Jail Canyon he retreated to a doorway
and winced. This was to have been his high spot, his magnum of victory;
but somehow he sensed that no great joy would come from it, although of
course she had it coming to her. And Wilhelmina simply stared at the
sign "Bank Closed" and leaned against the door and cried.

That was too much for Wunpost, who had been handing out five dollars to
all of the workingmen who were broke, and he strode across the street
and approached her.

"What _you_ crying about?" he asked, and when she shook her head he
shuffled his feet and stood silent. "Come on up to the office," he said
at last, and she followed him to the bare little room. There a short
time before he had interceded to save her when she had all but signed
the contract with Eells; but now at one blow he had destroyed what was
built up and left her without a cent.

"What you crying about?" he repeated, as she sank down by the desk and
fixed him with her sad, reproachful eyes, "you ought to be tickled to
death."

"Because I've lost all my money," she answered dejectedly, "and we owe
the contractors for the road."

"Oh, that's all right," he said, "I'll get you some more money. But say,
didn't you do what I said? Why, I told you the last thing before I went
away to git that first payment money _out_!"

"You did not!" she denied, "you told me to draw a few hundred. And then
you turned around and deposited all you had, so I thought the bank must
be safe."

"What--safe with Judson Eells? Safe with Lapham behind the scenes? Say,
you'll never do at all. Have you heard the big news? Well, they've both
skipped to Mexico and the depositors won't get a cent."

"Then what about my contract?" she burst out tearfully, "I've sold him
my mine and now he's run away, so who's going to make the next payment?"

"They ain't nobody," grinned Wunpost, "and that's just the point--I told
you I'd come back with his scalp!"

"Yes, but what about _us_?" she clamored accusingly, "who's going
to pay for the road and all? Oh, I knew all the time that you'd never
forgive me, and now you've just ruined everything."

"Never asked me to forgive you," defended Wunpost stoutly, "but I don't
mind admitting I was sore. It's all right, of course, if you think you
can play the game--but I never thought you'd rob a _friend_!"

"But you dared me to!" she cried, "and didn't I offer it for almost
nothing, just to keep you from getting killed? And then, after I'd do