"Certainly, they were not matters that you would want an outsider to hear," she said, in a hard voice, "but I am very glad that _I_ listened, father. Glad"--her voice broke a little--"even though I shall never be able to think of you again as I...." He went to her and put his heavy hands on her shoulders, which shrank under his touch. "Now, don't say things that you'll regret, Helen. You're the only girl I have, and I'm the only father you have, so we ought to make the best of each other, oughtn't we, eh? You're prone to hasty judgments. Don't let them run away with you now." "Don't touch me!" He made way for her as she got to her feet. "Father,"--she tremblingly faced him, leaning for support against a corner of the bureau,--"I _heard_ all that you said to Mr. Moran. I don't want you to tell me what we've been to each other. Don't I know that? Haven't I felt it?" The Senator swallowed hard, touched to the quick at the sight of her suffering. "You want me to explain it--more fully?" "If you can. Can you?" Her lips twitched spasmodically. "I want you to tell me something that will let me continue to believe that you are--that you are--Oh, you know what I want to say." Rexhill blushed a deep purple, despite his efforts at self-control. "But what can you say, father; what _can_ you say, after what I've heard?" "You mean as regards young Wade? You know, I told you last night about his attack on the Sheriff. You know, too"--the blush faded as the Senator caught his stride again--"that I said I meant to crush him. You even agreed with me that he should be taught a lesson." "But you should fight fairly," Helen retorted, with a quick breath of aggression. "Do you believe that he killed Jensen? Of course you don't. The mere idea of such a thing is absurd." "Perhaps he planned it." "Father!" The scorn in her tone stung him like a whip-lash. "Did he plan the warrants, too? The warrant that hasn't been issued yet, although you are going to swear that it was issued yesterday. Did he plan that?" Once in his political career, the Senator had faced an apparent _impasse_ and had wormed out of it through tolerant laughter. He had laughed so long and so genially that the very naturalness of his artifice had won the day for him. Men thought that if he had had a guilty conscience, he could not have seemed so carefree. He tried the same trick now with his daughter; but it was a frightful attempt and he gave it up when he saw its ill-success.