ure of a hand was enough to bring the padre to his
feet, the sleep of the man was ever light as that of one who does
sentry duty day time and night time.

Out into the open of the summer night they both passed, and in the
shadow of a wall where the Te-hua sentinel could not see, a man of
iron broke down and half sobbed a confession of horror.

The padre paced to and fro in the dusk of the night, and gave not over
much care to the shaken heart of the penitent.

"A hundred Aves, and half as many rosaries,--and candles for the altar
of San Juan when we return to Mexico." He tabulated the penance on his
fingers, with his mind clearly not on those details.

"Take you courage now, and hark to me," he said brusquely. "You say
you saw the maid and the man dead one on the other;--and that you fled
across the mesa at sight of their faces. That pretty Apache devil told
you that the witch lived at that place, and that the Po-Ahtun-ho was
her lover. How know you that it was not indeed witchcraft you looked
upon? How know you that the infernal magic was not used to change the
faces of the two that you be sent home not knowing which are dead and
which are living? This may yet be turned to our advantage."

Juan Gonzalvo was past thinking. Not though gold was found as
plentiful as the white stones of Pu-ye would he again go to the witch
accursed spot! His own armor had been touched by the fire of hell in
that place until he had lain it aside while he waited for the coming
of the sorcerer, and the sorcerer had in some way kept hidden--magic
spells had been worked to blind the eyes of Gonzalvo to the faces of
the others--even though light was given for the arrows to speed true!
He would fight living Indians in the open:--but no more would he trail
witches in the dark!

So he mumbled and made prayers and calmed himself somewhat at sight of
the calm, ever cool padre.

"Go you to your rest," said his reverence at last,--"and forget all
the work of this night."

"Forget?--but they will be found--they--"

"I will see that they are found, but let it not trouble you," stated
Padre Vicente. "We must meet trickery by trickery here. Go to your
bed, and sleep too sound for early waking."

"But--how--"--between the shock and fear of the night, Gonzalvo fairly
clung to the quiet strength of the padre.

"Take your sleep:--and keep a still tongue forever! I have had a dream
or a vision this night," and the padre smiled grimly. "I can as wel