pleaded, and still she ordered him away. Finally Bill Gregg drew
himself up and bowed to her and turned on his heel.

The girl hesitated a moment. It seemed to Ronicky, in spite of the
fact that she had just driven Bill Gregg away, as if she were on
the verge of following him to bring him back. For she made a slight
outward gesture with one hand.

If this were in her mind, however, it vanished instantly. She turned
with a shudder and hurried away down the street.

As for Bill Gregg he bore himself straight as a soldier and came back
across the pavement, but it was the erectness of a soldier who has met
with a crushing defeat and only preserves an outward resolution, while
all the spirit within is crushed.

Ronicky Doone turned gloomily away from the window and listened to the
progress of Gregg up the stairs. What a contrast between the ascent
and the descent! He had literally flown down. Now his heels clumped
out a slow and regular death march, as he came back to the room.

When Gregg opened the door Ronicky Doone blinked and drew in a deep
breath at the sight of the poor fellow's face. Gregg had known before
that he truly loved this girl whom he had never seen, but he had never
dreamed what the strength of that love was. Now, in the very moment of
seeing his dream of the girl turned into flesh and blood, he had lost
her, and there was something like death in the face of the big miner
as he dropped his hat on the floor and sank into a chair.

After that he did not move so much as a finger from the position into