Muriel was glad of this, for it kept her mind continually on the alert trying to answer Dora’s questions as to where Bennie and her father were. The young girl, with Bennie’s name upon her lips, constantly kept Muriel in a nervous tremor. Muriel knew well that Pierson intended to kill Dora as soon as he could do so with safety, and she was also well aware of what he intended to do with herself, for she understood his vicious nature as his own mother never had. So Muriel kept always on the alert to watch for John’s murderous intentions, scarcely ate and was afraid to sleep, lest he should come, with his fell determination, and kill them both while asleep. So weary was Dora that she knew nothing of the noise in the bar-room just beneath her. Muriel heard the shots plainly, but, hearing the noisy bursts of laughter, she judged the matter rightly. She knew something of the habits of the rough but good-hearted men in this region. She was much more afraid of John Pierson and his villainous ally, Dopey, than of all the wildest cowboys or miners in the State. Toward dusk Dora opened her eyes, to find Muriel beside her, watching lest she should awaken and try to run away. Dora clung to Muriel as her only friend, and the more helpless she grew, the more Muriel loved her. The conscience that had so long lain dormant or stifled now made its presence known, and the great mystery of an awakening soul was taking place in Muriel. She went over each lawless act of her life in her mind, and with each fresh remembrance she quailed in horror at herself. Now she was like a mother being robbed of her child. John Pierson could not harm Dora without first killing her--on that she was determined. She had given Dora the potion more for the child’s own sake than at John’s orders, for without it Dora might have become violent, and so it would have brought matters to a climax, and one full of danger. Muriel had tried twice to send a telegram to Dora’s father, but had been thwarted, so now all she could do was to watch over her. As a last resort, Muriel resolved, in case of immediate danger, to appeal to the genuine chivalry of the men about. True, John would probably kill her, but what was her wrecked life worth? At least she could save the girl! Dora’s love for Bennie was so innocent and trustful that it touched Muriel immeasurably, and it was still another reason why she must save the child, for so Dora was to this world-weary woman. As Dora awoke, she sat up, saying: “Oh, where did father and Bennie go? They were here just now. Oh, why didn’t you stop them? Oh, I want my father, my good father!” At that moment Dora’s father was being covered comfortably by Shoshone and Loney not one hundred yards from where she was wailing for him. “There, dearie. Don’t worry. We will soon find them. Don’t you want something to eat? You can have a nice, warm supper now in a little while. Come, let me fix your hair and bathe your face and hands.”