him in conversation his answers were mostly in monosyllables. Only once
did he rouse up, and that was when she said that Lynch was even with him
now, and the look in his eyes gave Billy to understand that he was not
even with Lynch. That was it--he was unrepentant, he was brooding
revenge, he was planning even more desperate deeds; but he would not
tell her, or even admit that he was worried about anything but his leg.
It was hurting him, he said, and he wanted a good doctor to see it
before it grew worse; but when he went away he avoided her eye and Billy
ran off and wept.

CHAPTER XIX

TAINTED MONEY

A month passed by and the haze above the Sink lifted its shroud and
revealed the mountains beyond; the soft blues and pinks crept back into
the distance and the shadowy canyons were filled with royal purple. At
dawn a silver radiance rose and glowed along the east and the sunsets
stained the west with orange and gold; there was wine in the cool air,
and when the night wind came up the prospectors crouched over their
fires. The first October storm put a crown on Telescope Peak and tipped
the lesser Panamints with snow, but still Wilhelmina waited and Wunpost
did not return from his mysterious trip "inside."

The time was not ripe for his notable revenge and he had forgotten Jail
Canyon and her. Yet at last she saw his dust, and as she watched him
through her glasses something told her that his thoughts were not of
her. He was on his way, either seeking after gold or searching out the
means of revenge; and if he came that way it was to find his dog and
mules and not to make love to her. Their ranch was merely his half-way
house, a place to feed his animals and leave them when he went away; and
she was only a child, to be noticed like a fond dog, but not to be taken
seriously. Billy put up her glasses and went back to the house, and when
he arrived she was a woman. Her hair was done up gracefully, her nimble
limbs were confined in skirts; and she smiled at him demurely, as if her
mind was far away and he had recalled her from maidenly dreams.

"Well, well!" exclaimed Wunpost as he limped up to the house and
discovered her on the shady front porch; "where's the trusty
bib-overalls and all? What's the matter--is it Sunday, or did you see my
dust? Say, you don't look right without them curls!"

"We're thinking of moving away," she explained quite truthfully, "and I
can't wear overalls then."

"Moving away!" cri