ye which Alejandro felt to be impelling.
He decided to take the note to the lady in gray.

Jane, as Alejandro smuggled the paper into her hand, caught a glimpse
of the writing and felt her heart sink. Lola and Edith May Jonas were
whispering together. They had not noticed Alejandro.

"The man is waiting," said the boy, in her ear.

Jane touched Lola. "Keep my seat, dear," she said. "Some one wants to
speak to me." And she followed Alejandro across the field.

Alejandro's _vagabundo_ came forward to meet her with an air of light
cordiality. His voice was the voice which had greeted her first from
the steps of the prairie-schooner in which Lola's mother lay dead.

"It's me!" conceded Mr. Keene, pleasantly. "In rather poor shape, as
you see. It's always darkest before dawn! You're considerable changed,
ma'am--and to the better. I would hardly have known you. Is that girl
in the big white hat Lola? Well, well! Now, ma'am I'll tell you why I'm
here."

He proceeded to speak of an opportunity of immediate fortune which was
open to him, after prolonged disaster, if only the sum of five hundred
dollars might be forthcoming. A friend of his in Pony Gulch had sent
him glowing reports of the region. "All I want is a grub-stake," said
Mr. Keene, "and I'm sure to win!"

"I haven't that much money in the world!" said Jane.

Keene sighed. "Well, I hoped you'd be able to lend me a hand, but if
you can't, you can't! There seems to be nothing for me but to go back
North, and try to earn something to start on. I guess it'd be well for
me to take Lola along. She's nearly grown now, and they need help the
worst kind in the miners' boarding-house where I stay up in Cripple. I
told the folks that keep it--I owe 'em considerable--that I'd bring
back my daughter with me to assist 'em in the dining-room, and they
said all right, that'd suit 'em. Wages up there are about the highest
thing in sight. Equal to the altitude. And it'll give me a chance to
look round."

Jane was staring at him. "You would do that?" she breathed. "You'd take
that delicate girl up there to wait on a lot of rough miners? I've
worked for her and loved her and sheltered her from everything! She's
not fit for any such life! She sha'n't go!"

Keene had been touched at first. At Jane's last assertion, however, he
began to look sulky.

"Well, I guess it's for me to say what she shall do!" he signified. "I
guess it's not against the law or the prophets for a daughter