about ten o'clock in the morning
One fear alone lurked in his heart , that some young American might come along who would win her interest ; and earlier in the summer he had a decided uneasiness lest Bryant prove to be the man . The scoundrelly engineer , however , had fallen head over heels in love with Ruth Gardner , so that Charlie 's mind was relieved on that point . To his knowledge , Louise and Bryant had never met -- which was as it should be . Charlie , having stopped about ten o'clock in the morning at the Graham ranch for a chat with Louise while on his way to Kennard , was considerably surprised and exceedingly nettled at beholding the engineer , with Dave behind him on the horse , presently riding up the lane between the rows of cottonwoods . Young Menocal had persuaded Louise to leave her household duties for the moment to sit on the veranda and talk with him . But now had come this impudent upstart ! Charlie 's warning of someone at hand was when Louise ceased to speak and gazed intently along the lane .