ncerned for your safety, Grant? Fear not."

An amused thought evidently struck him. He added. "It occurs to me how
easy, if I am going to ransom you, it will be for me to send you back
dead. You might, if I send you back alive, tell them a lot of things
about me."

"I will not talk."

"Not," he said, "if I close your mouth for good."

* * * * *

I had no retort. There was no answering such logic; and with his
murders of Spawn and Perona, and the deaths of some of the police
guards at the mine, the murder of me would not put him in much worse a
position.

He was laughing ironically. Suddenly he checked himself.

"Well, Jetta! So you have awakened?"

Jetta was sitting erect. How long she had been awake, what she had
heard. I could not say. Her gaze went from De Boer to me, and back
again.

"Yes, I am awake."

It seemed that the look she flashed me carried a warning. But whatever
it was, I had no chance of pondering it, for it was driven from my
mind by surprise at her next words.

"Awake, yes! And interested, hearing this Grant bargain with you for
his life."

It surprised De Boer as well. But the alcholite had dulled his wits,
and Jetta realized this, and presumed upon it.

"Ho!" exclaimed De Boer. "Our little bird is angry!"

"Not angry. It is contempt."

Her look to me now held contempt. It froze me with startled chagrin;
but only for an instant, and then the truth swept me. Strange Jetta! I
had thought of her only as a child; almost, but not quite a woman. A
frightened little woodland fawn.

"Contempt, De Boer. Is he not a contemptuous fellow, this American?"

Again I caught her look and understood it. This was a different
Jetta. No longer helplessly frightened, but a woman, fighting. She had
heard De Boer calmly saying that he might send me back dead--and she
was fighting now for me.

De Boer took another drink, and stared at her. "What is this?"

She turned away. "Nothing. But if you are going to ransom me--"

"I am not, little bird."

* * * * *

She showed no aversion for him, and it went to his head, stronger than
the drink. "Never would I ransom you!"

He reached for her, but nimbly she avoided him. Acting, but clever
enough not to overdo it. I held myself silent: I had caught again the
flash of a warning gaze from her. She had fathomed my purpose. Get his
confidence. Beguile him. And woman is so much cleverer than the
t