e little prophetess,--_you_
are! The job's gone, and Herrara's got away with the evidence, and the
jig's up! But it wasn't you I cussed at--not--at--all! Come on, Pike.
This new ventilator in my head is playing hell its own way. Come
on--let's go by-bye!"

CHAPTER IV

IN THE ADOBE OF PEDRO VIJIL

"There ain't no such animal," decided Kit Rhodes seated on the edge of
the bed in Pedro Vigil's adobe. His head was bandaged, his face a
trifle pale and the odor of medicaments in the shadowy room of the one
deep-barred window. "No, Captain, no man, free, white and twenty-one
_could_ be such a fool. Can't Singleton see that if Conrad's story was
true he'd have the constable after me for assault with intent to kill?
He's that sort!"

"Well, Singleton thinks Conrad would be justified in having you
prosecuted, and jailed, and fined, and a few other things, but for the
reputation of Granados they let you down easy. You know it's _the_
dovery for the Pass-up-the-fists of this section, and what the Arizona
papers would do would be comic if they ever got hold of the fact that
Singleton picked a new bird for the dove cage, and the dratted thing
changed before their eyes to a fractious game rooster swinging a right
like the hind leg of a mule! No, Bub, we're orderly, peaceable folks
around here, so for the sake of our reputation Singleton has prevailed
on his manager to be merciful to you, and Conrad has in true pacifist
spirit let himself be prevailed upon."

"Which means," grinned Kit, "that I'm to be put off my guard, and done
for nicely and quietly some moonless night when I take the trail! And
he reports me either drunk or temporarily insane, does he? Well, when
the next time comes I'll change that gentleman's mind."

"Shucks, Bub! Thank a fool's luck that your skull was only scratched,
and don't go planning future wars. I tell you we are peace doves
around here, and you are a stray broncho kicking up an undesirable
dust in our front yard. Here is your coin. Singleton turned it over to
me and I receipted for it, and we have enough between us to hit the
Sonora trail, and there's not a bit of use in your hanging around
here. You have no evidence. You are a stranger who ambled in, heard a
sensational newspaper report of anti-ally criminal intent, and on the
spot accused the highly respectable Granados rancho of indulging in
that same variety of hellishness! Now there is your case in a
nutshell, Bub, and you wouldn't ge