was a wonder for
the idioms of cowboy speech that were interjected with his own. He had
caught them from association, she supposed. She made a pretense of
boldness, though she felt more like screaming.

"Leave this cabin!" she commanded sharply.

Yuma did not change his position. "Leave heem?" he laughed. "I theenk
not. Dunlavey says me come here--make um love me--same as tenderfoot
noospaper man!" He laughed again, exultantly. "Dunlavey say you spark
tenderfoot--you spark me!"

She trembled, realizing that a crisis was at hand and that she must meet
it boldly. She thought of the ivory-handled weapon in the holster at her
hip and involuntarily her right hand dropped to its butt. She had
learned to shoot, but she had never yet shot at a man and she drew her
hand away from the butt of the weapon with a shudder. Yuma had been
watching her closely, his evil little eyes glittering, and when he saw
her hand drop away he laughed derisively.

"You no shoot heem!" he said. "You 'fraid. Dunlavey say he reckon you no
shoot--say you make love to um right away!"

He smiled significantly and took a step toward her. She made an
involuntary step backward and her right hand again sought the butt of
the revolver, the left closing on the edge of the door that opened into
her room. Terror had given her courage and as Yuma continued to advance
with a soft, cautious, cat-like sliding movement, she drew the revolver
and presented it, though her hand wavered a little.

"If you take another step toward me, Yuma, I will kill you!" she
declared.

She saw his little eyes glitter with decision, saw him measure the
distance between them, saw him crouch for a spring.

She fired, aiming at the lower edge of the scarf that sagged at his
throat. The smoke from the pistol blinded her; she heard his laugh,
heard the rush of his feet as he hurled himself forward. Terror stricken
over her failure to hit him, she dropped the pistol and whirled,
grasping the edge of the door and slamming it shut in his face. She felt
his weight against it, but he had been taken by surprise by the
movement; there was the strength of desperation in her body and she held
the door closed against him while she shoved the fastenings into place.

Then, suddenly overcome, she leaned weakly against the jamb, her heart
thumping hard, her nerves tingling.

For a long time she did not move, and there came no sound from the other
side of the door to tell her of Yuma's movement