been gloomily
gazing turned into a full face. Angela smiled at Mrs. Gaylor. "You must
have hypnotized me," she said. "Suddenly I felt I was being looked at by
some one. Have you been taking a nap, too?"

"No," said her hostess. "I knew I couldn't go to sleep. I'm glad if you
rested. You look very fresh."

Angela could not conscientiously return the compliment. Mrs. Gaylor might
have been travelling for a week instead of one night.

Luncheon was in the pergola, where Carmen and Nick had dined together the
night he went away; the night--as she expressed it to herself of
late--when she had lost him. Angela had never seen a more beautiful place,
and said so, trying to make conversation; for now that Nick was not with
them she felt ill at ease with Mrs. Gaylor. "What a garden!" she
exclaimed. "The other night in the Yosemite I dreamed of just such a
garden--and I think, at the end of the dream there was a woman in
it--rather like you. You must be very happy here."

"Yes, I'm happy enough," said Carmen. "Oh! I mustn't forget to tell
you--Nick came back. Did you hear his automobile?"

"No. I must have been asleep."

"I thought you were. Besides, your room's on the other side of the house."

"It's beautifully quiet and cool. Did Mr. Hilliard come to change the plan
for this afternoon?"

"Yes. He turned round before getting home, because he'd remembered
something he had to do at six, something important, business with the men
who've bought his gusher. They're to look at another one--smaller, but
pretty good--and see if they want to buy it too; a new gusher that's burst
out on the land Nick kept for his own. So he thought perhaps we wouldn't
mind going over to look at the place a good deal earlier, after all, in
spite of the heat. He won't let you be exposed to the sun more than he can
help."

"I don't mind the heat, if you don't," said Angela.

"Oh, as for me, I'm half Spanish, you know. I'm like a salamander. Nick'll
come back between half-past two and three--soon after his lunch. He might
almost as well have stayed with us. But, of course, as he's been away from
home so long, he wants to have a look around and be sure that everything's
all right for a stranger to see. I don't wonder! I told him we'd meet him
at the east gate. It's a short cut, and though it isn't much of a walk for
us, and is in shade over half the way, it cuts off more than two miles of
bad road for him--road that's just being made. I thought you'd