,
unmarked except by a choice of clashing colors in dress; to her family
she remained what she always had been; nobody dreamed that she was in
reality a bandit queen, the leader of a wild, unfettered band of
mountaineers. But that is what she was. And worse at times.

Yes, Ma had slipped the leash. She was a robber baroness; she dwelt in
a rocky "fastness"--whatever that was--surrounded by a crew of outlaws
as desperate as any that ever drew cutlass and dagger, and she ruled
them not only by native strength of character, but also by the aid of
other forces, for she was on friendly terms with the more prominent
wood sprites, fairies, and the like, and they brought her wisdom.
Moreover, she had learned the language of dumb animals and could talk
to squirrels, beetles, porcupines, frogs.

All this, as may be surmised, had come about as the result of Ma's
early reading: a haphazard choice of story books, in which were tales
of treasure trove, of pirates, of wronged maidens and gallant
squires--romantic stories peculiarly designed to stir a cramped
imagination like hers. It was from them that she had gained her ideas
of the world, her notions of manners, even her love of the mountains,
and that unquenchable desire to see them that she had confided to
Calvin Gray.

He it was, by the way, who had selected the Notch for these Texas
nesters. It had proved a happy choice, for the hotel sat upon the top
of the world, and beneath it lay outspread the whole green and purple
vastness of the earth. The Briskows were entranced, of course, and,
once they had established themselves here, they never thought of
moving, nor did it occur to them that there might--be other mountains
than these, other hotels as good as this. To them Burlington Notch
became merely a colloquial name for Paradise, and life in the great
hotel itself a beautiful dream.

The place was famous the country over as a health resort, and, indeed,
it must have possessed miraculous curative properties, otherwise Gus
Briskow, strong and vigorous as he was, could never have survived the
shock of receiving his first week's bill. It was with conflicting
emotions that he had divided the sum at the foot of the statement into
seven parts and realized the daily ransom in which he and his family
were held; it had given him a feeling of tremendous importance and
extreme insignificance. He spoke feelingly that night about the high
cost of loafing, but Ma showed such dismay at the