"Yes; they stand for Eugene Le Fevre; he was of French descent, his
home in New Orleans."

"You knew him well?"

"I thought so; we were at school together and afterwards in the army."

She looked across at him again, touched by the tender echo of his
voice; then leaned forward and placed one hand upon his.

"You have not spoken about this for a long while, have you?"

"No," his eyes lighting up pleasantly, "hardly thought of it, except
sometimes alone at night. The memory made me savage, and all my
efforts to ascertain the truth have proven useless."

"That is why you enlisted?"

"Largely; there is no better place to hide one's past than in the ranks
out here on the plains. I--I could not remain at home with that
disgrace hanging over me."

"You must tell me all about it."

Her head lifted suddenly as she gazed out across the river, shading her
eyes. "Why, what are those?" she exclaimed eagerly, "there, moving on
the bluffs opposite?"

His glance swept to the northward, and he was as instantly the soldier
again. Far away on the upper plateau, clearly outlined against the