ing to frighten me off the ranges?"

"No, only stating the case," replied Rhodes lighting a cigarette and
observing her while appearing not to. "Quite a few of the girls in the
revolution camps are as young as you, and many of them are not doing
camp work by their own choice."

"But I--" she began indignantly.

"Oh yes, in time you would be ransomed, and for a few minutes you
might think it romantic--the 'Bandit Bride,' the 'Rebel Queen,' the
'Girl Guerrilla,' and all that sort of dope,--but believe me, child,
by the time the ransom was paid you would be sure that north of the
line was the garden spot of the earth and heaven enough for you, if
you could only see it again!"

She gave him one sulky resentful look and dug her heel into Pat. He
leaped a length ahead of the roan and started running.

"You can pretend you are El Gavilan after a lark, and see how near you
will get!" she called derisively and leaned forward urging the black
to his best.

"You glorified gray-eyed lark!" he cried. "Gather her in, Pardner!"

But he rode wide to the side instead of at the heels of Pat and thus
they rode neck and neck joyously while he laughed at her intent to
leave him behind.

The corrals and long hay ricks of Granados were now in sight, backed
by the avenue of palms and streaks of green where the irrigation
ditches led water to the outlying fields and orchards.

"El Gavilan!" she called laughingly. "Beat him, Pat,--beat him to the
home gate!"

Then out of a fork of the road to the left, an automobile swept to
them from a little valley, one man was driving like the wind and
another waved and shouted. Rhodes' eyes assured him that the shouting
man was Philip Singleton, and he rode closer to the girl, grasped her
bridle, and slowed down his own horse as well as hers.

"You'll hate me some more for this," he stated as she tried to jerk
loose and failed, "but that yelping windmill is your fond guardian,
and he probably thinks I am trying to kidnap you."

She halted at that, laughing and breathless, and waved her hand to the
occupants of the car.

"I can be good as an angel now that I have had my day!" she said.
"Hello folks! What's the excitement?"

The slender man whom Rhodes had termed the yelping windmill, removed
his goggles, and glared, hopelessly distressed at the flushed,
half-laughing girl.

"Billie--Wilfreda!"

"Now, now, Papa Singleton! Don't swear, and don't ever get frightened
because I am out of sigh