on't go away in such
little time, you bet!"

Johnny stood irresolute, tempted, weakly trying to beat back the
temptation while he hugged it to his soul.

"Why don't you--" Johnny was on the point of asking Tomaso's brother why
he didn't sell it to the government, but he shut his teeth on the words.
Tomaso's brother evidently had not thought of that; and why put the idea
into his head? "Why don't you and Tomaso go after it and bring it here?
Then if it's all right, I might buy it--for fifty dollars. I can give you
a check on the Arizona State Bank in Tucson."

Tomaso's brother shrugged his shoulders in true Mexican eloquence. "That
puts me all the troubles for notheeng, maybe. Maybe you say she's no
good--what I'm going to do? Not drag it back for notheeng? Not leave her
set here for notheeng." He shrugged again with an air of finality that
sent a shiver over Johnny's nerves. "Twenty-fi' dollar when you look at
her and say she's all right. Twenty-fi' dollar when she's here. That
suits me. It don't suit you, _no importa_."

It did matter, though. It mattered a great deal to Johnny, hard as he
tried to hide the fact.

"Well, I'll think about it. I'd have to ride fence first, anyway, and
make sure everything's all right. And you'd have to tell Tomaso to drift
over this way and kinda keep an eye out. I--you come back to-morrow. If
I take the offer at all, which I ain't sure of, we can start to-morrow
night. But I'm not making any promises. It's a gamble; I've got to
think it over first."

In that way did Johnny invite temptation to tarry with him and wax
stronger while it fed on his resistance, while thinking that he was being
very firm and businesslike and cautious, and that he was in no danger
whatever of yielding unless his reason thoroughly approved.

His manner of thinking it over calmly was rather pathetic. It consisted
of building anew his air castle, and in riding out to the forbidden lava
ridge that rose like a wall out of the sandy plain west of Sinkhole to
choose the niche which might best be converted into a secret hangar.
Since first he heard of the derelict airplane, his mind had several times
strayed toward those deep clefts, but his feet had heretofore refrained
from following his thoughts.

Niches there were many, but they were too prone to yawn wide-mouthed at
the world so that whatever treasure they might have contained would be
revealed to any chance passer-by. These Johnny disdained without a se