Somethin' doin'," Madeline heard one of the cowboys
call, softly.

"Send him over," replied Stewart.

Nels stalked away from the fire.

"See here, Nels, the boys are all right, but I don't want them to know
everything about this mix-up," said Stewart, as Nels came up. "Did you
find the girl?"

Madeline guessed that Stewart referred to the Mexican girl Bonita.

"No. But I met"--Madeline did not catch the name--"an' he was wild. He
was with a forest-ranger. An' they said Pat Hawe had trailed her an' was
takin' her down under arrest."

Stewart muttered deep under his breath, evidently cursing.

"Wonder why he didn't come on up here?" he queried, presently. "He can
see a trail."

"Wal, Gene, Pat knowed you was here all right, fer thet ranger said
Pat hed wind of the guerrillas, an' Pat said if Don Carlos didn't kill
you--which he hoped he'd do--then it 'd be time enough to put you in
jail when you come down."

"He's dead set to arrest me, Nels."

"An' he'll do it, like the old lady who kept tavern out West. Gene, the
reason thet red-faced coyote didn't trail you up here is because he's
scared. He allus was scared of you. But I reckon he's shore scared to
death of me an' Monty."

"Well, we'll take Pat in his turn. The thing now is, when will that
Greaser stalk us, and what'll we do when he comes?"

"My boy, there's only one way to handle a Greaser. I shore told you
thet. He means rough toward us. He'll come smilin' up, all soci'ble
like, insinuatin' an' sweeter 'n a woman. But he's treacherous; he's
wuss than an Indian. An', Gene, we know for a positive fact how his gang
hev been operatin' between these hills an' Agua Prieta. They're no nervy
gang of outlaws like we used to hev. But they're plumb bad. They've
raided and murdered through the San Luis Pass an' Guadalupe Canyon.
They've murdered women, an' wuss than thet, both north an' south of Agua
Prieta. Mebbe the U. S. cavalry don't know it, an' the good old States;
but we, you an' me an' Monty an' Nick, we know it. We know jest about
what thet rebel war down there amounts to. It's guerrilla war, an' shore
some harvest-time fer a lot of cheap thieves an' outcasts."

"Oh, you're right, Nels. I'm not disputing that," replied Stewart. "If
it wasn't for Miss Hammond and the other women, I'd rather enjoy seeing
you and Monty open up on that bunch. I'm thinking I'd be glad to meet
Don Carlos. But Miss Hammond! Why, Nels, such a woman as she is would
never recove