"Well, you'll keep," he said, "there ain't any
windows."

She knew from his voice that the man was Dale. He had gone outside and
had seen there was no escape for her except through the door she had
barred.

There came a silence except for the movements of the men, and the low
hum of their voices. She wondered what had become of Owen, but she did
not dare unbolt the door for fear that Dale might be waiting on the
other side of it. So, in the grip of a nameless terror she leaned
against the door and waited.

She heard Dale talking to his men; he was standing near the door behind
which she stood, and she could hear him distinctly.

"You guys hit the breeze after Sanderson. Kill him,--an' anybody
that's with him! Wipe out the whole bunch! I'll stay here an' make
the girl tell me where the coin is. Get goin', an' go fast, for
Sanderson will travel some!"

The girl heard the boots of the men clatter on the floor as they went
out. Listening intently, she could hear the thudding of their horses'
hoofs as they fled. She shrank back from the door, looking hard at it,
wondering if it would hold, if it would resist Dale's efforts to burst
it open--as she knew he would try to do.

She wished, now, that she had followed Sanderson's suggestion about
riding after Williams. This situation would not have been possible,
then.

Working feverishly, she piled against the door all the available
articles and objects she could find. There were not many of them, and
they looked a pitifully frail barricade to her.

A silence that followed was endured with her cringing against the
barricade. She had a hope that Dale would search for the money--that
he would find it, and go away without attempting to molest her. But
when she heard his step just outside the door, she gave up hope and
stood, her knees shaking, awaiting his first movement.

It came quickly enough. She heard him; saw the door give just a trifle
as he leaned his weight against it.

The movement made her gasp, and he heard the sound.

"So you're still there, eh? Well, I thought you would be. Open the
door!"

"Dale," she said, desperately, "get out of here! I'll tell you where
the money is--I don't want it."

"All right," he said, "where is it?"

"It's in the parlor; the packages are stuffed between the springs of
the lounge."

He laughed, jeeringly.

"That dodge don't go," he said in a voice that made her feel clammy all
over. "If it's there, al