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It was characteristic of Dick Gordon that he established at once a little relation of friendliness between hi woman at the State House aited upon hirant case She was a tall, slight girl with aly vivid eyes set in a face scarcely pretty In her e there was an indifference a at people as if they were bits of the stage setting instead of individuals

A flare of interest had sparkled in her eyes when Gordon's fussy little attorney had enial manner of boyish comradeship that had really warmed Miss Underwood to hiave her heart to a friend it ithout stipulations Dick was a man's man Essentially he was masculine, virile, dominant But the force of hiay impudence or his sunny friendliness Wo sth behind it

Kate Underwood could have given a dozen reasons why she liked him There were for instance the superficial ones She liked the way he tossed back the tawny sun-kissed hair froround so lightly, the set of his fine shoulders, the peculiar tint of his lean, bronzed cheeks His laugh was joyous as the song of a bird in early spring It made one want to shout with him Then, too, she tremendously admired his efficiency To look at the hard, clear eye, at the clean, well-packed build of the , brown hands were sure and econoy Every detail of his personality expressed aswiftly and incisively

"It's curious about these documents of the old Valdés and Moreño claims They have lain here in the vaults--that is, here and at the old Governor's Palace--for twenty years and et interested in them Scarce a day passes that lawyers are not up to look over sos up with your suit, Mr Gordon"

Dick looked out of theat the white adobe-lined streets resting in a placid coma of sun-beat

"Don't you reckon Santa Fé can stand a little stirring up, Miss Underwood?"

"Goodness, yes We all get to be three hundred years old if we live in this ath"