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in his reality.

Her heart seemed to collapse. All within her was riot.

ā€œNeale!ā€ she whispered, in anguish.

ā€œAll right anā€™ workinā€™ hard. He sent me,ā€ replied Slingerland, swift to get his message out.

Allie quivered and closed her eyes and leaned against him. A beautiful something pervaded her soul. Slowly the tumult within her breast subsided. She recovered.

ā€œUncle Al!ā€ she called him, tenderly.

ā€œWal, I should smile! Anā€™ glad to see youā€”why Lord! Iā€™d never tell you!... Youā€™re white anā€™ shaky, lass.... Set down hyarā€”on the benchā€”beside me. Thar!... Allie, Iā€™ve a powerful lot to tell you.ā€

ā€œWait! To see youā€”and to hearā€”of himā€”almost killed me with joy,ā€ she panted. Her little hands, once so strong and brown, but now thin and white, fastened tight in the fringe of his buckskin hunting-coat.

ā€œLass, sight of you sort of makes me young aginā€”butā€”Allie, those are not the happy eyes I remember.ā€

ā€œIā€”am very unhappy,ā€ she whispered.

ā€œWal, if thet ainā€™t too bad! Shore itā€™s natural youā€™d be downhearted, losinā€™ Neale thet way.ā€

ā€œItā€™s not allā€”that,ā€ she murmured, and then she told him.

ā€œWal, wal!ā€ ejaculated the trapper, stroking his beard in thoughtful sorrow. ā€œBut I reckon thetā€™s natural, too. Youā€™re strange hyar, anā€™ thet story will hang over you.... Lass, with all due respect to your father, I reckon youā€™d better come back to me anā€™ Neale.ā€

ā€œDid he tell youā€”to say that?ā€ she whispered, tremulously.

ā€œLord, no!ā€ ejaculated Slingerland.

ā€œDoes heā€”careā€”for me still?ā€

ā€œLass, heā€™s dyinā€™ fer youā€”anā€™ I never spoke a truer word.ā€

Allie shuddered close to him, blinded, stormed by an exquisite bitter-sweet fury of love. She seemed rising, uplifted, filled with rich, strong joy.

ā€œI forgave him,ā€ she murmured, dreamily low to herself.

ā€œWar, mebbe youā€™ll be right glad you didā€”presently,ā€ said Slingerland, with animation. ā€œā€˜Specially when thar wasnā€™t nothinā€™ much to forgive.ā€

Allie became mute. She could not lift her eyes.

ā€œLass, listen!ā€ began Slingerland. ā€œAfter you left Roarinā€™ City Neale went at hard work. Began by heavinā€™ ties anā€™ rails, anā€™ now heā€™s slinginā€™ a sledge.... This was amazinā€™ to me. I seen him only onct since, anā€™ thet was the other day. But I heerd about him. I rode over to Roarinā€™ City several times. Anā€™ I made it my bizness to find out about Neale.... He never came into the town at all. They said he worked like a slave the first day, bleedinā€™ hard. But he couldnā€™t be stopped. Anā€™ the work didnā€™t kill him, though thar was some as swore it would. They said he changed, anā€™ when he toughened up thar was never but one man as could equal him, anā€™ thet was an Irish feller named Casey. I heerd it was somethinā€™ worth while to see him sling a sledge.... Wal, I never seen him do it, but mebbe I will yet.

ā€œA few days back I met him gettinā€™ off a train at Roarinā€™ City. Lord! I hardly knowed him! He stood like an Injun, with the big muscles bulginā€™, anā€™ his face was clean anā€™ dark, his eye like fire.... He nearly shook the daylights out of me. ā€˜Slingerland, I want you!ā€™ he kept yellinā€™ at me. Anā€™ I said, ā€˜So it ā€˜pears, but what fer?ā€™ Then he told me he was goinā€™ after the gold thet Horn had buried along the old Laramie Trail. Wal, I took my outfit, anā€™ we rode back into the hills. You remember them. Wal, we found the gold, easy enough, anā€™ we packed it back to Roarinā€™ City. Thar Neale sent me off on a train to fetch the gold to you. Anā€™ hyar I am anā€™ tharā€™s the gold.ā€

Allie stared at the pack, bewildered by Slingerlandā€™s story. Suddenly she sat up and she felt the blood rush to her cheeks.

ā€œGold! Hornā€™s gold! But itā€™s not mine! Did Neale send it to me?ā€

ā€œEvery ounce,ā€ replied the trapper, soberly. ā€œI reckon itā€™s yours. Thar was no one else leftā€”anā€™ you recollect what Horn said. Lass, itā€™s yoursā€”anā€™ Iā€™m goinā€™ to make you keep it.ā€

ā€œHow much is there?ā€ queried Allie, with thrills of curiosity. How well she remembered Horn! He had told her he had no relatives. Indeed, the gold was hers.

ā€œWal, Neale anā€™ me couldnā€™t calkilate how much, hevinā€™ nothinā€™ to weigh the gold. But itā€™s a fortune.ā€

Allie turned from the pack to the earnest face of the trapper. There had been many critical moments in her life, but never one with the suspense, the fullness, the inevitableness of this.

ā€œDid Neale send anything else?ā€ she flashed.

ā€œWal, yes, anā€™ I was cominā€™ to thet,ā€ replied Slingerland, as he unlaced the front of his hunting-frock. Presently he drew forth a little leather note-book, which he handed to Allie. She took it while looking up at him. Never had she seen his face radiate such strange emotion. She divined it to be the supreme happiness inherent in the power to give happiness.

Allie trembled. She opened the little book. Surely it would contain a message that would be as sweet as life to dying eyes. She read a name, written in ink, in a clear script: ā€œBeauty Stanton.ā€

Her pulses ceased to beat, her blood to flow, her heart to throb. All seemed to freeze within her except her mind. And that leaped fearfully over the first lines of a letterā€”then feverishly on to the closeā€”only to fly back and read again. Then she dropped the book. She hid her face on Slingerlandā€™s breast. She clutched him with frantic hands. She clung there, her body all held rigid, as if some extraordinary strength or inspiration or joy had suddenly inhibited weakness.

ā€œWal, lass, hyar youā€™re takinā€™ it powerful hardā€”anā€™ I made sureā€”ā€

ā€œHush!ā€ whispered Allie, raising her face. She kissed him. Then she sprang up like a bent sapling released. She met Slingerlandā€™s keen gazeā€”saw him startā€”then rise as if the better to meet a shock.

ā€œI am going back West with you,ā€ she said, coolly.

ā€œWal, I knowed youā€™d go.ā€

ā€œDivide that gold. Iā€™ll leave half for my father.ā€ Slingerlandā€™s great hands began to pull at the pack.

ā€œTharā€™s a train soon. I calkilated to stay over a day. But the sooner the better.... Lass, will you run off or tell him?ā€

ā€œIā€™ll tell him. He canā€™t stop me, even if he would.... The gold will save him from ruin....He will let me go.ā€

She stooped to pick up the little leather note-book and placed it in her bosom. Her heart seemed to surge against it. The great river rolled onā€”rolled onā€”magnified in her sight. A thick, rich, beautiful light shone under the trees. What was this dance of her blood while she seemed so calm, so cool, so sure?

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