regard.
'Food!' he yelped. 'You Yorky, git busy with a skillet an' some o' that hunk o' meat; my belly's that flat you could slide me under a door.'
'Doc sez yo're feverish an' gotta go light on grub,' the boy chaffed. 'Mus' take care, ol'-timer; breakin' th' sad noos to yer widder--'
'I ain't married none.'
'Good as--the school-marm would feel like one,' Yorky grinned, and, nimbly avoiding the rock heaved at him, went to his culinary duties.
Trenton having been made as comfortable as circumstances permitted, the party sat down to a meal they all needed. Tiny, after pushing about half a pound of broiled venison into his mouth, spluttered a compliment:
'You cook pretty good, yorky. If you live to be a hundred, an' practice reg'lar, you'll come mighty close to Paddy at slingin' hash.' He choked and had to be thumped on the back.
'Serves you right for talking with your mouth full,' Malachi told him.
'Not full, Doc, or there'd be none fer us,' Yorky chipped in.
The conversation took a more serious turn when Dan raised the question of what they were to do. 'With hurt men an' no hosses, we 'pear to be hawg-tied,' he said.
'How long would it take one of us to reach the Circle Dot?' the doctor asked.
'Best part of a week, if he knowed the country,' Dan stated. 'It's fierce travellin' afoot.'
They discussed the project for a while, but the rancher did not favour it. 'Where's the use?' he argued. 'I guess we've lost the Circle Dot anyways. Best stay here an' give our invalids a chance.'
Soon afterwards they turned in, leaving Yorky--who was to take the first watch--sitting at the entrance to the cave, his rifle across his knees. With the potential presence of an assassin in the neighbourhood, no risk could be run.
In the morning, when the doctor visited his principal charge, he received a pleasant surprise: Trenton was conscious, and could speak.
'You, Malachi?' he greeted. 'Where am I?'
'In our camp. But you mustn't talk.'
'I must--I've a lot--to say,' the sick man replied, with a touch of his old fire. 'What happened--after Bundy-- shot me?'
'You knew that?' Malachi cried.
'I saw his hand--grippin' the pistol--behind me. That was my--last memory. I-- His voice trailed off weakly.
'Let it wait, Trenton,' the doctor urged. 'You'll get well, but are pretty bad still, and must rest.'
'I can't--unless I know. It won't harm me--to listen.'
Stonily silent, the wounded man heard a brief recital of what had taken place. Only when Malachi concluded somewhat bitterly, 'So your friend Garstone is safely on the way back to Rainbow with your niece and the plunder,' did his expression change; fire flamed from the cavernous eyes in the emaciated face as he said hoarsely:
'My--friend--Garstone. Doc, you must patch me up--strong enough to get to Rainbow--an' settle with that doublecrossin' hound an' his murderin' tool, Bundy. I'll obey any orders, meet any bill--'
'Never mind that,' the doctor smiled. 'you're better, and I hope I haven't set you back telling you this.'
'I'll rest easier,' the rancher assured. 'It wasn't all news. I was awake when Green found me; didn't know what he was after, so I shammed dead. Later on, Bundy an' Lake arrived, an' I played the same trick on them; Bundy had his gun out.' He paused for a moment. 'I lay limp an' still; he shook my shoulder, lifted my hand--which was cold--an' let it fall.
' `He's cashed,' I heard him say.
'They went outside an' Lake suggested plantin' me, but Bundy wouldn't agree. They quarrelled, there was a shot, an' Bundy dragged Lake's body into the tent an' dumped it on the floor.
''One from three leaves two,' he said. `Now it's between me an' you, Mister Garstone--the gal don't count. As for you, Trenton, I'm sorry yo're dead. For years you've hazed me, an' I wanted to squeeze the breath out of your rotten carcase with my hands. May you roast in the hottest corner of hell.' With that, he drove a boot into my ribs, an' I didn't know anythin' more till this mornin'.'
Trenton sank back with a sigh of relief; the story had called for an heroic effort. Malachi was concerned.
'I ought to be kicked myself,' he said contritely.
'Don't think it,' the old man said. 'you've given me some-thin' to live for, an' by Heaven I'm goin' to live.' A ghost of a grin trembled on the thin lips. 'Appetizin' smell from somewhere.'
'Yorky is stewing some of that deer. Are you hungry?'
'I could eat it raw.'
The doctor's negative was emphatic. 'You may have some of the broth,' he conceded.
'All right, broth goes,' the patient said resignedly.
As Malachi continued his 'round'--as he termed it, he met Dover. 'How's Trenton?' the young man asked.
'Conscious and hungry,' Malachi smiled. 'He knows the facts, and is wise to Garstone and company.'
Dan's eyes rested dismally on the hole where the treasure had been. 'Help me put that stone back, Phil; it makes me damned mad every time I see it,' he said.
Chapter XXIII
Garstone had hoped that the despatch of the two men would satisfy the girl, but in this he was disappointed. His suggestion of an immediate start produced only the plea that she was tired--which could not be gainsaid--and needed a rest.
'But you will be riding,' he protested.
'Is that so easy in these hills?' she parried. 'Apart from that, I wish to wait until my uncle joins us.'
Garstone concealed his anger; he alone knew how futile her desire was. 'It means a loss of precious time for no useful purpose--Zeb could not possibly travel at the speed we must go '
'I should see him, and be sure he is getting better,' she persisted.
'It will probably retard his recovery to find us here,' he retorted. 'If I know Zeb, he will be absolutely furious.'
This was a powerful argument; she was well aware that the old man had all the Trenton temper. 'What is the reason for the urgent haste to reach Rainbow?' she queried.
This was the question he had been waiting for. 'Do you remember my telling you how important the finding of the treasure was to your uncle?'
'Yes, you said it meant keeping or losing the ranch.'
'That's the position. The Wagon-wheel and Circle Dot are both deeply in debt to the bank. The mortgages expire in a few_days, and if the money is not paid, the bank will sell the properties.'
'But surely Mister Maitland--'
'A branch manager--an insignificant cog in a machine,' Garstone said contemptuously. 'Had Zeb or I been there, something might have been arranged, but in our absence ...' He finished with an expressive shrug
'I see,' she said. 'Of course, you found the money?'
'Good Lord, fancy forgetting to mention it,' he laughed.
'Yes, we found it, thanks to you, and there it is, strapped to my saddle. About seventy thousand dollars, enough to clear the Wagon-wheel and realize Trenton's dearest ambition, the purchase of the Circle Dot.'
'Mister Dover may not wish to sell.'
'Possibly, but the bank will,' he replied. 'We have that young pup where the hair is short.'
She was silent, disturbed by a sentiment she did not trace to its source. In spite of his rudeness, she could feel no animosity towards the red-haired young rancher, and no satisfaction in the prospect of his humiliation and ruin. She did not want to dwell on it.
'Uncle Zeb should be very grateful to you,' was all she could find to say.
This gave 'him an opportunity to strike another blow, lest she should still be obstinate. 'Oh, I'm no philanthropist,' he smiled. 'I'm working for myself too. You see, when I came toyour uncle, I put all I possessed into the Wagon-wheel, taking a third share. I am not anxious to be a pauper--especially now--but that's what I'll be
