“Mercedes, we’ve planned to outwit Rojas.  Will you tell us just what he wrote?”

The girl sat up, her eyes dilating, and with her hands clasping Thorne’s.  She said: 

“Rojas swore—­by his saints and his virgin—­that if I wasn’t given—­to him—­in twenty-four hours—­he would set fire to the village—­kill the men—­carry off the women—­hang the children on cactus thorns!”

A moment’s silence followed her last halting whisper.

“By his saints an’ his virgin!” echoed Ladd.  He laughed—­a cold, cutting, deadly laugh—­significant and terrible.

Then the Yaqui uttered a singular cry.  Gale had heard this once before, and now he remembered it was at the Papago Well.

“Look at the Indian,” whispered Belding, hoarsely.  “Damn if I don’t believe he understood every word Mercedes said.  And, gentlemen, don’t mistake me, if he ever gets near Senor Rojas there’ll be some gory Aztec knife work.”

Yaqui had moved close to Mercedes, and stood beside her as she leaned against her husband.  She seemed impelled to meet the Indian’s gaze, and evidently it was so powerful or hypnotic that it wrought irresistibly upon her.  But she must have seen or divined what was beyond the others, for she offered him her trembling hand.  Yaqui took it and laid it against his body in a strange motion, and bowed his head.  Then he stepped back into the shadow of the room.

Belding went outdoors while the rangers took up their former position at the west window.  Each had his own somber thoughts, Gale imagined, and knew his own were dark enough.  A slow fire crept along his veins.  He saw Belding halt at the corrals and wave his hand.  Then the rebels mounted and came briskly up the road, this time to rein in abreast.

Wherever Rojas had kept himself upon the former advance was not clear; but he certainly was prominently in sight now.  He made a gaudy, almost a dashing figure.  Gale did not recognize the white sombrero, the crimson scarf, the velvet jacket, nor any feature of the dandy’s costume; but their general effect, the whole ensemble, recalled vividly to mind his first sight of the bandit.  Rojas dismounted and seemed to be listening.  He betrayed none of the excitement Gale had seen in him that night at the Del Sol.  Evidently this composure struck Ladd and Lash as unusual in a Mexican supposed to be laboring under stress of feeling.  Belding made gestures, vehemently bobbed his big head, appeared to talk with his body as much as with his tongue.  Then Rojas was seen to reply, and after that it was clear that the talk became painful and difficult.  It ended finally in what appeared to be mutual understanding.  Rojas mounted and rode away with his men, while Belding came tramping back to the house.

As he entered the door his eyes were shining, his big hands were clenched, and he was breathing audibly.