Margaret Earle, an Eastern girl, thinking she has reached her destination in Arizona, where she is going to teach school, steps off the train at a lonely, desert water tank, and the train moves on, leaving her in the darkness and in a strange, forlorn land. But she steps off into a series of adventures and thrilling events which make entertaining reading indeed. After an unpleasant encounter with one man, she is rescued by another, young Lance Gardley, like herself an Easterner, and out of this meeting grows the romance of the story. Margaret's school and the strange religious life of the community make a splendid setting for this fresh, crisp, western tale. Is thet all yeh want o' me? 'Cause ef 'tis I got t' git on t' camp. It's a good five mile yet, an' I 'ain't hed no grub sence noon." The tears suddenly rushed to the girl's eyes as the horror of being alone in the night again took possession of her. This dreadful man frightened her, but the thought of the loneliness filled her with dismay. "Oh!" she cried, forgetting her insulted dignity, "you're not going to leave me up here alone, are you? Isn't there some place near here where I could stay overnight?" "Thur ain't no palace hotel round these diggin's, ef that's what you mean," the man leered at her. "You c'n come along t' camp 'ith me ef you ain't too stuck up." "To camp!" faltered Margaret in dismay, wondering what her mother would say. "Are there any ladies there?"