el. Her childish
enjoyment of the most ordinary pleasures was a constant delight and he
found his greatest happiness in planning some new entertainment,
receiving his reward in watching her expression.

But there was one thing about Kate that puzzled Prentiss, and troubled
him a bit: he had observed that while she talked freely of her mother
and the Sand Coulee Roadhouse, of Mullendore and the crisis which had
sent her to Mormon Joe, of the tragedy of his death, of her subsequent
life on the ranch, of her ups-and-downs with the sheep, of anything that
she thought would be of interest to him, of her inner self she had
nothing to say--of friends, of love affairs--and he could not believe
but that that a woman of her unmistakable charm must have had a few.
Furthermore, he found that any attempt to draw her out met a reserve
that was like a stone wall--just so far he got into her life and not a
step beyond.

She reminded him, sometimes--and he could not have said why--of a
spirited horse that has been abused--alert for blows, ready to defend
itself, suspicious of kindness until its confidence has been won.

Kate had expanded and bloomed in the new atmosphere like a flower whose
growth has been retarded by poor soil and contracted space. Her lips had
taken on a smiling upward curve that gave a new expression to her face,
and now her frequent laugh was spontaneous and contagious. Her humor was
of the western flavor--droll exaggeration--a little grim, while in her
unexpected turns of speech, Prentiss found a constant source of
entertainment.

He had told her of the Toomeys and the circumstances in which they had
met; also of the letter endeavoring to interest him in the irrigation
project.

"Do you know them?" he had asked, and she had replied merely,
"Somewhat."

When questioned as to the merits of the project, she had answered
evasively, "Of my own knowledge I know nothing." But he could not fail
to observe the sudden stillness which fell upon her, the inscrutability
of expression which dropped like a mask over her animated face. The name
of Prouty alone was sufficient to bring this change, as if at the sound
of the word a habit of reserve asserted itself.

Prentiss thought of it much, but contented himself with believing that
all in good time he would have his daughter's entire confidence.

The afternoon train had been extraordinarily late, bringing him in long
after dark, so the news of the arrival of this strang