a girl as ever lived."

"She shore is--there ain't no doubt about that!" cried the foreman, and
then he frowned slightly. "But have you thought of what all this might
develop into?" he asked, leaning forward in his earnestness. "It's shore
funny how I should think of such a thing, for it ain't in my line at all,
but the idea just sort of blew into my head."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Helen, being young and sympathetic and romantic, as you said,
and owing her own life and the lives of her sister and friend, not to
mention yours, to him, might just go and fall in love with him, and I
reckon that if she did, she would stick to him in spite of hell. He's a
blamed good-looking, attractive fellow, full of energy and grit, somewhat
of a mystery, and women are strong on mysteries, and he might nurse
ideas about having some one to make gingerbread and apricot pie for
him; and if he does, as shore as God made little apples, it'll be Helen
that he'll want. He's never seen as pretty a girl, she's been kind and
sympathetic with him, and I'm willing to bet my hat that he's lost a bit
of sleep about her already. Good Lord, what can you expect? She pities
him, and what do the books say about pity?"

The sheriff thought for a minute and then looked up with a peculiar light
in his eyes.

"For a bachelor you're doing real well," he said, still thinking hard.

"Being a bachelor don't mean that I ain't never rubbed elbows with women,"
replied the foreman. "There are some people that are bachelors because
they are too darned smart to get roped and branded because the moon
happens to be real bright. But I'll confess to you that I ain't a bachelor
because I didn't want to get roped. We won't say any more about that,
however."

"Well," said Shields, slowly. "If he tries to get her before I know that
he is straight and clean and good enough for her, I'll just have to
stop him any way I can. First of all, I'm looking out for my sister,
the h--l with anybody else. But on the other hand, if he makes good and
wants her bad enough to rustle for two and she has her mind made up that
she'd rather have him than stay single and is head over heels in love
with him, I don't see that there's anything to worry about. I tell you
that he is a good man, a real man, and if he changes like I want him
to, she would be a d----d sight better off with him than with some dudish
tenderfoot in love with money. He has had such a God-forsaken life that
he will