her arms, felt herself lifted to a more comfortable position.
Without asking permission, the stranger unlaced first one, then
the other of her dusty boots, seeming not to notice her weak
attempt at resistance. Once he had placed her bare feet in the
water, she forgot her resentment in the intense relief.

The man left her seated in a collapsed, semi-conscious state, and
went back to his fire. For the time she was too tired to do more
than refill the drinking-cup occasionally, or to wet her face and
arms, but as her pores drank greedily her exhaustion lessened and
her vitality returned.

It was dark when for the first time she turned her head toward the
camp-fire and stared curiously at the figure there. The appetizing
odor of broiling bacon had drawn her attention, and as if no move
went unnoticed the man said, without lifting his eyes:

"Let 'em soak! Supper'll be ready directly. How'd you like your
eggs--if we had any?"

Evidently he expected no reply, for after a chuckle he began to
whistle softly, in a peculiarly clear and liquid tone, almost like
some bird-call. He had spoken with an unmistakable Texas drawl;
the woman put him down at once for a cowboy. She settled her back
against a boulder and rested.

The pool had become black and mysterious, the sky was studded with
stars when he called her, and she laboriously drew on her
stockings and boots. Well back from the fire he had arranged a
seat for her, using a saddle-blanket for a covering, and upon this