After leaving the presence of Miss Douglas he took a walk, to consider the situation and decide what it was most expedient to do. He was spending considerable time and money in the effort to recover his father's ward, and he did not like to fail. Yet it was not easy to decide upon any plan which would bring success. It was not a matter in which he could invoke the assistance of the law. The young lady's manner convinced him that she would not of her own free will consent to accompany him back. What, then, was to be done?

 

On the principle that two heads are better than one, he resolved to take his companion, Jones, into his confidence and ask him to make a suggestion.

 

"How did you find the young lady, Mr. Orton?" asked his follower on his return to the hotel.

 

"Very offish, Jones."

 

"Then she wasn't glad to see you?" said Jones, with a grin.

 

"By no means. She hardly treated me with civility."

 

"That's because of the other man," said Jones, sagaciously.

 

"You are right. Mr. Dewey, as I learned, is in California."

 

"Then maybe they have an understanding together."

 

"No; she doesn't know where he is."

 

Jones was puzzled, and showed it in a way common to men of his class. He scratched his head and looked perplexed.

 

"Then, what good is it for her to stay here?" he asked, after a pause.

 

"She is taking steps to find this Dewey, who is somewhere at the mines, though she would not tell me what they were. He may turn up any time, and then good-bye to all my hopes."

 

"You want to marry her yourself, Mr. Orton?"

 

"Of course. Otherwise I wouldn't have come so far in search of ............