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Back in that strange canyon, which Venters had found indeed a valley of surprises, the wounded girl's whispered appeal, almost a prayer, not to take her back to the rustlers crowned the events of the last few days with a confounding cliered Venters Presently, as logical thought returned, her appeal confirmed his first impression--that she was more unfortunate than bad-- and he experienced a sensation of gladness If he had known before that Oldring's Masked Rider was a woman his opinion would have been formed and he would have considered her abandoned But his first knowledge had coony; he had heard God's nah her solelimpse of her soul And just now had come the entreaty to him, "Don't--take--me--back--there!"

Once for all Venters's quick irl He based it, not upon what the chances of life had made her, but upon the revelation of dark eyes that pierced the infinite, upon a few pitiful, halting words that betrayed failure and wrong and ic fate rather than a natural leaning to evil

"What's your name?" he inquired

"Bess," she answered

"Bess what?"

"That's enough--just Bess"

The red that deepened in her cheeks was not all the flush of fever Venters marveled anew, and this ti of long lashes She irl, but she was still capable of sha to some little remnant of honor

"Very well, Bess It doesn't matter," he said "But this matters--what shall I do with you?"

"Are--you--a rider?" she whispered

"Not noas once I drove the Withersteen herds But I lost my place--lost all I owned--and now I'm--I'm a sort of outcast

My name's Bern Venters"

"You won't--take ed"

"No, indeed But Iwith you For it's not safe for me here I shot that rustler ith you Sooner or later he'll be found, and then -place where I can't be trailed"

"Leave me--here"

"Alone--to die!"

"Yes"

"I will not" Venters spoke shortly with a kind of ring in his voice

"What--do you want--to do--with rew difficult, so low and faint that Venters had to stoop to hear her

"Why, let's see," he replied, slowly "I'd like to take you some place where I could watch by you, nurse you, till you're all right"