"I suppose your posse will come back with the hold-ups in a few hours.
Will it be worth while to wait for them?" she asked with amiable
derision.
The ranger had been absorbed in thought, his chin in his hand, but he
brought his gaze back from the distance to meet hers. What emotion lay
behind those cold eyes she could not guess.
"You're more hopeful than I am, Miss Lee."
"What are you sending them out for, then?"
"Oh, well, the boys need to work off some of their energy, and there's
always a show they might happen onto the robbers."
"Do you think some of the Roaring Fork gang did it?"
"Can't say."
"I suppose you are staying here in the hope that they will drop in and
deliver themselves to you."
He looked at her out of an expressionless face. "That's about it, I
reckon. But what I tell the public is that I'm staying so as to be within
telephone connection. You see, Sheriff Burke is moving up to cut them off
from the Catalinas, Jackson is riding out from Mammoth to haid them off
that way, these anxious lads that have just pulled out from here are
taking care of the Galiuros. I'm supposed to be sitting with my fingers on
the keys as a sort of posse dispatcher."
"Well, I hope you won't catch them," she told him bluntly.
"That seems to be a prevailing sentiment round here. You say it right
hearty too; couldn't be more certain of your feelings if it had been your
own father."
He said it carelessly, yet with his keen blue eyes fixed on her.
Nevertheless, he was totally unprepared for the effect of his words. The
color washed from her bronzed cheeks, and she stood staring at him with
big, fear-filled eyes.
"What--what do you mean?" she gasped. "How dare you say that?"
"I ain't said anything so terrible. You don't need to take it to heart
like that." He gave her a faint smile for an instant. "I'm not really
expecting to arrest Mr. Lee for holding up that stage."
The color beat back slowly into her face. She knew she had made a false
move in taking so seriously his remark.
"I don't think you ought to joke about a thing like that," she said
stiffly.
"All right. I'll not say it next time till I'm in earnest," he promised as
he walked away.