Bob Hampton of Placer

sappeared, and it seemed almost ideal, viewed against the natural background of brown rocks and green trees. All about them was the clear, invigorating air of the uplands, through which t

e labor of man reached them, and the few scattere

g her curiously, and wondering how best to approach his task. For the first time he began to realize the truth, which had been partially borne in upon him the previous evening by Wynkoop, that this was no mere child with whom he dealt, but a young girl upon the verge of womanhood. Such knowledge began to reveal much that came b

es, nor did he greatly care. The fact was far the more important, and that fact he no longer questioned. He had been a lonely, unhappy, discontented man for many a long year, shunned by his own sex, who feared him, never long seeking the society of the other, and retaining littl

ed now the coarse ragged shoes, the cheap patched skirt, the tousled auburn hair, the sunburnt cheeks with a suggestion of freckles plainly visible beneath the eyes, and some of the fastidiousness of earlier days caused him to shrug his shoulders. Yet underneath the tan there was the glow of perfect young health; the eyes we

out lifting his eyes, "you were talking while we came up the trail about how we 'd do this and that after

sions startled her from a pleasant reverie. "Why, I-I thought that

ng; to-day I am wide awake, and I 've about decided, Kid, tha

ve, have you, Mister Bob Hampton? You have about decided! Well, why don't you altogether decide? I don't think I'm down on my knees begging

g, "that you were too near being a young woman to go traipsing around the country with m

you? Wh

ly seem to jibe, and the two of us

w you was a gambler, and a 'bad man'? Didn't I tell you plain enough out yonder,"-and her voice faltered slightly,-"just what I thought about you? Good Lord! I have n't been begging to stick with you, have I? I just didn't know which way to turn, or who to turn to, after dad was killed, and you sorter hung

hen you get hot, but you go at things half-cocked, and you 've got to get over it. That's the whole trouble-you 've n

have died when I was about fiv

d about her throat, and pried open the stiff catch with his knife blade. She bent down to fasten her l

ss of his strained attitude. "And she was prettier than that even, the way I remember her best, with her

yet still retained it in his hand. "Is-is she dead?" he q

k me there with him two yea

ou mean ol

ak so fiercely and stare at her in that odd way. He see

mean-claim to be your

d him dad. I reckon he liked it, and he was mighty good to me. We were at Randolph a long time, and since then he's been post-t

er, apparently gazing down the valley, his jaw set, his dimmed eyes seeing nothing. Slowly the color came creeping back into

soul anywhere on earth who possesses any claim over you, or any desire to have. Then, naturally, the whole jack-pot is up to me, provided I 've got the cards. Now, Kid, waving your prejudice aside, I ain't just exactly the best man in this world to bring up a girl like you and make a lady out of her. I thought yesterday that maybe we might manage to hitch along together for a while, but I 've got a different think coming to-day. There 's no use disfiguring the truth. I 'm a gambler, something of a fighter on

get marr

ing to find you a good home here, and I 'm going to put up plenty

y looked steadily into the gray on

ced stubbornly. "Maybe I might have stood it wi

of a study of the feminine nature, and he realized no

d," he admitted craftily, "but I think you mi

is she?"

den Rule' mine"; and he waved his hand toward the dis

hey? I thought that was about the way of it. Somebody wants to refo

he came in to see me last night while you were asleep." He faced her open scorn unshrinking

id he want you to bring me to Sunday school? A preacher! And I suppose the fellow expects to turn me over to one of his flock for relig

Brant who suggested the idea of his coming to me. Brant knew Gillis, and remembered you, and

Bethune, and you can bet he never bothered his head about me then. No, and he didn't even know me out

gnation die out naturally, and so he asked a question. "What is

me special detail. His regiment is stationed at Fort Lincoln, somewhere farther north. He used to come down an

em say anything about Major Alfred Bran

d much they said.

your temper don't get away with you, and I am simply going to leave this matter to your better judgment. Will you go to Mrs. Herndon's, and find out h

y want me to g

ead. I never have been in love with it myself, and only took to it in the first place because the devil happen

dly earnest, and she felt the quiet insistence of his manner. He really desired it to be decided in this

consented, simply, "but I reckon that M

eps slowly down the steep trail leading toward the little town in the val