at O'Halloran would storm the prison during the night and effect a
rescue. If so, good; if not, there was no need of her knowing that for
them the new day would usher in fresh sorrow. So he gave her an account
of his trial and its details, told her how he had been convicted, and
how Colonel Onate had fought warily to get the sentence of execution
postponed in order to give their friends a chance to rescue them.

"When Megales remanded me to prison I wanted to let out an Arizona yell,
Curly. It sure seemed too good to be true."

"But he may want the sentence carried out some time, if he changes his
mind. Maybe in a week or two he may take a notion that--" She stopped,
plainly sobered by the fear that the good news of his return might not
be final.

"We won't cross that bridge till we come to it. You don't suppose our
friends are going to sit down and fold their hands, do you? Not if I've
got Mike O'Halloran and young Valdez sized up right. Fur is going to
begin to fly pretty soon in this man's country. But it's up to us to
help all we can, and I reckon we'll begin by taking a preliminary survey
of this wickiup."

Wickiup was distinctly good, since the word is used to apply to a frail
Indian hut, and this cell was nothing less than a tomb built in the
solid rock by blowing out a chamber with dynamite and covering the front
with a solid sheet of iron, into which a door fitted. It did not take a
very long investigation to prove to Bucky that escape was impossible by
any exit except the door, which meant the same thing as impossible
at all under present conditions. Yet he did not yield to this opinion
without going over every inch of the walls many times to make sure that
no secret panel opened into a tunnel from the room.

"I reckon they want to keep us, Curly. Mr. Megales has sure got us real
safe this time. I'd be plumb discouraged about breaking jail out of this
cage. It's ce'tainly us to stay hitched a while."

About dark tortillas and frijoles were brought down to them by the
facetious turnkey, who was accompanied as usual by two guards.

"Why don't my little birdies sing?" he asked, with a wink at the
soldiers. "One of them will not do any singing after daybreak to-morrow.
Ho, ho, my larks! Tune up, tune up!"

"What do you mean about one not singing after daybreak?" asked the girl,
with eyes dilating.

"What! Hasn't he told you? Senor the ranger is to be hanged at the dawn
unless he finds his tongue for Gove