is too strong a combine
for two lone rangers to buck against. Me for the old U. S. border, and
get some of this devilish word to the peace advocates at home."

"They wouldn't believe you, and only about two papers along the border
would dare print it," observed Rhodes. "Every time a band of sunny
Mexicans loot a ranch or steal women, the word goes north that again
the bloodthirsty Yaquis are on the warpath! Those poor devils never
leave their fields of their own will, and don't know why the Americans
have a holy dread of them. Yet the Yaqui is the best worker south of
the line."

"If he wasn't the price wouldn't be worth the slave trader's valuable
time," commented Pike.

The Indian girl made a quick gesture of warning, just a sweep outward
of her hand along the ground. She didn't even look at them, but down
the arroya, the trail they had come.

"_Caballos, hombres!_" she muttered in her throat.

"The kid's right,--hear them!" said Rhodes, and then he looked at him,
and made a strange movement of eyes and head to direct the attention
back of her in the thicket of cactus and squat greasewood. He did not
look at once, but finally with a circular sweep of the locality, he
saw the light glint on a gun barrel along the edge of a little mesa
above them.

"Nice friendly attention," he observed. "Someone sizing us up. Time to
hit the trail anyway, Cap;--to get through on the grub we have to
travel tonight."

He rose and handed the water bottles to the girl to fill, while he
tightened cinches.

"It's a long day's trip, Cap," he stated thoughtfully, "a long day out
to Carrizal, and a long one back to Mesa Blanca. I'll divide the dust
and the grub fifty-fifty, and you get out to some base of supplies.
I'd rather you'd take Pardner, and keep on going across the line. The
trail is clear from here for you, and enough water holes and
settlements for you to get through. I don't think Pardner would last
for the back trip, but you can save him by riding at night; the burro
and mule are best for us. Here's the dust."

While Pike had been talking of crossing the border, Kit had been
rapidly readjusting the provision so that the old chap had enough to
carry him to the first settlement, and the gold dust would more than
pay for provision the rest of the way.

"Why--say, Bub!" remonstrated Pike. "You're so sudden! I don't allow
to leave you by your lonesomes like this. Why, I had planned----"

"There's nothing else to do," dec