"Will they—will they be hanged if found guilty?"
"They may be lynched before the trial. There is talk of it now."
Helen made a despairing gesture.
"Don't let anything of that sort happen!" she cried. "Use all your influence. Get the men out of the country if you can. But don't let innocent men be slain."
Lowell attempted to divert her mind to other things. He spoke of the changed appearance of the ranch.
"Your coming has made a great difference here," he said. "This doesn't look like the place where I left you not many days ago."
Helen closed her eyes involuntarily, as if to blot out some vision in her memory.
"That terrible night!" she exclaimed. "I—"
She paused, and Lowell looked at her in surprise and alarm.
"What is it?" he asked. "Is there anything wrong—anything I can do to help you?"