ion, even if he wished to do so. The
risk was considerable; but Jen Galbraith was fired by that spirit
of self-sacrifice which has held a world rocking to destruction on a
balancing point of safety.

The horse was quickly saddled, Jen meanwhile remaining silent. While she
was mounting, Corporal Galna drew and struck a match to light his
pipe. He held it up for a moment as though to see the face of Sergeant
Gellatly. Jen had just given a good-night, and the horse the word and a
touch of the spur at the instant. Her face, that is, such of it as could
be seen above the cloak and under the cap, was full in the light.
Enough was seen, however, to call forth, in addition to Corporal Galna's
good-night, the exclamation, "Well, I'm blowed!"

As Jen vanished into the night a moment after, she heard a voice
calling--not Corporal Galna's--"Sergeant Gellatly, Sergeant Gellatly!"
She supposed it was Inspector Jules, but she would not turn back now.
Her work was done.

A half-hour later Corporal Galna confided to Private Waugh that Sergeant
Gellatly was too damned pretty for the force--wondered if they called
him Beauty at Fort Desire--couldn't call him Pretty Gellatly, for there
was Pretty Pierre who had right of possession to that title--would like
to ask him what soap he used for his complexion--'twasn't this yellow
bar-soap of the barracks, which wouldn't lather, he'd bet his ultimate
dollar.

Waugh, who had sometime seen Sergeant Gellatly, entered into a
disputation on the point. He said that "Sergeant Tom was good-looking,
a regular Irish thoroughbred; but he wasn't pretty, not much!--guessed
Corporal Galna had nightmare, and finally, as the interest in the theme
increased in fervour, announced that Sergeant Tom could loosen the teeth
of, and knock the spots off, any man among the Riders, from Archangel's
Rise to the Cypress Hills. Pretty--not much--thoroughbred all over!"

And Corporal Galna replied, sarcastically,--"That he might be able for
spot dispersion of such a kind, but he had two as pretty spots on his
cheek, and as white and touch-no-tobacco teeth as any female ever had."
Private Waugh declared then that Corporal Galna would be saying Sergeant
Gellatly wasn't a man at all, and wore earrings, and put his hair
into papers; and when he could find no further enlargement of sarcasm,
consigned the Corporal to a fiery place of future torment reserved for
lunatics.

At this critical juncture Waugh was ordered to proce