"They'll stop presently," said he.

"The place stands at a third of its value, but it would cripple most of them to pay for it if they got it now.

The man from Vancouver who goes up by twenties will get it at half of what it cost me, and I don't think you need watch for rancher Alton." Still Nellie Townshead did not quite give up hope.

The bidding was only beginning, and there was time yet.

She had been taught to look beneath the surface in Western Canada, and had cherished a curious respect for rancher Alton.