lded to that madness he expected to pay
more dearly than he was paying old Sudden for his folly of the early
summer. It seemed to him that the rest of his life would be spent in
paying for his own blunders. It was like a nightmare that held him
struggling futilely to attain some vital object; for how could he ever
hope to achieve great things if he were forever atoning for past
mistakes?

Now, instead of earning money wherewith to pay his debt to Sudden, he
would be sweltering indefinitely in jail. And when they did finally
turn him loose, Mary V would be ashamed of her jailbird sweetheart, and
his airplane would be--where?

He thought of Bland, having things his own way with the plane.
Dissipated, dishonest, with an instinct for petty graft--Johnny would
be helpless, caged there under the roof of their jail while Bland made
free with his property. It did not occur to him that that he could
call the law to his aid and have the airplane stored safe from Bland's
pilfering fingers. That little gleam of brightness could not penetrate
his gloom; for, once Johnny's indomitable optimism failed him, he fell
deep indeed into the black pit of despair.

Strangely, the failure of his impromptu elopement troubled him the
least of all. It had been a crazy idea, born of Mary V's presence in
the airplane and his angry impulse to spite old Sudden. He had known
all along that it was a crazy idea, and that it was likely to breed
complications and jeopardize his dearest ambition, though he had never
dreamed just what form the complications would take. Even when he
landed it was mostly his stubbornness that had sent him on after the
marriage license. He simply would not consider taking Mary V back to
the ranch. It was much easier for him to face the future with a wife
and ten dollars and a mortgaged airplane than to face Sudden's
impassive face and maddening sarcasm.

Darkness settled muggily upon him, but he did not move from the cot
where he had flung himself when the door closed behind his jailer. He
still felt the smooth hardness of the handcuffs, though they had been
removed before he was left there alone.

He did not sleep that night. He lay face down and thought and thought,
until his brain whirled, and his emotions dulled to an apathetic
hopelessness. That he was tired with a long day's unpleasant
occurrences failed to bring forgetfulness of his plight. Until the
morning crept grayly in through his barred window