The Avalanche

at the house of John Gwynne, whose wife would chaperon

His migration had been justified in his own eyes by his ready adaptation to the land of his choice and to the opportunities offered in the rebuilding of San Francisco after the earthquake and fire, as well as in the renovation of its politics. He had made his ranch

ad spent many summer week-ends at their country homes. He had hoped that the intimacy would deepen after his marriage, but Hélène during the past year had gone almost exclusively with the younger set, the "dancing squad"; natural enough considering her age, but Ruyler would have expected a girl of so much intelligence, to

A: See "An

siness, he should be his wife's bodyguard hereafter. There were blackmailers in society as out of it, and it was possible that hi