“No!” he cried. “That’s madness.”
“It’s necessary,” she rejoined. “And there’s no danger.”
“How do you know?”
“I met Mrs. Murray once at the post-office. She talked to me about Murray’s ranch––it’s in a gulch just below timber line. She asked me to come and visit her––and I’m going.”
“Then I’ll go with you!” retorted Smythe.
She looked at him intently, and smiled in a way that puzzled and disturbed him. But before he could make any considerable effort to analyze it, the smile had fled, and he was following Marion helplessly down the hill.
At the steps of the veranda she paused, and waited for him.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” she said; and left him seating himself uneasily, his perplexity plainly showing in his face.
Marion opened the door, and faltered on the threshold. Seth was there with Claire; and she must face them both.