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"I was afraid of you," she confided cheerfully.
"Am I so awesome?"
"It's your reputation, you know. You're quite a dragon. I'm told you gobble a new railroad every morning for breakfast."
"'Lissie," her father warned.
"Let her alone," the great man laughed. "Miss Lee is going to give me the privilege of hearing the truth about myself."
"But I'm asking. I don't know what the truth is," she protested.
"Well, what you think is the truth."
"It doesn't matter what we think about you. The important thing to know is what you think about us."
"Am I to tell you what I think of you--with all these young men here?" he countered.
She was excited by her own impudence. The pink had spilled over her creamy cheeks. She flashed a look of pretended disdain at her young men. Nevertheless, she made laughing protest.
"It's not me, but Mesa, that counts," she answered ungrammatically. "Tell me that you're going to help us set orchards blossoming in these deserts, and we'll all love you."
"You offer an inducement, Miss Lee. Come--let us walk up to the Point and see this wonderful country of yours."
She clapped her hands. "Oh, let's! I'm tired of boys, anyhow. They know nothing but nonsense." She made a laughing moue at Flatray, and turned to join the railroad builder.
The young sheriff arose and trailed to his pony. "My marching orders, I reckon."
They walked up the hill together, the great man and the untutored girl. He still carried himself with the lightness of the spare, wiry man who has never felt his age. As for her, she moved as one on springs, her slender, willowy figure beautiful in motion.
"You're loyal to Mesa. Born and brought up there?" West asked Melissy.
"No. I was brought up on the Bar Double G ranch. Father sold it not long since. We're interested in the Monte Cristo mine, and it has done so well that we moved to town," she explained.
At the first bend in the mountain road Jack had turned in his saddle to look at her as she climbed the steep. A quarter of a mile farther up there was another curve, which swept the trail within sight of the summit. Here Flatray pulled up and got out his field glasses. Leisurely the man and the maid came into sight from the timber on the shoulder of the hill, and topped the last ascent. Jack could discern Melissy gesturing here and there as she explained the lay of the land.
Something else caught and held his glasses. Four riders had emerged from a little gulch of dense aspens which ran up the Point toward the summit. One of these had with him a led horse.
"Now, I wonder what that means?" the sheriff mused aloud.
He was not left long in doubt. The four men rode swiftly, straight toward the man and the girl above. One of them swung from the saddle and stepped forward. He spoke to West, who appeared to make urgent protest. The dismounted rider answered. Melissy began to run. Very faintly there came to Flatray her startled cry. Simultaneously he caught the flash of the sun on bright steel. The leader of the four had drawn a revolver and was covering West with it. Instantly the girl stopped running. Plainly the life of the railroad president had been threatened unless she stopped.
The man behind the weapon swept a gesture in the direction of the led horse. Reluctantly West moved toward it, still protesting. He swung to the saddle, and four of the horses broke into a canter. Only the man with the drawn revolver remained on the ground with Melissy. He scabbarded his gun, took a step or two toward her, and made explanations. The girl stamped her foot, and half turned from him.
He laughed, stepped still closer to her, and spoke again. Melissy, with tilted chin, seemed to be unaware that he existed. Another step brought him to her side. Once more he spoke. No stone wall could have given him less recognition. Then Jack let out a sudden fierce imprecation, and gave his pony the spur. For the man had bent forward swiftly, had kissed the girl on the lips once--twice--three times, had swept his hat off in a low, mocking bow, and had flung himself on his horse, and galloped off.
Pebbles and shale went flying from the horse's hoofs as the sheriff tore down the trail toward Melissy. He cut off at an angle and dashed through cactus and over rain-washed gullies at breakneck speed, pounding up the stiff slope to the summit. He dragged his pony to a halt, and leaped off at the same instant.
Melissy came to him with flashing eyes. "Why didn't you get here sooner?" she panted, as if she had been running; for the blind rage was strong in her.
His anger burst out to meet hers. "I wish I had!" he cried, with a furious oath.
"He insulted me. He laughed at me, and taunted me--and kissed me!"
Jack nodded. "I saw. If I had only had my rifle with me! Who was he?"
"He wore a mask. But I knew him. It was Dunc Boone."
"With the Roaring Fork gang?"
"I don't know. Is he one of them?"
"I've been thinking so for years."
"They must have known about our picnic. But what do they want with Mr. West?"
"He's one of the world's richest men."
"But he doesn't carry his money with him."
"He carries his life."
"They must mean to hold him for a ransom. Is that it?"
"You've guessed it. That's the play." Jack considered, his eyes on the far-away hills. When he spoke again it was with sharp decision. "Hit the trail back to town with your motor. Don't lose a minute on the way. Send a dispatch to Bucky O'Connor. You'd ought to get him at Douglas. If not, some of his rangers will know where to reach him. Keep the wires hot till you're in touch with him. Better sign my name. I've been writing him about this outfit. This job is cut out for Bucky, and we've got to get him on it."
"And what are _you_ going to do?"
"I can't do much--I'm not armed. First time I've been caught that way since I've been sheriff. Came out to-day for a picnic and left my gun at home. But if they're the Roaring Fork outfit, they'll pass through the Elkhorn Caon, heading for Dead Man's Cache. I'm going to cut around Old Baldy and try to beat them to it. Maybe I can recognize some of them."
"But if they see you?"
"I ain't aiming to let them see me."
"Still, they may."
His quiet eyes met hers steadily. "Yes, they may."
They were friends again, though he had never fully forgiven her doubt of him. It might be on the cards that some day she would be more to him than a friend. Understanding perfectly the danger of what he proposed, she yet made no protest. The man who would storm her heart must be one who would go the limit, for her standards were those of the outdoor West. She, too, was "game" to the core; and she had never liked him better than she did at this moment. A man must be a man, and take his fighting chance.
"All right, Jack."
Not for years before had she called him by his first name. His heart leaped, but he did not let even his look tell what he was feeling.
"I reckon I'll cut right down from here, Melissy. Better not lose any time getting to town. So-long!" And with that he had swung to the saddle and was off.
Melissy ran swiftly down to the picnic party and cried out her news. It fell upon them like a bolt out of a June sky. Some exclaimed and wondered and deplored; but she was proud to see that her father took instant command, without an unnecessary word.
"They've caught us in swimming, boys! We've got to burn the wind back to town for our guns. Dick, you ride around by the Powder Horn and gather up the boys on the ranch. Get Swain to swing around to the south and comb the lower gulches of the Roaring Fork. Tell him to get in touch with me soon as he can. I'll