All that was savagely animal in the other’s untamed nature flamed into her face.

“He say vat?  Senor Farnham he say vat he do?”

“He said dynamite told no tales, but sometimes killed more than the one intended.”

Mercedes’ hand went to her head as though a pain had smitten her, and she stepped back, half crouching in the glow like a tiger cat.

“He say dat?  De man say dat?  Holy Angels! he vas de bad devil, but he find me de bad devil too.  Ah, now I play him de game, an’ ve see who vin!  De ‘Leetle Yankee,’ eet tree mile, senorita, an’ de road rough, mooch rough, but I know eet—­si, I know eet, an’ ve get dare before de day come; sure ve do eet, bueno.”  She grasped the arm of the other, now fully aroused, her slight form quivering from intense excitement.  “Come, I show you.  See! he vas my pony—­ah! eet makes me to laugh to know de Senor Farnham give him me; now I make him to upset de Senor Farnham. Sapristi! eet vas vat you call de vay of de vorld, de verligig; vas eet not so?  You ride de pony, senorita; I valk an’ lead him—­si, si, you more tired as Mercedes; I danseuse, no tire ever in de legs.  Den I find de vay more easy on foot in de dark, see?  You ride good, hey?  He jump little, maybe, but he de ver’ nice pony, an’ I no let him run.  No, no, de odder vay, senorita, like de man ride.  Poof! it no harm in de dark. Bueno, now ve go to surprise de Senor Farnham.”

She led promptly forth as she spoke, moving with perfect confidence down the irregular trail skirting the bank of the creek, her left hand grasping the pony’s bit firmly, the other shading her eyes as though to aid in the selection of a path through the gloom.  It was a rough, uneven, winding road they followed, apparently but little used, littered with loose stones and projecting roots; yet, after a moment of fierce but useless rebellion, the lively mustang sobered down into a cautious picking of his passage amid the debris, obedient as a dog to the soft voice of his mistress.  The problems of advance were far too complicated to permit of much conversation, and little effort at speech was made by either, the principal thought in each mind being the necessity for haste.

Swaying on the saddleless back of the pony, her anxious gaze on the dimly revealed, slender figure trudging sturdily in front, Beth Norvell began to dread the necessity of again having to meet Winston under such conditions.  What would he naturally think?  He could scarcely fail to construe such action on his behalf as one inspired by deep personal interest, and she instinctively shrank from such revealment, fearing his glance, his word of welcome, his expressions of surprised gratitude.  The awkwardness, the probable embarrassment involved, became more and more apparent as she looked forward to that meeting.  If possible, she would gladly drop out, and so permit the other to bear on the message of warning alone.