rner
and fell to on the omelette and fried chicken, cream cheese, salad,
cornbread and honey that she set before him. The food was all served in
bowls and jugs of quaintly beautiful ancient cliff-dweller pottery.

"There's no cream for your coffee," the girl apologized. "The milk
soured. Mena was asleep, and I dassn't go down to the goats alone.
Cochise has come back with all the bunch. Dad was cross not to get
cream. He's cranky over his food."

"You say those red devils are all down there?"

The girl cringed.

"Don't--don't speak so loud. Cochise might hear you. He's stopped
swearing. I lowered a whole basketful of pies to them. Carmena is
getting ready to give him a big talking to. She--she won't let them get
us."

"That's good news," rallied Lennon.

For the first time he was able to look away from his food long enough to
notice that Elsie was wearing a fresh pretty frock of blue-dotted
calico. He smiled at her amusedly.

"Didn't you promise to be a sister to me--or something like that? Why
not sit down with me and celebrate our escape?"

The girl clasped her hands together in childlike delight.

"Oh, do you want me to be, really and truly? Only I don't know how to
act to a brother. Sisters are different. They kiss each
other--sometimes. If you don't mind, I'll just sit and watch. I had mine
with Mena."

With unconscious grace, she perched on the edge of the table.

"You eat ever so much nicer than Cochise."

"I should hope so--a wild Indian!"

"But he isn't. He's educated--he went to the Reservation school. He
knows a whole lot. That's why he's never been sent up. They caught him
only once. But Dad got him off. Dad's a lawyer, you know. He didn't want
to go out and leave us, but he's so scarey he does everything Slade
tells him."

Lennon recalled Carmena's plea for him to help her father and sister. He
thought he understood the situation.

"So this Slade and the Indians are keeping all of you prisoners, here in
the Hole, are they? Yet Carmena got out. Why hasn't she taken you and
your Dad?"

Elsie's big blue eyes rounded.

"But they won't let us out--only one at a time, and I'm 'fraid to go
alone, 'cause of Cochise. Besides, the Hole is Dad's ranch. He won't
give it up and Slade keeps promising him his share of the profits, and
it's a mighty flourishing business."

"What, farming in a place like this?"

"Course not. That's just for fodder. We're stockholders, Dad says. We
con--conduct a s