they were taken alive, and worse than death for her. Perspiration
burst out upon his face at the thought. No! Great God! not that; he
would kill her himself first. Yet this was the truth, the truth to be
faced. The nearest available troops were at Dodge, a company of
infantry. If they started at once they could never arrive in time to
prevent an attack at daybreak. The Indians undoubtedly knew this,
realized the utter helplessness of their victims, and were acting
accordingly. Otherwise they would never have lighted that fire nor
remained on guard. Moreover if the two of them should succeed in
stealing forth from the shelter of the coach, should skulk unseen amid
the dense blackness of the overhanging bluff, eluding the watchers,
what would it profit in the end? Their trail would be clear; with the
first gray of dawn those savage trackers would be at work, and they
would be trapped in the open, on foot, utterly helpless even to fight.

The man's hands clenched and unclenched about his rifle-barrel in an
agony of indecision, his eyes perceiving the silhouette of the girl
against the lighter arc of sky. No, not that--not that! They must
hide their trail, leave behind no faintest trace of passage for these
hounds to follow. Yet how could the miracle be accomplished? Out from
the mists of tortured memory came, as a faint hope, a dim recollection
of that narrow gully cutting straight down across the trail, over which
the runaway had crashed in full gallop. That surely could not be far
back, and was of sufficient depth to hide them in the darkness. He was
uncertain how far it extended, but at some time it had been a
water-course and must have reached the river. And the river would hide
their trail! A new hope sprang into his eyes. He felt the sudden
straightening up of his body.

"What--what is it?" she questioned, startled. "Do you see anything?