"I couldn't do it, Mr. Clark. Not one of the men would believe in me. No, I am going to leave this place after the shearing is over, and go somewhere where no one knows me; there I can make a fresh start. And anyway, even if all this had not happened, I am not the man to be manager here. I have neither the confidence of the herders, nor the necessary knowledge about the flocks. But there is a man on Crescent Ranch who knows everything there is to know about sheep-raising--a man honest as the day, and who loves the place as if it was his own--Sandy McCulloch, sir. He is the only man for the position--there never has been any one else. Put him in as manager and you will never regret it." Donald sprang up. "Oh, father, do put Sandy in," he cried. "I never thought of Sandy as manager--he seems so young!" "I have thought of him all along," Thornton continued. "That is why I was so ready with a word against him every chance I got. I have been afraid of him--afraid of his honesty and his goodness. It was not that he would tell tales about me; Sandy is too big-natured a man to do that. He would scorn to use a mean weapon. No, it was just because he was what he was that I feared him." Mr. Clark was silent. "You owe it to Old Angus, Sandy's father, to give the lad the place, sir," pleaded Thornton. "And if I did what is to become of you, Thornton?" asked the owner slowly. "Oh, I don't know. It does not matter. I will stay here until after the shearing, for it is a busy time and I might be of help. Then I can go and look up something else." Donald watched his father as he bent forward and stirred the fire. The well-known little wrinkle had come in his forehead and the boy knew that his mind was busy. "Thornton," said Mr. Clark at last, "have you relatives here in the West?" "No, sir." "Are you alone in the world?" "Yes." "Would you like to go East with Donald and me when we return to Boston after the shearing?" Thornton regarded him blankly. "I need another man in my office," explained the wool-broker. "You have proved yourself a good accountant. Furthermore it would be greatly to our advantage to have a reliable helper who is familiar with ranch affairs and knows Sandy, the new manager. Then if I wanted some one, as I often have in the past, to make the trip out here and attend to business for me, you could do it." Thornton got up and walked to the window. They could not see his face. He stood with his back toward them, looking out into the darkness. Then suddenly he wheeled and came to Mr. Clark's side. "You took me by surprise, sir," he said unsteadily. "I cannot thank you. I know well it is another chance you are giving me. I will take it and go East, and there I will prove to you that in the future you can trust me." "You have proved that already, Thornton," replied Donald's father, as he smiled up into the face of the ranchman and gripped his coarse brown hand. After Thornton had left the room Donald and his father were silent.