ber, she had made for herself a garment which it
would have been hard to classify and yet which was astonishingly
becoming. As much as anything Kendric had ever seen it resembled a
stylish and therefore outlandish riding habit. She wore Zoraida's
shoes and stockings.

"I washed them with sand and water first," said Betty around a corner
of her sandwich. "And I let them air all day."

"No visitors?" said Kendric. "No sign of anyone on our trail?"

Betty assured him that she had been unmolested, that the terrible
stillness of the mountain had been unbroken. And she sought to tell
him how long the day had been.

"I know," he said. "It was long enough for me, and I was out in the
open and stirring. It must have been a slice of torment for you here
alone all day, not even knowing if I'd ever get back or have any food
when I came."

"I knew you'd come," said Betty. "But it was lonesome and shivery."

He told her of his day and finally of the man he had seen across the
canon. Further, of his suspicion that it was Ruiz Rios. Betty
shuddered.

"He is a terrible creature," she said. "I'd rather it was anyone else.
Do you think he has an idea we're here?"

He stretched out by the fire, helped himself to a bit of the dried beef
and told her his thoughts.

"I know just about how Rios would reason things out. And, oddly
enough, it strikes me that though he began with a false premise he has
come pretty close to reaching the right conclusion. You see, he knows
that I came down here with Barlow looking for treasure. He knew
Captain Escobar was ahead of him on the same trail and when he could
get nothing further out of Escobar he killed him. But he did know in a
general way where we expected to find the stuff. So, when you and I
skip out and don't head straight back to the gulf, he's pretty sure I'm
still making a stab at getting the treasure. And it has happened that
you and I, blundering along in the dark, have hit on this spot which is
not far from the place where the treasure is supposed to be. So Rios
hides in the brush with a pair of glasses and keeps his eye peeled for
us. I think that's the whole explanation of his being out yonder. And
I think that's all he knows."

"It's enough." Betty shook her head dubiously.

"Of course," he admitted, "this is just a guess on my part. He may
know more than I think.--During the day," he added, "and just now while
I lay out yonder waiting for dark, I've had