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Rh "I congratulate you," she said simply.

"Thank you," he answered, and held her hand for several moments before she withdrew it. "But," she added, "I am very sorry for Mr. Hallett."

"He has behaved splendidly," said Blake. "He is a fine fellow. We shall not bear each other any animosity. He fights fair, and when the fight is over he shakes hands. We have shaken hands, and have agreed to bury personal differences. Political differences, I am afraid, we shall never bury."

"Tell me," she said, abruptly. "What did you do last night?"

"It does not matter, Miss Valliant, since I did not disturb you again. I took care not to do that."

"No, you did not disturb me," she answered. "But I did not go to sleep till nearly daybreak, and Mr. Trant must have come in after that."

"Yes, he came in after that."

"Your horse did not look as though you had ridden very far last night."

"I accomplished my purpose," he said; "I worked off my excitement."

"And you did not meet Moonlight?"

He laughed. "So Moonlight was abroad last night?"

"Strange, wasn't it?"

"Captain Macpherson has not caught him yet?"

"Have you heard?" she asked.

"He has not caught him yet. I don't think he is likely to catch him."

"Now that you are member for Luya, Mr. Blake," Elsie went on, "you will have to do something to preserve the peace of the district."

"What should you like me to do?" he said. "Ask a question in the House and twit the Government with the fact that all the police of the district are held at bay by an undiscoverable outlaw?"

"No, I don't want you to deprive us of our chief excitement, not that it will matter much to me, for I am soon