er door and
said he was leaving a pitcher of hot water outside, she replied, with
chattering teeth, "Th-thank y-you, b-but I d-don't ne-need any now." She
found it necessary, however, to warm her numb fingers before she could
fasten hooks and buttons. And when she was dressed she marked in the dim
mirror that there were tinges of red in her cheeks.

"Well, if I haven't some color!" she exclaimed.

Breakfast waited for her in the dining-room. The sisters ate with her.
Madeline quickly caught the feeling of brisk action that seemed to be
in the air. From the back of the house sounded the tramp of boots and
voices of men, and from outside came a dull thump of hoofs, the rattle
of harness, and creak of wheels. Then Alfred came stamping in.

"Majesty, here's where you get the real thing," he announced, merrily.
"We're rushing you off, I'm sorry to say; but we must hustle back to
the ranch. The fall round-up begins to-morrow. You will ride in the
buck-board with Florence and Stillwell. I'll ride on ahead with the boys
and fix up a little for you at the ranch. Your baggage will follow, but
won't get there till to-morrow sometime. It's a long ride out--nearly
fifty miles by wagon-road. Flo, don't forget a couple of robes. Wrap her
up well. And hustle getting ready. We're waiting."

A little later, when Madeline went out with Florence, the gray gloom was
lightening. Horses were champing bits and pounding gravel.

"Mawnin', Miss Majesty," said Stillwell, gruffly, from the front seat of
a high vehicle.

Alfred bundled her up into the back seat, and Florence after her, and
wrapped them with robes. Then he mounted his horse and started off.
"Gid-eb!" growled Stillwell, and with a crack of his whip the team
jumped into a trot. Florence whispered into Madeline's ear:

"Bill's grouchy early in the mawnin'. He'll thaw out soon as it gets
warm."

It was still so gray that Madeline could not distinguish objects at any
considerable distance, and she left El Cajon without knowing what the
town really looked like. She did know that she was glad to get out of
it, and found an easier task of dispelling persistent haunting memory.

"Here come the cowboys," said Florence.

A line of horsemen appeared coming from the right and fell in behind
Alfred, and gradually they drew ahead, to disappear from sight. While
Madeline watched them the gray gloom lightened into dawn. All about her
was bare and dark; the horizon seemed close; not a hill