"It will end there, for then I will prove my reformation: I will protect you, and that poor fellow for whom you will have to pay ransom. When I do, I believe I will be able to return your gold, paid in ransom, to you again. "But, whether I do or not, you will go your way free, and Brandon also, and I will prove that you have reformed me, that my loving you has made me a different man. Now I cannot, will not say more; but remember that through all I will secretly be your friend, though openly appearing as your guard and enemy." "I thank you, and I will trust you," and stepping forward, Celeste Seldon held forth her hand. The man put forth his own, as though to grasp it, then hesitated, and said: "No, I will prove my reformation, my friendship, before I touch you with my crime-stained hand. I will call you at an early hour," and turning abruptly, the outlaw lover of Celeste Seldon walked away. Resuming her seat, the young girl became lost in thought, while Andrew Seldon, as we shall still call him, after gazing at her for a few moments in silence, turned away from his hiding-place, and crept cautiously back to where he had left his game and rifle. He knew that his comrade would be most anxious about him, yet he determined to remain there for the night, and see the departure in the morning. He would then know just how many outlaws went with Celeste Seldon as a guard, and how many remained. So he made himself as comfortable as possible, and sank to sleep, to awake an hour before dawn and see the camp-fires burning brightly. Creeping to the safest point of observation, from which he could retreat unseen after daylight, should any of the outlaws remain in their camp, he waited for developments. He had not long to wait before he saw a party approaching on horseback. There was one in the lead, and as he came within a few yards of where he lay, Andrew Seldon recognized the outlaw officer, Wolf. He held a lariat in his hand that was attached to the bit of the horse following, and upon which was mounted Celeste Seldon. In the dim gray of early dawn, Seldon saw that the eyes of Celeste were blindfolded, and her hands rested in her lap, as though bound. Behind her came, in single file, five outlaws, and like their leader, they were masked. Bringing up the rear were a couple of packhorses well laden. The party passed on, and then Andrew Seldon turned his attention to the outlaw camp, in which several of the men had been left. Having discovered this, Seldon then crept cautiously back, picked up his rifle and game, and started off at a double-quick for his own camp, anxious to relieve his pard's anxiety regarding him, and to tell him all that he had discovered. A man of great endurance, he made a rapid run to his home, and did not feel it in the least. He found Lucas Langley just starting off on a search for him, and the welcome he received was a sincere one. "How glad I am to see you, Pard Seldon. Surely you were not lost?" he said.