er-wise Ramsey.

"Yes."

"And they can't send any troublesome word up the river that can overtake
us," she ventured on, and he assented.

"And may I tell the Gilmores that's as much for Phyllis as for them?"

"I wish you would--and then would go to your rest."

"Humph," she faintly soliloquized and with no other rejoinder remained
looking down on the stage, as he did. It was so near the bank at last
that the men waiting on its inner end moved a step or two forward.

"Why are all those five put off together?" she asked.

"Because," he replied in his absent manner, "the gamblers will try to
keep the other three quiet."

"Mr. Hugh, you'll be off watch now soon, won't you?"

"Yes." (Still no lifting of eyes by either.)

"And then you'll nurse your father, won't you?"

"I cannot! I'm too ignorant."

"Then what will you--shall you--do?"

"Just stay--on watch."

She stood a moment more, comforted to be on watch with him and thinking
sadly of all there was to be on watch for. Then she heard Julian softly
call her name. Without looking his way she started back for Mrs. Gilmore
and the gold hunter, but the brother overtook her.

"Ramsey." She faced him. "Ramsey"--his tone was thin--"when you were
talking just now with that pusillanimous whelp, and neither of you
looking at the other, did he say anything of a confidential nature?"

His scrutiny read confirmation in her fearless eyes. When she would have
spoken her utterance failed and, unable to do anything else half so
well, she laughed.

"You can still do that!" His hint was of Basile.

"A little," she tinkled again, though her eyes ran full.

"Ramsey, did he--over there--just now--that reptile--say
anything--tender?"

She flared rose-red, gazed down ashore, dropped her voice to a key he
had never heard, and said, wondering why she said it: "Mr. Courteney is
a gentleman."

She tried to lift her eyes to the inquisitor, but her irrepressible
twitter came again and she had to turn away to the big chimney. He
clinched his teeth.

"Sis," he half whispered as she began to go, "listen." She glanced back.
"Sis, you may snigger at us all day or ten days; you may listen to him
for a year or for ten; but, no matter what we swore to last night, the
day you accept Hugh Courteney's hand we'll kill him if we're alive."

Old Joy flinched and moaned but Ramsey stared at him benumbed. She
caught no rational grasp of his meaning; only stood and with
immeasurable speed