es!"

"Why, Mrs. Welles," he exclaimed, "how can you say so? If you aren't
Mrs. Welles, who are you?"

"Just as if you didn't know!" she retorted scornfully.

"Well, perhaps," he admitted. "But never mind that now. Do you know that
you lost your bag of clippings?"

Her hand flew to her breast. "Now, gracious me! How could I?"

"Oh, don't worry about them," he soothed. "I've got them all in my room.
You shall have them again. Don't you want to come down and get them?" He
was cramped and chilled to the bone; moreover, the stars had paled, and
a misty fog of floating, impalpable crystal was slowly crossing the
oblong of sky left visible by the edifices on both sides of the alley.
He waited anxiously for her to reply, but she seemed lost in thought. He
looked at her closely. She was asleep, her head resting against the
blistered paneling of the door. He shifted his position slightly, and
gazed at the coming of the dawn. Gradually the crystal white gave place
to faintest violet, then flushed to rose color. The details of the
coping above them became sharply distinct. Below them the canyon was
full of blue shadow, but already the depths were becoming translucent.
He looked at his strange companion. Should he wake her, he wondered.
Softly he tried the door. It was locked from within. If he allowed her
to slumber in peace, she might, on awakening, be terrified at the
visible depths below. Now, all was vague in the blue canyon.

Very gently he pressed her hand and called her. "Mrs. Welles."

She awoke with such a violent start that for an agonized instant he felt
his hold slipping. He held her firmly, however, and steadied her with
voice and hand.

"Let's go indoors," he said quite casually. "You see if we sit here much
longer, it's growing light, and people will see us. Then it won't be
easy for me to keep you hidden. Now, if you'll just turn about and let
me go first, I'll get you down quite easily and nobody the wiser for our
outing."

She looked at him for a moment as if puzzled, then her brow cleared.
"Very well, young man," she said. "I must have had a nap. Now, how do
you want me to turn?"

He showed her, and with his arms on the outside of the ladder, her body
next the rungs--as he had often seen the firemen make their rescues, he
slowly steadied her to the landing below and assisted her in at the
window.

With a sigh of relief he closed the window behind them and drew down the
blinds.

"Now! that's all r