She had counted upon seeing Dave during her stay in Brownsville, and her failure to do so was a grave disappointment.  The news of his resignation from the Force had at first perplexed her; then she had thrilled at the thought that his action must have something to do with her; that doubtless he, too, was busied in making plans for their new life.  She told herself that it was brave of him to obey her injunctions so literally and to leave her unembarrassed by his presence at this particular time.  It inspired her to be equally brave and to wait patiently for the day when she could welcome him with clean hands and a soul unashamed.

In the midst of Alaire’s uncertainty of mind it gratified her to realize that Dave alone would know of her whereabouts.  She wondered if he would come to see her.  He was a reckless, headstrong lover, and his desires were all too likely to overcome his deliberate resolves.  She rather hoped that in spite of his promise he would venture to cross the border so that she could see and be near him, if only for a day or for an hour.  The possibility frightened and yet pleased her.  The conventional woman within her frowned, but her outlaw heart beat fast at the thought.

Alaire did not explain her plans even to Dolores, but when her preparations were complete she took the Mexican woman with her, and during Ed’s absence slipped away from the ranch.  Boarding the train at Jonesville, she was in Pueblo that night.

If Alaire’s clash with Ellsworth had been trying to her, it had been no less painful to the lawyer himself.  Feeling himself bound by his promise to Dave, he had not dared to tell her the truth; consequently he had been hard put to it to dissuade her from taking immediate action.  When she would not listen, he found himself in the most unpleasant position of his life; for although he could not but sympathize with her desire to be free from Ed Austin, it distressed him beyond measure to see her riding blindly to a fall.  More than once after their strained parting he was tempted to go to Las Palmas and set himself right in her eyes; but he managed to hold to his determination and to school himself to await Dave’s return.

Before long, however, Ellsworth found other worries engaging him, for it seemed at last that war with Mexico was imminent.  After months of uncertainty the question had come to issue, and that lowering cloud which had hung above the horizon took ominous shape and size.  Ellsworth awoke one morning to learn that an ultimatum had gone forth to President Potosi; that the Atlantic fleet had been ordered south; and that marines were being rushed aboard transports pending a general army mobilization.  It looked as if the United States had finally risen in wrath, and as if nothing less than a miracle could now avert the long-expected conflict.

Naturally Brownsville, like other border towns, was plunged into a panic, and Ellsworth, as a leading citizen of his community, had his hands full.