design, his rifle was pointed at the speaker. His mouth was twisted in an insolent sneer.
'Best think again,' he said. 'This is where you fade out o' the picture. You've hazed us long enough, an' we've put up with it 'cause we knowed this moment would come. Yeah, I was yore dawg, to pat or kick, as you pleased, a damn fool you could use, but I had this planned when I come to Wayside an' you've been workin' for me, Paul Lesurge. Savvy?' For a moment, Lesurge did not; the unexpectedness of the event dazed him. He was the master, and the possibility of a mutiny had never occurred to his autocratic mind. Fagan, a mere animal . Gradually the realization of his position seeped into his bewildered brain. He was helpless; if he attempted to punish the traitor, the others would kill him. He had been mad indeed to put himself at the mercy of these scoundrels. No wonder they had shown no sign of gratitude when he promised them Hank's share. He smothered his rising rage and steeled himself to speak calmly:
'Fagan, we have been friends a long time, and I have always trusted you and your companions
'To do yore dirty work,' Lem interjected.
'For which I paid well,' Paul replied. 'After the coach affair, for example, I handed Fagan a considerable sum to be divided amongst you.' It was a complete fabrication, designed to sow dissension, but it brought black looks for the new leader from the other three.
'That's an infernal lie,' Fagan cried. 'You never gave me a cent--said you were broke.' Paul shrugged. 'I can't prove it, of course,' he admitted. 'But have you thought of this? If Green and his gang have worked the mine out, you get nothing, for you lose the amount I promised to pay in any case.'
'Hell, we're takin' the chance,' Fagan answered. He knew the persuasive power of Paul's tongue, and trusted his cronies not at all. 'If the mine's as good as Snowy made out, them hombres can't 'a' more'n scratched it.'
'The old fool was apt to exaggerate,' Lesurge argued. 'Look here, boys; I'm prepared to share equally--cut it up five ways.'
'Now ain't that generous?' Fagan sneered. 'But you was allus great at givin' away what warn't your'n, Paul. Now I'll make you a present--the gal. I had notions 'bout her myself once, but she's too milk an' water, an' she'd on'y be a burden.' He backed towards his pony, finger on trigger, and, settled in the saddle, uttered a final jeer: 'I've got yore rifle, Paul, case you should be searchin' for it. Give my respec's to yore wife--she's more of a man than you'll ever be. Adios, an'--damn you.' With mocking salutations they rode off, leaving one whom fury had bereft of reason. In the very instant of victory he had not only lost all but had been outplayed and derided by one he had always despised--a 'blunt instrument.' He, Paul Lesurge, the polished, clever man of the great world, defeated by--Fagan! More than the loss of the gold, that thought maddened him, and for a space he gave rein to a blind rage. With upraised clenched fists and body shaking with the violence of his passion, he cursed the men who had bested him. And then he stopped suddenly, his wild gaze on the Rocking Stone.
'By God, I'll teach them,' he almost shouted, and ran to a pile of packages the rebels had left behind.
The prisoners heard his low yelp of exultation, watched him cram something into his pocket, and then he came towards them.
'You'll go with me,' he said to the girl.
Snowy stood up, determination on his seamed face. 'You'll remain here,' Paul said.
'I'm keepin' with Mary,' was the dogged reply.
Lesurge turned fiercely upon him. 'You heard that whelp Fagan talk down to me and think you can do the same, eh?' he grated.
From beneath the breast of his coat he drew a revolver and raised it. Mary gasped and made a movement to interpose, but the gleaming barrel swept swiftly up and down. Under that fell blow, the old man crumpled and dropped, blood oozing from an ugly gash on his brow.
'You coward!' Mary cried. 'You have killed him.'
'Merely stunned, I'm afraid,' he returned callously. 'Come.'
'I will not,' she panted.
His smile was hateful. 'Are you so anxious to be in my arms?' he asked.
With dragging feet and a heart of lead she followed; any thing rather than he should lay hands on her. Through the belt of pines and along the cliff-wall they went. Presently they reached the level of the slope and he warned her to keep out of sight. Down in the mine below four dwarfed figures were hard at work. Lesurge surveyed them with scorn.
'Not even sense enough to set a guard,' he muttered. 'If the others came back ... ' A possibility occurred to him. 'By heaven, I wish they would.' Herding his captive in front of him, and taking care they could not be seen, he climbed to the Rocking Stone. He need not have worried about the men below, they were finding gold and had no eyes for anything else. With a rifle, he could have destroyed them one by one, but they had drawn his teeth--as they believed. A satanic smile wreathed his lips at the thought.'You should have lulled me, friend Fagan,' he mocked.
Breathless and exhausted, Mary slumped on a bench of stone, watched with weary, hopeless eyes. He was on his knees beneath the mighty rock, busy with some objects he had taken from the pockets of his long coat, burying them under a packed heap of rubble and dust. She knew that he was mad, but could not fathom his purpose. After a while he rose, contemplating his work with evil satisfaction. He looked again at the men below, toiling feverishly, oblivious to all else.
'If only Green would come the coup would be complete,' he muttered.
His desire was granted, but not as he had hoped for; the cowboy was climbing towards him, and further down, his friends followed. After obtaining their horses, they had blundered into Snowy, still half-dazed by the blow he had received, but able to tell them what had happened.
'Lora Lesurge his wife?' Gerry ejaculated. 'The damned hound.' He glanced at Sudden, but that young man's face expressed no emotion whatever; he appeared to be entirely engrossed with the present.
'We gotta get the girl--that comes first,' he decided. 'Point is, where to search?' The old man could not help them, but Gerry, gazing hopelessly around, uttered a cry:
'There's someone up on the Rockin' Stone.'
'Reckon it's Paul,' Snowy surmised. 'The men went to the mine--all of 'em.' Sudden led the way, and the big black soon outdistanced the other horses. When the incline became too acute, he slid from the saddle, trailed the reins, and began to climb.
His appearance on the scene drew an oath of disappointment from Paul's lips. Mary saw him stoop, strike a match and light something; then he straightened up and clutched her arm.
'Hurry,' he ordered.
She tried to free herself. 'No, I won't go--I am tired--I cannot,' she pleaded.
'You little fool, it's death to stay here,' he raged, and clenching his fist, struck her pitilessly on the temple. With a snarl of a wild beast, he flung the limp, senseless form over a shoulder, and made for the ledge he had noticed on his first visit to the place.
It was at this moment that Sudden, who had reached the slope which faced the mine, caught a glimpse of him, and as he appeared to be heading tor the tar side of the hill, decided that to cross the slope would save a few precious seconds.
He was no more than half way when a deafening explosion boomed out above his head and he saw the great stone leave its base and bend over towards him; for a fraction of a moment it seemed to hover in the air before crashing down on the hillside. Sudden, directly in its path, knew that only a miracle of speed could prevent his being pounded to pulp in that awful mill. With desperate leaps he strove to reach the other side of the incline, one mis- step on the slippery surface of which spelt quick but agonizing death. The growl of the oncoming avalanche drummed in his ears, growing louder, but he dared not even look--his eyes were all for the spots where he must set his feet. Pebbles and small rocks, forerunners of the annihilation to come, hurled past and over him.
The ground shook as with an earthquake and the rolling thunder was very near when, with bursting lungs, he forced his aching muscles to a final effort and flung himself headlong on to a strip of grass. A boulder, weighing at least a ton, leapt over his supine body, and a second later, with a horrible grating, ripping roar, the mighty mass which had been the Rocking Stone swept by, only a few feet from where he lay.
Down in the mine, he could see four fear-stricken figures frantically striving to reach the exit, and knew--from experience--that they were doomed. Breathlessly he saw the wave of stone hit the lip of the hollow, rear up, split, and hurl itself forward to fall with dull grinding crashes. They ceased, and all that remained of the hollow was a welter of jagged granite, resembling the surface of a tiny tempestuous sea suddenly frozen into stillness. From it a
