d in time to see Bat catch up the
reins of the three horses and slip noiselessly into the shelter of a
bunch of scrub willows. In a moment she was at his side and the Indian
thrust the reins into her hand.

"Better you wait here," he whispered hurriedly. "Mebbe-so, som'wan
else com' 'long. Me, A'm gon' for look." With the words the man
blended into the shadows and, clutching the reins, the girl waited with
every nerve drawn tense.

Nearer and nearer came the sound of the thudding hoofs. The riders had
reached the dip of the trail now and the rhythmic pound of the horses'
feet changed to a syncopated shuffle as the animals made the steep
descent. At the edge of the creek they paused for a moment and then
Alice, could hear the splash of their feet in the water and the deep
sucking sound of horses drinking.

A low peculiar whistle cut the air and the next moment a voice which
the girl recognized as the Texan's sounded plainly through the dark.

"You got here, did you? Where's the girl?" Alice could not catch the
answer but at the next words of the Texan she started forward tugging
at the reins of the refractory cayuses.

"Come alive, now, an' get your outfit together. There's prob'ly a big
posse out an' we got to scratch gravel some lively to keep ahead of
'em, which little item the future prosperity of all concerned, as the
fellow says, depends on--not only the hangee here, but us accessories,
the law bein' some specific in outlinin' the disposal of aiders an'
abettors of felonious transmigrations."

The half-breed relieved her of the horses and Alice rushed to the side
of Endicott who had reined his horse out of the water and dismounted
stiffly.

"Oh, Winthrop!" she cried joyfully. "Then they didn't hang you,
and----"

Endicott laughed: "No, they didn't hang me but they put a lot of local
colour into the preliminaries. I certainly thought my time had come,
when friend Tex here gave the word to throw off the rope." The girl
flashed a grateful glance into the face of the Texan who sat his horse
with the peculiar smile curling his lips.

"Oh, how can I ever thank you?" she cried impulsively. "I think you
are just _splendid_! And I'll never, _never_ distrust you again. I've
been a perfect fool and----"

"Yes," answered the man gruffly, and Alice noticed that the smile was
gone from his lips. "But you ain't out of the woods yet. Bat's got
that horse packed an' as soon as Winthrup, there, can craw