lter and good
water here, the horses are safe above; and we command the only crossing
of the river. We'll sit right here until their grub runs out. They can't
have brought much!"

"The police may hear," Mabyn murmured.

"Let 'em come and welcome," said Grylls. "They know me! As for you, I
guess a man can take a journey with his lawful wife, can't he?"

There was a pause. A match was struck. Garth guessed that Grylls was
resuming his interrupted smoke.

"Seems to me we hold pretty much all the trumps," he went on complacently.
"My idea is, Pevensey's all alone over there. That was a pretty smart rap
on the nut, the boy got. But even if there's two of them, what can they
do? We've got cover, and they've got to show themselves; it's a funny
thing if we can't pot them easy. We got a right to; they killed our man
first."

"Hadn't I better ride on with her to the Slavi Indians?" Mabyn suggested
in a tone that he laboured to make sound off-hand.

Grylls chuckled fatly. "What! And deprive me of the pleasure of her
company!" he said mockingly. "I guess not!"

Mabyn was silent. Garth dimly apprehended what a torment of impotent
fear and rage the creature must be enduring. He had delivered himself
hand and foot into Grylls's power; and Grylls no longer even kept up a
pretense of hiding his own designs on Natalie.

"Better turn in," Grylls said indifferently. "No need for you to watch
to-night. I'll have a snooze myself, and go out and relieve Mary before
dawn."

Garth had heard enough; they were all placed for him; and his way was
clear. He softly drew himself around the further side of the tepee,
pausing long between every move, to listen. Both their lives depended on
his making no sound now; every faculty he possessed was bent on it; he
took half an hour to make thirty feet. He circled the inside edge of the
little triangle of flat ground, keeping in the shadow of the piled
rocks. Crossing the little stream that issued over the flat was hardest;
but he managed it; patiently studying each move in advance. Finally he
approached the tent. Beyond, he fancied he could distinguish the vague
outline of the wall running across; and upon it a huddled figure, a mere
hint of substance against the pit of darkness behind.

He felt his way around the tent. He found the canvas of the back wall
was made in one piece. With shaking fingers, he drew his knife out of
its sheath; and inserting the point in the centre of the stuff, softly