"That will be decided, of course," she said. "You will be protected, if necessary. You acted in self-defense. They all will swear to that and back you up." "But you?" I asked, arousing from this unmanly despair which played me for a weakling. "You must be protected also. You can't go to that other camp, can you?" She laughed and withdrew her hand; laughed hardly, even scornfully. "I? Above all things, don't concern yourself about me, please. I shall take care of myself. He is out of the way. You have freed me of that much, Mr. Beeson, whether intentionally or not. And you shall be free, yourself, to act as your friends advise. You must leave me out of your plans altogether. Yes, I know; you killed him. Why not? But he wasn't a man; he was a wild animal. And you'll find there are matters more serious than killing even a man, in this country." "You! You!" I insisted. "You shall be looked out for. We are partners in this. He used your name; he made that an excuse. We shall have to make some new arrangements for you--put you on the stage as soon as we can. And meanwhile----" "There is no partnership, and I shall require no looking after, sir," she interrupted. "If you are sorry that you killed him, I am not; but you are entirely free." The group at the edge of the fire circle dissolved. Jenks came and seated himself upon his hams, beside us. "Wall, how you feelin' now?" he questioned of me. "I'm myself again," said I. "Your arm won't trouble you. Jest a flesh wound. There's nothin' better than axle grease. And you, ma'am?" "Perfectly well, thank you." "You're the coolest of the lot, and no mistake," he praised admiringly. "Wall, there'll be no more fracas to-night. Anyhow, the boys'll be on guard ag'in it; they're out now. You two can eat and rest a bit, whilst gettin' good and ready; and if you set out 'fore moon-up you can easy get cl'ar, with what help we give you. We'll furnish mounts, grub, anything you need. I'll make shift without Frank." "Mounts!" I blurted, with a start that waked my arm to throbbing. "'Set out,' you say? Why? And where?" "Anywhar. The stage road south'ard is your best bet. You didn't think to stay, did you? Not after that--after you'd plugged a Mormon, the son of the old man, besides! We reckoned you two had it arranged, by this time." "No! Never!" I protested. "You're crazy, man. I've never dreamed of any such thing; nor Mrs. Montoyo, either. You mean that I--we--should run away? I'll not leave the train and neither shall she, until the proper time. Or do I understand that you disown us; turn your backs upon us; deliver us over?"