"Stick 'em up!" The command rang with a metallic hardness in the rock-walled coulee, and Bat's hands flew upward. From the rear Endicott saw that the man who barred the way was squat, bow-legged, and bearded, and that he held a gun in either hand. For one sickening instant he thought of Alice in the power of this man, and reckless of consequences, he forced his horse to the fore. "Damn you!" he cried leaning forward in the saddle, "where's my wife?" Old Bat cried out a warning, and then stared in surprise at the man on the ground who was returning his guns to their holsters, and grinning as he did it. "Damn me, where's your wife?" repeated the man, "ain't that a kind of a rough way, pardner, to ask a question of a stranger? Or mebbe you're jest na'chelly rough, an' can't help it." The metallic hardness was gone from the voice. Endicott noticed that a tuft of hair stuck through a hole in the crown of the man's hat, and that upon close inspection the bearded face had lost its look of villainy. "But--my wife!" he persisted, "you brought her here! She----" "Not me," interrupted the man, "I didn't bring her nowheres. An' besides she ain't here." "Where is she? And who did bring her! Speak up, man!" "She's safe enough. You don't need to worry about her. She's over to Cinnabar Joe's ranch on Red Sand. Purdy took her there yesterday." "Purdy!" shouted Endicott, "do you mean the Purdy that----" "Yup," interrupted the other, "the Purdy that you took a shot at a year ago an' creased. Why in hell couldn't you of shot a half an inch lower that night?" "How do you know she's safe?" cried Endicott. "How do you know he ever took her there? I wouldn't trust Purdy out of my sight!" "You an' me both," grinned the man, "an', I didn't. I trailed along from the time they hit the bad lands till he delivered her at the ranch. He's after the reward an' he had to keep her safe." "But the people at the ranch--this Cinnabar Joe?" "Ace high all around--the breed, there, he knows 'em." "How did Purdy know about the reward?" "Long Bill Kearney, he brung the bills along." "Long Bill! He's another fine specimen! She's not safe as long as those two scoundrels are at large. Where are they now? And where's Tex?" "Well, Long Bill, he's quite a piece away from the bad lands by now. I 'spect he wishes he was back--but he won't come back. An' Purdy, he's prob'ly wishin', by now, that he'd listened to me. God knows, I tried to make a horse-thief out of him, but it wasn't no use--he's crooked. An' Tex, he's busy an' don't want to be disturbed." "Busy?" "Yup. Busy killin' some folks--Purdy an' some others. I wanted he should let me an' Bill Harlow go 'long an' help--but he wouldn't. Said he wanted to settle with Purdy hisself." "Who are you?" "Me? I'm Cass Grimshaw." "Ha!" cried Bat, climbing from the saddle, "A'm lak A'm shake you han'. A'm know 'bout you. You de bes' hoss-t'ief in Montana, _sacre_! Me--A'm Batiste Xavier Jean Jacques de Beaumont Lajune----"