broad, rough hand caressingly over her chestnut hair. “We’ll fix it up somehow

or another. You don’t find your fancy kind o’ lessening for this chap, do you?”

 

A sob and a squeeze of his hand was her only answer.

 

“No; of course not. I shouldn’t care to hear you say you did. He’s a likely lad,

and he’s a Christian, which is more than these folk here, in spite o’ all their

praying and preaching. There’s a party starting for Nevada to-morrow, and I’ll

manage to send him a message letting him know the hole we are in. If I know

anything o’ that young man, he’ll be back here with a speed that would whip

electro-telegraphs.”

 

Lucy laughed through her tears at her father’s description.

 

“When he comes, he will advise us for the best. But it is for you that I am

frightened, dear. One hears—one hears such dreadful stories about those who

oppose the Prophet: something terrible always happens to them.”

 

“But we haven’t opposed him yet,” her father answered. “It will be time to look

out for squalls when we do. We have a clear month before us; at the end of that,

I guess we had best shin out of Utah.”

 

“Leave Utah!”

 

“That’s about the size of it.”