ilacs.

The air was sweet with the scent of locust blossoms, and along the clear
horizon fantastically formed mountains seemed to float like changing
cloud-shapes.

The cattle, which Knight had bought from the departing rancher, had their
corrals and scanty pastures far from the house, but the cowboys' quarters
were near, and Annesley never tired of seeing the laughing young men
mount and ride their slim, nervous horses.

This fact they got to know, and performed incredible antics to excite her
admiration. They thought her beautiful, and wondered if she had lost
someone whom she loved, that she should look so cold and sad.

These men, though she seldom spoke to any, were a comfort to Annesley.
Without their shouts and rough jokes and laughter the place would have
been gloomy as a grave.

There was a colony of prairie dogs which she could visit by taking a long
walk, and they, too, were comforting. It was Knight who told her of the
creatures and where to seek them; but he did not show her the way.

If things had been well between them, the man's anxiety to please her
would have been adorable to Annesley. As soon as he saw the deficiencies
of the house, he went himself to El Paso to choose furniture and pretty
simple chintzes, old-fashioned china and delicate glass, bedroom and
table damask. He ordered books also, and subscribed for magazines and
papers.

Returning, he said nothing of what he had done, for he hoped that the
surprise might prick the girl to interest, rousing her from the lethargy
which had settled over her like a fog. But her gratitude was perfunctory.
She was always polite, but the pretty things seemed to give her no real
pleasure.

Knight had to realize that she was one of those people who, when inwardly
unhappy, are almost incapable of feeling small joys. Such as she had were
found in getting away from him as far as possible.

She practically lived out of doors in the summertime, taking pains to go
where he would not pass on his rounds of the ranch; and even after the
sitting room had been made "liveable" with the new carpet laid by Knight
and the chintz curtains he put up with his own hands, she fled to her
room for sanctuary.

Knight's search for capable servants was vain until he picked up a
Chinaman from over the Mexican border, illegal but valuable as a
household asset. Under the new regime there was good food, and Annesley
had no work save the hopeless task of finding happiness.

It