se in a charge and the passing minutes ate like decay
into the tissue of her courage. Then what she dreaded came. They were
making a rush through both alleys at once. If they succeeded in
crossing the twenty feet of open danger, they could spread out on each
side of the cave's mouth, themselves safe by reason of the angle, and
seal the place up like a tomb.

Yet the first assault broke into demoralized flight under her fierce
welcome of fire and two other assailants fell wounded. Once more
soundless minutes dragged by in interminable suspense--then as the
second charge was launched, Blossom's rifle jammed its mechanism and
became dead in her hands. She threw it down and ran toward the passage
at the back. As it narrowed until she had to go on hands and knees, she
heard voices inside the cave--and then for the first time her nerves
snapped and she fainted.

CHAPTER XXV

When the curtain of unconsciousness rolled up again Blossom was no
longer in the cave, but was lying on the ground between the rocks
outside. It was dark now, but a lantern was lighted near at hand, and
her wrists and ankles ached with the bite of knotted ropes.

Although she could see no one, she had the distinct sense of eyes
gazing at her from somewhere beyond the narrow circle of light and as
she stirred uneasily, she heard a voice that seemed to come from behind
the sandstone at her right. "She's done come ter herself. Now we've
need ter hasten." Then from her left a sugar-loaf bowlder appeared to
question her.

"Whar did he go to? You knows an' we knows ye know--an' we don't aim
ter be trifled with neither. Ef ye speaks out honest an' ready, we'll
go an' git him fust an' then come back an' sot ye free afterwards."

Blossom writhed with a realization that she was in the hands of
creatures as savagely merciless as wolves, but she set her teeth.

"I hain't never a-goin' ter tell ye," she declared staunchly, "not ef
ye kills me!" A satirical laugh drifted from the shadows.

"All right, then, we've done made provision fer thet, too. Ef ye won't
tell us whar he's at we'll find out fer ourselves, but we aims ter
leave one man hyar with ye when we goes. He's done been drinkin'
right-smart licker--an' he natch'rally won't want ye ter go away an'
tell his name ter nobody."

The unseen speaker paused significantly, then added with a deliberate
brutality: "I reckon ye'll have ter be mighty sweet ter thet man ef ye
hopes ter go away from hyar