above the key-board showed that someone had been recently playing. A
lamp of neat design hung from the wainscoted ceiling, while another
with a soft shade stood upon a centre-table. The chairs in the room
were comfortable, the largest being placed near the big southern
window, close to which was a case well filled with books. The floor
was covered with a rich carpet, of a quiet pattern, while before the
fire-place was stretched a great bearskin rug. It was a room to
delight the heart, especially on a night when a storm was raging over
the land.

It was through this that Glen passed after entering the house. She
went at once into the dining-room, adjoining, where she found the table
all set for supper, and a white-haired woman standing before the
side-board, arranging knives and forks in a drawer. She turned as Glen
entered, and a bright smile of welcome illumined her face.

"You are late, dear," she reminded. "Supper has been ready for some
time."

"I am sorry, Nannie," the girl apologized. "But I went farther to-day
than I intended. There is no word from daddy, I suppose?"

"None at all, dearie. But, hurry and change your clothes, as your
father may arrive at any minute. He will be angry if he knows that you
have been far beyond the Golden Crest, for he has warned you to be
careful. It is not safe for a girl to be riding alone since the miners
have come into this region."

Glen smiled gaily at the woman's fears, and hastened away to her own
room. In about a quarter of an hour she returned, but in that brief