DuanegatheredshewasonavisittowesternTexas。Theothergirl’sdeepvoice，sweetlikeabell，madeDuaneregardhercloser。Shehadbeautyashehadneverseenitinanotherwoman。Shewasslender，butthedevelopmentofherfiguregaveDuanetheimpressionshewastwentyyearsoldormore。ShehadthemostexquisitehandsDuanehadeverseen。ShedidnotresembletheColonel，whowasevidentlyherfather。Shelookedtired，quiet，evenmelancholy。Afinelychiseledovalface;
clear，olive—tintedskin，longeyessetwideapartandblackascoal，beautifultolookinto;aslender，straightnosethathadsomethingnervousanddelicateaboutitwhichmadeDuanethinkofathoroughbred;andamouthbynomeanssmall，butperfectlycurved;andhairlikejet——allthesefeaturesproclaimedherbeautytoDuane。DuanebelievedheradescendantofoneoftheoldFrenchfamiliesofeasternTexas。Hewassureofitwhenshelookedathim，drawnbyhisratherpersistentgaze。Therewerepride，fire，andpassioninhereyes。Duanefelthimselfblushinginconfusion。Hisstareatherhadbeenrude，perhaps，butunconscious。Howmanyyearshadpassedsincehehadseenagirllikeher！Thereafterhekepthiseyesuponhisplate，yetheseemedtobeawarethathehadarousedtheinterestofbothgirls。
Aftersuppertheguestsassembledinabigsitting—roomwhereanopenfireplacewithblazingmesquitesticksgaveoutwarmthandcheeryglow。Duanetookaseatbyatableinthecorner，and，findingapaper，begantoread。Presentlywhenheglanceduphesawtwodark—facedmen，strangerswhohadnotappearedbefore，andwerepeeringinfromadoorway。WhentheysawDuanehadobservedthemtheysteppedbackoutofsight。
ItflashedoverDuanethatthestrangersactedsuspiciously。InTexasintheseventiesitwasalwaysbadpolicytoletstrangersgounheeded。Duaneponderedamoment。Thenhewentouttolookoverthesetwomen。Thedoorwayopenedintoapatio，andacrossthatwasalittledingy，dim—lightedbar—room。HereDuanefoundtheinnkeeperdispensingdrinkstothetwostrangers。Theyglancedupwhenheentered，andoneofthemwhispered。Heimaginedhehadseenoneofthembefore。InTexas，whereoutdoormenweresorough，bronzed，bold，andsometimesgrimofaspect，itwasnoeasytasktopickoutthecrookedones。ButDuane’syearsontheborderhadaugmentedanaturalinstinctorgifttoreadcharacter，oratleasttosensetheevilinmen;andheknewatoncethatthesestrangersweredishonest。
\"Heysomethin’？\"oneofthemasked，leering。BothlookedDuaneupanddown。