A tall woman, deliberate in all her motions, advanced upon the little party. Her eyes rested for a moment upon Elijah as he rose with extended hand, then, acknowledging the introduction to Helen, they slipped from Elijah and glanced slowly over Helen from her boots to the coils of dark hair that crowned her head. Helen experienced a creeping sensation. The touch of the deliberate eyes reminded her of the inquisitive fingers of a jockey feeling for blemishes on the smooth limbs of a horse. Mrs. MacGregor seated herself with studied elegance. "It occurs to me, Sidney, that Miss Lonsdale may object to your rather broad claims to her friendship upon so short an acquaintance." "I guess she's able to let me know her own mind. We took to each other like ducks to a patch o' wild rice. I'm too old to be dangerous an' young enough to know what's good for me." Mrs. MacGregor ignored her brother's remark. She turned to Elijah. "How does the change from sedate New England to this new life affect you, Elijah?" "Not at all, personally, Mrs. MacGregor. I'm just the same 'Lige you used to know." Uncle Sid broke in. "Perhaps not your innards, but your outards ain't the same. You ain't goin' around here barefoot, with two kinds o' cloth in your pants." Mrs. MacGregor's eyes were wandering from Helen to Elijah. She was comparing the evidences of sight gathered from personal inspection, with those of hearsay, the result of her indirect inquiries among the hotel guests, as to Elijah's standing in Ysleta. At length she arose, holding out her hand to Elijah. "I shall hope to renew our old acquaintance. It is a great pleasure to find one's estimates of an old friend more than exceeded." Elijah took Mrs. MacGregor's hand. In spite of his bewilderment over their implied intimacy in the past, he felt a glow of pride that she felt it worth her while to expand the mustard seed of their former acquaintance into a luxuriant growth. He gave the limp hand a warm pressure. "Let me do anything I can for your pleasure, Mrs. MacGregor. I am always at your service." Mrs. MacGregor bowed formally to Helen. "We shall meet again, I hope. You are stopping here?" "Yes." Helen could hardly bring herself to this curt response. She felt more like slapping. It did not escape Mrs. MacGregor, who was following Uncle Sid from the room, that Helen had begun to move as well, and that she was checked by an almost imperceptible gesture from Elijah. "What about tomorrow, Helen?" he asked. "You mean the Pacific bank?" "Yes. It's not our secret now. Every one knows that the run will begin when the bank opens." "There's only one thing to be done. You must be the first in line." Elijah took a few quick turns then came to a sudden halt before Helen. "That's impossible. The line's a mile long now." He laughed uneasily over the exaggeration. "Then we are out of it, after all." Elijah hesitated. "Not necessarily." Helen leaped to the point of Elijah's meaning.