frightened. Perhaps I ought not to have come, and I am not certain what
kind of a place this is. I was so afraid when you came, but I am not
afraid now."

"You have no need to be," he said soberly, impressed by the innocent
candor of the girl, and feeling thankful that he was present to aid her.
"I could not wrong one of the South."

"My father always told me I could trust a Southern gentleman under any
circumstance. Mr. Hawley was from my own State, and knew many of our old
friends. That was why I felt such unusual confidence in him, although he
was but a travelling acquaintance."

"Mr. Hawley?"

"The gentleman whom I met on the stage."

"Oh, yes; you said he was in business in Carson City, but I don't seem to
remember any one of that name."

"He was not there permanently; only to complete some business deal."

"And your brother? I may possibly have known him."

She hesitated an instant, her eyes dropping, until completely shaded by
the long lashes.

"He--he was rather a wild boy, and ran away from home to enlist in the
army. But he got into a bad set, and--and deserted. That was part of the
trouble which caused him to hide. He enlisted under the name of Fred