She shrank back in sudden fright. "No, no. Don't you see? She'd think it was awful I didn't say something yesterday!" "Why didn't you, Marylyn?" She looked down. "You don't know Dallas. She don't like soldiers any more'n pa. She said so, and she'd----" "Oh, I think she does," he argued. "Now, let's try her--let's make a clean breast of it." Her hands came out in wild imploring. "You won't, you won't, you _won't_," she begged. "Don't you understand?--my keeping still was just as if I'd killed pa! Oh, it was! So I _can't_ tell--_now_!" "Marylyn----" "Promise you won't, oh, promise you won't!" And she went down, crumpling into a little, miserable heap. Quickly, he lifted her. "Well, we won't tell her then, not if you don't want to--but we'll have to some day." "Some day--maybe--but _not now_." "All right, then--not now." He led her from garden to coulee and back again, trying to comfort her all the while as best he could. "You see, Marylyn," he said, "you're wrong about its being your fault. It's mine. I promised Lounsbury I'd look after you folks." She stopped short. "Did you tell him about you and me?" "No." "Oh." She was relieved. "You mustn't, either. Not him, or anyone." "I don't see how I can ever look Lounsbury in the face again," he said bitterly. Whereupon, she straightway began to comfort him. At the shack, Oliver and Dallas had arrived at the question of future safety. "I must insist," the captain was saying, "upon your coming to live at the Fort. I cannot spare a permanent guard for this side of the river--a scouting party up and down once a day is about the best I could do. We have our hands full already." "Live at the Fort----" Her lips tightened a little. She got up to walk. She was thinking of the cold stares, the "Ahs," the "Ohs," and the laughter of the post ladies in their bowling ambulance; the nudges and the grins of the passing musicians; and "There's allus room at the Fort when there's good-lookin' gals in the fambly." She shook her head. "You love your sister," he reminded. "Think of her." "I _am_ thinking of her. I'd go to the Fort if there was danger. But--answer me honest--outside of what's happened here, do you think there's really any danger?" "From Indians, you mean? Well, I'll tell you--this _was_ a complete surprise, a shock to me. Because so far we haven't seen a sign of the hostiles beyond that signal in the spring. North of here, at Lincoln, they've shown themselves. But they're largely concentrated in the northwest, to meet the troops." "Then, there's no danger from Indians." "Still, there might be, and I want you to come. Frankly, I've omitted to tell you of one disquieting report that has reached us. After the recent battle on the Rosebud, one of the warriors of Crazy Horse was captured by General Crook. The prisoner said that within a day's ride to the west of here, our--and your--aged friend----"