rt. "Look! Get it for me!"

One loud scraping of his claws on the floor as he started, and Black
Bart went like a bolt through the door with Joan scrambling after him,
screaming with excitement; from the outside, they heard the cry of
a frightened squirrel, and then its angry chattering from a place of
safety up a tree.

"Shall I call her back again?" asked Kate.

"Not if Bart comes with her," answered Lee Haines. "I've seen enough of
him to last me a while."

"Well, we'll have her to ourselves when Dan comes; of course Bart leaves
her to tag around after Dan."

"When is he comin' back?" asked Buck, with polite interest.

"Anytime. I don't know. But he's always here before it's completely
dark."

The glance of Buck Daniels kicked over to Lee Haines, exchanged meanings
with him, and came back to Kate.

"Terrible sorry," he said, "but I s'pose we'll have to be on our way
before it's plumb dark."

"Go so soon as that? Why, I won't let you."

"I--" began Haines, fumbling for words.

"We got to get down in the valley before it's dark," filled in Buck.

Suddenly she laughed, frankly, happily.

"I know what you mean, but Dan is changed; he isn't the same man he used
to be."

"Yes?" queried Buck, without conviction.

"You'll have to see him to believe; Buck, he doesn't even whistle any
more."

"What?"

"Only goes about singing, now."

The two men exchanged glances of such astonishment that Kate could not
help but notice and flush a little.

"Well," murmured Buck, "Bart doesn't seem to have changed much from the
old days."

She laughed slowly, letting her mind run back through such happiness as
they could not understand and when she looked up she seemed to debate
whether or not it would be worth while to let them in on the delightful
secret. The moment she dwelt on the burning logs they gazed at her and
then to each other with utter amazement as if they sat in the same room
with the dead come to life. No care of motherhood had marked her face,
but on the white, even forehead was a sign of peace; and drifting over
her hands and on the white apron across her lap the firelight pooled dim
gold, the wealth of contentment.

"If you'd been here today you would have seen how changed he is. We
had a man with us whom Dan had taken while he was running from a posse,
wounded, and kept him here until he was well, and--"

"That's Dan," murmured Lee Haines. "He's gold all through when a man's
in trouble."

"Shu