n he stared at her speechlessly.
Words of Juanita, spoken fearfully that morning, recurred to him: "She
would give me to her cat, her terrible, terrible cat, to play with!"
He opened his mouth to lift his voice in hot protest; then he bit back
the words, savagely calling himself a fool for the mad thought. Even
to Zoraida's lawlessness there must be a limit; even the cold cruelty
looking out of her oblique eyes now could not carry her so far. And
yet the laugh with which he answered her was a trifle shaky.

"We are talking nonsense," he said abruptly. "And Bruce is expecting
you. When you finish distorting facts for his consumption I'd like a
word with him."

Zoraida's face went white.

"It is in my heart," she said in a dry whisper, "to give orders that
you will never see another sun rise!"

"Give your orders then," he snapped. "I'm sick of things as they are.
Send in a gang of your cutthroats and I'll give you my word I'd rather
fight my way through them than stand by and watch you poison honest
men's souls."

She stepped across the room and put out her hand as though to the bell
on the table. Kendric watched her sternly. She stopped and looked at
him wonderingly. Suddenly she dropped her hand to her side and with
the gesture came a swift alteration in her expression. A strange smile
molded her lips, an inscrutable look dawned in the dark eyes.

"I knew already that you were a brave man, Jim Kendric," she said. "I
was forgetting, losing all clear thought because a man had dismissed me
from his presence? Well, of that, more another time. But brave men I
need, brave men I must have in that which comes soon. If there is not
one way, then there will be another to draw you to my side."

She was going out but stopped as they heard horses in the yard. She
stood still, waiting. Presently there came an unsteady step at the
front door. A hand fumbled, the door opened and Twisty Barlow entered.
His arm was in a sling, a bandage bound his forehead, his eyes shone
feverishly. He stopped on the threshold and stared at them. Kendric
spoke quickly.

"Twisty," he said, "do you know who shot you?"

Barlow merely shook his head.

"I did. I was at Bruce's. I did not know you but----"

"But you'd have shot just the same, anyway?" grunted Barlow.

"You got yourself into damned bad company, Barlow. But that's your
affair. Just tell me one thing: Was it not at Zoraida Castelmar's
orders that you went?"