confidence of her sympathy to the major on the first opportunity.

This she presently found when the others were preoccupied; the major
greeting her with a somewhat careworn face, but a voice whose habitual
kindness was unchanged. When he had condoled with her on the terrifying
phenomenon that had marred her visit to the ranch,--and she could not
help impatiently noticing that he too seemed to have accepted his wife's
theory that she had been half deliriously frightened,--he regretted that
her father had not concluded to come down to the ranch, as his practical
advice would have been invaluable in this emergency. She was about to
eagerly explain why, when it occurred to her that Mrs. Randolph had only
given him a suppressed version of the telegram, and that she would be
betraying her, or again taking sides in this partisan divided home.
With some hesitation she at last alluded to the accident to the artesian
well. The major did not ask her how she had heard of it; it was a bad
business, he thought, but it might not be a total loss. The water may
have been only diverted by the shock and might be found again at the
lower level, or in some lateral fissure. He had sent hurriedly for Tom
Bent--that clever young engineer at the wheat ranch, who was always
studying up these things with his inventions--and that was his opinion.
No, Tom was not a well-digger, but it was generally known that he had
"located" one or two, and had long ago advised the tapping of that flow
by a second boring, in case of just such an emergency. He was coming
again to-morrow. By the way, he had asked how the young lady visitor
was, and hoped she had not been alarmed by the earthquake!

Rose felt herself again blushing, and, what was more singular, with an
unexpected and it seemed to her ridiculous pleasure, although outwardly
she appeared to ignore the civility completely. And she had no
intention of being so easily placated. If this young man thought by mere
perfunctory civilities to her HOST to make up for his clownishness to
HER, he was mistaken. She would let him see it when he called to-morrow.
She quickly turned the subject by assuring the major of her sympathy and
her intention of sending for her father. For the rest of the afternoon
and during their al fresco dinner she solved the difficulty of her
strained relations with Mrs. Randolph and Emile by conversing chiefly
with the major, tacitly avoiding, however, any allusion to this Mr.
Bent. Bu