man's as ill as that, I have no desire to butt in for an
interview," he said. "Oblige me by ascertaining at your earliest
convenience whether or not I may be of service to Mr. Kent in returning
his reply."

The man looked bewildered. He received the letter, somewhat dubiously,
and disappeared. Van waited. The reception was not precisely what he
might have expected, but, for the matter of that, neither had the trip
been altogether what he might have chosen.

It was fully twenty minutes before the nurse reappeared.

"He was just woke up enough to say thank you and wants to know if
you'll oblige him with the favor of takin' his hand-write back to his
sister in the mornin'?"

Van looked him over steadily. After all, the man within might be
utterly sick and weak. His request was natural. And the service was
for Beth.

"Certainly," he said. "I'll be here at seven in the morning."

Starlight was nearly deserted. Gratified to discover sufficient food
and bedding for himself and his pony, Van made no complaint.

At six in the morning he was rousing up the blacksmith, fortunately not
yet gone to join the reservation rush. Suvy was shod, and at seven
o'clock he and Van were again at Glenmore's cabin.

His man was in waiting. In his hand he held an envelope, unsealed.

"Mr. Kent's asleep, but here's his hand-write to his sister," he said.
"He wants you to read it out before you hike."

Van received the envelope, glanced at the man inquiringly, and removed
a single sheet of paper. It was not a note from Glen; it appeared to
be the final page of Beth's own letter to her brother. Van knew the
strong, large chirography. His eye ran swiftly over all the lines.

"--so I felt I ought to know about things, and let you know of what is
going on. There is more that I cannot tell you. I wrote you much in
my former letter--much, I mean, about the man who will carry this
letter, so unsuspiciously--the man I shall yet repay if it lies within
my power. For the things he has done--and for what he is--for what he
represents--this is the man I hate more than anything or anyone else in
the world. You would understand me if you knew it all--all! Let him
carry some word from you to Your loving sister, BETH."

Van had read and comprehended the full significance of the lines before
he realized some error had been made--that this piece of Beth's letter
had been placed by mistake in the envelope for him to take, instea