I'm going to lead
'em off Vic's trail," said Barry quietly, but it seemed to Vic that he
avoided his wife's eye.

The voice of Betty Neal, Vic knew, would have risen shrill at a time
like this. Kate spoke even more low than usual, but there was a thing
in her voice that struck a tremor through Gregg. "If it's death for him,
what is it for you?"

"Nothing at all. If they see me and head for me before the way's clear,
I'll let 'em come up and see they have the wrong man. If I get the
chance, I'll lead 'em away. And Vic, you'll hit between those two
mountains--see 'em?--and cut across country. No hoss could carry you
there, except Satan, and you couldn't ride him. You'll have to go on
foot but they'll never look for you on that side. When you get to the
easygoin', down in the valley, buy a hoss and hit for the railroad."

Kate turned on Vic, trembling. "Are you going to let him do it?" she
asked. "Are you going to let him do it, again?"

He had seen a certain promise of escape held before him the moment
before, but pride made him throw that certainty away.

"Not in a million years," he answered.

"You'll do what I say, and you'll start now. I got a better idea than
that. If you head just over the side of that north mountain you'll find
a path that a hoss can follow. It won't take you clear away from them
down below, but there ain't a chance in ten that they'll come that way.
Take my old brown hoss with the white face. He'll carry you safe."

Vic hesitated. The fierce eyes of Kate were on him and with all his soul
he wanted to play the man, but liberty was sweet, sweeter than ever to
Vic. She seemed to give him up as he stood there with his heart, in his
throat; she turned back to Barry.

"Dan!" she pleaded.

She had not touched him, but he made a vague gesture as though brushing
away a restraining hand. She cried: "If you come close to them--if, they
start shooting--you might want to fight back--"

"They shot before," he answered, "and I didn't fire once."

"But the second time?"

To be sure, there would be danger in it, but as Barry himself had said,
if the way was closed to him he could surrender to them, and they could
not harm him. Vic tried in vain to understand this overmastering terror
in the girl, for she seemed more afraid of what Dan might do to the
posse than what the posse might do to Dan.

"This ain't a day for fightin'," said Dan, and he waved towards the
mountains. It was one of those misty