Her conscience did not trouble her in the least, although she regretted that she could not share her good fortune with the other members of her family, and deplored the necessity of leaving the house surreptitiously, like a thief in the night. Such things did not appeal to Pennington standards; but Eva satisfied these qualms by promising herself that she would tell them all about it at breakfast the next morning.
After lunch that day Custer went to his room, and, throwing himself on his bed with a book, with the intention of reading for half an hour, fell asleep.
Shortly afterward Shannon Burke, feeling that there would be no danger of meeting any of the K. K. S. people at the Pennington house, rode up on the Senator to keep her appointment with Eva. As she tied her horse upon the north side of the house, Wilson Crumb stopped his car opposite the patio at the south drive. He had come up to see Colonel Pennington for the purpose of arranging for the use of a number of the Ganado Herefords in a scene on the following day.
Not finding Eva in the family sitting room, Shannon passed through the house and out into the patio, just as Wilson Crumb mounted the two steps to the arcade. Before either realized the presence of the other they were face to face, scarce a yard apart.
Shannon went deathly white as she recognized the man beneath his make-up, while Crumb stood speechless for a moment.
“My God, Gaza. You!” he presently managed to exclaim. “What are you doing here? Thank God I have found you at last!”
“Don’t!” she begged. “Please don’t speak to me. I am living a decent life here.”
He laughed in a disagreeable manner.
“Decent!” he scoffed. “Where you getting the snow? Who’s putting up for it?”
“I don’t use it any more,” she said.