back in alarm. He was too white-livered to
go through with his villainy boldly.

He recorked the bottle and put it in his hip pocket. "'Nough said," he
blustered. "Me, I'll git on my hawss and be joggin' along to Mex.
I'll take chances on their finding you before you're starved. After
that it won't matter to me when they light on yore body."

"Oh, yes, it will," she corrected him promptly, "I'm going to write a
note and tell just what has happened. It will be found beside me in
case they . . . don't reach here in time."

The veins in his blotched face stood out as he glared down at her while
he adjusted himself to this latest threat. Here, too, she had him. He
had gone too far. Dead or alive, she was a menace to his safety.

Since he must take a chance, why not take a bigger one, why not follow
the instigation of the little crouching devils in his brain? He leered
down at her with what was meant to be an ingratiating smile.

"Sho! What's the use of we 'uns quarreling, Miss Beulah? I ain't got
nothing against you. Old Dan he always liked you fine. I reckon you
didn't know that, did you?"

Her quick glance was in time to catch his face napping. The keen eyes
of the girl pounced on his and dragged from them a glimpse of the
depraved soul of the ruffian. Silently and warily she watched him.

"I done had my little joke, my dear," he went on. "Now we'll be heap
good friends. Old Dan ain't such a bad sort. There's lots of folks
worse than Dan. That's right. Now, what was that you said a while ago
about giving me anything I wanted?"

"I said my father would pay you anything in reason." Her throat was
parched, but her eyes were hard and bright. No lithe young panther of
the forest could have been more alert than she.

"Leave yore dad out of it. He ain't here, and, anyway, I ain't having
any truck with him. Just say the word, Miss Beulah, and I'll git a
pole and haul you up in a jiffy."

Beulah made a mistake. She should have waited till she was out of the
pit before she faced the new issue. But her horror of the man was
overpowering. She unscabbarded swiftly the revolver at her side and
lifted it defiantly toward him.

"I'll stay here."

Again he foamed into rage. The girl had stalemated him once more.
"Then stay, you little wild cat. You've had yore chance. I'm through
with you." He bared his teeth in a snarling grin and turned his back
on her.

Beulah heard him slouching away. Pr