Phil looked at his companion sharply. "Well, what about him?" "I trust you will not misunderstand my interest, Mr. Acton, when I say that it also includes Miss Reid." Phil stopped short. Instantly Mrs. Baldwin's remark about Patches' happiness, his own confession that he had given up all hope of winning Kitty, and the thought of the friendship which he had seen developing during the past months, with the realization that Patches belonged to that world to which Kitty aspired--all swept through his mind. He was looking at the man beside him so intently that the professor said again uneasily: "I trust, Mr. Acton, that you will understand." Phil laughed shortly. "I think I do. But just the same you'd better explain. What about Patches and Miss Reid, sir?" The professor told how he had found them together that afternoon. "Oh, is that all?" laughed Phil. "But surely, Mr. Acton, you do not think that a man of that fellow's evident brutal instincts is a fit associate for a young woman of Miss Reid's character and refinement." "Perhaps not," admitted Phil, still laughing, "but I guess Kitty can take care of herself." "I do not agree with you, sir," said the other authoritatively. "A young woman of Miss Reid's--ah--spirituality and worldly inexperience must always be, to a certain extent, injured by contact with such illiterate, unrefined, and, I have no doubt, morally deficient characters." "But, look here, Professor," returned Phil, still grinning, "what do you expect me to do about it? I am not Kitty Reid's guardian. Why don't you talk to her yourself?" "Really," returned the little man, "I--there are reasons why I do not see my way clear to such a course. I had hoped that you might keep an eye on the fellow, and, if necessary, use your authority over him to prevent any such incidents in the future." "I'll see what I can do," answered Phil, thinking how the Dean would enjoy the joke. "But, look here; Kitty was with you when you got to the ranch. What became of Patches? Run, did he, when you appeared on the scene?" "Oh, no; he went away with a--with a maverick." "Went away with a maverick? What, in heaven's name, do you mean by that?" "That's what your man Patches said the fellow was. Miss Reid told me his name was Joe--Joe something." Phil was not laughing now. The fun of the situation had vanished. "Was it Yavapai Joe?" he demanded. "Yes, that was it. I am quite sure that was the name. He belongs at Tailend Mountain, I think Miss Reid said; you have such curious names in this country." "And Patches went away with him, you say?" "Yes, the fellow seemed to have been hiding in the bushes when we discovered him, and when Miss Reid asked what he was doing there your man said that he had come to see him about something. They went away together, I believe."