d, but now she screamed out, twisted in his
arms, and beat furiously against his face.

"Joan!" cried Kate. "Joan!"

She reached Buck and unwound his arms from the struggling body of the
child.

"Honey, why are you afraid? Oh, my baby!"

For an instant Joan stood free, wavering, and her eyes held steadily
upon her mother bright with nothing but fear and strangeness. Then
something melted in her little round face, she sighed.

"Munner!" and stole a pace closer. A moment later Kate sat with Joan in
her arms, rocking to and fro and weeping.

"What's happened?" gasped Haines to Daniels. "What's happened to the
kid?"

"Don't talk," answered Buck, his face gray as that of Kate. "It's Dan's
blood."

He drew a great breath.

"Did you see her try to--to bite me while I was holdin' her?"

Kate had started to her feet, holding Joan in one arm and dashing away
her tears with the free hand. All weakness was gone from her.

"Hurry!" she commanded. "We haven't any time to lose. Buck, come here!
No, Lee, you're stronger. Honey, this is your Uncle Lee. He'll take care
of you; he won't hurt you. Will you go to him?"

Joan shrank away while she examined him, but the instincts of a child
move with thrice the speed of a mature person's judgment; she read the
kindly honesty which breathed from every line of Haines' face, and held
out her arms to him.

Then they started down the slope for the horses, running wildly, for the
moment they turned their backs on the cave the same thought was in
the mind of each, the same haunting fear of that small, shrill whistle
pursuing. Half running, half sliding, they went down to the bottom of
the gorge. While the pebble they started rushed after them in small
avalanches, and they even had to dodge rocks of considerable size
which came bounding after, Joan, alert upon the shoulder of Lee Haines,
enjoyed every moment of it; her hair tossed in the sun, her arms were
outstretched for balance. So they reached the horses, and climbed into
the saddles. Then, without a word from one to the other, but with many a
backward look, they started on the flight.

By the time they reached the shoulder of the hill on the farther side,
with a long stretch of down slope before, they had placed a large
handicap between them and the danger of pursuit, but still they were
not at ease. On their trail, sooner or later, would come three powers
working towards one end, the surety of Black Bart following a scent,
th