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"A man brings a daughter into the world," he sulked, "frets and stews and labours over her until she's old enough to fall in love with some young fellow who never had a moment's worry about her." "And so it has been since ribs ceased to become women," grinned Conrad. "It's only another beauty mark, Tressa. It's stopped bleeding already." He turned angrily on Koppy.
Anyway, it's a rattling good stunt and I'd like to know the answer." "I think he wants time to consider your invitation." "By hickory, Tressa, another year and we'd have missed this. It takes only about one season to muddle up their riding with the white man's booze or the white man's treaty money. Why don't we leave well enough alone that is, if they'd let us build railways?"
Tressa carried messages, under strict orders to avoid exposure to window or door. One man in each pair was told off to co-operate with the defenders of any threatened point. The weakness of the defence was the number of rifles. Torrance had two, the Policemen two. One rifle was given to each room; each of the eight had a revolver.
Even before the third bullet directed Torrance's amazed eyes upward, Conrad knew that Tressa and her father were in no danger. It was a fleeting glimpse of the horses disappearing among the trees that galvanised him into action.
Less than a week ahead was the commencement of the last operation on the trestle before handing over to the big contractors complete; and the anxiety of the moment spoke in the firmness of their tone and the grimness of their measures. Tressa stole away, troubled at heart.
Tressa, hearing Conrad's voice, tripped to the door, her eyes aglow with a shy eagerness. "Evening, Tressa!" The foreman swept off his hat. "Fine evening for rifle practice." "I know it don't matter about me," grunted Torrance, "but two feet at a range of twelve hundred yards is cutting it fine for Tressa." But Conrad only smiled his unconcern.
But the thing he had seen filtered into the vague moon shadows and was gone. Knocking at the door, he waited for a reply. Not a sound reached him, yet he felt that ears were listening. He tried the latch, found it caught, and whispered his name. Immediately the door opened and Tressa Torrance seized his arm. "All right here?" he enquired. "Where's Adrian?"
It's dishear-rtening. A chap can't get up a recent foight out here. I'm going back to civilisation where they still bang each other about a bit in a friendly way, thank God! Where'd yeer father pick him up, Tressa?" "He didn't 'pick him up'," replied Tressa indignantly. The merry eyes of the engineer came round to her in a slow circle. "I'm always making mistakes like that.
With the brakes still screeching, he tumbled off and ran to the door, calling to Tressa. The Indian slipped through behind him. "Girl no here." Torrance whirled, every nerve tingling, fresh fears tumbling through his brain. "Out in woods with young brave," continued the Indian, shrugging. "No watch time." The contractor struck a match and lit the lamp.
But to Tressa to try was sacrilege after the struggle they had witnessed. The bullet fell far short, glancing from the water in a swift slit in the reflecting surface. At the report the broncho broke into a gallop. The man and the woman swung swiftly toward the grade, and the next instant the woman had disappeared somewhere; neither Torrance nor Tressa knew where.
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