“Oh, Mac, you blessed boy!” cried Helen, with an hysterical laugh that was half a sob. “How did you ever find me?” “Followed the track of the gas wagon to where it ran out of juice. We lost your trail after that, but Denver and me had the good luck to pick it up again where y’u’d camped that night. We mislaid it again up in the hills, and Denver he knew about this place. We dropped in just casual for information, but when we set our peepers on Judd we allowed we would stay awhile, him being so anxious to have us.” “You dear boys! I’m so glad! You don’t know,” she sobbed, dropping weakly into thes nearest chair. “We can guess, ma’am,” her foreman answered grimly, his eyes on Bannister.” And if either of these scoundrels have treated y’u so they need their light put out all y’u have got to do is to say so.” “No, no, Mac. Let us go away from here and leave them. Can’t we go now—this very minute?” The foreman’s eyes found those of Denver and the latter nodded. Neither of them had had a bite to eat since the previous evening, and they were naturally ravenous. “All right. We’ll go right now, ma’am. Denver, I’ll take care of these beauties while y’u step into the pantry with Mrs. Lo-the-poor-Indian and put up a lunch. Y’u don’t want to forget we’re hungry enough to eat the wool off a pair of chaps.” “I ain’t likely to forget it, am I?” grinned Denver, as he rose. “You poor boys! I know you are starved. I’ll see about the lunch if one of you will get the I horses round,” Helen broke in. “Only let us hurry and get away from here.” Ten minutes later they were in the saddle. For the sake of precaution Mac walked two of his captives with them for about a mile before releasing them. Bannister, unable to travel, they left behind. “We’ll get down out of the hills and then cut acrost to the Meeker ranch,” said McWilliams, after they had ridden forward a few miles. “I’ll telephone from there to Slauson’s and have the old man send a boy over to the Lazy D with the good word. We’ll get an early start from Meeker’s and make it home in the afternoon.” “How did you leave Mr. Bannister?” asked Helen, in a carefully careless voice. She had held back this question for nearly an hour till Denver, who was guiding the party, had passed out of earshot. “Left him with two of the boys holding him down. He was plumb anxious to commit suicide by joining the hunt for y’u, but I had other thoughts,” grinned Mac. She felt herself flushing in the darkness. “We’ve made a great mistake about him, Mac, It’s his cousin of the same name that is the desperado—the man we just left.” “Yes, that’s what Judd let out before y’u and the King arrived. It made me plumb glad to my gizzard to hear it.” “I was pleased, too.” “Somehow I suspicioned that,” he made answer, with banter in his dry tones. “Of course I would be glad to know that he is not a villain,” she defended. “Sure!” “Well, one doesn’t like to think that a friend——” “He’s your friend, is he?” chuckled Mac.