t the girl's hand. "But I want to
know what you'll say when he asks you. Tell me, honey, so I'll be
plumb certain I'm doin' right."

Sammy lowered her head and whispered in his ear.

"Are you sure this time, girl, dead sure?"

"Oh, I'm so sure that it seems as if I--I couldn't wait for him to
come to me. I never felt this way before, never."

The mountaineer drew his daughter into his arms, and held her
close, as he said, "I ain't afraid to do it, now, girl."

The young woman was so occupied with her own thoughts and the
emotions aroused by her father's question, that she failed to note
the ominous suggestion that lay under his words. So she entered
gaily into his plans for her during his two days' absence.

Jim would leave early in the morning, and Sammy was to stay with
her friend, Mandy Ford, over on Jake Creek. Mr. Lane had arranged
with Jed Holland to do the milking, so there would be no reason
for the girl's return until the following evening, and she must
promise that she would not come home before that time. Sammy
promised laughingly. He need not worry; she and Mandy had not had
a good visit alone for weeks.

When his daughter had said good-night, Jim extinguished the light,
and slipping the big gun inside his shirt went to sit outside the
cabin door with his pipe. An hour passed. Sammy was fast asleep.
And still the man sat smoking. A half hour more went by. Suddenly
the pipe was laid aside, and Jim's hand crept inside his shirt to
find the butt of the revolver. His quick ear had caught the sound
of a swiftly moving horse coming down the mountain.

The horse stopped at the gate and a low whistle came out of the
darkness. Leaving his seat, Sammy's father crossed the yard, and,
a moment later, the horse with its rider was going on again down
the trail toward the valley below and the distant river.

Jim waited at the gate until the sound of the horse's feet had
died away in the night. Then he returned to the cabin. But even as
he walked toward the house, a dark figure arose from a clump of
bushes within a few feet of the spot where Jim and the horseman
had met. The figure slipped noiselessly away into the forest.

The next morning Jim carefully groomed and saddled the brown pony
for Sammy, then, leading his own horse ready for the road, he came
to the cabin door. "Going now, Daddy?" said the girl, coming for
the good-by kiss.

"My girl, my girl," whispered the man, as he took her in his arms.

Samm