MissCantirestoppedshort，withaprettyflushofcolorandanadorablelaugh。“There！I’vedoneit，soImightaswelltellthewholestory。ButIcantrustyou，Mr。Boyle。“Shefacedhimwithclear，penetratingeyes。“Well，“shelaughedagain，“youmighthavenoticedthatwehadaquantityofbaggageofpassengerswhodidn’tgo？Well，thosepassengersneverintendedtogo，andhadn’tanybaggage！Doyouunderstand？Thoseinnocent-lookingheavytrunkscontainedcarbinesandcartridgesfromourpostforFortTaylor“——shemadehimamischievouscurtsy——“underMYcharge！
And，“sheadded，enjoyinghisastonishment，“asyousaw，Ibroughtthemthroughsafetothestation，andhadthemtransferredtothiscoachwithlessfussandtroublethanacommissarytransportandescortwouldhavemade。“
“AndtheywereinTHIScoach？“repeatedBoyleabstractedly。
“Were？TheyARE！“saidMissCantire。
“ThenthesoonerIgetyoubacktoyourtreasureagainthebetter，“
saidBoylewithalaugh。“DoesFosterknowit？“
“Ofcoursenot！DoyousupposeI’dtellittoanybodybutastrangertotheplace？Perhaps，likeyou，Iknowwhenandtowhomtoimpartinformation，“shesaidmischievously。
WhateverwasinBoyle’smindhehadspaceforprofoundandadmiringastonishmentoftheyoungladybeforehim。Thegirlishsimplicityandtrustfulnessofherrevelationseemedasinconsistentwithhispreviousimpressionofherreserveandindependenceashergirlishreasoningandmannerwasnowdelightfullyatvariancewithhertallness，heraquilinenose，andhererectfigure。Mr。Boyle，likemostshortmen，wasapttooverestimatethequalitiesofsize。
Theywalkedonforsomemomentsinsilence。Theascentwascomparativelyeasybutdevious，andBoylecouldseethatthisnewdetourwouldtakethemstillsometimetoreachthesummit。MissCantireatlastvoicedthethoughtinhisownmind。“Iwonderwhatinducedthemtoturnoffhere？andifyouhadn’tbeensocleverastodiscovertheirtracks，howcouldwehavefoundthem？But，“sheadded，withfemininelogic，“that，ofcourse，iswhytheyfiredthoseshots。“
Boyleremembered，however，thattheshotscamefromanotherdirection，butdidnotcorrectherconclusion。Neverthelesshesaidlightly:“PerhapsevenFostermighthavehadanIndianscare。“
“Heoughttoknow’friendlies’or’governmentreservationmen’
betterbythistime，“saidMissCantire；“however，thereissomethinginthat。Doyouknow，“sheaddedwithalaugh，“thoughI
haven’tyourkeeneyesI’mgiftedwithakeenscent，andonceortwiceI’vethoughtISMELTIndians——thatpeculiarodoroftheircamps，whichisunlikeanythingelse，andwhichonedetectsevenintheirponies。IusedtonoticeitwhenIrodeone；noamountofgroomingcouldtakeitaway。“
“Idon’tsupposethattheintensityordegreeofthisodorwouldgiveyouanyideaofthehostileorfriendlyfeelingsoftheIndianstowardsyou？“askedBoylegrimly。
AlthoughtheremarkwasconsistentwithBoyle’sobjectionablereputationasahumorist，MissCantiredeignedtoreceiveitwithasmile，atwhichBoyle，whowasalittlerelievedbytheirsecuritysofar，andtheirnearnesstotheirjourney’send，developedfurtheringenioustriflinguntil，attheendofanhour，theystoodupontheplainagain。
Therewasnosignofthecoach，butitsfreshtrackwasvisibleleadingalongthebankoftheravinetowardstheintersectionoftheroadtheyshouldhavecomeby，andtowhichthecoachhadindubitablyreturned。Mr。Boyledrewalongbreath。Theywerecomparativelysafefromanyinvisibleattacknow。AttheendoftenminutesMissCantire，fromhersuperiorheight，detectedthetopofthemissingvehicleappearingabovethestuntedbushesatthejunctionofthehighway。
“Wouldyoumindthrowingthoseoldflowersawaynow？“shesaid，glancingatthespoilswhichBoylestillcarried。
“Why？“heasked。
“Oh，they’retooridiculous。Pleasedo。“
“MayIkeepone？“heasked，withthefirstintonationofmasculineweaknessinhisvoice。
“Ifyoulike，“shesaid，alittlecoldly。
Boyleselectedasmallsprayofmyrtleandcasttheotherflowersobedientlyaside。
“Dearme，howridiculous！“shesaid。
“Whatisridiculous？“heasked，liftinghiseyestoherswithaslightcolor。Buthesawthatshewasstraininghereyesinthedistance。
“Why，theredon’tseemtobeanyhorsestothecoach！“
Helooked。Throughagapinthefurzehecouldseethevehiclenowquitedistinctly，standingempty，horselessandalone。Heglancedhurriedlyaroundthem；ontheonesideafewrocksprotectedthemfromthetangledrimoftheridge；ontheotherstretchedtheplain。“Sitdown，don’tmoveuntilIreturn，“hesaidquickly。
“Takethat。“Hehandedbackherpistol，andranquicklytothecoach。Itwasnoillusion；thereitstoodvacant，abandoned，itsdroppedpoleandcuttracesshowingtooplainlythefearfulhasteofitsdesertion！Alightstepbehindhimmadehimturn。ItwasMissCantire，pinkandbreathless，carryingthecockedderringerinherhand。“Howfoolishofyou——withoutaweapon，“shegaspedinexplanation。
Thentheybothstaredatthecoach，theemptyplain，andateachother！Aftertheirtediousascent，theirlongdetour，theirprotractedexpectancyandtheireagercuriosity，therewassuchasuggestionofhideousmockeryinthisvacant，uselessvehicle——
apparentlylefttotheminwhatseemedtheirutterabandonment——
thatitinstinctivelyaffectedthemalike。AndasIamwritingofhumannatureIamcompelledtosaythattheybothburstintoafitoflaughterthatforthemomentstoppedallotherexpression！
“Itwassokindofthemtoleavethecoach，“saidMissCantirefaintly，asshetookherhandkerchieffromherwetandmirthfuleyes。“Butwhatmadethemrunaway？“
Boyledidnotreply；hewaseagerlyexaminingthecoach。Inthatbriefhourandahalfthedustoftheplainhadblownthickuponit，andcoveredanyfoulstainorblotthatmighthavesuggestedtheawfultruth。EventhesoftimprintoftheIndians’moccasinedfeethadbeentrampledoutbythelaterhorsehoofsofthecavalrymen。ItwasthesethatfirstattractedBoyle’sattention，buthethoughtthemthemarksmadebytheplungingofthereleasedcoachhorses。
Notsohiscompanion！Shewasexaminingthemmoreclosely，andsuddenlyliftedherbright，animatedface。“Look！“shesaid；“ourmenhavebeenhere，andhavehadahandinthis——whateveritis。“
“Ourmen？“repeatedBoyleblankly。
“Yes！——troopersfromthepost——theescortItoldyouof。Thesearetheprintsoftheregulationcavalryhorseshoe——notofFoster’steam，norofIndianponies，whoneverhaveany！Don’tyousee？“
shewentoneagerly；“ourmenhavegotwindofsomethingandhavegallopeddownhere——alongtheridge——see！“shewenton，pointingtothehoofprintscomingfromtheplain。“They’veanticipatedsomeIndianattackandsecuredeverything。“
“Butiftheywerethesameescortyouspokeof，theymusthaveknownyouwerehere，andhave“——hewasabouttosay“abandonedyou，“butcheckedhimself，rememberingtheywereherfather’ssoldiers。
“TheyknewIcouldtakecareofmyself，andwouldn’tstandinthewayoftheirduty，“saidtheyounggirl，anticipatinghimwithquickprofessionalpridethatseemedtofitheraquilinenoseandtallfigure。“Andiftheyknewthat，“sheadded，softeningwithamischievoussmile，“theyalsoknew，ofcourse，thatIwasprotectedbyagallantstrangervouchedforbyMr。Foster！No！“sheadded，withacertainblind，devotedconfidence，whichBoylenoticedwithaslightwincethatshehadnevershownbefore，“it’sallright！
and’byorders，’Mr。Boyle，andwhenthey’vedonetheirworkthey’llbeback。“
ButBoyle’smasculinecommonsensewas，perhaps，saferthanMissCantire’sfemininefaithandinheriteddiscipline，forinaninstanthesuddenlycomprehendedtheactualtruth！TheIndianshadbeenthereFIRST；THEYhaddespoiledthecoachandgotoffsafelywiththeirbootyandprisonersontheapproachoftheescort，whowerenownaturallypursuingthemwithafuryarousedbythebeliefthattheircommander’sdaughterwasoneoftheirprisoners。Thisconvictionwasadreadfulone，yetareliefasfarastheyounggirlwasconcerned。Butshouldhetellher？No！Betterthatsheshouldkeephercalmfaithinthetriumphantpromptnessofthesoldiers——andtheirspeedyreturn。
“Idaresayyouareright，“hesaidcheerfully，“andletusbethankfulthatintheemptycoachyou’llhaveatleastahalf-
civilizedshelteruntiltheyreturn。MeantimeI’llgoandreconnoitrealittle。“
“Iwillgowithyou，“shesaid。
ButBoylepointedouttohersostronglythenecessityofherremainingtowaitforthereturnofthesoldiersthat，beingalsofaggedoutbyherlongclimb，sheobedientlyconsented，whilehe，evenwithhisinspirationofthetruth，didnotbelieveinthereturnofthedespoilers，andknewshewouldbesafe。
Hemadehiswaytothenearestthicket，whereherightlybelievedtheambushhadbeenprepared，andtowhichundoubtedlytheyfirstretreatedwiththeirbooty。Heexpectedtofindsomesignsortracesoftheirspoilwhichintheirhastetheyhadtoabandon。Hewasmoresuccessfulthanheanticipated。Afewstepsintothethicketbroughthimfulluponarealizationofmorethanhisworstconvictions——thedeadbodyofFoster！Nearitlaythebodyofthemailagent。Bothhadbeenevidentlydraggedintothethicketfromwheretheyfell，scalpedandhalfstripped。Therewasnoevidenceofanylaterstruggle；theymusthavebeendeadwhentheywerebroughtthere。