f that infernal villain. How did she come
there?"

The Mexican woman was surprised at the sudden change that had come over
the men. They had grown tense and alert. Interest had flamed into a
passionate eagerness.

Rosario Chaves told the story from beginning to end, so far as she knew
it; and every sentence of it wrung the big heart of these men. The pathos
of it hit them hard. Their little comrade, the girl they had been fond of
for years--the bravest, truest lass in Arizona--had fallen a victim to
this intolerable fate! They could have wept with the agony of it if they
had known how.

"Are you sure they were married? Maybe the thing slipped up," Alan
suggested, the hope father to the thought.

But this hope was denied him; for the woman had brought with her a copy of
the Mesa _Sentinel_, with an account of the marriage and the reason for
it. This had been issued on the morning after the event, and MacQueen had
brought it back with him to the Cache.

Bellamy arranged with the Mexican woman a plan of attack upon the valley.
Camp was struck at once, and she guided them through tortuous ravines and
gulches deeper into the Roaring Fork country. She left them in a grove of
aspens, just above the lip of the valley, on the side least frequented by
the outlaws.

They were to lie low until they should receive from her a signal that most
of the gang had left to take West to the place appointed for the exchange.
They were then to wait through the day until dusk, slip quietly down, and
capture the ranch before the return of the party with the gold. In case
anything should occur to delay the attack on the ranch, another signal was
to be given by Rosario.

The first signal was to be the hanging of washing upon the line. If this
should be removed before nightfall, Bellamy was to wait until he should
hear from her again.

Bellamy believed that the Chaves woman was playing square with him, but he
preferred to take no chances. As soon as she had left to return to the
settlement of the outlaws he moved camp again to a point almost half a
mile from the place where she had last seen them. If the whole thing were
a "plant," and a night attack had been planned, he wanted to be where he
and his men could ambush the ambushers, if necessary.

But the night passed without any alarm. As the morning wore away the
scheduled washing appeared on the line. Farnum crept down to the valley
lip and trained his glasses on the ranch house. Occas