t was difficult
to work the lock in the dark, and, as she became engrossed with her
purpose, she ceased temporarily to listen acutely. She had just
succeeded in effecting the combination, when something touched her side.

"Don't move!" a voice hissed behind her. "I'll shoot if you do!"

She wanted to cry out, "Please don't shoot!" but her tongue clove to the
roof of her mouth, which had suddenly gone dry. She had fallen forward
against the door of the safe, and was curiously conscious how cold it
felt. She was on the point of fainting, when in a rush of relief it
dawned upon her that she knew the voice; it was not Moran's.

"Gordon!" she cried joyously, finding the use of her tongue as quickly
as she had lost it, and scrambling to her feet. "It's me--Dorothy!"

With an exclamation as joyous as her own and equally surprised, he
seized her by the shoulders, peering through the darkness into her face.

"Dorothy! What the...?" A lightning flash revealed them clearly to each
other. "I told you not to try this."

"But what are you doing in town?" She clutched his arms, overcome by a
fear greater than that for her own safety. "Gordon, Gordon, you must not
stay here. There's a warrant out for you--no, no, not for that--for the
Jensen shooting. You'll be arrested on sight."

"What?" He stared at her, amazed, and she nodded. "So that's their game
now, eh? They've stooped even to that. By God!" He struck a match.

"Be careful," she warned him instantly. "The light--put it out. They'll
see it from the street. But, oh, Gordon, why did you come?"

He thrilled at the anxiety in her voice.

"To find out what Moran is hiding here; and you're after the same thing,
of course."

"Yes."

Impulsively, he squeezed her fingers, until she could have cried out in
pain but for the sweetness of it; there are some agonies which do not
hurt. Her throat swelled with joy, her breast heaved, and her eyelids
fluttered. She was grateful for the darkness, which hid these outward
signs of love from him. She blushed; she could feel the warm tide
pulsing in her temples; and she laughed brokenly from sheer happiness.

"You shouldn't have taken such a risk, Dorothy. I told you not to."

"You're taking that risk, Gordon, and more."

"That's different. It's so dark a night, I thought I'd chance it."

"There's not much risk for me," she declared. "I can reach home in five
minutes. Isn't it odd, though, that we both should have thought of doing
i