wled the astounded and frightened half-breed. "I
didn't know you were here."

Lee raised himself, and grasped the long whip in his left hand and
whirled it round his head.

"WILL YOU dry up?"

The man sank back against the wall in silent terror.

"Open that door now--softly."

Manuel obeyed with trembling fingers.

"Ned" said Lee in a low voice, "bring him in here--quick."

There was a slight rustle, and Falkner appeared, backing in another
gasping figure, whose eyes were starting under the strong grasp of the
captor at his throat.

"Silence," said Lee, "all of you."

There was a breathless pause. The sound of a door hesitatingly opened
in the passage broke the stillness, followed by the gentle voice of Mrs.
Scott.

"Is anything the matter?"

Lee made a slight gesture of warning to Falkner, of menace to the
others. "Everything's the matter," he called out cheerily. "Ned's
managed to half pull down the house trying to get at something from my
saddle-bags."

"I hope he has not hurt himself," broke in another voice mischievously.

"Answer, you clumsy villain," whispered Lee, with twinkling eyes.

"I'm all right, thank you," responded Falkner, with unaffected
awkwardness.

There was a slight murmuring of voices, and then the door was heard to
close. Lee turned to Falkner.

"Disarm that hound and turn him loose outside, and make no noise. And
you, Manuel! tell him what his and your chances are if he shows his
black face here again."

Manuel cast a single, terrified, supplicating glance, more suggestive
than words, at his confederate, as Falkner shoved him before him from
the room. The next moment they were silently descending the stairs.

"May I go too, captain?" entreated Manuel. "I swear to God--"

"Shut the door!" The man obeyed.

"Now, then," said Lee, with a broad, gratified smile, laying down his
whip and pistol within reach, and comfortably settling the pillows
behind his back, "we'll have a quiet confab. A sort of old-fashioned
talk, eh? You're not looking well, Manuel. You're drinking too much
again. It spoils your complexion."

"Let me go, captain," pleaded the man, emboldened by the good-humored
voice, but not near enough to notice a peculiar light in the speaker's
eye.

"You've only just come, Manuel; and at considerable trouble, too. Well,
what have you got to say? What's all this about? What are you doing
here?"

The captured man shuffled his feet nervously, and only uttered an u