inflict some bodily injury, and, perhaps, tear
him to pieces.

All this pleased Curly immensely, as he stood a little aside and
watched his followers. His eyes seldom left the captive's face, but he
looked in vain for any show of weakness on Reynolds' part. This was
not altogether to his liking. He wished to see his victim show signs
of fear, to cry aloud and plead for mercy. He had done so himself, and
he longed to find it in Reynolds that he might taunt him with weakness
and cowardice.

When he had waited in vain for fully half an hour, he ordered the men
to pile dry wood about the prisoner's feet. They readily obeyed, and
all took part, anticipating some rare sport.

"We'll take that sneer off yer face," Curly remarked, as he stepped up
close to Reynolds. "We'll make ye yell."

"The same as you did at Glen West, I suppose?" Reynolds retorted.
"Your lungs must have been sore after such yelps. Who showed the white
liver then?"

Curly spat contemptuously at the captive, and motioned the men to bring
a burning stick from the fire. Several at once hastened to obey,
tumbling over one another in their eagerness. One, more active than
the rest, extricated himself, seized a flaming torch, and rushed toward
the prisoner. He had almost reached him, and Reynolds felt that the
moment of doom had arrived. But just at this critical instant a
peculiar noise fell upon his ears, and he listened intently. Then his
heart bounded with hope, for it was the sound of galloping horses. His
captors heard it, too, and the man carrying the torch hesitated and
then stopped. It was an ominous sound to them, and their hearts smote
them with a great fear. But they had little time for thought, for at
once nine hundred pounds of quivering horse flesh, bone, and sinewy
muscle leaped out of the darkness into their midst, and reared wildly
when suddenly checked by a pair of strong, tense arms. With head
tossed high, and champing madly at his bits, Midnight reeled back
almost upon his haunches in such a manner that an inexperienced rider
would have been unhorsed in an instant. But Glen was not in the least
perturbed by the rearing steed, and maintained her seat with an easy
composure. In truth, she never thought about herself, but only of him
whose life was in danger.

"Cowards!" she cried. "Unloose that man!" and she pointed to Reynolds.

But no one moved to obey her imperious command. The men stared as if
she were an appar