"They'll not pass till afternoon," he muttered, "and I may as well rest a few hours while I can in peace and safety." He took a long and curious look at the form of his sleeping traveling companion, and a strange smile flitted over his face, as he muttered: "A mystery, but I can solve it." CHAPTER XI. IN THE WILDS. If ever a man was astonished, when he responded to that after midnight signal at the mouth of Dead Man's Hollow, it was the outlaw, Persimmon Bill. He came from his place of concealment expecting to meet the Texan with news, and found instead Addie Neidic, and with her, on a pack horse, all the wealth and apparel she had in the world. "Addie, love, what does this mean?" he cried, as she sprang from the horse and threw herself into his arms. "It means this, Bill. I have come to stay with you, go where you go, live as you live, and die where you die!" "Addie, dearest, did I not tell you to wait till I could give you a home in peace and quietness!" "Yes, Bill, but there were those that would not let me wait. To-night, had it not been for thy Texan friend, most likely I would have been murdered by a mob of drunken ruffians led on by Wild Bill. Warned in time, I escaped with all that I had worth saving, except my house and furniture. Those they burned; I saw the blaze from my stable, where I went to get my horses to come to you." "By all that's fiendish, this is more than I can bear! I'll ride in with my Sioux and burn the cursed town!" "No, Bill; for my sake keep cool and hear me. I am glad it is done. I was wretched and lonely there--how lonely no words may tell. I was in constant anxiety on your account. I trembled daily, hourly, lest I should hear of your death or capture. Now I shall be with you, know of your safety, or if you are in peril, share the danger with you." "But, Addie, you can never endure the privations and the fatigue of such a life as I must lead at present. Soon I must be on a bloody war-path. We will have regular troops to meet, great battles to fight." "And it will be my glory and pride to be with you in all your perils--to show your red allies what a pale-faced woman dares and can do for him whom she loves." "Dearest, I see not how it can be helped. But I grieve to see you suffer."