revoltingly in the
straw at her feet.

Suddenly through the afternoon silence there came the sound of a horse's
hoofs. She started, and listened.

Beelzebub frantically clutched at her shoes.

"Missis won't tell Boss!" he implored again. "Missis won't----"

She stepped desperately out of his reach.

"Hush!" she said. "Hush! He will hear you. I must go. I must go at
once."

Emergency gave her strength. She moved to the trap-door, and, she knew
not how, found the ladder with her feet.

Grey-faced, dazed, and cold as marble, she descended. Yet she did not
stumble. Her limbs moved mechanically, unfalteringly.

When she reached the bottom she turned with absolute steadiness and
found Brett Mercer standing in the doorway watching her.

XI

He stood looking at her in silence as she came forward. She did not stop
to ascertain if he were angry or not. Somehow it did not seem to matter.
She only dealt with the urgent necessity for averting his suspicion.

"I just ran across with some soup for Beelzebub," she said, her pale
face raised unflinchingly. "I am glad to say he has taken it. Please
don't go up! I want him to get to sleep."

She spoke, with a wholly unconscious authority. The supreme effort she
was making seemed to place her upon a different footing. She laid a
quiet hand upon his arm and drew him out of the stable.

He went with her as one surprised into submission. One of the farm men
who had taken his horse stared after them in amazement.

As they crossed the yard together Mercer found his voice.

"I told Curtis you weren't to go near Beelzebub."

"I know," she answered. "Mr. Curtis told me."

He cracked his whip savagely.

"Where is Curtis?"

"I don't know," she answered. "But, Brett, if you are angry because I
went you must deal with me, not with Mr. Curtis. He had nothing whatever
to do with it."

Mercer was silent, and she divined with no sense of elation that he
would not turn his anger against her.

They entered the house together, and he strode through the passage,
calling for Curtis. But when the latter appeared in answer to the
summons, to her surprise Mercer began to speak upon a totally different
subject.

"I have just seen Stevens from Wallarroo. They are all in a mortal funk
there. He was on his way over here to ask you to go and look at a man
who is very bad with something that looks like smallpox. You can please
yourself about going; though, if you take my advice, you'll sta