ws--he wanted the land."

"The interpreter! But last night's tracks were made by moccasins.
There's one Indian free----"

She let him get no further. "It's not Charley," she declared. "Matthews
meant us to think it was Indians. Moccasins are easy to get."

"That's true." He frowned. "Hm!--Well, I shall inquire into his
whereabouts during the last two days." And the captain fell to studying
the figures on the Navajos.

Outside, Lieutenant Fraser was passing the shack. He rode on to the
cornfield, where he flung himself off his horse.

"Marylyn! Marylyn!" he said tremblingly. "You poor girl! I'm so
sorry--What can I say? It's my fault."

She lifted a scared face to his. "No, it's mine," she answered; "if I'd
told Dallas about you, we'd never 'a' gone to Clark's----"

"Thank goodness you did! But if your father had known about me--if I
could have come to the house. I must after this. We'll tell your sister
about us now. Come on."

She shrank back in sudden fright. "No, no. Don't you see? She'd think it
was awful I didn't say something yesterday!"

"Why didn't you, Marylyn?"

She looked down. "You don't know Dallas. She don't like soldiers any
more'n pa. She said so, and she'd----"

"Oh, I think she does," he argued. "Now, let's try her--let's make a
clean breast of it."

Her hands came out in wild imploring. "You won't, you won't, you
_won't_," she begged. "Don't you understand?--my keeping still was just
as if I'd killed pa! Oh, it was! So I _can't_ tell--_now_!"

"Marylyn----"

"Promise you won't, oh, promise you won't!" And she went down, crumpling
into a little, miserable heap.

Quickly, he lifted her. "Well, we won't tell her then, not if you don't
want to--but we'll have to some day."

"Some day--maybe--but _not now_."

"All right, then--not now." He led her from garden to coulee and back
again, trying to comfort her all the while as best he could.

"You see, Marylyn," he said, "you're wrong about its being your fault.
It's mine. I promised Lounsbury I'd look after you folks."

She stopped short. "Did you tell him about you and me?"

"No."

"Oh." She was relieved. "You mustn't, either. Not him, or anyone."

"I don't see how I can ever look Lounsbury in the face again," he said
bitterly.

Whereupon, she straightway began to comfort him.

At the shack, Oliver and Dallas had arrived at the question of future
safety.

"I must insist," the captain was saying, "upon your coming to live at