Then the door was thrown open and Rojerio Rocha stood before them, his sombrero in his hand. “Ah! Señorita Anita is herself again?” he said. “That is well, indeed, for there is not an Indian woman about the place, nor a male servant. They have run away, it seems.” “Run away?” the two women gasped in unison. “Nor is that all. All the Indians employed at the rancho have deserted the buildings and fields and are hurrying toward the cañon near by. ’Tis a well-ordered piece of property I have inherited, it appears.” He laughed and swaggered across the room to a window, to look down into the patio. The women were quick to sense some change in his manner, and again fear gripped their hearts. “Run away?” Señora Vallejo exclaimed again. “What does it mean? There is danger--grave danger? Rojerio Rocha, let us return to the mission immediately. Ah, if you only had listened and had not come!” “Enough of that, _señora_!” he cried, whirling toward them. “Have you forgotten your gentle blood, that you speak in such a tone to a woman?” Anita demanded, sitting up on the bed. “There are times when a woman must be brought to her senses, _señorita_. Allow me to handle this affair in my own way. I am going down into the patio now, and do you both remain in this room until I return. At that time I may have better information to give.” He went out without looking at them again, closed the door behind him, and they heard the bolt shot into place. Anita sprang to her feet and ran across the room to try the door before the beating of the man’s steps had ceased to be heard. It was indeed fastened. “I am beginning to hate him!” the girl exclaimed. “It will be difficult, I fear, to do as my father wished. And I--I am beginning to be afraid. The house is so quiet. Señora Vallejo, can you hear Indians shrieking in the distance?” “I have heard them for some time,” the _señora_ replied. “We have walked into a trap, I fear.” “Why do the men not start to return to the mission immediately? Señor Lopez and the four soldiers surely can guard us well, and one of them ride ahead for help if we need it.” “It may be possible,” said the _señora_, “that the Indians have run away merely because they fear punishment for the killing of their overseers.” But she said it merely to allay the girl’s fears, not because she believed it. There was a clatter of hoofs at the end of the patio, and the two women hurried across to the window in time to see Señor Lopez and the four soldiers dash away. They turned to the right toward the cañon, and the women could watch them no longer; and so they stood before the window and looked down into the patio, awaiting the return, watching Rojerio Rocha as he paced back and forth beside the fountain, now fumbling at the hilt of his sword, now pulling at the pistol in his belt, always with head bent and a scowl on his handsome face.