the cloth out of her
mouth; and she lay, white and gasping for breath, but apparently unhurt,
staring up wildly into the faces of the excited men.

"Take her into the tent, Dick, until she recovers from her fright and
rough usage," whispered Mr. Conroyal, bending close to Dickson's ear.

Dickson quickly lifted his wife into his arms and carried her into the
tent.

"Who did it?" and Mr. Conroyal's eyes searched anxiously the angry and
mystified faces of the men, the moment Mr. Dickson vanished with his
burden in the tent.

"Th' Lord alone knows for sart'in," answered Ham. "But, I reckon, 'twas
one of them durned skunks. Jest wait 'til th' Leetle Woman gits tew
feelin' like herself ag'in an' maybe she can give us some useful
information."

But, in this conjecture, Ham was wrong; for, when something like half an
hour later, Mrs. Dickson came out the tent, leaning on her husband's arm
and looking very white, but otherwise little the worse for her
experience, all the information she could give only added to the
mystery.

She had been sound asleep when the attack was made. The first thing she
knew a hand held her by the throat, so tightly that she could not utter
a sound; and, when she opened her mouth, gasping vainly for breath, it
was instantly stuffed full of rags, so firmly that she could not utter a
loud sound. Then the hand was taken from her throat, her arms pressed
closely to her sides, and she was tightly rolled up in her own blanket,
head and all, and tied the way they had found her. For some little time
after that she heard her assailant cautiously searching the tent. He
appeared to be exceedingly anxious to find something; for every possible
hiding-place in the tent had been thoroughly searched and every package
or bundle had been opened. When the search was over, she heard the
intruder creep softly out of the tent. Then had followed a few minutes
of silence broken suddenly by Pedro's yells and shot. Owing to the
darkness and to the fact that her eyes had been covered as quickly as
possible, she could not give any idea of what her assailant looked like,
only she did not think he was a large man.

This was all the information that Mrs. Dicksom could give; and a
thorough search of the tent with a torch added nothing to it.

Thure and Pedro were again examined; but they could give no definite
information. Thure had only caught a glimpse of the man, as he had
rushed by him in the darkness; and Pedro appeare