appen at the hotel and there was no table in the
store.'

'In the--the house of a man named Moraga, I believe,' Longstreet
answered hurriedly.

Helen looked at him severely.

'A saloon, wasn't it?' she asked, quite as a school teacher may put a
leading question to a squirming little boy. When he did not answer
immediately, Helen did not wait.

'I think,' she informed him judicially, 'that it will be better for you
if I don't lose sight of you in these cattle and mining towns after
this. And it would be a better thing for Mr. Howard if he did not
frequent such places.'

'But you sent him for me!'

Helen merely sniffed at him. She was wondering if Jim Courtot really
were a man-killer? She shuddered. Then she set her brain to work upon
the name--Jim Courtot. It had a familiar ring; certainly she had heard
it before. She and her father rode on in silence. She could hear Alan
and Carr talking together again. Suddenly she remembered. It had been
that afternoon when they went to Big Run. The two men had spoken of
Mrs. Murray, remarking that she was in town. It had been Alan who had
said on the heels of this remark:

'I'll bet you Jim Courtot has turned up again!'

That was it! Sanchia Murray--Jim Courtot. What had the one to do with
the other? Had the enmity of the two men, Howard and Courtot, begun
over Sanchia Murray?

When they came to the ranch-house and Alan was at her side to help her
to the ground, Helen said, 'No, thank you,' quite stiffly and slipped
down unaided.

Chapter XVI

Sanchia Schemes

Chance had it that the very first individual they saw in Big Run was
Sanchia Murray. She was in white and looked fresh and cool and girlish
and inviting as she sat idling upon the porch at the hotel. When she
saw them, she smiled engagingly.

Only a minute ago as they turned into the hot, deserted street Alan
Howard had suggested:

'We'd better have lunch at the hotel and ride on to San Ramon
afterwards.' Helen now told herself wisely that he had known Mrs.
Murray would be at the hotel. She turned to wave to John Carr, who had
said good-bye at the outskirts of Big Run; he claimed that he had been
away from home long enough and had some business waiting on his return.

'He's perfectly splendid, don't you think, Mr. Howard?' Helen asked
brightly, quite as if she had not yet seen Sanchia.

'Yes,' he rejoined warmly. 'He's the best friend a man ever had.'

They dismounted, and Sanch