e.

With an abrupt gesture Law flung aside the contents of his cup and
strode to Panfilo's horse, which stood dejectedly with reins hanging.

"Where are you--going?" Alaire rose nervously.

It was nearly dark now; only the crests of the ridges were plain
against the luminous sky; in the brushy bottom of the arroyo the
shadows were deep. Alaire had no wish to be left alone with the
prisoner.

With bridle-rein and carbine in his left hand, the Ranger halted, then,
stooping for Anto's discarded cartridge-belt, he looped it over his
saddle-horn. He vaulted easily into the seat, saying:

"I hid that mare pretty well. Your man may not be able to find her."
Then he turned his borrowed horse's head toward the brush.

Anto had squatted motionless until this moment; he had not even turned
his eyes; but now, without the slightest warning, he uttered a loud
call. It might have served equally well as a summons or as an alarm,
but it changed the Ranger's suspicions into certainty. Dave uttered an
angry exclamation, then to the startled woman he cried:

"Watch this man! He can't hurt you, for I've got his shells." To his
prisoner he said, sharply: "Stay where you are! Don't move!" The next
instant he had loped into the brush on the tracks of Panfilo Sanchez,
spurring the tired gray pony into vigorous action.

It was an uncomfortable situation in which Alaire now found herself.
Law was too suspicious, she murmured to herself; he was needlessly
melodramatic; she felt exceedingly ill at ease as the pony's hoof-beats
grew fainter. She was not afraid of Anto, having dealt with Mexican
vaqueros for several years, yet she could not forget that he was a
murderer, and she wondered what she was expected to do if he should try
to escape. It was absurd to suppose that Panfilo, her own hired man,
could be capable of treachery; the mere suspicion was a sort of
reflection upon her.

Alaire was startled by hearing other hoof-beats now; their drumming
came faint but unmistakable. Yes, there were two horses racing down the
arroyo. Anto, the fugitive, rose to his feet and stared into the dusk.
"Sit down!" Alaire ordered, sharply. He obeyed, muttering beneath his
breath, but his head was turned as if in an effort to follow the sounds
of the pursuit.

Next came the distant rattle of loosened stones--evidently one horse
was being urged toward the open high ground--then the peaceful quiet
evening was split by the report of Law's thirty-thirty. A