If she argued that she was misled by Blount and his associates, he had warned her before she left; and if she had thought that he was doing her an injustice, that was not the way to correct it. She had accepted a trust and she had broken that trust to gain a personal profit--and that was the unpardonable sin. He could have excused her if she had weakened or made some mistake, but she had betrayed him deliberately and willfully; and as he sat off by himself, mulling it over in his mind, his eyes became stern and hard. For the killing of Stiff Neck George he had no regrets, and the treachery of Blount did not surprise him; but he had given this woman his heart to keep and she had sold him for fifty thousand dollars. All the rest became as nothing but this wound refused to heal, for he had lost his faith in womankind. Had he loved her less, or trusted her less, it would not have rankled so deep; but she had been his one woman, whose goings and comings he watched for, and all the time she was playing him false. He sat silent one morning in the cool shade of a wild grapevine, jerking the meat of a mountain sheep that he had killed; and as he worked mechanically, shredding the flesh into long strips, he watched the lower trail. Ten days had gone by since he had fled across the Valley, but the danger of pursuit had not passed and, as he saw a great owl that was nesting down below rise up blindly and flop away he paused and reached for his gun. "Never mind," said the Colonel who had noticed the movement. "I expect an old Indian in with grub. But step into the cave and if it's who you think it is you can count on me till the hair slips." Wiley stepped in quietly, strapping on his belt and pistol, and then the Colonel burst into a roar. "It's Charley," he cried, leaping nimbly to his feet and putting up his gun. "Come on, boy--here's where we get that drink!" Wiley looked out doubtfully as Heine rushed up and sniffed at the pans of meat, and then he ducked back and hid. Around the shoulder of the cliff came Death Valley Charley; but behind him, on a burro, was Virginia. He looked out again as the Colonel swore an oath and then she leapt off and ran towards them. "Oh--_Father_!" she cried and hung about his neck while the astonished Colonel kissed her doubtfully. "Well, well!" he protested as she fell to weeping, "what's the cause of all this distress? Is your mother not well, or----" "We--we thought you were _dead_!" she burst out indignantly, "and Charley there knew--all the time!" She let go of her father and turned upon Death Valley Charley, who was solicitously attending to Heine, and the Colonel spoke up peremptorily. "Here, Charley!" he commanded, "let that gluttonous cur wait. What's this I hear from Virginia? Didn't you tell her I was perfectly well?" "Why--why yes, sir; I did, sir," replied Charley, apologetically, "but--she only thought I was crazy. I told her, all the time----"