did to me when I fell over the box in
front of the store. We'll settle accounts whilst you're here, I reckon."

The girl appealed to Dinsmore. "You're not going to let him ... mistreat
me, are you?"

The pathos of her situation, the slim, helpless, wonderful youth of the
girl, touched the not very accessible heart of Dinsmore.

"You bet I'm not. He'll cut out that kind o' talk right now," he said.

The eyes of Ramona met his, and she knew she was safe. This man had the
respect for a good woman that was characteristic of the turbulent West
in its most lawless days. He might be a miscreant and a murderer, but he
would fight at the drop of a hat in response to the appeal of any woman
who was "straight."

"Playin' up to Clint, are you, Homer?" sneered the other man. "You
better take her straight home like she wants, since you're so friendly
to the family."

"That's exactly what I'm goin' to do," retorted Dinsmore. "Any
objections?"

Gurley dropped his sneer instantly. His alarm voiced itself in a
wheedling apology. "I didn't go for to rile you, Homer. O' course you
cayn't do that. We got to stick together. The Indians is one reason. An'
there's another. No need for me to tell you what it is."

"You'll have to wait for me in the canon till I get back. It's not far
from here to you-know-where. I'm goin' to take the horses an' see this
girl back to her home."

"You're good," Ramona said simply.

"You're not figurin' on takin' my horse, are you?" Gurley burst out with
an oath.

"You've done guessed it, Steve. You'll have to hoof it into the canon."

"Like hell I will. Take another think, my friend."

The eyes of the men clashed, one pair filled with impotent rage, the
other cold and hard as polished steel on a frosty morning.

Gurley yielded sullenly. "It's no square deal, Homer. We didn't bring
her here. Why cayn't she go along with us an' hole up till the 'Paches
are gone an' till ... things kinda settle down?"

"Because she's got no business with folks like us. Her place is back at
the A T O, an' that's where I aim to take her. She's had one hell of a
time, if you ask me. What that kid needs is for her home folks to tuck
her up in bed an' send her to sleep. She's had about all the trouble a
li'l' trick like her can stand, I shouldn't wonder."

"You ain't her nurse," growled Gurley.

"That's why I'm goin' to take her home to those that are. 'Nuff said,
Steve. What I say goes."

"You act mighty high-hee