his
cutthroat crew upon them. Some of the younger bloods were for remaining
and selling their lives dearly, but Ma would not hear to it.

It was quite an undertaking to move a whole nomad tribe, for there were
all the household belongings, the cattle, the sheep, the goats, the
milk-white Arabian steeds, the butter and eggs and homemade preserves,
and all the paraphernalia of a warlike people. It is surprising how
stuff accumulates in a mountain fastness. But she managed the retreat
with conspicuous ability. Ma led the long caravan into the bed of a
running stream, so that there would remain not a single footprint to
guide pursuers, then she sat in her saddle and gazed back at the silent
camping place.

Trap her, eh? Come upon her unprepared, would they? Ha! ha! She laughed
scornfully and tossed her head of midnight hair as she pictured the
duke's rage at finding he had been foiled again, and by a mere slip of
a girl!

This was a good game and exciting, too. Fetch Pa Briskow along, indeed!
Why, these wild mountain folk would kill him; in their present mood
they would rend a stranger hip from thigh. If they dreamed, for
instance, that she, their queen, was married--

Here was a new thought, and Ma's imagination leaped at it. If these
passionate people suspected that she had contracted a secret marriage
with the--the Earl of Briskow, their jealousy would know no bounds.
They would probably slay Pa. Ma shuddered at the horrid vision of what
would happen to Pa. This was truly thrilling.

Later on in the morning Mrs. Briskow discovered that she possessed
another amazing accomplishment--_viz_., the ability to walk on a
ceiling, upside down, like a fly. It was extremely amusing, for it
enabled a person to see right into everything. Pa and Allie looked very
funny from above.

The next day, when she stealthily slipped out of her French window, she
found Calvin Gray idly rocking on the veranda. He welcomed her
appearance and pretended not to see her embarrassment at the meeting;
he was glad of this chance for a visit with her alone. Perhaps she was
going for a walk and would take him along?

Ma was annoyed and suspicious. She liked Gray, but--she was as wary as
a trout and she refused to be baited. She would allow him to walk with
her--but lead him to the retreat? Well, hardly.

The man was piqued, for suspicion irked him. It was a tribute to his
patience and to his knack of inspiring confidence that Ma finally told
him