"Yes," said Mrs. Holbrooke, "Lena Herne told me that her brother and herself were sitting on the porch one evening, and she was talking to Charles about the men and what he had done for them, when he said, 'Lena, I would not give up the love and respect which these men have for me, and I for them, and the quiet, peaceful understanding that exists between us, for all the ranches in the county.' She said that she and her brother very often spent their evenings with the men in games, singing and a general social time, and there are lots of young people in the neighborhood that call on them to play croquet and lawn-tennis of a Saturday afternoon or to spend a pleasant evening. Just think," continued Mrs. Holbrooke, "those men at Herne's only work five and a half days in the week, and those days are short ones. I tell you, Holbrooke, those men have a far better time than you do, though you own a ranch and they don't; you are a slave compared to them." "Some of the men say that Herne don't talk Christianity to them, but he puts some mighty big Christian principles in practice," said her husband. It was as Sophia had mentally said, "A perfect day to be married on." The newly married couple, as they journeyed from Roseland to Treelawn, found the sun just warm enough to be pleasant, for it was in the early part of March. The road was in fine condition, for there was neither mud nor dust. A gentle breeze wafted the sweet scented odors from the flower-decked fields, with their carpets of green. All nature seemed smiling, for was it not its mating season? What was all the chattering going on in the trees and the songs in the bushes, but the feathery tribe making love to each other. It seemed as if on this day all Nature was singing one grand anthem with a hallelujah chorus. As the happy pair looked at the scene, they forgot for the moment their own happiness in the contemplation of Nature's grandeur. Before them rose the variegated hills of the Sierras, the sun bringing out the brilliant coloring of the rocks; higher behind these the glittering snow-covered peaks, and above all the matchless blue of the heavens. To them the world seemed indeed all joy and beauty, and a home together, a paradise. And so they entered upon the new life. CHAPTER IV. JULIA HAMMOND. The settlement in which Treelawn was located was called Orangeville, and covered a large area of country. It had a general store--post-office, church, school-house, hall, blacksmith-shop, and two saloons. For reasons best known to himself, Charles Herne had kept his wedding a secret from all his neighbors, and it was really more by intuition than by actual knowledge that Mrs. Holbrooke came into possession of the fact.