worse for him if he were. Then she shuddered a little to think that she
had already been influenced by the wildness around her.

Gulden appeared well and strong, and but for the bandage on his head
would have been as she remembered him. He manifested interest in the
gambling of the players by surly grunts. Presently he said something to
Kells.

"What?" queried the bandit, sharply, wheeling, the better to see Gulden.

The noise subsided. One gamester laughed knowingly.

"Lend me a sack of dust?" asked Gulden.

Kells's face showed amaze and then a sudden brightness.

"What! You want gold from me?"

"Yes. I'll pay it back."

"Gulden, I wasn't doubting that. But does your asking mean you've taken
kindly to my proposition?"

"You can take it that way," growled Gulden. "I want gold." "I'm mighty
glad, Gulden," replied Kells, and he looked as if he meant it. "I need
you. We ought to get along.... Here."

He handed a small buckskin sack to Gulden. Someone made room for him
on the other side of the table, and the game was resumed. It was
interesting to watch them gamble. Red Pearce had a scale at his end of
the table, and he was always measuring and weighing out gold-dust. The
value of the gold appeared to be fifteen dollars to the ounce, but the
real value of money did not actuate the gamblers. They spilled the dust
on the table and ground as if it were as common as sand. Still there did
not seem to be any great quantity of gold in sight. Evidently these were
not profitable times for the bandits. More than once Joan heard them
speak of a gold strike as honest people spoke of good fortune. And these
robbers could only have meant that in case of a rich strike there would
be gold to steal. Gulden gambled as he did everything else. At first
he won and then he lost, and then he borrowed more from Kells, to
win again. He paid back as he had borrowed and lost and won--without
feeling. He had no excitement. Joan's intuition convinced her that if
Gulden had any motive at all in gambling it was only an antagonism to
men of his breed. Gambling was a contest, a kind of fight.

Most of the men except Gulden drank heavily that night. There had been
fresh liquor come with the last pack-train. Many of them were drunk when
the game broke up. Red Pearce and Wood remained behind with Kells after
the others had gone, and Pearce was clever enough to cheat Kells before
he left.

"Boss--thet there Red double--crossed you," said Bate Wo