Jack Flatray had met O'Connor at his own office and the two had come down to the station on the off chance that MacQueen might try to make his getaway from Mesa in some disguise. But as soon as he saw Melissy the sheriff had eyes for nobody else except the girl he loved. One sleeve of his coat was empty, and his shoulder was bandaged. He looked very tired and drawn; for he had ridden hard more than sixteen hours with a painful wound. But the moment his gaze met hers she knew that his thoughts were all for her and her trouble. His free hand went out to meet hers. She forgot MacQueen and all the sorrow he had brought her. Her eyes were dewy with love and his answered eagerly. She knew now that she would love Jack Flatray for better or worse until death should part them. But she knew, too, that the shadow of MacQueen, her husband by law, was between them. Together they walked back from the depot. In the shadow of the vines on her father's porch they stopped. Jack caught her hands in his and looked down into her tired, haggard face all lit with love. Tears were in the eyes of both. "You're entitled to the truth, Jack," she told him. "I love you. I think I always have. And I know I always shall. But I'm another man's wife. It will have to be good-bye between us, Jack," she told him wistfully. He took her in his arms and kissed her. "You're my sweetheart. I'll not give you up. Don't think it." He spoke with such strength, such assurance, that she knew he would not yield without a struggle. "I'll never be anything to him--never. But he stands between us. Don't you see he does?" "No. Your marriage to him is empty words. We'll have it annulled. It will not stand in any court. I've won you and I'm going to keep you. There's no two ways about that." She broke down and began to sob quietly in a heartbroken fashion, while he tried to comfort her. It was not so easy as he thought. So long as MacQueen lived Flatray would walk in danger if she did as he wanted her to do. Neither of them knew that Bucky O'Connor's bullet had already annulled the marriage, that happiness was already on the wing to them. This hour was to be for their grief, the next for their joy. The End NOVELS OF FRONTIER LIFE BY WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINE May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list. MAVERICKS A tale of the western frontier, where the "rustler" abounds. One of the sweetest love stories ever told. A TEXAS RANGER How a member of the border police saved the life of an innocent man, followed a fugitive to Wyoming, and then passed through deadly peril to ultimate happiness. WYOMING In this vivid story the author brings out the turbid life of the frontier with all its engaging dash and vigor. RIDGWAY OF MONTANA The scene is laid in the mining centers of Montana, where politics and mining industries are the religion of the country. BUCKY O'CONNOR