cloud was to be seen, and yet the soldier had a touch of
uneasiness. "I wish I had brought my faithful men with me to the Sherman
House. However, there is no real cause to worry. Paul is more Tetong
than borderman--and will protect them--if only they keep off the
street."

He began to meet men in close-packed groups on the sidewalk--roughly
clad citizens who seemed absorbed in the discussion of some important
event. A few of them recognized him as he passed, and one called, in a
bitter tone, "There goes the cur himself!" Curtis did not turn, though
the tone, more insulting than the words, made his heart hot with battle.
It was plain that the sheriff and his party had already entered and
reported their defeat. A saloon emptied a mob of loud-voiced men upon
the sidewalk before him, and though he feared trouble he pushed steadily
forward. The ruffians gave way before his resolute feet, but he felt
their hate beating like flame upon his face. He dared not turn a
hair's-breadth to the right nor to the left; nothing was better than to
walk straight on. "They will not shoot me in the back," he reasoned, and
beyond a volley of curses he remained unassaulted.

The rotunda of the hotel was filled with a different but not less
dangerous throng of excited politicians and leading citizens, who had
assembled to escort Brisbane to the opera-house. The talk, though less
profane than that of the saloon loafers, was hardly less bitter against
the agent. Mingled with these district bosses were a half-dozen
newspaper men, who instantly rushed upon Curtis in frank and boyish
rivalry. "Captain, what is the news?" they breathlessly asked, with pads
and pencils ready for his undoing.

"All quiet!" was his curt reply.

"But--but--how about--"

"All lies!" he interrupted to say, and pushed on to the desk. "Is
Senator Brisbane and party still here?" he asked, as he signed his name
in the book.

The clerk applied the blotter. "Yes; he is still at supper."

The young soldier took time to wash the dust from his face and hands and
smooth his hair before entering the dining-room. At the threshold he
paused and took account of his enemies. Brisbane and three of his most
trusted supporters, still sitting at coffee, were holding a low-voiced
consultation at a corner table, while Lawson and Elsie sat waiting some
distance away and near an open window. The Parkers were not in view.

Elsie, at sight of her lover, rose impulsively, and her face, tir