ed, her very silence
convincing him of her acquiescence. With throbbing pulse, Hope felt the
small revolver hidden within her dress, undoing a button so that, in
emergency, she might grasp it more quickly. Hawley felt the movement,
the trembling of her arm.

"You are afraid, just the same," he said, pressing her to him
lover-like. "Darkness always gets on a woman's nerves."

"Yes, that and loneliness," resenting his familiarity.

"Do we need to go any farther? Surely, we are alone here."

"Only a few steps; the ravine is yonder, and we can sit down on the
rocks. I want to smoke, and we will be entirely out of sight there."

He helped her down the rather sharp declivity until both were thoroughly
concealed below the prairie level. Feeling about with his hands he
found the surface of a smooth rock, and seated her upon it. Then a match
flared, casting an instant's gleam across his face as he lighted his
cigar. Blacker than ever the night shut down about them, and he groped
for a seat beside her. She could perceive just one star peering through
a rift of cloud, and in her nostrils was the pungent odor of tobacco.
With a little shiver of disgust she drew slightly away from him,
dreading what was to come. One thing alone she felt was in her
favor--however familiar Hawley attempted to be, he was evidently not
yet sufficiently sure of Miss Maclaire to become entirely offensive. She
might not have frowned at his love-making, but apparently he had not yet
progressed sufficiently far in her good graces to venture to extremes.
Hope pressed her lips together, determined to resist any further
approach of the man. However, his earliest words were a relief.

"I reckon, Christie," he said slowly, between puffs on his cigar, the
lighted end of which faintly illumined his face, "you've got the idea
I have brought you out here to make love. Lord knows I'd like to well
enough, but just now there's more important matters on hand. Fact is, my
girl, we're up against a little back-set, and have got to make a shift
in our plans--a mighty quick shift, too," he added, almost savagely.

"I--I don't think I understand."

"No, of course, you don't. You imagine all we've got to do in a matter
of this kind is to step into the nearest court, and draw the money. One
trouble is, our evidence isn't complete--we've got to find that woman
who brought you up."

"Oh!" said Hope, not knowing what else to say.

"Yes," he went on, apparently satisfied