Bloom of Cactus

hardly turn over. Yet his strength had in good part returned to him,

on his wounded hand and the arm above. Under the cloth was an aromatic resinous salve. He next discovered that

towel and a change of coarse, but clean clothes. On the clean-swept floor were

y as an Englishman and felt as ravenous as a wolf. Elsie was alone in

iled. "Glad I'm just

ide blue eyes to him in

d I hustled," she replied. "But

rly as

yesterday and all night and all morning

out the

e has his tizwin spells, and

elette and fried chicken, cream cheese, salad, cornbread and honey that she set before him.

a was asleep, and I dassn't go down to the goats alone. Cochise has come back

red devils are

irl c

aring. I lowered a whole basketful of pies to them. Carmena is getti

d news," ra

long enough to notice that Elsie was wearing a fresh pre

me-or something like that? Why not sit

r hands together in

act to a brother. Sisters are different. They kiss each other-someti

ce, she perched on t

so much nicer

ope so-a wi

he's never been sent up. They caught him only once. But Dad got him off. Dad's a lawyer, you kn

im to help her father and sister. He

ou prisoners, here in the Hole, are they? Yet Carme

g blue eye

of Cochise. Besides, the Hole is Dad's ranch. He won't give it up and Slade keep

ng in a plac

lders, Dad says. We con-conduct a stock exchange.

ghtenment to Lennon. He w

deal in cattl

e, screwing up her luscious little mouth o

the truth. But the girl's though

d them with the tizwin. She says that's all it's good for. I never knew her to cry before. But you were to

rst made Carmena comfortable and then, with innocent concern for him

one of her plump, capable lit

f you, Elsie, to ca

hild beamed at

! I just knew I'd like you, t

oked like a dying t

honey and cuddlier than a kitten. He felt tempte

atinee idol, just how much mor

ose, Mena set Cochise on him 'cause he wanted me to go away to live with him-like Slade. They filled him up with tizwin and lef

n sti

e parties to such an outrage-that they helped to

ght him. He was a bad cowman. He wanted to bring his bunch and shoot up the

nnon, certain th

ot mentioned any proposal of marriage. Whatever the lawlessness of Farley's Indian associates, they had apparently put the guilty

the unknown Slade was by no means satisfactory. Farley feared his associates

iles from the railway. Why had she not galloped to the nearest station and led a sheriff's

that the girl had acted as a decoy to lure him into this ill-omened Dead Hole? She had

e been a sham. But she may very well have had an arrangement with the renegades to lure a victim into the Basin; and th

ed innocent little Elsie. The Apaches admittedly were renegades. The absent Slade had been mentioned by no means favourably. Farley was far from preposses

hair with an appearanc

le, Elsie?" he asked. "With smokeless powde

nded that you might become per-perturbed and commit an assault with a deadly weapon. He and Me

ol indifference, stepped out after her into the long, bare anteroom who

e lintel. Lennon followed Elsie to the side of the doorway opposite Farley. The lawyer-ranchman appeared to cringe

ad seated herself upon a Navaho rug and was leaning forward to look over the cliff, with her hands on the sillstone at the brink. Down below Lenn

ena gazed over at her late pursuers with serene fearlessness. Her rich co

e begun to cool off. Qui

gutturals and hissings. Carmena flun

rican, and so will you-- And you'll

hed its snapping point. She frowned and started to draw back. The voice b

said you catch

o the Hole, and I have done it. Any

an angry shout. "You kn

rgotten how Dad had to get you loose? Don't you see you've got to keep on playing the game our

t a heap

sed it. He stood up full of Gila monster poison and got away from you-threw you off his trail-t

d silence. Carmena smiled and tossed down

l all have a share of corn. A man who could fool and out-game you wouldn't ma

n, I wait," bargaine

ith anger. She hurled d

e says about that and about your running me across the Basin. Yo

thick-tongued Apache words. The dispute at last ended in a sullen mutter from below and a sudden thudding of hoofs. The

th a look of profound relief. At sight of Len

fe from the bunch till Slade returns-only none o

negade Apaches, and Slade as well, probably were bad men. Farley no doubt was in with them. But he appeared to be an unwilling

is hand to linger

h better," he repli

ght before Slade gets back. You heard me b

he room, gray-faced and tre

red," he quavered.

romised Carmena. "Remember what you a

udden rekindlin

ain all this about a p

the girl. She drew close t

ome in with the bunch. My idea is to bring about a split between Slade and Cochise. We'll th

by your father. I wo

Jack's rifle,"

moments the missing rifle was thrust out to her. She brought it to Carmena, who handed it

ker of suspic