'I must get back,' she interrupted hurriedly. 'Even now, uncle may be needing me.'
He let her go without demur--it would be a calamity if the enemy learned the secret first--but his expression, when she had turned, was anything but that of an adoring lover.
A week passed, spent by the Circle Dot in a continuance of the search. The gorge had been gone over with a fine-tooth comb, and every foot of the floor of the cavern probed, but beneath the layer of sand only rock was encountered. The task appeared to be hopeless, yet they persevered.
The condition of Trenton had improved, the wound was beginning to heal, and his pulse was stronger. Between long spells of sleep, he would lie like a log, gazing vacantly intc the vaulted roof. He knew no one, and uttered no sound Beth, watching constantly by the bedside, earned the admira tion of all, save Dan, for her devotion.
'Got the right stuff in her, that gal,' Tiny remarked. 'Ii she hadn't enough to do a'ready, I'd fall sick my own self.'
'We'd have ter send fer th' school-marm then,' york) grinned, and then went in pursuit of his hat, which had beer sent spinning across the cave.
Malachi was optimistic. 'He's better in body, but doesn't seem to get his wits back,' he reported to Dover.
'If he don't, it looks like a stalemate for all of us,' the young man said despondently. 'That damned banker will sell us out.'
'Well, the Wagon-wheel can't buy anyway. What has become of Garstone and company?'
'They're around. He sneaks up the gorge every night, an' the girl goes to talk with him. They think they're puttin' one over on me.'
'Aren't you a trifle hard on her, Dan?' Malachi suggested. 'She's having a middling rocky time and standing up to it well.'
The rancher laughed ironically. 'Do you know why she offered to nuss that of crook? Not because he's a relative, but to get a line either from him or us, on where to look for the dollars. So far, she's had nothin' but failure to report to her--boss.'
'If that's so, Garstone has lied to, and is using her,' the doctor asserted. 'The girl is not mercenary.'
Late that evening, with only the stars to light her path, Beth slid noiselessly out of the cave and crept through the bushes to meet Garstone. He was there, and greeted her with outstretched arms, but she recoiled.
'I must hurry,' she whispered. 'I believe Dover suspects we are meeting. Thank Heaven, this may be the last time I need come here.'
In the excitement her words caused, he forgot the rebuff. 'You have news--at last?'
'Yes, my uncle spoke, to-day, when we were alone,' she replied. 'Only two sentences, but they may supply the clue.'
'Quick, tell me, girl; at any moment we might be disturbed.' In his anxiety, the mask of culture he affected slid aside, and she saw the gleam of covetousness in his eyes, heard it in his husky voice. At that moment she knew that she was nothing to him but the bearer of tidings which might make him rich.
'His speech was faint, and very slow, like that of one trying to remember,' she said. ' The--cave--of--the-- bats.' There are hundreds of them over our heads. Then, after a long pause,he went on, `The--finger--of--the-- ages--points--thespot.' '
'And that was all?' His disappointment was patent. 'He has not said anything more.'
'The devil, it only sets us another problem. The cave is probably the right one, though there may be others with bats in them, but what does finger of the ages mean? Has the place any unusual feature?'
Beth strove to visualize her prison. She was weary of the daily and nightly vigil, sick of the whole sordid business. 'It contains many stalactites, hanging from the roof like great fingers--'
'By the Lord, you've got it, girl,' he burst in. 'Fingers of the ages--the products of millions of years. It will be under one of them, but which? Surely the longest or largest; we'll find it.'
'Don't be too sanguine,' she warned. 'Dover and his men have scanned every foot--the floor is rock.'
He laughed confidently. 'Never fear; with the tip you've given us, it'll be easy. Now, cut along back, in case of accidents. By the way, what sort of guard do they keep?'
'They take turn, in pairs, through the night. What do you intend to do?'
'No plans yet, but be prepared for quick action,' he said briskly. 'We'll have you free, pronto, as these barbarians put it.'
With scant ceremony, he left her, and as she returned to the cave her thoughts were not of the pleasantest. Without being yet in love with the man, his bigness, good looks, and evident knowledge of the world had made that an undoubted possibility. He had put the money first, and herself second in the night's enterprise, and she knew that was how they ranked in his mind. The fact disturbed her. Creeping along under the cliff, she reached the entrance to the camp, and stole through. Her patient was asleep, and four recumbent forms round the fire showed that all save the sentries had turned in. With a sigh of relief, she followed their example, and, despite her anxiety, slept soundly.
Chapter XIX
Garstone drove his horse hard in his haste to deliver the good
news to his companions. They had been difficult to control
for the past week, though he had made it clear that, in consequence of Bundy's blunder, patience was their only policy. Lake had been the principal objector.
'Drive 'em out'n their camp an' we got as good a chance as they have,' he argued. 'While we're messin' about here, they may find the stuff an' light out.'
'My information is that they're no nearer success than when they started,' Garstone had retorted, and as the other three supported this view, he won his way. And now he could enjoy his triumph.
He must tell them, for he needed their assistance, but when it came to a division of the spoils, he saw breakers ahead. His brow became furrowed as he dwelt on the problem. Their idea was equal shares--as much had been said--and the very thought of it filled him with rage. He found himself regretting his cavalier treatment of the foreman, but the fellow was an ignorant boor, anyway, and could no doubt be talked over.
They were sitting round the fire, smoking and chatting, when he arrived. Their changed attitude towards him was clearly shown by Lake's greeting:
'Yo're back early, Garstone. Warn't yore Lulu too kind this evenin'?'
The Easterner drew himself up. 'Use a civil tongue when you speak of that lady,' he said. 'And for myself, remember that, in the absence of Trenton, I'm your chief.'
'Oh, yeah,' the other sneered.
'If you don't like that, you can clear out--now,' Garstone added.
'Who's makin' me?' The fellow's hand was stealing towards his gun.
With amazing speed for one of his bulk, Garstone leapt,pinned the threatening wrist, and wrenching away the weapon, flung it down. Then his great fingers closed on Lake's throat, lifted and shook him with such ferocity as to well-nigh dislocate his neck.
'You insolent hound,' he gritted between his teeth. 'I've a mind to tear you in two with my hands.'
He shook him again as though about to carry out his threat, and then hurled him to the ground, to lie there panting and beaten. Garstone turned to the others, who had watched the scene in silence.
'Curse the foul-mouthed fool,' he growled. 'He might have been useful to-night in the clean-up, but we must do without him.'
'The clean-up?' Bundy cried.
'Certainly--that's what I said,' Garstone replied coolly. 'Miss Trenton, as a great sacrifice of her personal comfort, has found out what we wanted to know, and this--reptile--insults her.'
The 'reptile' was climbing to his feet; he had heard, as the speaker intended, and was not going to be left out if he could avoid it. Vengeance would wait.
'Aw, Boss, I warn't meanin' nothin',' he whined. 'Just a bit o' joshin', that's all. Us fellas is a mite loose speakin' of women, but I reckon we all respec's Miss Trenton.'
Garstone hesitated--purposely. His gust of passion had been partly premeditated, an attempt to regain the authority which had been slipping from him since the rancher's injury, and he had no desire to lessen the number of
