"Hush! That's foolish talk, with our very lives at stake. Let me
plan some more. Oh, I think so hard! ... And, Jim, there's another
thing. Red Pearce was more than suspicious about your absence from
the cabin at certain hours. What he hinted to Kells about a woman in
the case! I'm afraid he suspects or knows."
"He had me cold, too," replied Cleve, thoughtfully. "But he swore he
knew nothing."
"Jim, trust a woman's instinct. Pearce lied. That gun at his side
made him a liar. He knew you'd kill him if he betrayed himself by a
word. Oh, look out for him!"
Cleve did not reply. It struck Joan that he was not listening, at
least to her. His head was turned, rigid and alert. He had his ear
to the soft wind. Suddenly Joan heard a faint rustle-then another.
They appeared to come from the corner of the cabin. Silently Cleve
sank down into the shadow and vanished. Low, stealthy footsteps
followed, but Joan was not sure whether or not Cleve made them. They
did not seem to come from the direction he usually took. Besides,
when he was careful he never made the slightest noise. Joan strained
her ears, only to catch the faint sounds of the night. She lay back
upon her bed, worried and anxious again, and soon the dread
returned. There were to be no waking or sleeping hours free from
this portent of calamity.
Next morning Joan awaited Kells, as was her custom, but he did not
appear. This was the third time in a week that he had forgotten or
avoided her or had been prevented from seeing her. Joan was glad,
yet the fact was not reassuring. The issue for Kells was growing
from trouble to disaster.
Early in the afternoon she heard Kells returning from camp. He had
men with him. They conversed in low, earnest tones. Joan was about
to spy up on them when Kells's step approached her door. He rapped
and spoke: "Put on Dandy Dale's suit and mask, and come out here," he said.
The tone of his voice as much as the content of his words startled
Joan so that she did not at once reply.
"Do you hear?" he called, sharply.
"Yes," replied Joan.
Then he went back to his men, and the low, earnest conversation was
renewed.
Reluctantly Joan took down Dandy Dale's things from the pegs, and
with a recurring shame she divested herself of part of her clothes
and donned the suit and boots and mask and gun. Her spirit rose,
however, at the thought that this would be a disguise calculated to
aid her in the escape with Cleve. But why had Kells ordered the
change? Was he in danger and did he mean to flee from Alder Creek?
Joan found the speculation a relief from that haunting, persistent
thought of Jim Cleve and Gulden. She was eager to learn, still she
hesitated at the door. It was just as hard as ever to face those
men.