"

She straightened up and gazed at him with her honest brown eyes, and at
last the look in them changed.

"Well, _I_ don't care," she burst out recklessly, "and besides,
you're not going to win."

"Yes I am," he said, "and I want that kiss, too. Here, pup!" and he
whistled to his dog.

"Oh, you can't take Good Luck!" she objected quickly. "He's my dog now,
and I want him!"

She pouted and tossed her pretty head to one side, and Wunpost smiled at
her tyranny. It was something new in their relations with each other and
it struck him as quite piquant and charming.

"Well, all right," he assented, and Billy hid her face; because
treachery was new to her too.

CHAPTER XXV

THE CHALLENGE

If love begets love and deceit begets deceit, then Wunpost was repaid
according to his merits when Wilhelmina laid claim to his dog. She did
it in a way that was almost coquettish, for coquetry is a form of
deceit; but in the morning, when he was gone, she put his dog on his
trail and followed along behind on her mule. And this, of course, was
rank treachery no less, for her purpose was to discover his mine. If she
found it, she had decided in the small hours of the night, she would
locate it and claim it all; and that would teach him not to make fun of
honest poverty or to try to buy kisses with gold. Because kisses, as she
knew, could never be true unless they were given for love; and love
itself calls for respect, first of all--and who can respect a boaster?

She reasoned in circles, as the best of us will when trying to justify
doubtful acts; but she traveled in a straight line when she picked up
Wunpost's trail and followed him over the rocks. He had ridden out in
the night, turning straight up the ridge where the mountain-sheep trail
came down; and Good Luck bounded ahead of her, his nose to the ground,
his bobbed tail working like mad. There was a dew on the ground, for the
nights had turned cold and, though he was no hound, Good Luck could
follow the scent, which was only a few hours old. Wunpost had slept till
after midnight and then silently departed, taking only Old Walker and
his mate; and the trail of their sharp-shod shoes was easily discernible
except where they went over smooth rocks. It was here that Wunpost
circled, to throw off possible pursuit; but busy little Good Luck was
frantic to come up to him, and he smelled out the tracks and led on.

Wunpost had traveled in the night, and, after circling a