oke slowly. "I didn't see him there, ma'am."

She evidently wondered why it had not been Masten that had come for her.

They were near the house when she spoke again:

"Did you have an accident today, Randerson?"

"Why, ma'am?" he asked to gain time, for he knew that the moonlight had
been strong enough, and that he had been close enough to her, to permit
her to see.

"Your face has big, ugly, red marks on it, and the skin on your knuckles
is all torn," she said.

"Patches throwed me twice, comin' after you, ma'am," he lied. "I plowed
up the ground considerable. I've never knowed Patches to be so
unreliable."

She turned in the saddle and looked full at him. "That is strange," she
said, looking ahead again. "The men have told me that you are a wonderful
horseman."

"The men was stretchin' the truth, I reckon," he said lightly.

"Anyway," she returned earnestly; "I thank you very much for coming for
me."

She said nothing more to him until he helped her down at the edge of the
porch at the ranchhouse. And then, while Uncle Jepson and Aunt Martha
were talking and laughing with pleasure at her return, she found time to
say, softly to him:

"I really don't blame you so much--about Pickett. I suppose it was
necessary."

"Thank you, ma'am," he said gratefully.

He helped her inside, where the glare of the kerosene lamps fell upon
him. He saw Uncle Jepson looking at him searchingly; and he caught Ruth's
quick, low question to Aunt Martha, as he was letting her gently down in
a chair:

"Where is Willard?"

"He came in shortly after dark," Aunt Martha told her. "Jep was talking
to him, outside. He left a note for you. He told Jep that he was going
over to Lazette for a couple of weeks, my dear."

Randerson saw Ruth's frown. He also saw Aunt Martha looking intently
through her glasses at the bruises on his face.

"Why, boy," she exclaimed, "what has happened to you?"

Randerson reddened. It was going to be harder for him to lie to Aunt
Martha than to Ruth. But Ruth saved him the trouble.

"Randerson was thrown twice, riding out to get me," she explained.

"Throwed twice, eh?" said Uncle Jepson to Randerson, when a few minutes
later he followed the range boss out on the porch. He grinned at
Randerson suspiciously. "Throwed twice, eh?" he repeated. "Masten's face
looks like some one had danced a jig on it. Huh! I cal'late that if you
was throwed twice, Masten's horse must have _drug_ him!"

"You ain't te