asure.

CHAPTER XXII

REGARDING A NECKLACE OF PEARLS AND CERTAIN
PLANS OF TWO WHO WERE MEANT TO BE ONE

From afar, reaching them only faintly, came the sounds of men's voices,
Zoraida's men clamoring above, mystified and with ample cause.

"It may be our chance is now, not tonight," said Kendric. "Although
it's but a little way from the house some of them, if not all, will
have ridden; their horses will be down in the canon. If we can slip
out this way and come to the horses while they're looking for us up
there----"

"This way?" Betty for an instant wondered if he meant to follow Zoraida
and Rios.

"There is another way," he told her. "Come.--But first, we'll not go
empty handed."

He began a quick rummaging among the ancient chests.

"Hurry," pleaded the girl. "What do we want with treasure? They may
find us at any second. Oh, hurry!"

"Coming," he answered. "But here are wings to fly with." She saw him
putting a number of small objects into his pockets. He moved to
another point and she could not see what he was doing, could only guess
that still he was stuffing something into the provision bag and further
cramming his pockets. Just then there was in Betty's soul no thirst
for wealth, just the mighty yearning for the open country and flight
and the peace of safety afar.

"Here I am." Jim was again at her side. He caught her arm. "This way."

He led her to that other pit giving entrance to the second tunnel. At
another time Betty might have hesitated to slip down into it; now she
was eager for anything that gave the vaguest hope of flight. For the
faint far voices still clamored and she feared that the hounds that
hunted in Zoraida's wake might find the secret of the boulder and roll
it back with many hands and rush down upon them.

But Kendric held her back while he first went down. He gripped the
edges of the pit with his hands and lowered himself to the length of
his arms and dropped. It was but a short fall and he landed safely and
steadied himself and managed to save himself from going down the slide
by clutching at the rock wall. Betty handed down the rifle and bag,
then lowered herself and he caught her in his arms. And then, in no
little uncertainty and not without grave dread of what dangers they
might encounter, they went on.

The slide was steep and yet by going very guardedly, lying face down at
times and inching down cautiously, they made a slow descent. The
tun