t, his lips compressed, his brows knit.

Then he glanced about at her, his face clearing. "Pay no attention to
what I said," he remarked. "I shouldn't have let loose that way.
Hello, what's on now?"

Before them, and in front of the court house, was a packed crowd,
people who had run forth at the sound of shots, augmented by those who
had since arrived upon the scene. It was motionless.

"Stand back, stand back; don't trample the body!" came Sheriff
Madden's voice in an angry order.

The crowd surged a little apart in the center.

"How do you know this dead man fired the first shot?" asked some one,
vehemently.

The voices went lower so that Steele Weir and Janet Hosmer, who had
paused at the edge of the throng, were able only to catch the tones.

"Who was that who questioned the sheriff?" Weir whispered.

"Mr. Burkhardt, I think. Sounded like him."

So intent were the Mexicans upon the occurrence in their midst that
those close by remained with backs towards the pair, failing to
notice their presence. All craned eagerly to miss nothing of the
controversy.

"How do you know this engineer didn't start it?" came Burkhardt's
voice again.

"Don't be a fool; there were witnesses."

"I'd like to talk to those witnesses. I doubt if they really saw
anything. It looks to me as if there's another side to this
shooting."

"Well, of course you know--you, sitting there in Sorenson's office, as
you say," was the ironical retort.

At this juncture another voice interposed.

"Madden, we want no mistake here. This Weir doesn't bear a very good
reputation for peacefulness, from what I've learned. If this Mexican
has simply been shot down----"

"Who is that?" Steele demanded of the girl. "I can't see him."

"That"--Janet Hosmer's speech faltered--"that is Mr. Sorenson. Oh,
they misunderstand! Let me push in there and tell them how it
happened."

The engineer's hand closed about her arm.

"You'll do nothing of the kind," he commanded, low.

"But----"

"No. Remain quiet and listen."

Her eyes flew up to his at this extraordinary course, so injurious to
his own interests. She was anxious to press to the front and declare
his innocence in the affair of everything but defending his life from
an assassin. She could not understand why he also was not eager to
spring forward, why he restrained her. Then she saw the implacable
hatred on his face.

A thrill quivered through her body. The feeling she had at that
inst