"He's big enough, Jack."

Such small praise was enough to set Donnegan's heart thumping.

"Besides, father told me to go with him, to trust him."

"Ah!" There was an abrupt chilling and lowering of Landis' voice. "The
colonel knows him? He's one of the colonel's men?"

Plainly the colonel was to him as the rod to the child.

"Why didn't you come directly to me?"

"We thought it would be better not to."

"H'm-m. Your guide--well, what was the colonel's idea in sending you
here? Heavens above, doesn't he know that a mining camp is no place for
a young girl? And you haven't a sign of a chaperon, Lou! What the devil
can I do? What was in his mind?"

"You haven't written for a long time."

"Good Lord! Written! Letters! Does he think I have time for letters?"
The lie came smoothly enough. "Working day and night?"

Donnegan smoothed his whiskers and grinned into the night. Landis might
prove better game than he had anticipated.

"He worried," said the girl, and her voice was as even as ever. "He
worried, and sent me to find out if anything is wrong."