Page 89 (1/1)

As soon as she was on the ith the operator he delivered the e he had for her It was fronature of Stephen Davis: "Gordon has been ht I fear the worst For God's sake, tell ainst the telephone receiver and steadied herself She felt strangely faint The wall opposite danced up and down and the floor swayed like the deck of a vessel in a heavy sea She set her teeth hard to get a grip on herself Presently the wave of light-headedness passed

She moved across the room and sank down into a chair in front of her desk They had then murdered him after all She and her people were responsible for his death There was nothing to be done now--nothing at all

Then, out of the silence, a voice seemed to call to her--the voice of Richard Gordon, faint and low, but clear She started to her feet and listened, shaken to the soul by this strange summons from that world which lay beyond the reach of her physical senses What could itanimal Her nerves never played her any tricks But surely there had come to her a call for help not born of her own excited fancy

In an instant she had er pressed an electric button beside the desk, and almost simultaneously a second one Thefound her

Valencia looked up "Rosario, pack a suitcase for ht brown dress and a couple of shirt-waists I'll be up presently" Her gaze passed to theto Santa Fé to-night, Fernando Order the grays to be hitched to the buggy"

"To-night! But, Señorita, the train has gone"

"Juan will go with h My business is important"

"But it is seventy miles to Santa Fé, and part of the way over mountain roads," he protested

"Yes We should reach there by ements, please, and tell Juan Then return here I want to talk over with you the ranch affairs You will have charge of the ditches, too, during ue, Fernando, but do as I say"

The old man had opened hishis views A little smile, born of his pride in her wilfulness, touched his lips and wrinkled the parchment skin Was she not a Valdés? He had served her father and her grandfather To hi