If that girl's not blind she'll get out
and give this snap away."

"But you can take me out with you, fellers. I can ride." Aleck was
pleading, his face gray with pain.

"Worst thing we could do, either for you or for us," replied the other,
coldly. "If we got you down to the settlements what could we say? If
you was shot once we could call it an accident, but shot twice, and
once through the hip from behind--how would that be explained, I'd like
to know? Folks would begin to ask too many questions. Besides, they'd
ask where that girl was. Then there's the fires you set. No, sir, you
stay right here. We other fellers'll get out of here as fast as we
can."

"And leave me here?" The terror in Big Aleck's voice had been piteous
for any men but these.

"Listen! Before midnight I'll be at the Company dam. I'll tell that
new doctor there's been an accident up here in the timber camp. I'll
tell him to come up here to-morrow morning sure. When he gets here,
you tell him how the accident happened. It's up to you, then. You'll
have to pay him pretty well, of course."

"And that reminds me," he went on, "we fellers has got to have the
funds, Aleck. We'll need money more'n you will now. Here!"

He stooped over and began to feel in Aleck's coat, drew out a heavy
wallet, and began to transfer the bills to his own pocket.

"I'll leave you a hundred and fifty. That's enough," said he. "No
telling what we fellers'll have to do before we get out of this. Your
getting shot here is apt to blow the whole thing. Did she take the gun
away with her?"

Aleck groaned and rolled his head. "I don't know," he said.

Jim Denny was the new leader of the brigand party. "Hell's bells!"
said he, impatiently now. "We can't be fooling around--this don't look
good to me. Noon to-morrow, anyways, the Doctor ought to be here. As
for us, we got to beat it now."

The wolf pack knew no mercy nor unselfishness. Aleck got no more
attention from them. There were two cars beside the one which had
brought Aleck and Mary Warren up the day before. This last one they
left, seeing that the tire was in bad condition. Not one of them
turned to say good-by to Aleck as he lay in the tent where he had been
dragged.

"Got it right on top the hip bone," said one man. "She busted him
plenty with that soft-nose."

"And served him right," said Jim Denny, the new leader, grumbling.
"Aleck has never been looking for the worst of it,