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She sat down and wept in self-pity. Of course she had told him to

go, but he knew well enough she did not mean it. A magnanimous

man would have taken a better revenge on an exhausted girl than

to leave her alone in such a spot, and after she had endured such

a terrible experience as she had. She had read about the chivalry

of Western men. Yet these two had ridden away on their horses and

left her to live or die as chance willed it.

"Now, don't you feel so bad, Miss Margaret. I wasn't aiming

really to leave you, of course," a voice interrupted her sobs to

say.

She looked through the laced fingers that covered her face,

mightily relieved, but not yet willing to confess it. The

engineer had made a circuit and stolen up quietly behind.

"Oh! I thought you had gone," she said as carelessly as she could

with a voice not clear of tears.

"Were you crying because you were afraid I hadn't?" he asked.

"I ran a cactus into my foot. And I didn't say anything about

crying."