADS

Relieved though Helen was to some extent, by her father's assurances and
by the explanation which he had given, she was far from being in a
tranquil frame of mind.

She knew that whatever might be the outcome of the graver charge against
Gordon, he would probably have to suffer for his release of Santry, and
she found herself wishing more than ever that her lover had never seen
the West. What little it had contributed to his character was not worth
what it had cost already and would cost in the future. Surely, his
manhood was alive enough not to have needed the development of such an
environment, and if his