he set
close to the trap.

"Soon as I get the lip open shove her in," he told Stone.

The prisoner moistened his dry lips. It was plain that he was in great
pain.

The rescuer slipped the toes of his boots over the lower lip and caught
the upper one with both hands. Slowly the mouth of the trap opened. Stone
slipped in the wooden wedge and withdrew his crushed wrist. By great good
fortune the steel had caught on the leather gauntlet he was wearing.
Otherwise it must have mangled the arm to a pulp.

Even now he was suffering a good deal.

"You'll have to let a doc look at it," Curly suggested.

Stone agreed. "Reckon I better strike for the Bar 99." He was furious at
himself for having let such an accident happen. The veriest tenderfoot
might have known better.

His horse had disappeared, but Curly helped him to the back of Keno.
Together they took the trail for the Bar 99. On the face of the wounded
man gathered the moisture caused by intense pain. His jaw was clenched to
keep back the groans.

"Hard sledding, looks like," Curly sympathized.

"Reckon I can stand the grief," Stone grunted.

Nor did he speak again until they reached the ranch and Laura London
looked at him from a frightened face.

"What is it?"

"Ran a sliver in my finger, Miss Laura. Too bad to trouble you," Soapy
answered with a sneer on his thin lips.

A rider for the Bar 99 had just ridden up and Laura sent him at once for
the doctor. She led the way into the house and swiftly gathered bandages,
a sponge, and a basin of water. Together she and Curly bathed and wrapped
the wound. Stone did not weaken, though he was pretty gray about the
lips.

Laura was as gentle as she could be.

"I know I'm hurting you," she said, her fingers trembling.

"Not a bit of it. Great pleasure to have you for a nurse. I'm certainly in
luck." Curly did not understand the bitterness in the sardonic face and he
resented it.

"If the doctor would only hurry," Laura murmured.

"Yes, I know I'm a great trouble. Too bad Curly found me."

She was busy with the knots of the outer wrapping and did not look up. "It
is no trouble."

"I'm too meddlesome. Serves me right for being inquisitive about your
father's trap."

"He'll be sorry you were caught."

"Yes. He'll have to climb the hill and reset it."

That something was wrong between them Curly could see. Soapy was very
polite in spite of his bitterness, but his hard eyes watched her as a cat
does a mous