She thrust him from her--and he was gone.

She sank into a chair beside the kitchen table, her pulses athrob with
excitement. Scorn herself she might and would in good time, but just now
her whole capacity for emotion was keyed to an agony of apprehension for
this prince of scamps. By the beating of her galloping heart she timed
his steps. He must have reached the horse now. Already he would have it
untied, would be in the saddle. Surely by this time he had eluded the
sentries and was slipping out of the danger zone. Before him lay the
open road, the hills, and safety.

A cry rang out in the stillness--and another. A shot, the beat of
running feet, a panted oath, more shots! The silent night had suddenly
become vocal with action and the fierce passions of men. She covered her
face with her hands to shut out the vision of what her imagination
conjured--a horse flying with empty saddle into the darkness, while a
huddled figure sank together lifeless by the roadside.




CHAPTER VI

A GOOD FRIEND


How long she remained there Phyllis did not know. Fear drummed at her
heart. She was sick with apprehension. At last her very terror drove her
out to learn the worst. She walked round to the front of the house and
saw a light in the store. Swiftly she ran across and up the steps to the