The following September found Darrell again in Ophir and re-established
in his old-time quarters. To his old office he had added the room
formerly occupied by Walcott, his increasing business demanding more
office room and the presence of an assistant.
Before leaving the East he revisited the members of his old syndicate
and informed them that he intended henceforth making his head-quarters
in the West, and if they wished to employ him as their expert, he would
execute commissions from that point. To this they readily agreed, and
also gave him letters of introduction to a number of capitalists
interested in western mining properties, who were only too glad to
secure the services of a reliable expert who would be on the ground and
familiar with existing conditions. As a result, Darrell had scarcely
reopened business at his former quarters before he found himself with
numerous eastern commissions to be executed, in addition to his old work
as assayer.
He was prepared for the changes which had taken place during the year of
his absence, his father having kept him thoroughly informed of all that
had occurred.
Darrell was delighted at the story of Kate Underwood's coolness and
bravery in saving her father's life, and sent her a note of hearty
congratulation, which she kept among her cherished treasures. Since that
time, occasional letters were exchanged between them; hers, bright,
entertaining sketches of their travels here and there, with comments
characteristic of herself regarding places and people; his, permeated
with the fresh, exhilarating atmosphere of the mountains, and pervaded
by a vigor and virility which roused Kate's admiration, yet led her to
wonder if this could be the same lover who had won her childish heart in
those idyllic days. Each realized the fact that notwithstanding their
love, notwithstanding their stanch comradeship, at present they were
little more than strangers. Darrell's love for Kate was a reality, but
her personality, so far as he could recall it, was little more than a
dream; each letter revealed some unexpected phase of her character; he
found their correspondence an unfailing source of pleasure, and was
content to await the time of their meeting, confident that he would find
the real woman all and more than the ideal which he fondly cherished as
his Dream-Love. And to Kate, each letter of Darrell's brought more and
more forcibly the conviction that the lover whom she remembered was as a
dream compared with the reality she was to meet some day.
About six months had elapsed when Darrell received, early one morning,
the following telegram from his father, summoning him to Galena: "Come over on first train. Important."
By the first train he would reach Galena a little before noon; he had
not breakfasted, and had but twenty minutes in which to make it. Calling
a carriage, he went directly to his office, where he left a brief
explanatory note for the clerk, written on the way, then drove with all
possible speed to the depot, arriving on time but without a minute to
spare. He breakfasted on the train, and while running over the morning
paper, his attention was caught by a despatch from Galena to the effect
that one of the leading banks in that city had been entered and the safe
opened and robbed on the preceding night. The robbers, of whom there
were three, had been discovered by the police. A fight had ensued in
which one officer and one of the robbers were killed, the second robber
wounded, while the third had made his escape with most of the plunder.
It was further stated that they were known to belong to the notorious
band of outlaws so long the terror of that region, and it was believed
the wounded man was none other than the leader himself, the murderer of
Harry Whitcomb and the young express clerk, for whom there was a
standing reward of twenty-five thousand dollars, dead or alive. The man
was to have a preliminary examination that afternoon, and the greatest
excitement prevailed in Galena, as it was rumored that others of the
band would probably be present, scattered throughout the crowd, for the
purpose of rescuing their leader.