d, awaited his
approach in silence.

As he leaped from his horse and ran toward her she lifted her hands to
him in a gesture of relief and welcome, and he took her in his arms as
naturally as he would have taken a frightened child to his breast.

"Great God! What's the meaning of all this?" he asked. "Are you hurt?"

She was white, but calm. "No, but daddy is--" And they hastened to where
the old man lay crumpled up beside a rock.

Hanscom knelt to the fallen man and examined him carefully. "He's
alive--he isn't wounded," he said. "He's only stunned. Wait! I'll bring
some water."

Running down to the bank, he filled his hat from the flood, and with
this soon brought the bruised and sadly bewildered rancher back to
consciousness.

Upon realizing who his rescuer was Kauffman's eyes misted with
gratitude. "My friend, I thank God for you. We were trying to find you.
We were on our way to claim your protection. We lost our road, and then
these bandits assaulted us."

The girl pieced out this explanation. She told of being awakened in the
night by a horse's hoofs clattering across the bridge. Some one rode
rapidly up to the door, dismounted, pushed a letter in over the
threshold, and rode away. "I rose and got the letter," she said. "It
warned us that trouble was already on the way. '_Get out!_' it said. I
roused daddy, we harnessed the horses and left the house as quickly as
we could. We dared not go down the valley, so we tried to reach you by
way of the mill. We took the wrong road at the lake. Our pursuers
trailed us and overtook us, as you saw."

It was all so monstrous that the ranger could scarcely believe it
true--and yet, there lay the dead horse and here was the old man beside
the stone. He did not refer to his own narrow escape, and apparently
Helen did not associate him with the horseman at whom she had fired with
such bewildering zeal.

IV

It was a rugged and barren setting for love's interchange, and yet these
two young souls faced each other, across the disabled old man, with
spirits fused in mutual understanding. Helen's face softened and her
eyes expressed the gratitude she felt. At the moment the ranger's sturdy
frame and plain, strong-featured face were altogether admirable to her.
She relied upon him mentally and physically, as did Kauffman, whose head
was bewildered by his fall.

Hanscom roused himself with effort. "Well, now, let's see what's to be
done next. One of your horses appears