He opened the door, paused on the threshold and smiled at her with straight, hard lips. "Braman was--" "Go!" she cried in a frenzy of anxiety; "go!" He laughed mockingly, and looked at her intently. "I suppose I will never understand women. You are my enemy, and yet you give me food and drink and are eager to have me escape your accomplice. Don't you know that this record will ruin him?" "Go, go!" she panted. "Well, you're a puzzle!" he said. She saw him leap into the saddle, and she ran to the lamp, blew out the flame, and returned to the open door, in which she stood for a long time, listening to rapid hoof beats that gradually receded. Before they died out entirely there came the sound of many others, growing in volume and drawing nearer, and she beat her hands together, murmuring: "Run, Nigger--run, run, run!" * * * * * She closed the door as the hoof beats sounded in the yard, locking it and retreating to the foot of the stairs, where Agatha stood. "What does it all mean?" asked the elder woman. She was trembling. "Oh, I don't know," whispered the girl, gulping hard to keep her voice from breaking. "It's something about Trevison's land. And I'm afraid, Aunty, that there is something terribly wrong. Mr. Corrigan says it belongs to him, and the court in Manti has decided in his favor. But according to the record in Trevison's possession, _he_ has a clear title to it." "There, there," consoled Agatha; "your father wouldn't permit--" "No, no!" said the girl, vehemently; "he wouldn't. But I can't understand why Trevison fights so hard if--if he is in the wrong!" "He is a desperado, my dear; a wild, reckless spirit who has no regard for law and order. Of course, if these men are after him, you will tell them he was here!" "No!" said the girl, sharply; "I shan't!" "Perhaps you shouldn't," acquiesced Agatha. She patted the girl's shoulder. "Maybe it would be for the best, dear--he may be in the right. And I think I understand why you went riding with him so much, dear. He may be wild and reckless, but he's a man--every inch of him!" The girl squeezed her relative's hand and went to open the door, upon which had come a loud knock. Corrigan stood framed in the opening. She could see his face only dimly. "There's no occasion for alarm, Miss Benham," he said, and she felt that he could see her better than she could see him, and thus must have discerned something of her emotion. "I must apologize for this noisy demonstration. I believe I'm a little excited, though. Has Trevison passed here within the last hour or so?" "No," she said, firmly. He laughed shortly. "Well, we'll get him. I've split my men up--some have gone to his ranch, the others have headed for Levins' place." "What has happened?"