Will you, Virginia? Will you do that one favor for me?"
The high desire was upon her to accede to his request; her calmer
judgment forbade it. But to-night was to-night; to-morrow would be
to-morrow. And, after all, in her talk with him, she might save the
man to himself and to his truer manhood.
But even that hope was less than her desire when she answered him.
"Have my horse saddled," she said. "I'll let Struve think I have to
make a call at Las Estrellas. I'll be out in five minutes."
He thanked her with his eyes, opened the hall door, and went out.
CHAPTER XIX
DEADLOCK
Virginia, having changed swiftly to her riding-togs, took up her little
black emergency kit, which would lend an air of business urgency to her
nocturnal ride with Norton, and stepped out into the hall.
"There's a call for you from Las Estrellas," said Struve, appearing
from the front, whence his voice had come to her mingled with the
excited tones of a Mexican. "Tony Garcia has been hurt; pretty badly,
I expect. His brother says that Tony got his hand caught in some kind
of machinery he was fooling with late this afternoon and crushed so
that it's all but torn off."
Into the light cast by the hotel porch-lamp Norton, leading Persis,
rode around the corner of the building.
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