“Charmian,” said Mary, “will you kindly remember that it is _my_ ankle that is sprained. I’m running that ankle myself, and whatever I say that has that ankle for a subject goes. This is not the first time that I have been in the wilderness, and a little thing like this doesn’t trouble me in the least. This expedition, foolish though it is, means a lot to you. And I’m not going to allow you to come this far and have to give up because of me. You’ll see this thing to the bitter end or I’ll never move from this country, this cañon, this fireside, or this rock on which I’m sitting. You, and all of you--even old Marblehead--have browbeaten me, bullied me, overrun me since we lost those rascals, Leach and Morley, on the desert. But now at last, because of my sprained ankle, I am in command of the situation. And I mean to be obeyed. You’ll leave me here, with provisions and an ample supply of firewood within arm’s reach, while you continue on to the end of the Bonehead Country. You’re not going to all this expense and deprivation and hardship for nothing. The sky’s still clear. Henry’s late winter seems assured. You may not have another chance in years to even come as far as you have. And you’re going to shoot the piece while you’re about it.” “Why, Mary Temple!” laughed Charmian. “What atrocious slang!” “It’s time for slang,” Mary declared testily. “Shoot the piece!” “But, Mary, it’s perfectly--perfectly _hideous_ to leave you here in this God-forsaken wilderness all alone--and you a woman with a sprained ankle. Neither the doctor nor Andy will consent to such a thing.” “They’ll either go one way and leave me, or go the other way and leave me. This rock on which I’m sitting is my throne, and I won’t move from it until I have my way. I’ll die right here on this rock, I tell you, before I’ll give in one inch!” “But a mountain lion might attack you, Mary Temple!” “Go on! You talk as if I were good to eat! Lions don’t kill for the fun of it; they kill for meat. Only rats eat leather.” Dr. Shonto was regarding her thoughtfully. His examination of her ankle had puzzled him. It was not swelling, and when he felt the bones he had been unable to detect any evidence of sprain whatever. But her contorted features and white lips spoke plainly of pain. Now Mary surprised him by winking at him desperately, and, wondering, he held his peace. “Now all of you but Doctor Shonto go up the cañon, around that bend, and stay there till we call you,” ordered Mary. “Maybe you can talk some sense into one another’s heads. I want the doctor to examine my ankle, and I’m too modest to have the bunch of you staring at me.” With a queer look at Shonto, Charmian led the way up the cañon for Henry and Andy, and they went out of sight around the bend. “Well, Mary, what’s all this about, anyway?” asked the doctor. “You haven’t sprained your ankle, and you know it as well as I do.” “Of course not,” replied Mary complacently. “But I’ve broken at least a couple of ribs.”