k you very heartily, Miss Carteret," he said humbly. "It shall
be sent word for word." Then, for the Reverend William's benefit:
"Winton deserves all sorts of a snubbing for taking liberties with
your portrait. I'll see he gets more when he comes back."

Here the matter rested; and, having done what she conceived to be her
charitable duty, Virginia was as anxious to get away as heart--the
heart of a slightly bored Reverend Billy, for instance--could wish.

So they bade Adams good-by and picked their way down the frozen
embankment and across the ice-bridge; down and across and back to the
Rosemary, where they found a perturbed chaperon in a flutter of
solicitude arising upon their mysterious disappearance and long
absence.

"It may be just as well not to tell any of them where we have been,"
said Virginia in an aside to her cousin. And so the incident of
tea-drinking in the enemy's camp was safely put away like a little
personal note in its envelop with the flap gummed down.

VI. THE RAJAH GIVES AN ORDER

While Adams was dispensing commissary tea in iron-stone china cups to
his two guests in the "dinkey" field office, his chief, taking the
Rosemary's night run in reverse in the company of Town-Marshal Biggin,
was turning the Rajah's coup into a small Utah profit.

Having come upon the ground late the night before, and from the
opposite direction, he had seen nothing of the extension grade west of
Argentine. Hence the enforced journey to Carbonate only anticipated an
inspection trip which he had intended to make as soon as he had seated
Adams firmly in the track-laying saddle.

Not to miss his opportunity, at the first curve beyond Argentine he
passed his cigar-case to Biggin and asked permission to ride on the
rear platform of the day-coach for inspection purposes.

"Say, pardner, what do you take me fer, anyhow?" was the reproachful
rejoinder.

"For a gentleman in disguise," said Winton promptly.

"Sim'larly, I do you; savvy? You tell me you ain't goin' to stampede,
and you ride anywhere you blame please. See? This here C. G. R. outfit
ain't got no surcingle on me."

Winton smiled.

"I haven't any notion of stampeding. As it happens, I'm only a day
ahead of time. I should have made this run to-morrow of my own accord
to have a look at the extension grade. You will find me on the rear
platform when you want me."

"Good enough," was the reply; and Winton went to his post of
observation.

Greatly