Bryant perceived by the lamplight of the doorway that the fellow had snatched her hand, that the two were struggling.  Burdened with Imogene as he was, Lee was helpless to enterfere.  But he went hastily up the steps toward them.  Louise tugged herself free.

“Oh, you contemptible creature!” she cried, in a voice of quivering passion.  “It’s only because you know father is out caring for stock that you dare stay here to insult me.”  Then looking past Menocal, she exclaimed, “Who is that?”

“I, Bryant,” said Lee.  “With Imogene.  She’s ill, she needs to be put to bed.  There was no time to ask your permission to bring her, but I knew——­”

“Of course!  If this beast will stop making a scene and go!”

Charlie Menocal was pulling on his fur cap.

“So here’s our swell-headed crook of an engineer butting in again,” he sneered.  “You better be hunting up your own chicken, or Gretzinger will have her.  Who y’ say you got there?”

“Stand aside!”

Bryant’s voice struck the other like the lash of a whip, and the half-drunken youth instinctively fell back a pace, so that Lee could pass with his charge into the house.  But as Louise was about to follow Menocal seized her arm.

“Girlie, you’re not going to throw me down?  You’ll be good to me and come——­”

Louise shook off his hand, darted through the doorway, and quickly closing the door turned the key in the lock.  Then still grasping the door-knob she leaned with her head against the panels, face white, lips trembling, and her breast rising and falling stormily.

“Oh, Lee!  For you to be forced to see and hear that!” she said, in a tone of anguish.

“I think nothing of it; you could not avoid him.”

After a moment she recovered herself and said, “Wait until I call Rosita.”

When she returned with the Mexican girl, she conducted Bryant to an upper chamber where he placed Imogene upon a bed, pressed the latter’s hand assuringly, and then left her in charge of the other two while he went below to telephone to her uncle.  McDonnell had already set out for Sarita Creek, his wife informed Lee.  He had started about half an hour before.  Bryant went out of the house and entering his car drove down the lane to the main road, where he stopped.

Soon far away in the south there was a flash of light, repeated at intervals, until at length it grew into a steady, powerful glare that threw his own machine into strong relief, that dazzled and blinded him.  Finally the other car stopped near by.

“What’s the trouble, Jack?” McDonnell’s voice came, addressed to his chauffeur.

Bryant went forward to the banker, who was leaning out of the limousine.  He gave the information that neither of the girls was at Sarita Creek and explained that Imogene was at the Graham house, comfortable though ill.

“She’s too sick to be removed and will probably need a nurse for a time,” he concluded.  “I brought her here as soon as I learned her condition.  Miss Graham put her to bed.”