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 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE
 
 'At his figure, half hidden by smoke, I fired again
 
 THE 
 PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE C. SHEDD 
 
 Illustrated by 
 HOWARD GILES 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE MACAULAY COMPANY 
 1910
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1910, BY 
 STREET & SMITH 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1910, BY 
 THE MACAULAY COMPANY 
 
 THE PREMIER PRESS 
 HEW YORK
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I AN UNDEVELOPED PROSPECT . . .11 
 
 II FORGE 22 
 
 III THE BEGINNING OF EVENTS ... 36 
 
 IV THE BREWING OF TROUBLE .... 50 
 V FAIR FIELD AND No FAVOUR ... 65 
 
 VI SCOTCH SECRETS 78 
 
 VII A TAUNT AND A BLOW 93 
 
 VIII FREDERIC, THE GENEROUS! .... 106 
 IX AN ANCIENT AND HONOURABLE PRO- 
 FESSION 119 
 
 X THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD .... 132 
 
 XI PLAY AND COUNTERPLAY 147 
 
 XII THE PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED . . 162 
 
 XIII A PROCESSION TO THE MOUNT . . . 177 
 
 XIV FORGE RISES 193 
 
 XV THE ONE-ARMED FISHERMAN'S TALE . 206 
 
 XVI THE BARGAININGS OF A VILLAIN . . 215 
 
 XVII FIRST SORTIE INTO THE ENEMY'S CAMP 232 
 
 XVIII THE GENTLE ART OF MAKING LOVE . 246 
 
 2138172
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XIX SECOND SORTIE INTO THE ENEMY'S CAMP 258 
 
 XX BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL 274 
 
 XXI A BELATED WARNING 287 
 
 XXII PRESSED HOME! 300 
 
 XXIII A GHOST IN THE CELLAR . . . . 316 
 
 XXIV AT THE END OF THE STREET . . . 335 
 XXV STILL WATERS 345
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 " At his figure, half hidden by smoke, I 
 
 fired again " Frontispiece 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 " He went down like an ox " 102 
 
 " Up and down the slopes we went " . . . . no 
 
 " Woodworth appeared, drawing a fine bead with 
 
 his revolver " 264 
 
 " Down on his knees beside the candle was the man 
 
 whom I had come to find " . . . . i 328
 
 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 AN UNDEVELOPED PROSPECT 
 
 IT is time to give a true account of what took 
 place at Forge. Had it not been for the promi- 
 nence of several of the persons concerned, the 
 matter would never have received so much atten- 
 tion, and would long ago have been forgotten. 
 Because a well-known New York name has been 
 mixed up in the affair, public curiosity has been 
 tenacious. When something of the adventure be- 
 came known, the newspapers made the most of 
 it. They dealt in rumours of what had occurred, 
 as grotesque as Oriental dreams. Surmises, con- 
 jectures, explanations, and theories fell for a week 
 thick as hail; and at pretty regular intervals dur- 
 ing the two years since, it has been the practice of 
 newspaper men perhaps their pleasantry to in- 
 vent a new disclosure or a fresh tale. And, I 
 protest, they do it badly. 
 
 The strangeness of what happened in the se- 
 questered circuit of Forge cannot be denied; and 
 from the first sight I had of Douglass' bare blond 
 head until our last clattering ride down the village 
 street, events transformed the rough, simple do-
 
 12 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 main to a background against which moved a 
 swift and shadowed drama. 
 
 It falls on me to open up the whole box of the 
 Scotchman's deeds, since of all who were involved 
 I am the best informed. 
 
 From the beginning of the contest, I was at 
 Forge ; my hand more than once was raised in its 
 forwarding; and round my person, it may be said, 
 eddied and swirled and tossed the passions of 
 Forge. Of these latter, then, this narrative will 
 have much to do. Certain particulars it will not 
 be pleasant to write, where the part I played was 
 second best; but certain others, which rest on how 
 I gave checkmate now and again to one handsome 
 gentleman, I shall relate with silent satisfaction. 
 
 First, a word leading up to Forge. One June 
 morning, Ted Fenton and I were in the univer- 
 sity gymnasium, in farewell. We had danced all 
 night at the senior prom, devoted ourselves to 
 Ted's aunt and his pretty sixteen-year-old cousin, 
 who had come down to see him graduate; had 
 dawn tea with them on the campus, in the midst 
 of hundreds of others, and had, finally, escorted 
 them away, as the sun's first rays shot across the 
 grass. I was for the minute head over heels in 
 love with Ethys, his cousin. She was as sweet 
 and pretty as only sixteen can be, and I was 
 twenty-two. And, then, Ted and I had come to
 
 AN UNDEVELOPED PROSPECT 13 
 
 the gym for a last sharp race on the running 
 track, a last two-minute match on the wrestling 
 mat, and a final swim in the deep, clear pool. 
 
 As my head popped above the surface after a 
 long dive, the notion to go to Alaska popped into 
 it. The idea grew to a plan as I dried myself. 
 In the mirror, I saw my figure reflected; six feet 
 of bone and muscle, sparkling eyes, teeth show- 
 ing white in a smile; and I was confident that I 
 could give a good account of myself anywhere. 
 Alaska it should be, and all at once I laughed 
 aloud joyously. 
 
 " Don't be a fool," said Ted, scowling over his 
 towel, when I had informed him of my project. 
 "You'll do nothing of the kind, but come yacht- 
 ing with me, as we've planned." 
 
 " Can't be done this year, Teddy," I answered. 
 
 "What rot!" 
 
 " I'm off to make a stroke of fortune." 
 
 "You'd look pretty at that!" 
 
 "And Alaska's the spot. What could be bet- 
 ter? I've not a relative in the world, no money 
 to speak of, a passable education as an engineer, 
 a fine appetite, and two stout legs that's exactly 
 the stock in trade for the Golden Land up yon- 
 der." 
 
 "Lovely," he scoffed. "But you promised 
 aunt and Ethys to be one of our party."
 
 i 4 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 So I had, and the sudden thought that my 
 scheme involved the abandonment of a month 
 with her though I had known her but thirty-six 
 hours made me pause. Then I shrugged my 
 naked shoulders. 
 
 " Ethys will find a hundred other beaus between 
 flashes of her pretty eyes," I said. 
 
 "And think of the sport we'll have." 
 
 "Oh, I reckon on finding sport up there," I 
 replied cheerfully. 
 
 For ten minutes Ted argued angrily, but finally 
 gave it up. 
 
 " Go ahead and I hope you get frapped 
 proper," he growled. 
 
 Well, go I did. Alaska at that time was not 
 so new as it had been two years before, when the 
 first marvellous stories of Dawson and Forty 
 Mile were coming down by every boat. Yet it 
 was still alluring, and word was just then flying 
 of the golden sands of Nome. 
 
 It was six years before I saw Ted again three 
 in the frozen North, one in Mexico, and the last 
 two in South America. Nor had I anything in 
 particular to complain of. My reputation as a 
 mining engineer was a solid and growing one. I 
 was now twenty-eight, I could shoot straight with 
 either hand, ride any horse that could be sad- 
 dled, had gone a week without food and nearly
 
 AN UNDEVELOPED PROSPECT 15 
 
 as long without water, kept a cool head in one 
 or two dangerous corners, and played a steady 
 game of poker such were my accomplishments. 
 
 On giving up my last billet, I sailed from 
 Buenos Ayres to Marseilles, spent a month in 
 Paris, and at the end of that time took passage 
 for New York. There I leisurely considered 
 which of three mining offers I should accept. 
 
 While my affairs were in this state, I made my 
 way one afternoon into the suite of offices where 
 Ted was to be found. He met me at the thresh- 
 old of his own private room, and seized my hand. 
 
 " I swear it's an age since I saw you ! " he ex- 
 claimed. "And the fortune, Jack?" 
 
 " Neither fortune nor frostbite, Ted." 
 
 " To have you walk in on me what luck ! I've 
 been wiring round half the world after you." 
 
 "Oho! What for?" I asked. 
 
 "We want you. Where were you hiding? I 
 couldn't get word of you, north or south. Hang 
 it, man, you're brown as an Indian, and hard as 
 iron." He thumped my arms with his fist. " I 
 envy you, Jack." 
 
 " And you're soft as butter, Ted." 
 
 "I know it but what the devil am I to do? 
 A fellow can't keep in condition in a city." 
 
 The truth was he was not so very fat; it was 
 rather a promise than the reality. Otherwise, I
 
 1 6 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 noted little change in my friend, except that he 
 now wore a clipped, business-like, brown mous- 
 tache. 
 
 For an hour, we chatted. He would have the 
 tale of my roving, while I was equally desirous 
 of learning his adventures in the financial whirl- 
 pool. For he was now hand in glove with his 
 uncle. 
 
 " Come in, and I'll introduce you," he said. 
 And he led the way into another room. 
 
 Every one nowadays has heard of James Fen- 
 ton. The family of which he was at present the 
 ruling head, and Ted the younger scion, had been 
 socially high in New York for three generations. 
 Its fortune had always been considerable, and, 
 under the direction of James Fenton, had become 
 famous. In railroads, steamship lines, and mines, 
 it was a controlling force, sought, consulted, 
 feared. Even in the out-of-the-way corners where 
 I had been, there had echoed stories of its growth 
 and power. 
 
 A grey-eyed, grey-moustached, quiet man shook 
 hands with me a man with strong fingers, a long 
 nose, and a heavy, resolute jaw. At first sight, I 
 believed what I had heard of his resource and 
 inflexible will. 
 
 "I knew your father and mother," he said. 
 " Both were my friends. I'm glad to meet you."
 
 AN UNDEVELOPED PROSPECT 17 
 
 " Pure luck brought him," Ted declared. 
 
 "Well, we want you," said Mr. Fenton. 
 "Forge you've heard of it? is without a man- 
 ager. You're the man we've picked on." 
 
 "Are you engaged to any company?" Ted 
 inquired. 
 
 " I'm considering a couple of offers." 
 
 "Then consider them no longer," Mr. Fenton 
 broke in impatiently. " How old are you 
 thirty?" 
 
 " Twenty-eight." 
 
 He ran his eyes over me sharply for a minute. 
 
 " Forge is one of the biggest properties in 
 America," he stated. 
 
 "I know it." 
 
 "Tell me about that Mexican riot." 
 
 " They struck, shot up the camp, tried to dyna- 
 mite the power house. I threw out guards, with 
 Winchesters. We killed a dozen or so of them. 
 That was all." 
 
 ; ' You're our manager, Mr. Maitland. Go to- 
 night to Forge to-morrow, at the latest." He 
 waved his hand toward Ted. " Draw up a satis- 
 factory contract. Good afternoon." He turned 
 to his desk, but swung about almost instantly, fix- 
 ing on me a level, noncommittal look. "You 
 may need Winchesters out there." 
 
 Ted and I spent the next hour convassing the
 
 1 8 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 matter. Forge consisted of extensive placer beds 
 and numerous ledges, containing ore bodies which 
 had been developed far enough to determine their 
 richness. Water for the placer was obtained from 
 Forge River, being forced up the mountainside 
 into flumes by means of turbines. Altogether, it 
 was a mine of the first order; its management 
 would place me at once among the foremost en- 
 gineers; and as I thought of it, a thrill of satis- 
 faction ran through my mind. 
 
 " You see, we've been keeping track of you, 
 though you didn't know it," Ted explained. 
 "Our manager out there was released last week, 
 and uncle named you for Forge immediately. An 
 assistant is in charge at present, a chap named 
 Douglass." 
 
 By five o'clock we had closed the business, a 
 clerk had drawn the contracts, and we had signed 
 them. And I departed, accompanied by Ted, to 
 pack my trunks. 
 
 "What's this about needing guns there?-" I 
 asked, as we waited for an elevator. 
 
 Ted grinned, then grew grave. 
 
 " Something's wrong with Forge," he said, 
 "and we don't know what it is. Trouble that 
 is why we picked you." 
 
 "Pleasant, I'm sure." 
 
 "Well, it's this way. The gold is there, but
 
 AN UNDEVELOPED PROSPECT 19 
 
 we don't get it all. It may be the men, or some- 
 thing else. Our manager last fall was killed by a 
 landslide and there was a queer thing about that 
 which has never been explained. Then Rogers, 
 the man you're succeeding, came up short, though 
 he swears he's innocent. And, too, the yield 
 hasn't produced this spring as it should. On the 
 surface, Forge is peaceful, but underneath, things 
 are wrong dead wrong. We can't put a finger 
 on it, but we feel it." 
 
 " I see," said I, though I didn't see anything. 
 
 "There's a sort of fatality hanging over the 
 office of manager. It has ended two men." 
 
 " I don't believe in ' fatalities,' " I remarked. 
 
 "Well, I don't know." 
 
 "The kind I've seen, Ted, generally walked 
 on two legs." 
 
 "Take care of yourself, anyway, old fellow." 
 
 " I promise not to loiter under a landslide," I 
 said, laughing, " or lose any gold." 
 
 We stepped into the elevator, and shot down 
 to the door of the building. Outside, we sepa- 
 rated. 
 
 " You take dinner with me, remember," were 
 his parting words. " Meet me at the Waldorf at 
 seven. Your train leaves somewhere about mid- 
 night, so we'll have plenty of time." 
 
 He stepped briskly across to the curb, where a
 
 20 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 big touring car waited. The chauffeur was fuss- 
 ing with the levers; behind him sat a person at 
 whom I cast a casual glance. 
 
 From a glance it became a steady gaze. Does 
 any one but a saint have visions? For, surely, it 
 was a vision I beheld. Do not ask me to describe 
 her hat, or give the colour of her veil. I remem- 
 ber naught about them, save that they were some- 
 thing delicate, a harmonious frame for the face I 
 saw. The oval of the latter was perfect; there 
 was a glimpse of thick, brown hair, fine and shin- 
 ing; her cheeks were smooth and clear and faintly 
 glowing; her eyes, which looked my way, sparkled; 
 there was just the slightest delicious upward hint 
 in the nose; and beneath it, lips cherry red, and 
 now curved in a welcoming smile. It was a 
 vision, if ever there was one a beauteous, radi- 
 ant, engaging vision, or my name is not Jack 
 Maitland. 
 
 Next instant, the car slid away, and the face 
 was gone, and I stood staring after it, like a 
 schoolboy. 
 
 I suppose it is because I am no saint that, five 
 minutes afterward, I had forgotten my vision. A 
 robed and roped dreamer in a monastery cell 
 would have been more faithful, but I was neither 
 robed nor in a cell, and I had moving blood in
 
 AN UNDEVELOPED PROSPECT 21 
 
 my veins, and I passed other bright eyes on my 
 way uptown. Even the sight of Ted that even- 
 ing did not remind me to question him concerning 
 the lady in the tonneau. 
 That vexes me somewhat now.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 FORGE 
 
 ON the evening of the third day after departing 
 from New York, I stepped from the train to the 
 depot platform at Cold Springs strange mis- 
 nomer! which is in the desert. With baggage 
 to follow, I took horse at dawn next morning, 
 and crossed a ten-mile stretch of sagebrush. 
 Fifty miles of mountains succeeded this, and both 
 my horse and I were weary when we came in 
 sight of Forge. 
 
 Picture a river sweeping in a half-circle about 
 the base of a mountain, a granite pile steep and 
 precipitous and gloomy, that towered straight up 
 to the clouds two thousand feet or more above the 
 water, topped by a huge crown of rock, shaped to 
 the likeness of an anvil; across from it, an encir- 
 cling range of low mountains, their lower sur- 
 faces laced with ditches and flumes, and their 
 river-washed foundations pitted and scarred where 
 the gold-bearing gravel had been ripped out; and 
 a mile or so to the west, down the canon, a strag- 
 gling town. This is Forge. 
 
 22
 
 FORGE 23 
 
 And such was the sight that opened before me, 
 as my horse reached the top of the last hill, and 
 began to descend. The great rock loomed up on 
 the opposite side of the stream, with an impres- 
 siveness far too profound for words. At its foot, 
 the river flowed heavy and turgid with its June 
 flood of melted snows, every hillside gutter ran 
 noisily, and down in the placer beds the twenty- 
 foot nozzles spouted their streams under full 
 pressure. Men were moving about, spray and dirt 
 were flying, work was proceeding steadily. This 
 part of the scene at once seized my interest; and, 
 determining to have a look at things in operation, 
 I swung my horse's head toward one of the pits. 
 
 As it turned out, I arrived at just the right in- 
 stant to witness a lively and illuminating incident. 
 Half a dozen yards from where I pulled rein, one 
 of the pipes had sprung a leak, and water poured 
 forth in a small torrent. 
 
 Several hulking fellows were striving, unsuc- 
 cessfully, to force the parts together, when all at 
 once a man whom I had not perceived leaped 
 lightly down a heap of rocks. 
 
 He halted, and examined the break. His fig- 
 ure was tall, slender, and small-waisted. His 
 dress, considering the business in hand, was un- 
 usual a pair of khaki riding breeches, a flannel 
 coat, and a linen stock. He stood straight as a
 
 24 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 soldier, his bare head was yellow, as was his mous- 
 tache, waxed to fine needle points; and I saw 
 plainly the line of a scar showing white through 
 the sunburn of his cheek. He was a handsome 
 man, but I made up my mind instantly that his 
 face was too narrow and his eyes too roving. 
 
 He stood for perhaps half a minute, beating 
 his puttee with the riding crop he carried, then 
 burst out in a string of hot, biting curses, until, 
 at last, the men turned toward him, their faces 
 glowing with dull, mutinous anger. 
 
 " I'll take that from no man," said one. 
 
 "You take that and this!" The slender 
 speaker's fist shot against the miner's mouth. 
 The fellow staggered back, bleeding. 
 
 "Are you next, Pete Johnson? Or you, Mor- 
 gan?" The questioner's blue eyes swung evilly 
 from one to the other. "Then get back to your 
 pipe." 
 
 Back they went, like lambs, and, presently, their 
 master came toward me. 
 
 "What's your business here?" he demanded. 
 
 "Why, observation, at present," I answered 
 pleasantly. 
 
 He produced a case, extracted a cigarette, and 
 lighted it, eyeing me the while. 
 
 "Where's your sheep?" he asked. 
 
 Now, that was insult I did not care to accept,
 
 FORGE 25 
 
 a sheep herder being, as every one is aware, as 
 low as the lowest. 
 
 "You should know," I replied. "The Scotch 
 are bred among the muttons, aren't they?" 
 
 His face went a bright red with anger. 
 
 " Come down on the ground, like a man," he 
 cried, tossing away his cigarette. 
 
 " Not now, thank you," I smiled. " I'm tired, 
 and looking for a bath. We'll make a better ac- 
 quaintance, I imagine. Maitland's my name." 
 
 "Oh!" said he. 
 
 "And you're Mr. Douglass, if I'm not mis- 
 taken in my guess." 
 
 He did not answer, standing for a full minute, 
 and looking through half-closed lids at me. 
 
 " I'll ride on to Forge House," I said. 
 
 "Well, I'll go along," he answered, shrugging 
 his shoulders. " I'll be with you as soon as I get 
 Duke. By the way, did you see anything of a 
 Frenchman headed in this direction? No?" 
 
 Duke, his horse, which he brought from a 
 copse in a draw, was a beauty and vixen in one. 
 When Douglass put foot in stirrup, it snapped 
 at him with bared teeth. When he touched the 
 saddle, it made a plunge that would have unseated 
 a less expert rider. It was a quick, clean-limbed, 
 high-spirited mount, and as sure-footed as a goat 
 among the stones.
 
 26 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " Fenton wired that you were on the way," 
 Douglass confessed, as we started. This was his 
 only remark during the mile. At last, as we ap- 
 proached the village, he broke out: "Why, he's 
 only a long-legged boy" I was but five years 
 his junior " and to be set over me, now that's a 
 shame ! " 
 
 Neither tone nor words could be borne. I 
 pulled up short. 
 
 " Let us understand one another, Frederic 
 Douglass," I said firmly. ''You are saying too 
 much or too little. I didn't like your speech back 
 yonder, and I don't like it now. From now on 
 I'm manager of this camp, mark that. I'm long- 
 legged, as you say; I'm also long-armed, and I'm 
 man enough to be master, if it comes to that. 
 You've a position here, to keep or leave, as you 
 please. But I shall not tolerate " 
 
 " Tolerate ! " said he, his eyes flashing. 
 
 " Tolerate you got the word perfectly. I've 
 full powers here. Are you planning to leave 
 Forge?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Then I expect you to be a loyal assistant of 
 mine while I'm in charge. Is that plain?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Very well, we'll ride on." And I touched 
 spur to my horse.
 
 FORGE 27 
 
 There was but one street in the town, and along 
 it houses stood pretty regularly on either hand. 
 Some two hundred people comprised its popula- 
 tion, nearly all being in the employ of the com- 
 pany. For the most part, it was a barren, stony 
 community, no grass plots or trees about the 
 dwellings. In the centre of the town were three 
 larger buildings, half store and half saloon, sit- 
 ting side by side, and sharing each other's com- 
 pany, if not profits. 
 
 As we entered the street, a girl came out of one 
 of the houses and stepped into the road. A heavy 
 black braid fell down her back, and her figure was 
 slim and dark and graceful, possessed of an in- 
 definable languor. In contrast to her delicate 
 olive pallor were her large, dusky, lustrous eyes. 
 She was young, possibly seventeen, and moved 
 with a sort of swaying bend of her hips. 
 
 Douglass halted, as did I, and they spoke in 
 Spanish, supposing I did not understand. 
 
 "Who is this, Frederic?" 
 
 "The new manager." 
 
 "And you are not to have the position?" 
 
 "Not at present." 
 
 " Come to me this evening, caro." 
 
 " I may be delayed." 
 
 'Two three days it has been since you came. 
 I will sing to you."
 
 2& THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "Well, I'll see." 
 
 Then he pushed his horse nearer her, bent for- 
 ward in his saddle, and they talked low and ear- 
 nestly, her large, glowing eyes fixed on his. With 
 a final nod, he straightened up and said good- 
 bye. 
 
 As we passed on up the street, I discovered his 
 eyes fixed on me speculatively. 
 
 "A pretty child," he remarked. 
 
 " One old enough to value attention," I replied 
 drily. 
 
 " By that you mean mine, I venture." 
 
 "Why, yes." 
 
 " Oh, most women do." 
 
 " You are fortunate. And she is certainly charm- 
 ing, and would make an attractive wife " 
 
 " Wife ! Who's talking about wives ! I'm not 
 the wiving kind, if you must know. Now, a 
 sweetheart here and there, as one goes about the 
 world " 
 
 " I'm damned if I like your morals 1 " I ex- 
 claimed, in disgust. 
 
 '* Well, it's a philosophy to take profit by," he 
 answered coolly. 
 
 His sulkiness had vanished now, and he rattled 
 on at a great rate of women and the world and 
 himself. He was a jaunty, confident, uncon- 
 cerned, reckless scamp, if he was to be believed,
 
 FORGE 29 
 
 who had a fine cosmopolitan taste in matters per- 
 taining to love, liquor, and language. 
 
 " Here's Forge House," he said, pointing for- 
 ward with his crop. 
 
 It surmounted a knoll a short quarter of a mile 
 beyond the west limit of the town, an imposing 
 stone building of Queen Anne architecture. Solid, 
 rambling, deep-windowed, and grey, it over- 
 looked both village and river, and faced the 
 looming brown front of Anvil Rock. From its 
 portico, the knoll sloped to the stream, a hundred 
 yards away, where stood the turbine house, con- 
 taining half a dozen turbines, to force water up 
 the great steel pipe to the flume on the mountain- 
 side. In a dip at the rear, I saw two or three 
 outbuildings and stables. 
 
 Since Forge had existed, now some twenty 
 years, it had been known as Forge House, and in 
 it had dwelt the company's managers, one after 
 another. From it had issued the mandate which 
 directed the destiny of the camp, until the camp 
 had come to consider it symbolic of the company, 
 and for that reason it was held in high respect, 
 if not in awe. 
 
 We were met at the door by a Japanese serv- 
 ant, who took our horses. His own brother, if 
 faces count, awaited us inside, with a tray, on 
 which were two tinkling glasses.
 
 30 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " I've taught them what they should know," 
 Douglass said. " Man, you should have seen 
 them when I came." 
 
 I found the interior comfortable. In one end 
 of the house was the office, and back of it a li- 
 brary, which had many books, a few fine pictures, 
 and numerous bearskin rugs. The dining-room 
 had plenty of cut glass, and a fully stocked side- 
 board the cellar, my Scotch friend informed me, 
 was his own ward and care, he having a remark- 
 able leaning for choice vintages. Altogether I 
 was surprised, and was only able to account for 
 so elaborate a house, when Douglass explained 
 that it had been a sort of summer home of the 
 Fentons. 
 
 "You may find it a bit dull, being fresh from 
 the fleshpots," the Scotchman said, "but that will 
 pass. Now, Togo will show you your rooms, 
 where you can tumble into a tub. Then we'll 
 have dinner." 
 
 That evening the pair of us were smoking in 
 the library, and discussing Forge affairs, when my 
 companion suddenly jumped up, and left the room. 
 In five minutes he reappeared, carrying a small, 
 but heavy, canvas sack. 
 
 "Treasure! Old Rogers went off and left me 
 never a figure of the safe combination," he ex- 
 plained, dumping three dull yellow bricks, like
 
 FORGE 31 
 
 paper weights, on the table. "A stupid beggar 
 he was, and a good riddance. I've had this gold 
 on my hands and conscience the past fortnight." 
 And he piled the blocks one on another. " Twenty 
 pounds, if an ounce; forty-five hundred dollars." 
 
 "Where did you keep it?" I asked, curious. 
 
 "You'd never guess. In a case of empty bot- 
 tles, with a couple of full cases on top," he said, 
 with a burst of laughter. "Thieves would have 
 drunk through a deal of whiskey to find it." He 
 flung his arms on the table, and looked at me, 
 with bright, restless eyes. " My boy, what a week 
 we could have with this stuff in Paris or 
 Vienna ! " 
 
 "To be sure," I agreed. 
 
 "Two weeks, and we'd be there," he said, 
 speaking rapidly. 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "Now, if we split the dust " 
 
 I rose, brushed an ash from my lapel, and 
 looked down at him. 
 
 "Which we won't. We'll lock it up instead. 
 I fear we're touching forbidden topics, Mr. 
 Douglass." 
 
 He glanced up, with a grimace. 
 
 "You talk like a Glasgow Presbyterian. Do 
 you think I propose robbery ? You have no imag- 
 ination."
 
 32 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "Oh, my imagination's all right it's working 
 now." And I smiled again. 
 
 "On what is it working?" he asked, and fin- 
 gered a point of his moustache. 
 
 "Why, as to whether you're a safe man for 
 Forge. I'm wondering." 
 
 " That is as good as calling me a thief ! " He 
 was becoming excited, and had risen to his feet. 
 
 " By no means." 
 
 " And you not yet twelve hours here ! This is 
 too much." He struck his palm on his thigh. 
 "Talk out plain, will you?" 
 
 " Neither you nor I can risk dreaming of spend- 
 ing company gold," I said quietly. " It's been 
 my experience, Douglass, that no man's safe from 
 temptation; therefore, he'd do well to confine his 
 thoughts. There's no occasion for you to take 
 offence." 
 
 " You have a rough tongue," said he. 
 
 " Because we've need to go carefully, my friend. 
 We have the example of Rogers, whose chair is 
 not yet cold, to bear in mind." 
 
 With that, we separated, he to go on his own 
 business, and I to lock up the gold. 
 
 In the course of the next week, I learned more 
 of this man Rogers, who had failed in his trust 
 as manager. It had become known in the camp 
 that he had gone away under a cloud, and the
 
 FORGE 33 
 
 miners now admitted freely that more gold had 
 come out of the gravel than had gone into the 
 company's pocket. Perhaps they were the more 
 bitter because Rogers had been a common miner 
 like themselves, climbing into the superintendency 
 by slow steps. 
 
 One good word, however, was spoken for him. 
 There lived in Forge an old partner of his, a 
 drunken, gossipy, quarrelsome fellow, who had 
 lost an arm in the company's service, and was a 
 pensioner. His loyalty was divided between the 
 company and the absent, fallen Rogers. 
 
 On the fourth or fifth day after my arrival, he 
 entered the office, and soon was wagging on his 
 favourite subject. 
 
 " And I loved him," he said, almost weeping, 
 for he was pretty full of whiskey. " He's gone, 
 driven away, and this blue-eyed divil did it. 
 He'll have the best of ye, too, if ye're not 
 watchin'. A blackleg he is, and it's Kelly says 
 it." 
 
 "See here," I said. "I'm not altogether a 
 baby, and I guess I can look after myself; but 
 whether or no, I want you to let my assistant's 
 name alone. Understand?" 
 
 He got out upon the avenue, where he shook 
 his stump my way. 
 
 "He'll be too much for ye; he'll be trickin' ye,
 
 34 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 like the rest, to your sorrow. He's brought a 
 black hour to Forge." And he went off down to 
 the stores, to wet his prophecy. 
 
 During the next month there was plenty to 
 occupy me. Douglass proved a good second, and 
 between us we kept the placer moving at a driving 
 pace. 
 
 One disturbing incident there was, when a 
 dozen miners from a neighbouring camp, some 
 forty miles over the mountains, came to Forge; 
 they had struck for higher wages, dynamited a 
 shaft, and departed. A more reckless, impudent 
 band I had never seen, and after a two-days' 
 drunk, during which they attempted to alienate 
 my miners, I ordered them out of Forge. They 
 went, jeering my name, and swearing they would 
 come back again. 
 
 One day the Frenchman, concerning whom my 
 assistant had inquired, put in an appearance. Up 
 he came to the door of the house, fat and shiny 
 and bowing. The meeting between him and 
 Douglass was brief but familiar, and the latter 
 again mentioned that he was an expert machinist. 
 We talked the matter over, the Frenchman gently 
 fingering his pointed beard, and listening. 
 
 " D'Urville will take the rooms over the shop," 
 said his sponsor. 
 
 Next day he was established, slipping as easily
 
 FORGE 35 
 
 and unobtrusively into the life of Forge as does 
 a plump fowl into its coop. 
 
 It was not until the Scotchman and I came to* 
 make our trip down- to Cold Springs with a ship- 
 ment of gold that real events began.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF EVENTS 
 
 IT had always been the custom for managers 
 themselves to carry the gold down to Cold 
 Springs, at irregular intervals, for safety. I saw 
 no reason to change this plan. On the day I 
 selected to make the trip, Douglass was to go 
 with me, as the shipment was larger than usual, 
 and deserved double protection. Friday morn- 
 ing was the day decided upon to make the start, 
 so on Thursday evening I added the placer's out- 
 put for the day, and weighed up the whole 
 amount. 
 
 I stared for a minute, fingered the balance, and 
 reweighed it. A second time I read the figures, 
 then stared again. Incredulously I gazed at the 
 gold. 
 
 It had shrunk! 
 
 The fact smote me like a blow. A sudden 
 dampness broke out on my brow, my throat went 
 dry, a chill settled like frost about my heart. 
 Was the same fate that had reached Rogers to 
 overtake me? For gold to be missing it was 
 
 36
 
 THE BEGINNING OF EVENTS 37 
 
 absurd, preposterous ! Surely, my eyes had played 
 me a trick. With a shaking hand, I again totalled 
 the daily records of the placer product, then flung 
 down the pencil. I stood like a man of stone. 
 The stuff was short; four pounds were gone. 
 Nine hundred dollars! And I was accountable! 
 Where? When? How? In stunned perplexity, 
 I could find no answer. 
 
 All the stories of gold stealing I had heard 
 flashed through my brain remelting, sweating 
 the retort metal, manipulating false weights. I 
 seized one brick after another, and examined them 
 in breathless haste. Each was as I had taken it 
 from the crucible with my own hands. On each 
 was the stamp as I had hammered it. : Yet some 
 of the gold had vanished. 
 
 Finally, my self-possession returned. I divided 
 the shipment, fifty pounds to a pile, and sealed 
 the two bags. As I laid down the stick of green 
 sealing wax and blew out the candle, I became 
 aware that the door leading into the great hall 
 was open. Swift as thought, I whipped a revolver 
 out of a drawer, and leaped across the room. For 
 in the dim shadow of the draperies that hung in 
 the hall, I distinguished the outline of a man's 
 figure. The Scotchman stepped forth. 
 
 " Oh, it's you," I said. 
 
 He looked past me into the office.
 
 38 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "You're careless, Maitland, to handle that 
 stuff with the window shades up." 
 
 "The window shades?" 
 
 " I saw a face peering in at you." 
 
 "What sort of face?" I inquired. For, some- 
 how, his words did not ring quite true. 
 
 "A white face. Take care, my dear fellow, or 
 some prowler will be tempted to take a pot shot at 
 you, and loot the room." 
 
 " Perhaps you're right," I said. 
 
 He followed me into the office, and carefully 
 drew the shades, over which he had displayed so 
 much anxiety. I placed books and bags in the 
 safe, closed the door, and spun the knob. 
 
 " Four short. I thought " He brushed 
 
 his lean brown hand across his mouth, as if to 
 catch back the uttered words. 
 
 I seated myself on the corner of the long table, 
 and folded my arms. 
 
 "What is short?" Tasked. 
 
 " Why, I thought I saw that " For once, 
 
 his ready presence of mind had failed him. " I 
 saw the weights in the scales. And and the tal- 
 lies for the retort gold run more." 
 
 "What do you know about the tallies?" 
 
 "Not much, to be sure, Maitland," he said, 
 shaking himself together. "Torgenson, over at 
 the amalgam house, was saying that the placer
 
 THE BEGINNING OF EVENTS 39 
 
 had got back to its regular yield since you'd taken 
 charge. Showed me the tally sheets was pleased, 
 you know." 
 
 "So Torgenson has begun talking?" 
 
 "Hold on, Maitland, don't grow angry," 
 Douglass said, pulling his moustache. "He's 
 ordinarily close-mouthed, as you know. And I 
 was really to blame. Lay it on my head, not his." 
 
 "Very well. But kindly explain your words 
 * four short. 1 " 
 
 1 gave him a straight look. He was the old 
 Frederic again, however, his same easy self. 
 
 " Oh, I imagined that the tally sheets ran 
 higher, but, for the life of me, I don't remember 
 how they do run. I was wrong, of course. Damn 
 it, my tongue's too hasty, Maitland. Come along 
 and split a bottle with me." 
 
 Douglass may have slept soundly that night, 
 but I did not. His chance remark, repented of 
 the instant spoken, had hit the amount of missing 
 gold too exactly not to arouse my suspicions of 
 him. His explanation of how he had obtained 
 his knowledge was lame. And now that I consid- 
 ered, why had he spied on me? The tale of a 
 white face at the window was far-fetched. I 
 stared into the darkness. Who was Douglass, 
 anyway? What was he? 
 
 Down to Cold Springs we went next day, where
 
 40 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 the gold was duly expressed to the mint. I as- 
 sumed my customary friendly manner, and played 
 my part, though my thoughts were grave. My 
 policy, as I finally decided it, would be to pre- 
 serve the same outward demeanour which I had 
 observed, to wait, to watch, and if guilty take 
 him in the act of theft. The rat goes once too 
 often to the cheese. 
 
 Cold Springs what a mockery upon a name! 
 There are no springs, cold or otherwise, at that 
 dreary spot. A baker's dozen of buildings make 
 up the town; six withered poplars adorn it; the 
 depot and water tank supply it, the one with 
 an identity, the other with water. Sagebrush 
 stretches away in every direction, with a white, 
 dusty road wandering through it. 
 
 The July heat was intense, the desert quivered 
 with it, and the rails of the railroad, which ran 
 east and west straight as an arrow, shone like sil- 
 ver wire. 
 
 We planned to return to Forge that same night 
 so that we might enjoy the coolness, starting after 
 the arrival of the limited, which, following our 
 exile, it would be a pleasure to see. The sun was 
 dropping below the west and dyeing the desert a 
 misty red, when the train grew out of a blot of 
 smoke in the east, and at last stopped before the 
 depot platform.
 
 THE BEGINNING OF EVENTS 41 
 
 Douglass' horse pranced, to the delight of the 
 passengers, whereupon my companion made it 
 curvet down the line of Pullmans. At this mo- 
 ment, the station master came running to me with 
 a telegram, crying " Delayed ! " For the time 
 being, I stuffed the message into my pocket. Then 
 I joined Douglass before a car which, to the sur- 
 prise of every^ one, had been switched from the 
 train. 
 
 " Is it for us?" said he. " I'm ready to travel 
 this instant, for I'm fair sick of dirt and rocks 
 and loneliness. Think of San Francisco and a 
 supper, with music and wine and women. We're 
 daft old wives to be digging gold, instead of 
 spending it." And he tugged at his small, fine 
 moustache fiercely. 
 
 As for me, I was busy with the name of the car 
 Ethys and I vainly ransacked my mind to 
 place the name. All at once, a girl, dressed in 
 cool, white linen, appeared upon the observation 
 platform, and looked off across the desert. From 
 the horizon, her eyes travelled back until they 
 fell on us. Nor were we particularly attractive 
 in our chaps, coats tied behind our saddles, hand- 
 kerchiefs knotted behind our necks, and wide, 
 high-peaked hats. 
 
 A surprise spread slowly through me, for it 
 dawned upon my mind that I had seen this beau-
 
 42 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 tiful girl somewhere, sometime, and then I smiled 
 in delight. She was the girl I had seen in New 
 York, the girl in the touring car, awaiting Ted 
 Fenton. 
 
 I was not proud of our appearance. 
 
 " Come, Douglass, let's get out of this," I said. 
 
 "Man, are you out of your senses?" he ex- 
 claimed. "And with such a picture before you? 
 You're the most ungallant fellow I've met with 
 in years. I shall linger." 
 
 A faint tint appeared in her cheeks at this out- 
 spoken flattery. She glanced from him to me, 
 then back at him once more. I observed an evi- 
 dent struggle on her face not to laugh, which 
 pleased me, I confess. 
 
 "The lady hasn't invited us to stare," I said. 
 "And, besides, it's time to go." 
 
 " No hurry. And a look for a look is fair, if 
 the face is fair; and a Scot has ever an eye for a 
 queen. That's out of the history books. You're 
 jealous, old boy, because she doesn't look your 
 way." 
 
 He removed his hat, with a sweep that would 
 have done an eighteenth-century cavalier credit, 
 rose in his stirrups, and made her a deep obeisance 
 a graceful, attractive, insolent figure. 
 
 "Welcome to Cold Springs, goddess of the 
 car," he addressed her. " The name of the town
 
 43 
 
 is a lie, but we be two true men. Welcome, thou, 
 and thy car Ethys." 
 
 "Don't you think you've gone far enough?" I 
 asked, half-amused, half-indignant. 
 
 " Not so far as I should wish, and that would 
 be up those steps." 
 
 The girl slowly turned about, and passed into 
 the car. 
 
 "Now, if I'd been alone " he began, twist- 
 ing about in his saddle, to face me. 
 
 But I did not wait for the rest of the speech. 
 He overtook me, laughing. Out of town we went, 
 at a gallop, swinging away on our long ride north. 
 The evening lasted until we had shaken off the 
 desert dust and ascended the first stony hill. 
 
 On a sudden, I recollected the telegram, clapped 
 my hand on my pocket, and brought it forth. It 
 was a despatch from Mr. Fenton, stating that he 
 and a party were on their way to Forge. And, 
 gazing at the yellow sheet in the twilight, I smiled. 
 Ethys! A remembrance of my senior prom came 
 to me a picture of Ted's sweet, pretty, sixteen- 
 year-old cousin, with whom I imagined myself in 
 love. And this was she, this lovely girl I had 
 just seen in Cold Springs! 
 
 "What the devil you grinning at?" Douglass 
 broke in on my meditations. 
 
 " None of your business," I retorted, my mood
 
 44 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 changed on the instant, as I remembered his words 
 at the car. 
 
 He gave a long whistle. 
 
 "By heavens, you're in a beautiful temper, 
 Maitland!" 
 
 " I've reason to be. You were impudent to 
 Mr. Fenton's niece." 
 
 " Well, that's cool. Was that his niece back 
 yonder? Oh, we're to have company at Forge 
 House, then? That will liven things up for 
 
 us." 
 
 Pretty soon the moon rose and lighted cnir 
 road. 'Douglass now and again broke into a song, 
 or chattered away of anything that came into his 
 mind. Off in the northeast a heavy storm gath- 
 ered around a lofty peak. Bands of fire darted 
 and quivered about its head, and distant mutter- 
 ings of thunder were borne to our ears. The 
 storm lasted the whole night; we could see it 
 plainly, but it gradually ceased toward three 
 o'clock, as we made the bank of Raging Creek. 
 
 Under ordinary circumstances, the creek was a 
 full stream, and now, augmented by the down- 
 pour at its source, it had become impassable. It 
 was truly named, raging down the narrow ravine 
 which formed its course. A wait was before us, 
 so we made camp, and rolled up in our saddle 
 blankets.
 
 THE BEGINNING OF EVENTS 45 
 
 Late the next afternoon, I awoke. I found 
 that a freighter whom we had passed the night 
 before had come up and unhitched his six-horse 
 team. A sheep herder had also come into camp, 
 and the two of them sat under a tree, talking with 
 Douglass. I rose, stretched myself, and exam- 
 ined the swollen waters; they still flowed undi- 
 minished, and we were destined to spend another 
 night in our enforced bivouac. 
 
 It was perhaps an hour later that the click of 
 horses' feet on stones drew our eyes to the road. 
 A mountain surrey came down the hill toward the 
 ford. As to its occupants, the Scotchman had the 
 same presentiment as I, for he jumped to his feet, 
 crying : " Our party, by all that's lucky ! " 
 
 So it proved. Mr. Fenton shook my hand and 
 presented me to his niece and her companions a 
 Mrs. Arlington, a dainty pink-and-white, fair 
 lady; her husband, who wore a brown, pointed 
 beard and eyeglasses, and who was a rather indo- 
 lent, though observant, gentleman; and, last, a 
 tall, black-haired chap, two or three years younger 
 than I, rosy-faced, good-natured, and not long out 
 of his university. 
 
 I felt Douglass pulling my sleeve, and, on turn- 
 ing about, found him, eager, and full of smiles. 
 He promptly related, upon being introduced, the 
 episode at the car, with a twist of humour infi-
 
 4 6 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 nitely to his credit. Every one laughed, Ethys 
 with the others. 
 
 " And now, Mr. Maitland," she said, when we 
 happened to be a little apart from the rest, "I 
 knew you the minute I laid eyes on you. You are 
 just the same big fellow who used to go to school 
 with Ted. At the car you showed your fine white 
 teeth when you smiled, as you used to. You are 
 more sunburned, but that's all. Do you think me 
 rude to be so candid? It's your punishment for 
 running away to Alaska six years ago, after prom- 
 ising me to go yachting." And the smile she gave 
 me was worth a gold mine. 
 
 " But where is Ted's sixteen-year-old cousin, 
 whom I danced so many dances with?" I said. 
 "She was pretty you are beautiful. Frankness 
 for frankness is fair." 
 
 "I thought men in the West spoke only the 
 truth?" 
 
 "They do, and as often as they dare." And 
 I made no effort to conceal my admiration. 
 
 She glanced searchingly at me, then away, and 
 I fancied I saw a deeper colour in her cheeks and 
 throat. 
 
 The cause of our halt was readily apparent to 
 the newcomers. At my suggestion, we rigged up 
 a tent out of the freighter tarpaulin, broke open 
 a bale of blankets which was among the freight
 
 THE BEGINNING OF EVENTS 47 
 
 going into Forge, and made rough, but comfort- 
 able, provision for our guests. A roaring fire was 
 started; a huge hamper of lunch was produced 
 from the surrey. 
 
 " Floods may stop us, but not starve us," said 
 young Woodworth, a big sandwich in one hand 
 and a chicken leg in the other. 
 
 That evening was one not to be forgotten. The 
 fire round which we sat flung its red light among 
 the shadows of the trees and across the dark, 
 glistening surface of the water. In our ears 
 sounded the low, incessant song of the torrent. 
 Overhead the stars shone pure and large. The 
 two women, with blankets cast loosely about their 
 shoulders, spoke little, as if under the spell of 
 the night, and listened to the tales which, 
 prompted by the surroundings, were told. The 
 old, white-headed freighter and the sheep herder, 
 at first reluctant, gradually spoke of their life in 
 the hills, recounting slowly and without emotion 
 their hardships and unending grapple with life. 
 
 It was evident that Ethys and the pink-and- 
 white Mrs. Arlington were experiencing a new 
 sensation. The crippled old freighter had never 
 had so attentive an audience, and he warmed to 
 his story. 
 
 " It was my first six-horse team, and was loaded 
 with sixty hundred of flour. We slipped on a
 
 4 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 rounding point of the mountain. I fell, too, the 
 wagon going over me, and breaking my leg, and 
 hung on a rock. Down below I heard a splash, 
 a thousand feet down. I jammed the bones to- 
 gether, and tied 'em with a piece of rag. Couldn't 
 crawl far, so I nigh died for water. A prospec- 
 tor found me, three days after. That's why I 
 limp now." And he thoughtfully stuffed his pipe 
 with his thumb. 
 
 The driver told of days twenty years before, 
 when he drove a swinging Concord stage. Doug- 
 lass not to be outdone related an adventure on 
 the Gold Coast; and I described Alaska. 
 
 "We're out of it, Woodworth," said Mr. Ar- 
 lington, addressing the young fellow beside him. 
 
 " I've never been anywhere but Europe, and 
 New York, and humdrum places," the other an- 
 swered disconsolately. "I hope something turns 
 up here." 
 
 We all stood up, preparatory to separating for 
 the night. Then Ethys Fenton showed the fine, 
 clean, wholesome strain in her. She walked to 
 the old freighter, and put out her hand. 
 
 " I want to thank you for the pleasure you 
 have given us to-night." 
 
 Surprised, delighted, stammering, the freighter 
 shook her hand, and watched her go as if he had 
 beheld an angel.
 
 THE BEGINNING OF EVENTS 49 
 
 A fresh log was thrown on the fire, sending up 
 a rush of sparks. We examined the river, and 
 found it receding, had a last look at our horses, 
 and turned to our blankets. 
 
 " By the gods, Maitland," said Douglass, walk- 
 ing by my side, "she's a woman worth the win- 
 ning." 
 
 I started at the passion in his voice. Moreover, 
 I did not like it.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE BREWING OF TROUBLE 
 
 BETWEEN the business of the mines and that of 
 providing entertainment for my guests, my days 
 were full ones ; indeed, so occupied was I that the 
 matter of the lost gold was, for the time, for- 
 gotten. The party's trunks came up from Cold 
 Springs; I planned riding, fishing, and mountain- 
 climbing excursions; and each evening, thanks to 
 our dexterous little Japs, we had an excellent din- 
 ner. But one afternoon my mystery was jogged 
 into sight again. I was down in the dam house, 
 examining the turbines, when one-armed Kelly 
 shuffled through the door, exhaling his habitual 
 alcoholic odour. 
 
 "And it's none too soon I've found ye," he 
 greeted. 
 
 Knowing by past experience that I should have 
 no peace until the old rogue had had his say, I 
 laid down my wrench and motioned for him to 
 speak. 
 
 " Trouble is brewin 1 ," he declared, " black 
 trouble. There's dirthy blaggards sayin' ye're 
 
 so
 
 THE BREWING OF TROUBLE 51 
 
 like me partner never was, and takin' the com- 
 pany's gold by handfuls." 
 
 Here was news, in truth! 
 
 "You're sure of this, Kelly?" 
 
 " Sure ? Look at the eye I got denyin' of it, 
 and ask me that! " 
 
 There was no doubt about the eye. A crow 
 was no blacker, and it was closed as tight as a 
 sleeping babe's. 
 
 "Out with your story," I ordered. "If talk 
 of that sort is afloat, I want to know it." 
 
 He needed no urging, and broke into a voluble 
 account of how he came by the information and 
 his highly ornamental optic. Going in Pelan's 
 store for a sup of liquor, he had fallen afoul of 
 four miners, who were idling out the day. They 
 were hard at solo, but not so hard they could not 
 deal gossip with the cards. 
 
 One avowed it would be a sweet hour when the 
 Scotchman sat in his right place, which was no 
 other than the manager's chair. His mate an- 
 swered that wages would be up then, and work 
 easy. And a third, Long Pete Gurley I already 
 knew his loose-lipped mouth added his tag that 
 that hour was soon ; that I was walking in Rogers' 
 tracks, though my Forge shoes were new but two 
 months; and, in less time than that, I should be 
 fired and gone to hell.
 
 52 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "And what tracks is thim, if I may ask 
 bould?" Kelly had demanded. 
 
 "A black-livered thief's, dug deep, with 
 britches draggin' full of company's dirt ! " was 
 Pete Gurley's reply. 
 
 Kelly gave him the lie, with a long tail of worse 
 words to it. Thereupon, the game terminated for 
 the moment, while they set upon the crippled Irish- 
 man, knocked him down, and kicked him out into 
 the street. 
 
 "Where did they get hold of the slander?" I 
 asked. 
 
 " Ask another," said Kelly. " But if ye had my 
 suspicions, it'd not be far from your elbow ye'd 
 look," he said significantly. 
 
 " I'll look both there, and farther. And, mean- 
 while, say nothing about it, Kelly. You've done 
 me a good turn, that I'll not soon forget. One 
 of these days we'll know " 
 
 "Yiss, sorr, ye'll know that Rogers niver took 
 the dirt ! " he interrupted. 
 
 "More than we do now," I concluded cau- 
 tiously. " I'm beginning to think that none of 
 the dust stuck to his fingers." 
 
 Kelly's one sound eye blazed with a ruddy fire. 
 "Drunkard am I not, but it's drunk a week I'll 
 be whin I break the Scotch head of the dirty 
 blaggard that spoilt me old pard's job and
 
 THE BREWING OF TROUBLE 53 
 
 name! " Whereupon he went away, repeating his 
 threat. 
 
 His bad tidings left me no desire to test tur- 
 bines. I stood a while, irresolute in mind and 
 body. So preposterous, so fantastic, appeared the 
 whole matter of the missing gold that it was diffi- 
 cult to grasp it as a fact. And added now, like 
 a crisp appendix, was this surreptitious stab at 
 what was infinitely more precious, my good name. 
 If the gold had been lost by mischance, if the 
 shortage had occurred through miscalculation of 
 tallies, no one would have known of it. It would 
 have been my secret. But here was the rumour 
 a thief was mixed in it. What was just as plain, 
 the thief was not content with his plunder: he 
 would wreck me, as he had my predecessor, the 
 ruined Rogers. 
 
 A sudden anger welled up in me. My palms 
 itched and my pulses tingled. If I had a battle 
 on my hands, I would fight to the finish. If it 
 were to be a struggle under cover, I would be as 
 vigilant, as cunning, as relentless, as my enemy. 
 Ay, and he should regret the day he had roused 
 my ire. 
 
 I went swiftly up the knoll. One part of my 
 plan had already leaped to mind, to forestall the 
 vicious rumour before it worked injury to me by 
 reaching higher ears.
 
 54 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 I found Mr. Fenton writing letters in the of- 
 fice, and I interrupted him in the middle of a 
 line. 
 
 "Why was Rogers released?" I questioned. 
 
 " Helped himself to gold." 
 
 " So I've understood, and the records show it, 
 I suppose. What did the man himself say? " 
 
 " Denied it." 
 
 "Well, I never knew him," I said, "but I'll 
 risk a good deal that he was innocent, notwith- 
 standing that gold vanished." 
 
 Mr. Fenton looked up in surprise. 
 
 "Why so?" he inquired. 
 
 " Because I'm in exactly the same fix." 
 
 "Explain." 
 
 " Four pounds of gold are missing hanged if 
 I know where or how. And you know very well 
 I'm not a thief." 
 
 Mr. Fenton nodded. "Go ahead," said he, 
 letting his eyes rest on me. 
 
 I seated myself on the corner of the table. 
 
 "You know how we work things here. The 
 coarse gold caught in the sluices, and what is 
 taken in the amalgam and retorted, is weighed 
 each day; then it's melted in this electric furnace 
 and run in a small ingot. When I made up the 
 last shipment, part was gone. I am the only 
 person supposed to know the combination of the
 
 THE BREWING OF TROUBLE 55 
 
 safe. Just now Kelly informed me that the miners 
 are talking that I'm short." 
 
 "Then it's known?" 
 
 "Yes and I never opened my mouth." 
 
 A gleam came into his grey eyes. For a mo- 
 ment he remained silent, running his long fingers 
 through his hair. 
 
 "Do you suspect any one?" was his query. 
 
 " Suppose we first start with the books," I re- 
 joined, " and leave my suspicions for the moment. 
 I'm curious to discover when this leak began." 
 
 " Good. That may aid." 
 
 From the safe I brought the ledger in which 
 was recorded the output of the placer, and spread 
 it on the table before him. We turned to the 
 period in which Rogers was manager. 
 
 "Up to the stoppage of work last fall," Mr. 
 Fenton said, after a while, " it appears to be 
 straight." He turned a page or two. "Here's 
 the beginning of work again the thaw was 
 early, I remember. See, March twenty-second 
 was the first resumption." He put his finger on 
 a notation in red ink. " Here's when your as- 
 sistant came, ' F. D. took C.'s place to-day' 
 Rogers was methodical at least ah! this is what 
 we want: 
 
 "April 6 Rt. G 393-SO4 oz. 
 
 G. D 43.726 oz. 
 
 Missing 30.221 oz."
 
 56 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " Such a careful entry of loss doesn't look like 
 the work of a guilty man,'* I remarked. 
 
 "No." 
 
 We pursued our investigation. In ten minutes 
 more we had all his receipts and shipments. His 
 second balance had been struck a fortnight after 
 the first, and the last a month later, at which 
 time he was dismissed. Supplementing each was 
 a marginal statement in red ink of the amount of 
 loss. Altogether some twenty pounds had disap- 
 peared, the final balance showing the greatest 
 shrinkage. Apparently the thief had grown 
 bolder each time. Rogers' notes, like crimson 
 illuminations, confined the period of thefts to a 
 brief two months, the exact time which Douglass 
 had been employed. 
 
 I closed the ledger with a slap. 
 
 "That's how my suspicion runs," I said. 
 
 " Still, there's no tangible proof." 
 
 " None." 
 
 Mr. Fenton rose and paced the room; his big, 
 bony frame bespoke physical power, as his large 
 head showed a masterful will. 
 
 "We'll find proof of the thief, whoever he is. 
 If Douglass but, meanwhile, we'll keep him here 
 to see." 
 
 " He's a daring fellow," I suggested. 
 
 "Well, we're full-grown men, Maitland," he
 
 THE BREWING OF TROUBLE 57 
 
 rejoined, pausing and smiling grimly through his 
 grey moustache, and surveying me. "We each 
 stand six feet." 
 
 A glow of satisfaction warmed me, because of 
 his trust in me, because, too, I think, of the pros- 
 pects of a struggle with my wily assistant. 
 
 "Where the deuce did he come from, I'd like 
 to know ! " I exclaimed. " He's close about him- 
 self and his past." 
 
 " Rogers picked him up." 
 
 " Rogers was a fool," said I. 
 
 "Likely. Has any more gold been taken of 
 late?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 He produced a long, black cigar, and lighted 
 it, and gathered up his papers to go. 
 
 "All the circumstances fix on Douglass," he 
 said. " I won't charge him with the theft. In- 
 stead, I'll cultivate him. I don't mind losing in 
 an open fight, but underhand work I hate. As 
 for you, Maitland, don't let this rumour disturb 
 you." 
 
 " I'm grateful for your confidence in me, Mr. 
 Fenton," I said. " But I'm anxious to get hands 
 on somebody, or something." 
 
 " ' Somebody ' will overstep himself presently 
 then comes your chance," he said, puffing a great 
 cloud of smoke.
 
 58' THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 At that minute an interruption came at the 
 door: 
 
 "AJre you two going to parley all day? I've 
 watched you through the window long enough, 
 and I'm coming in." Ethys Fenton stood in the 
 door, smiling. "You said, uncle, that every 
 woman should know a little about business, and 
 I'm here for my first lesson." 
 
 "But I didn't promise to teach you. That 
 shall fall on Maitland." 
 
 He laughed, strode out of the room, and I 
 hastened to fetch her a chair! But she seated 
 herself in the one at the desk. 
 
 " I'll begin here, thank you. Now I can imag- 
 ine myself ruling the destinies of Forge." She 
 settled herself with a fine air of proprietorship. 
 "They tell me, Mr. Maitland, that you have 
 ruled camps all over the western continent." 
 
 "Who has so flattered me?" 
 
 "And are becoming famous." 
 
 "No man is really famous until dead." 
 
 "While still young, too," she added. 
 
 "Time will repair that," I answered, pushing 
 aside a heap of blue prints that cluttered the 
 table, and sitting down. 
 
 She laughed, and pointed toward the window. 
 
 " Here we jest in the very shadow of Anvil 
 Rock. To think it's as old as the earth, and
 
 THE BREWING OF TROUBLE 59 
 
 nearly as big ! Why, it would barely squeeze into 
 Central Park!" 
 
 Its splendid bulk rose against the sky. The 
 sun sinking into the canon flung its last golden 
 rays upon the great granite face; about the foot 
 glided the river in a smooth, brown flood to the 
 dam, where it slipped down the incline, shining 
 like a mirror, to break at the bottom into a thou- 
 sand foaming currents. 
 
 " I love it love every atom of it," she mur- 
 mured softly. " It's like a sturdy old patriarch, 
 with his family of little hills around him." 
 
 "Whereas, in fact, the rock is a parvenu, and 
 the hills of old lineage." 
 
 "You've no poetry in your geological soul." 
 
 " Oh, I have, by your leave," I said, smiling. 
 " Mountains are my workshop, remember. But 
 when I gaze at a princess " 
 
 "I've scolded Ted over and over for giving 
 me that nickname," she interrupted. " And 
 Charlie Woodworth and the rest keep up the 
 
 nonsense." 
 
 " I'm partial to charming nonsense." 
 "You're absurd." 
 
 " I suppose it's the only expression my geolog- 
 ical soul has," I remarked thoughtfully. 
 She gave way to the merriest laughter. 
 "That being the case, we must allow it."
 
 6o THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " And it's agreed, then, that you'll be princess 
 to me?" 
 
 She bit her lip. A faint flush coloured the fair 
 skin of her face. 
 
 " That follows by no means. I'm an American, 
 simply a good American and you're laughing at 
 
 me." 
 
 I think my head swam for an instant under the 
 spell of her beauty, the nearness of her person, the 
 fragrance in which she seemed to float. My heart 
 was strangely gripped. 
 
 " No ! On my honour no ! I could never do 
 that," I said hoarsely. 
 
 Slowly she raised her eyes to mine, where they 
 rested. Then she gazed out of the window, and 
 began speaking lightly of commonplace things. 
 And I remained in contemplation of her smooth, 
 white brow and its crown of brown hair, her 
 eyes deep as twilight pools, lips red as holly 
 berries. 
 
 " You're paying absolutely no attention to what 
 I'm saying," she declared suddenly. 
 
 " I'm paying the strictest attention to you," I 
 replied. 
 
 "That's not the same thing." Then, after a 
 pause: "Surely I must be going." 
 
 Outside, the purple light in the canon had 
 faded. Only the majestic Anvil across the river
 
 THE BiREWING OF TROUBLE 61 
 
 held the sun's final rays, and these, too, all at once 
 fled. In the office the dusk of evening rose be- 
 tween the walls, thickening in corners and soft- 
 ening the straight lines of the furniture, while 
 shadows stood like apparitions. 
 
 But she made no move. 
 
 " It's very snug in here I'll stay a bit longer." 
 
 One of the turbines down in the turbine house 
 was thrown open, and, as the water rushed 
 through it, began to spin out its low, singing note, 
 the pitch rising steadily with the increase of 
 power, until it found its night-long tone at the 
 three-hundred notch. The dynamo which it oper- 
 ated joined in with its sharper hum. And so 
 wonderfully clear and pure lay the air between 
 the mountains that we heard distinctly the duet 
 of the machines above the muffled roar of the 
 dam. 
 
 "What is it?" she exclaimed. 
 
 I explained, and she remained unstirring, lis- 
 tening, wondering. The outline of her head 
 showed in the gloom of the room cameo-like 
 against the grey panel of the window pane. 
 Down in the turbine house the incandescents 
 began to flash out lines of light upon the water, 
 while in front of Forge House an arc lamp sput- 
 tered into blue fire. 
 
 She leaned her cheek upon her hand. I thought
 
 62 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 how wonderful it must all seem to her how it 
 must kindle her imagination! 
 
 " How entertaining Mr. Douglass is ! " she 
 said. And I knew my thoughts were wasted. 
 
 The fact is that I started with surprise, dis- 
 appointment, vexation. Her pensive attitude had 
 not been for me and my turbines, but for the 
 man I cared for least in the world. 
 
 " He's never dull a second of the day," I re- 
 plied, in not the most agreeable tone. 
 
 "And you must find him pleasant company." 
 
 " Oh, very," I admitted, and I don't think she 
 noticed the sarcasm in my voice. 
 
 " One can't help but admire him." 
 
 " I think the world of him." 
 
 " He's distinguished." 
 
 " No doubt of it," I agreed. 
 
 "And capable," she persisted. 
 
 "Of many things one wouldn't suspect." 
 
 She mused a moment. 
 
 " He has a way about him," she said. 
 
 "Which he's pursuing in this direction, if I'm 
 not mistaken," I concluded. For I had caught the 
 sound of hoof-beats rapidly pounding nearer. 
 
 " You're loyal to your assistant," she remarked, 
 with a peculiar laugh. 
 
 "What do you mean?" I asked, alert. Had 
 she been drawing me on?
 
 THE BREWING OF TROUBLE 63 
 
 " Why, you seem fond of him." 
 
 " I love him ! " Perhaps I overdid it. She 
 suddenly gave way now to open laughter, which 
 puzzled me. 
 
 The Scotchman, astride his horse, and bare- 
 headed as usual, raced up the avenue to the house, 
 and stopped under the electric light with a vicious 
 jerk of his animal's head. Springing from the 
 saddle, he struck Duke across the flank, sending 
 him to the stable, and came swiftly to the office 
 door. 
 
 " Devilish dark in here, Maitland ! " he cried, 
 speaking rapidly as was his wont when his blood 
 was running * fast. " I'm tired and thirsty. 
 Those beggars back yonder broke a flume, and 
 kept me an hour late, to-night of all nights, when 
 I was in a stew to be back with the princess." I 
 reached for the incandescent globe, for I dared 
 not let his tongue run. "Time's short for the 
 likes of us, you know. I put Duke through his 
 paces coming here four minutes for the mile on 
 a rough road." The globe evaded my hand, 
 swinging in circles on its cord. " I tell you, Jack 
 Maitland, a man will ride through hell to win a 
 smile from a beautiful woman. And to win one 
 from the princess, I'd ride straight " 
 
 At that instant, I caught and snapped on the 
 light. His words died on his lips. Inwardly I
 
 64 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 chuckled at his discomfiture. Astonishment, 
 though brief as a gust of air, swept his face ; then 
 he advanced with his courtliest manner and his 
 bonniest smile. 
 
 "Princesses are like angels," he said to her. 
 "They bestow their bounties often before due, as 
 you have done. My reward is sooner than I 
 could have thought possible, and it recompenses 
 me the more that it comes hard on my heedless 
 speech." 
 
 "Your speech was not finished. How straight 
 would you ride ? " the girl demanded. 
 
 "Straight as the narrow road to heaven." 
 
 He was once more the bold, jaunty Douglass, 
 unperturbed and full of assurance. 
 
 "That would be very straight indeed, sir. 
 Now we must prepare for dinner, or I fear we'll 
 be late." 
 
 I opened the door into the hall, and stood aside 
 for her to pass. Douglass watched her disappear, 
 his hands on his hips, his eyebrows cocked up, his 
 lips angled in a hard, sharp grimace. "Some 
 day," he said, and repeated enigmatically: 
 " Some day." And I could get no more words 
 from him.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 FAIR FIELD AND NO FAVOUR 
 
 FROM the evening when Douglass had found 
 Ethys and me together, I perceived a change in 
 his attitude toward me. In the presence of 
 others, he simulated a friendliness that I knew 
 did not exist; in private, his true feelings were 
 unmasked, and he showed a cold and hostile 
 spirit. He held his head higher, so to speak. In 
 the office, he answered me loftily, did not hesi- 
 tate to manifest an open contempt for my opin- 
 ions and plans, and but half executed the latter. 
 
 One evening it happened that he and I were 
 going out from the dinner table. I felt the touch 
 on my arm. 
 
 "The gold glitters, eh? She's a well-fledged 
 dove," he said ironically, nodding after Ethys 
 Fenton. 
 
 I faced about, and looked him over. 
 
 " I was right about you," I said. 
 
 "Which was?" 
 
 'That you are, at heart, an unprincipled cad. 
 I can't imagine a gentleman speaking of a guest 
 as you just have." 
 
 65
 
 66 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 His eyes flashed, and his thin fingers shut 
 tight on the tablecloth. 
 
 " Keep your fires covered, my jealous lover," 
 he said, holding his temper. " I don't blame you 
 for feeling ardent where there's both cash and 
 beauty. What's more, I shall imitate you, and 
 have a try for the lady. And if I know myself, 
 I'll win." 
 
 That he was in earnest became very soon ap- 
 parent. At the beginning, he simply snatched 
 time from his afternoons to join our guests on 
 various expeditions; but after two or three days, 
 he was absent to a degree that work at the placer 
 dawdled, and his duties accumulated on my shoul- 
 ders. I pulled him up short. 
 
 "Hoot, ye're ower jeelous, I'm thinking!" he 
 cried, in the broad Scotch he would sometimes 
 affect. "Nae less an' ye're maist too braw, 
 mon, to be greetin' like ony girny guidwife." 
 Then, changing swiftly to English : " I'll have 
 you know, Maitland, that my orders come from 
 Mr. Fenton, and no one else, while he's on the 
 ground. Is that plain enough to suit you?" 
 
 Lighting a cigarette, he flipped the match up 
 into the air, and strode away. My patience was 
 hard tried, and I was tempted to dismiss him that 
 minute. Nothing more than this piece of inso- 
 lence was needed to show me that he was staking
 
 FAIR FIELD AND NO FAVOUR 67 
 
 all on the dice of chance, with the princess and 
 her wealth as the prize. 
 
 Half an hour later, I rode to the placer, but 
 he was not there, as I had suspected. Workmen 
 were shirking; foremen were listless; the new sec- 
 tion of the flume which I had ordered was not 
 begun I stirred the men up. Then I descended 
 to the road, and spread out a blue print on a 
 boulder, and fell to studying it. 
 
 After a time, the crunch of a horse's feet near 
 by caused me to look up. Ethys Fenton, rosy- 
 cheeked, and with hair rebellious in the breeze, 
 sat smiling down at me. 
 
 " I've come visiting please help me off." 
 
 "You've arrived at the right moment," I said, 
 when she was down. "These fellows here have 
 put me so out of sorts that I need this good luck 
 to even the score." 
 
 She laughed gaily. 
 
 "Am I synonymous with good luck? If you 
 mean that I've permission to stay, why, I will. 
 You see, I'm on my way home, but I'll sit a while 
 on this stone. Charlie Woodworth wanted to 
 come, too; but I told him he must remain and be 
 nice to Helen ; besides, I didn't want to be annoyed 
 once I was settled comfy with a book in my lap. 
 How those pipes tear up the hill I What big 
 fellows they are ! "
 
 68 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "The water strikes the earth stiff as a steel 
 bar." 
 
 "Tell me more about it all." 
 
 So I described the process of placer mining 
 flumes, hydraulics, sluices, mercury tanks and 
 pointed out the little shanty in which the amalgam 
 was retorted. 
 
 " Is it out of just that one stratum of gravel 
 that the gold conies?" she asked. 
 
 "No other." 
 
 She leaned forward with her round chin in her 
 palm, elbow on knee, watching the great nozzles 
 spout their curving streams, with the hillside cav- 
 ing away before them. The light wind stirred 
 the veil on her hat, and the sunshine played in 
 her brown hair, and touched the exquisite line of 
 her neck. My heart quickened, for never before 
 had I had so lovely a listener; my tongue grew 
 eloquent. 
 
 With all the skill I could summon, I marked the 
 points and lines of the picture, drew its lights 
 and shadows, and painted its contrasts and col- 
 ours. 
 
 When I was done, an hour had passed. She 
 gathered her gloves, arose, and put out her 
 hand. 
 
 " Thank you for a very pleasant afternoon, my 
 best afternoon since coming to Forge. I've
 
 FAIR FIELD AND NO FAVOUR 69 
 
 wanted to know all about this, but never knew 
 where to begin. A girl tires of picnics sometimes, 
 and wishes for something real and strong and 
 rugged. This scene is full of energy. Now, will 
 you ride home with me?" 
 
 I brought the horses to where she was drawing 
 on her gauntlets. 
 
 "You've stopped the placer," I laughed. 
 "Every man's staring his eyes out at you with 
 good reason." 
 
 " If that's so, I'll not come again." 
 
 "Oh, I shall give orders that the gazing be 
 left to me hereafter." 
 
 " I suppose it's the mountain air makes you say 
 those nice things," she smiled. 
 
 "Yes; doctors tell us that high altitudes affect 
 the heart." 
 
 She settled herself in the saddle, shook out her 
 veil, and lifted her reins. 
 
 ' Then we should get down the canon as fast as 
 possible," she said over her shoulder, and I 
 caught a laughing flash of her teeth. " We must 
 not lose time, anyhow, for if the others learn I 
 halted here they'll think me a fibber." 
 
 "Which you're not." 
 
 "It would be a dull life if I couldn't change 
 my mind when I wanted to," she cried, as we 
 swung into a gallop.
 
 70 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 Willingly I would have stretched out to 
 leagues the mile to Forge House. The princess 
 was in high spirits over Anvil Rock, which, at 
 this late afternoon, was at its finest. Its western 
 front was all alight; to the east fell its long 
 shadow. Presently, she beheld an eagle far up 
 the lofty mountain, soaring slowly, and her face 
 glowed with excitement. 
 
 As we entered Forge, the pretty Mexican girl, 
 Inez, came out of the house where she lived, and 
 stepped forth into the road before us. Our 
 horses were moving at a slow walk. She extended 
 a bouquet of flowers, which she had gathered 
 among hillside rocks. 
 
 " For the princess," said she. 
 
 My companion graciously bent and accepted 
 them, with a word of thanks, evidently touched 
 by this intended kindness. The girl on the 
 ground remained without further word or motion. 
 But so strange and riveted was her scrutiny that, 
 at last, Ethys Fenton bit her lip, and glanced 
 round at me with a troubled face. She nodded 
 abruptly to the girl, and we rode away. 
 
 " How queerly she acted," she said. 
 
 " She'd heard of you, no doubt, and wanted to 
 see what you were like." 
 
 "Who is she?" she asked thoughtfully. "And 
 how did she learn my nickname?"
 
 FAIR FIELD AND NO FAVOUR 71 
 
 I could have made a shrewd guess. 
 
 "Don't mind it," I assured her; "people in 
 Forge have curiosity as they have elsewhere in 
 the world." 
 
 " Her eyes were so so intense." 
 
 Up through the town we passed at a footpace. 
 In front of Pelan's store, which was headquarters 
 for all the riffraff in Forge, I lighted on a new 
 and disturbing fact. My bad lot of dynamiters 
 were back again, despite my express order to keep 
 away. They appeared very much at home, lolling 
 on the store platform. 
 
 " That's him ! " one shouted. 
 
 "Yes, that tried to run us out!" 
 
 " And who's stealin' the company's swag I " put 
 in a third. 
 
 I swung my horse about, and came close to 
 them. 
 
 "What are you doing here?" I demanded. 
 
 They cowered as such men always cower under 
 sudden attack. 
 
 " It's a free country," one growled. 
 
 " Not so free as you think. If you're not five 
 miles out of Forge by noon to-morrow, down you 
 go to Cold Springs, tied hand and foot. You'll 
 be well met there, I promise you," I concluded 
 significantly. 
 
 For the law was already reaching out after
 
 72 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 them for their dastardly outrage over the moun- 
 tains, which they knew as well as I. My warning 
 given, I cantered on. 
 
 "See, there goes the eagle flying down the 
 river! " Ethys Fenton said, as I joined her. " Per- 
 haps it's going home, too. Sometime I'll follow 
 it. I remember riding down the canon one day 
 and finding the most beautiful gorge, whose walls 
 were overgrown with masses of lichens until it 
 seemed as if they had been painted with great 
 daubs of red and yellow and violet." 
 
 " That would be worth going far to see. Guide 
 me to it some day." 
 
 "If you'll promise to like it ah, I know you 
 will!" 
 
 At the door, we dismissed our horses in care 
 of one of the servants, and, casting a glance back 
 at the road we had come, saw at a distance the 
 rest of the household riding home. 
 
 "We're just in time," said Ethys; "and they 
 imagine me with my nose in a book. What 
 would they think, if they knew ! " 
 
 She made them a roguish bow, tossed them a 
 kiss with the tips of her fingers, and sped laugh- 
 ing up the wide staircase. When they arrived, 
 neither of us was visible. Woodworth shortly 
 came tramping into my room; he still wore his 
 riding togs, and was in very low spirits. Fling-
 
 FAIR FIELD AND NO FAVOUR 73 
 
 ing himself into a chair, he brooded in portentous 
 silence. 
 
 "What's up, old man?" I inquired, struggling 
 before the mirror with a refractory tie. 
 
 He straddled his long legs, ruffled his black 
 hair, and, with his smooth, beardless chin on his 
 breast, emitted a lugubrious sigh. Charlie was 
 yet a good deal of a boy, simple, direct, and lik- 
 able, wearing his heart on his sleeve. 
 
 " It's the princess hang it ! " he growled. 
 
 "What's she done?" 
 
 "Everything nothing. Rode off this after- 
 noon to read a fiddledly-foolish novel, just when I 
 thought I had her to myself. Yesterday I had 
 no better luck; for, when we were on the point 
 of going up the river together, in flops Douglass, 
 
 and " He suddenly sat up straight and 
 
 wrathful. " See here, Maitland, who the devil 
 is this blamed Scotchman, who's always sticking 
 his nose in?" 
 
 The new subject dissipated his gloom wonder- 
 fully, leaving a fine heat. 
 
 "What's the matter now?" I grinned heart- 
 lessly. 
 
 "Matter! Well, he did me clean yesterday 
 clean as a whistle. Oh, I was a regular come-on. 
 He broke into our party of two, and carried her 
 off right under my nose. I came home a whipped
 
 74 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 dog always runs home, you know. But I bet a 
 thousand," he cried, "that he doesn't do it 
 again ! " 
 
 "I'll bet a thousand he'd take that bet," I 
 said. 
 
 " Yes, curse him, he would ! That's the trouble, 
 his effrontery stops nowhere. He calls me '* boy,' 
 or ' freshman,' or ' rah-rah,' to my face, and I 
 have to swallow it. A fine assistant he is! 
 He " 
 
 "Hold on, Charlie; keep off that subject." 
 
 " My tongue's my own, and I'll say what I 
 please," he continued darkly. "The placer hasn't 
 felt his boot the past week to my knowledge; and 
 he leaves the whole job to you, while he plays 
 the gallant. I'll open uncle's eyes a bit." 
 
 "You'll do nothing of the kind." 
 
 "Well, I would if I were less a gentleman," 
 he growled, his mussed hair over his forehead. 
 "And the worst of it is that she seems to like 
 him dancing round. In my opinion, the fellow's 
 nothing more or less than a barefaced adven- 
 turer." 
 
 "You seem hard hit, Charlie," I said, clap- 
 ping him on the back. 
 
 "I am deuced hard hit. I'm downright sick 
 for love of her." 
 
 He grinned feebly.
 
 FAIR FIELD AND NO FAVOUR 75 
 
 "You've not fallen off in flesh," I observed. 
 
 " By Heaven, you're callous as an ox ! I 
 thought you a friend." 
 
 " Come, get into your clothes. You'll be late 
 for dinner." 
 
 " Not if I know it," he exclaimed, jumping up. 
 " Anyway, it's a shame. She'd better take a man 
 like you or me, and be done with it, than waste 
 time over such a rascal." He stalked off in dis- 
 gust, slamming the door after him. 
 
 In this state of affairs, we came to the table. 
 The unconscious cause of it all, Ethys, sat through 
 the meal, radiant and winsome and happy, dis- 
 tributing her smiles with impartiality. 
 
 I made myself agreeable to Mrs. Arlington, by 
 whose side I sat; she, her husband, and Mr. Fen- 
 ton were their customary, amiable selves; but 
 Woodworth was lively with a forced gaiety, and 
 Douglass was positively at his best. From time 
 to time I saw that his eye rested sardonically upon 
 the less lucky lover, as if he knew how the wind 
 stood in that quarter, and as if he enjoyed the 
 knowledge. He talked across the candles wittily, 
 and won the approval of us all, in spite of our- 
 selves. Nor did he permit the favourable im- 
 pression to diminish when we passed from the 
 table. He kept himself well up to the mark, and 
 never, though it went against the grain for me to
 
 76 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 admit it, looked handsomer or more the gentle- 
 man. 
 
 He was not the man to let any victory remain 
 half won so, in this case, he struck while the 
 iron was hot, proposing a torchlight exploration 
 of an old worn-out mine tunnelled in the base of 
 Anvil Rock. The night was fine, the moon was 
 full, and the air warm. There was a romantic 
 tinge about the project, a prospect of harmless 
 adventure, that caught the instant fancy of the 
 two ladies, and they fell in with the plan, while 
 the gentlemen gave a ready assent. 
 
 Watching the Scotchman's face, I saw a look 
 of ill-concealed satisfaction appear on it. Imme- 
 diately I came to the conclusion that he had long 
 had the scheme revolving in his head, but whether 
 for any other reason than the triumph of leader- 
 ship I could not guess. 
 
 Well, I would not be at the tail of his pro- 
 cession. He could fly his kites alone. My duties 
 as manager now stood me in my need, and I 
 pleaded stress of business as an excuse for re- 
 maining. 
 
 "Why, that's too bad, old chap," Douglass 
 said patronisingly, when I mentioned that I 
 should be detained. " I'd counted on you to look 
 after things at the rear I suppose Woodworth 
 will do."
 
 FAIR FIELD AND NO FAVOUR 77 
 
 " Certainly. L'll see that nothing is last or 
 stolen," Charlie replied, bitter-sweetly. 
 
 Half an hour later, the party, clothed in boots 
 and waterproofs, made a start, the men carrying 
 miners' torches. The prospect of a romp had 
 raised every one's spirits. Jests at each other's 
 costume were bandied about, and the ladies ral- 
 lied me on being afraid of the dark, of spooks, 
 and of becoming lost. Out of the door they all 
 trooped. 
 
 Douglass was the last, and made it a point to 
 fire a parting shot. 
 
 " You're a fair miner, but a mighty poor lover," 
 he said, with lowered voice. 
 
 "And you're too greedy," I replied. "Your 
 fortune won't last." 
 
 " But hers will," he said eagerly. " I take the 
 gifts of the gods with both hands take them 
 to-night."
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 SCOTCH SECRETS 
 
 I WATCHED the party descend to the river's brink 
 and enter the boat. The water was all ashine 
 under the round moon, and the air was still, so 
 still that their words and laughter, flung back 
 from the broad face of Anvil Rock as from a 
 sounding-board, seemed startlingly near at hand. 
 They landed in the mountain's black shadow, 
 where I followed the torches' flames for a while, 
 until they blinked out, and I knew they had passed 
 under the tunnel's arch. 
 
 I went into the office, sat down in the darkness, 
 and gave myself up to a cigar and my thoughts. 
 The outer door stood open, a few of the moon's 
 rays fell in at a window. Three-quarters of an 
 hour may have gone by when I was aroused by 
 a soft step on the threshold, and beheld, in the 
 shadow of the portico, where the arc lamp over 
 the avenue did not reach, the dim shape of a girl. 
 
 " Frederic," spoke her voice. 
 
 I scented an adventure. What could the Mex- 
 ican girl want of my astute assistant? 
 
 78
 
 SCOTCH SECRETS 79 
 
 " Frederic," she repeated, stepping inside. 
 " Did Senor Maitland keep you again to-night 
 and last night?" 
 
 Ah, my canny Scot! He had deceived her by 
 playing hide-and-seek behind my name. It was 
 more than careless for so sharp a fellow as Doug- 
 lass to use so flimsy a pretext. Now, since I had 
 been introduced into this minor affair of his with- 
 out my knowledge, I concluded I had warrant in 
 going a bit farther. I snapped on the light. 
 
 " Diosf" she cried, and sprang back a step. 
 
 " Senorita, I want you to know that I keep the 
 gallant Frederic from none of his appointments 
 with you," I said, "neither to-night nor last 
 night, nor any other evening." 
 
 "Then I will go." 
 
 I darted between her and the door. 
 
 "Not yet, if you please. I wish a little con- 
 versation with you. It may, perhaps, save you 
 future mistakes and heartaches." 
 
 Her lip curled with scorn. 
 
 "What do you know of heartaches, senor?" 
 she asked slowly. "You are tall and strong and 
 cold." 
 
 At that, I broke forth into a hearty laugh, for 
 it was not exactly flattering, her speech. As for 
 her, her face showed no answering mirth. 
 
 " I may not be so amiable as Frederic Doug-
 
 8o THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 lass, sefiorita," I said, smiling; "but honesty, 
 you will learn, is of more worth than amiabil- 
 ity." 
 
 She shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 "Let me go," she said. 
 
 " I thought you wished me to tell you how 
 Frederic spends his evenings with the " 
 
 "With whom, sefior?" she demanded, eyes 
 aflame. 
 
 " Come, let us talk calmly." I placed a chair 
 for her, which she took with murmured thanks. 
 " I've no desire .to keep you against your will, 
 sefiorita. I only want to say to you that you will 
 be wise to forget Mr. Frederic Douglass." 
 
 "Forget no!" 
 
 Breathing hurriedly, slightly pale, and keeping 
 her great black eyes fixed on me, she searched 
 for my purpose. 
 
 "Yes; forget him," I went on. "He's been 
 saying pretty things to you, I imagine, which 
 you've taken seriously. And he's the last person 
 to take seriously when the subject is love. You'll 
 do wisely not to plan any more of these night 
 meetings." She opened her lips to speak, but I 
 raised my hand. " He is deceiving you, sefiorita. 
 Wait until you're older, or till you find an honest 
 lover." 
 
 For a minute, the girl remained rigid and si-
 
 SCOTCH SECRETS 81 
 
 lent, like a figure of suffering. But directly the 
 colour flooded into her face, quickening, darken- 
 ing, transforming her olive beauty. All her pas- 
 sionate blood was aflame. She sprang to her feet, 
 stretching one open hand toward me. 
 
 'You think me a child I am a woman! My 
 love is greater than all Forge, all the world! 
 And he loves me a hundred, a thousand times 
 has he said it ! " Her head rose proudly. " And 
 some day I will be his wife, senor." 
 
 A soft whistle escaped my lips. I leaned 
 against the safe, and thrust my hands into my 
 pockets. There was nothing to say to such an 
 outburst, for of a surety matters had got by the 
 soothing-syrup stage. His blue eyes and glib 
 tongue had worked mischief here; he was making 
 good his boast concerning himself and women. 
 
 "Don't trust him," I said, at last. "He's a 
 scoundrel." 
 
 She clutched her breast. I saw that her hand 
 was trembling. 
 
 " And this woman with whom he rides, this 
 princess? Is it as the people say, the daughter of 
 the company? Why does he ride with her 
 always?" 
 
 I remained silent. 
 
 'Tell me, senor." 
 
 ' Your heart should tell you."
 
 82 
 
 "Was he here with her last night the night 
 before?" 
 
 "Yes, senorita." 
 
 Slowly she straightened, smiling with infinite 
 contempt. 
 
 " The liar the liar ! " she breathed. " I knew 
 it here in my breast. He has sold himself for 
 her gold. It's gold he must always have gold! 
 always more gold ! " 
 
 "The bargain's not made yet," I put in, for 
 my own satisfaction as much as hers. 
 
 "You are a great fool, Senor Manager, a very 
 great fool, nearly as great as that other who was 
 accused of stealing." Her eyes, and her contempt, 
 were now turned on me. Then she continued, 
 speaking to herself: "Hasn't he enough in this 
 safe that he must have hers?" 
 
 I suddenly caught her wrist. 
 
 "He robbed this safe?" I cried. 
 
 She shrank back, as if afraid. 
 
 "You hurt me, senor let me go." 
 
 " He robbed it? Answer me. He robbed it? " 
 In my excitement, I fairly shook her. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 I loosed my grip, and moistened my lips. The 
 revelation had come at last. 
 
 " The villain ! " I said finally, between my 
 teeth 1 . "He still breaks his employer's bread,
 
 SCOTCH SECRETS 83 
 
 and eats his salt the traitorous, faithless vil- 
 lain!" 
 
 The perfidy of his conduct, now that I knew it 
 to a certainty, struck doubly deep into my mind. 
 
 "We're both his dupes, senorita," I said bit- 
 terly. "He steals your love and my honour." 
 In a gust of passion, I took a pace or two across 
 the floor. Then, cooling: "He shall not mock 
 us we'll match our wits against his." 
 
 She had watched me without a word. Now she 
 said: " Come with me. It's gold he loves; let it 
 be an empty love." 
 
 Out of the house she led me, hatless as I was, 
 out upon the gravel driveway and round the 
 corner and down the slope at the rear to the ma- 
 chine shop, a hundred yards distant in a hollow. 
 Its windows were unlighted, the place silent. The 
 Frenchman was absent. 
 
 I had a key to the shop, as to all buildings. 
 We were soon in a Roman dungeon could have 
 been no darker. The moonlight fell through the 
 windows and upon a work-table in two white 
 squares; the rest of the long room was black. I 
 struck a match, for we dared not use the lamps, 
 lest some curious eye see them, and the girl picked 
 her way through the lathes and forges to a 
 wooden cupboard which stood against the wall. 
 Over her shoulder, I held a match and examined
 
 84 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 it, a tall, narrow, wooden press, solidly built, with 
 a lock which one glance showed me was beyond 
 most men's tampering. 
 
 "Look under its bottom," she said, striking it 
 with her knuckles; "it's false as his heart." 
 
 "How do you know?" 
 
 She laughed wildly. 
 
 " I saw him come one night your first week 
 here. I followed. When he looked up from his 
 knees and beheld me beside him, he swore an 
 oath, then laughed, and said you were a fool like 
 the other, Rogers. And he said that he loved me, 
 and that when we were married we should live in 
 Forge House. Then we came away, after putting 
 the gold back into the hole." 
 
 "Where it will probably stay a while," I re- 
 plied, trying the cupboard door. 
 
 "Let me go now, sefior." 
 
 " Remember, Inez, you've a friend in me. If 
 any time I can help you, I will." 
 
 Either she did not or would not see the hand I 
 held out to her. Her mood had changed. From 
 revengeful eagerness she had fallen to weary list- 
 lessness; and she shivered in the moonlight as she 
 left the building. I watched her go down the dry 
 and shallow runlet which passed the door of the 
 shop, and, bending round the eastern slope of the 
 knoll, inclined thence to the river.
 
 SCOTCH SECRETS 85 
 
 At its crossing with the road it broke into a 
 little gully full of stones and stunted bushes bear- 
 ing a few leaves and bitter berries. 
 
 Whether I had failed to observe the French- 
 man, D'Urville, coming from town, or whether 
 he had stood there in meditation, I cannot say; 
 but, at any rate, as she put foot into the road, he 
 appeared in front of her, playfully spreading his 
 arms. 
 
 The distance was not over fifty yards, and their 
 voices floated plainly up to me on the quiet night 
 air. 
 
 " It ees mademoiselle ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 For a few minutes they carried on a low con- 
 versation, then she started away. But he caught 
 her arm and stopped her, and I heard his whin- 
 ing voice : " You wouldn't leave me wizout a 
 leetle kees, p'tlte. While cher Frederic is away 
 the mice will play; is it not so?" 
 
 " Ugh ! You beast ! " she hissed. And, like a 
 wildcat, quick and furious, she struck him twice, 
 thrice, across the cheek. 
 
 He staggered back, and before he had recov- 
 ered from her fierce attack, she sprang away, and 
 was speeding noiselessly down the road. He pur- 
 sued her for a few steps, laughing, halted, 
 and laughed again, and, at last, gave over the 
 chase.
 
 86 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 Here was a fine matter for the master lover! 
 The lieutenant trespassing on his captain's pre- 
 serve! Douglass would have been rarely pleased 
 had he known how loyally D'Urville had at- 
 tempted to make up for the absence of the truant 
 Scotchman. 
 
 But I became grave. To have a pair of such 
 conscienceless rascals at work in one's own door- 
 yard was cause for gravity; for, unlike as they 
 were in face and manner, their evil natures fitted 
 one another like the halves of an almond. By 
 this time, I well knew that they had been old, 
 tried, trusted comrades in uncounted villainies 
 here and there about the world, and recognised, 
 of course, that they were hand in glove in the 
 matter of the stolen gold. 
 
 Retreating into the shop, I softly closed and 
 locked the door, and waited. As I waited, I 
 laughed. For a plan both bold and daring had 
 darted into my brain. A chance had come unex- 
 pectedly, a chance to seize. Let the Scotchman 
 search tunnels, I would explore cupboards; and 
 the Frenchman, I promised myself, should receive 
 the surprise of his life. 
 
 On a work-table near at hand I had caught 
 sight of a bundle of cord when the Mexican girl 
 first entered. I groped about till my fingers 
 lighted on it, and I was ready.
 
 SCOTCH SECRETS 87 
 
 The machinist came so leisurely that I grew im- 
 patient; but, in the end, his feet sounded on the 
 gravel outside. He placed the key in the lock, 
 turned it, pushed open the door, and, humming a 
 French chanson, paused for a moment to look off 
 at the town. The moonlight fell full upon him, 
 and I saw a malicious smile resting on his round, 
 bearded face. His hands were clasped under the 
 tail of the jumper that he had not yet removed 
 after his day's work, and he had the pose and 
 calm of a priest. 
 
 At length he entered, leaving the door open. 
 Making a swift step out from the work-table 
 where I hid, I seized and jerked his elbows to- 
 gether. Sudden as my attack had been he was 
 fighting before I had him tripped and on the 
 floor. All the strength and cunning of a man 
 never more than half off guard was in his resist- 
 ance; and his fat was as deceptive as a coat, for 
 it covered sinews of steel. 
 
 Twisting, squirming, coiling his legs about 
 mine, and using them like tentacles, trying this 
 trick and that, never yielding and never idle, he 
 spoke not a word, nor did I. In the faint light 
 which enabled one dimly to see shapes, we fought 
 back and forth across the floor, and our strained 
 breathing and the brush of our bodies on the 
 planks were the only sounds. But I had the ad-
 
 88: THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 vantage from the beginning, and six feet of hard- 
 ened muscle wore him down. 
 
 At last he yielded, and lay quiet while I tied 
 him hand and foot, and wrapped his head in an 
 apron. Then I switched on the lights, and, 
 sweating freely, leaned against an anvil to breathe. 
 His short, fat body reposed on the floor like that 
 of a neatly trussed fowl. 
 
 For the life of me, the situation made me smile 
 I and my workman, supposedly on the best of 
 terms, grappling in the dark over something 
 neither of us knew very well what. I would have 
 given much to have been able to read the villain's 
 thoughts. And a line out of a play flashed into 
 my mind " Let me have men about me that are 
 fat" the noble Caesar never knew my French- 
 man! 
 
 I found the keys in his pockets, from which I 
 took them. Jingling them, as if I had been a boy, 
 still smiling and in high spirits, I crossed the 
 room. Were I a villain, I considered, I should 
 not put my trust in women, good Frederic. 
 
 The cupboard proved to be a tool case, with 
 three shelves full of chisels, wrenches, and drills, 
 while on the floor sat a box of metal odds and 
 ends common to any such shop. I hauled the lat- 
 ter out, thrust a finger into the auger hole bored 
 in the false bottom, and lifted the panel out. A
 
 SCOTCH SECRETS 89 
 
 dark hole was revealed, into which I peered; I 
 reached down, and ran my hand about the space; 
 then I sprang to my feet, flung down the keys, 
 and strode back to my prostrate enemy. I had 
 underestimated my opponents' cunning the hole 
 was empty! 
 
 Darkening the room once more and loosening 
 the knot at D'Urville's wrists, I went up the 
 knoll to the house. During the five minutes 
 which elapsed before the man freed himself and 
 I saw the lights flash forth from the shop win- 
 daws, I bitterly pondered my bootless adventure, 
 and cursed the tricks of rascals. 
 
 Toward eleven o'clock, the party of explorers 
 returned from the mine. As the wind blew them 
 in at the door, I saw that a change of weather 
 was pending; clouds sailed across the moon, a 
 stiff breeze had started up, and the air smelled 
 damp. 
 
 Ethys Fenton turned to me with a smile. 
 
 '"You're a dreadful stay-at-home, Mr. Mait- 
 land, and you should get rid of your lazy habits. 
 Now, honest Injun, didn't you bury yourself in a 
 novel as soon as we were gone?" 
 
 " It was a comedy. The characters were one 
 discomfited honest man and one triced rascal." 
 
 "Was it humorous?" 
 
 " Very."
 
 90 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " I hope you finished it, for I'm not going to 
 allow you to read again soon. You see, I've made 
 up my mind to a trip to Painted Canon." 
 
 "Am I not to have a ride to-morrow?" Doug- 
 lass interrupted, appearing at her elbow. 
 
 " Mr. Maitland's shall be first. He's waited a 
 week for it." 
 
 " Then will come my turn," Frederic said, with 
 an enigmatical look. 
 
 She turned to me. 
 
 "When shall we go? I fear I'll be too tired 
 to-morrow; and the next day, Saturday, may find 
 
 me lazy. Now, Sunday " She paused, with 
 
 her eyes questioning me. 
 
 " Sunday let it be," said I. And sa it was 
 arranged. 
 
 The ladies gone, the rest of us remained to 
 smoke and chat. In Charlie Woodworth I de- 
 tected a subtle change. He smiled contentedly 
 as he watched the smoke rings curl up from his 
 cigar. 
 
 "You're in a ripping good humour to-night, 
 Woodworth," said Douglass, finally. 
 
 " I am. You've given us a wonderful evening, 
 Duggy " the Scot's brows drew sharply together 
 at the word "and, by Jove, I never dreamed 
 that mines had it in 'em ! " 
 
 "Had what, if I may venture?"
 
 SCOTCH SECRETS 91 
 
 " Certainly you may," Charlie replied sweetly. 
 "The wonderful carrying power of the human 
 voice in tunnels is what I referred to." 
 
 Douglass moistened his lips. 
 
 tc Do you mean do you mean " 
 
 A sardonic grin spread over Woodworth's face. 
 
 " I mean what I mean," said he. 
 
 At this juncture, Arlington broke up this little 
 hidden passage at arms by saying: "Yes, Doug- 
 lass, we must congratulate you on showing us 
 something new." 
 
 My assistant abruptly nodded his thanks. 
 
 " He's to be congratulated on more counts than 
 one," I said. 
 
 The excitement of my adventure still pulsed in 
 my temples, my fighting blood was up, and I 
 was eager to put my point inside his guard. 
 
 "How's that?" Arlington inquired. 
 
 " I'm confident that what I have to tell will 
 delight you all, and the ladies in particular. Eh, 
 Frederic, you sly fox ! " 
 
 I clapped him jovially on the shoulder where 
 he sat near me. He knew now he was being 
 baited; he straightened, snuffing danger. I caught 
 Mr. Fenton's eyes fixed on me, and he leaned 
 forward, feeling that something was crystallising. 
 
 "What bogie tale have you heard now?" 
 Douglass asked.
 
 92 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 But I knew the value of suspense. I smiled 
 importantly. 
 
 ' You're darn provoking," Charlie said. " It 
 must be good or you wouldn't nurse it." 
 
 "Why, it's excellent," I answered. 
 
 Douglass' patience was suddenly worn to a fine 
 edge. 
 
 " Out with it, man," he exclaimed. " Make it 
 the truth, top. I'm in no mood to-night for any 
 musty canard." 
 
 " This news is perfectly fresh, my boy." I re- 
 turned his look composedly. " It's nothing less 
 than your prospective marriage with the Mexican 
 girl down in the village." 
 
 He leaped to his feet, and stood as if thunder- 
 struck. 
 
 " I ! " he cried. " I good Lord, no ! " 
 
 His face was pale as linen, his eyes shot mur- 
 der at mine. I gave him my last charge. 
 
 "The girl told me so with her own lips not 
 two hours ago." 
 
 Charlie thrust his hand enthusiastically out to 
 me, choking with laughter. Arlington blinked 
 from one to the other of us. Mr. Fenton folded 
 his arms, and settled back, a gleam showing under 
 his shaggy brows. 
 
 " Good Lord, no ! " Douglass muttered again. 
 
 Well, that ended the session.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 A TAUNT AND A BLOW 
 
 THE performance of a good deed, we are told, 
 carries its own reward. Whether or not the dis- 
 comfiture I caused Douglass comes within the 
 category of good deeds I leave you to decide. 
 Personally, I hold that it does, and if we can 
 believe history I do not hold alone; for formerly 
 witches were soused in ponds, heretics hanged out 
 of hand, and the devil himself singed by fire all 
 of which practices produce pleasurable sensations, 
 perhaps moral exaltation, in the breasts of those 
 who presided over the ceremonies. On my part, 
 I know I experienced a strong and increasing sat- 
 isfaction in having singed Douglass; and the 
 effect upon him was early marked. 
 
 He waxed respectful, cautious, even polite. He 
 seemed, in addition, to have fallen into the dumps, 
 partly due to the embarrassment of his love affairs 
 and partly due, I supposed at the time, to the 
 change of skies. 
 
 The unsettled weather lasted out the week. 
 Friday was rainy, Saturday sharp and windy. As 
 nothing compares with mountains for brightness 
 
 93
 
 94 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 on a fine day, so nothing matches their stormy 
 gloom. Our guests hugged the house. On Sat- 
 urday morning it chanced that Mr. Arlington rose 
 an hour before his accustomed time. He found 
 me at breakfast, to which he sat down. 
 
 After we had chatted a while, he inquired: 
 
 "What's a Mex, Maitland?" 
 
 "Abbreviation for Mexican." 
 
 He stroked his pointed beard, and meditated. 
 
 "Yesterday afternoon Douglass introduced me 
 into Pelan's " 
 
 "You touched the muddy bottom of Forge, 
 there," I said. 
 
 He dropped a lump of sugar in his coffee, and 
 laughed. 
 
 " I should say so ! The rainy-day crowd was 
 present, mostly drunk. And it was there I heard 
 a big fellow named Long Pete use the word 
 1 Mex.' " 
 
 " I know him. The worst knave in camp 
 save two," I interrupted. 
 
 "Well, this Long Pete had a young chap cor- 
 nered close by me," he went on, " and I over- 
 heard part of their talk' some business deal. I'll 
 wager that Wall Street never heard talk to equal 
 it. The boy declined to accept the man's pro- 
 posal, whatever it was, and Long Pete went at 
 him in this fashion:
 
 A TAUNT AND A BLOW 95 
 
 " ' A thousand in cash you'll have, and ride in 
 a taxi like a sport.' 
 
 " ' It's dirty work, and I'll not go into it,' the 
 boy answered. 
 
 "'You'll get the Mex, too, along with the 
 cash, and have a wife for winter nights.' 
 
 "'Blamed if I'll take a Britisher's tailings,' 
 the boy spoke up. 
 
 " That's another new word to me, Maitland 
 tailings." 
 
 "A mining term, meaning refuse, leavings 
 from the sluices," I explained. 
 
 " I see. They then had it back and forth, their 
 talk sprinkled with curses, and the boy finally 
 threatened to tell you. 'You squeal,' said Pete, 
 ' and I'll cut your throat and throw you to the 
 birds.' The matter ended by Douglass stopping 
 them, with a hand on each of their shoulders, 
 saying he would see the young chap later; then 
 they all took a drink." 
 
 He leaned back in his chair, and indulged in a 
 hearty laugh. 
 
 " I thought," he continued, " that I was really 
 going to see a murder; but the nearest they got 
 to it was by drinking Pelan's sure-death whis- 
 key." 
 
 As I ate my breakfast, I speculated on what 
 their conversation might involve. If I did not
 
 96 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 guess wrong, there was something here more seri- 
 ous than a mere quarrel between miners. What 
 was at stake? What was it he had vowed to 
 tell me? 
 
 "Did you hear Pete call his name? Was it 
 Joe Lowden?" I asked. 
 
 Arlington nodded. 
 
 Forge boasted plenty of young fellows of the 
 wild, graceless breed, but few who were steady 
 going; the latter could be counted on the fingers 
 of one hand, and of these Lowden had been the 
 best, until a month before, when he took suddenly 
 to drink and reckless habits. 
 
 The cause of the change was no secret. He 
 loved the Mexican girl, in whose favour he had 
 stood well until Douglass came. Had another 
 man of the Scot's position gone among the miners' 
 daughters for the sheer sport of winning one away 
 from her lover, he would have met with only bit- 
 ter contempt and the united hatred of the camp. 
 Here appeared the power of the Scotchman's 
 charm. He held Forge to his side, and more, 
 brought down upon the boy's luckless head a 
 shower of gibes. I recollected this, and was at a 
 loss to surmise what Long Pete Gurley and Doug- 
 lass were contriving in respect to Joe Lowden. 
 
 "Well," said I, rising from the table, "the 
 young fellow was right in refusing the deal, what-
 
 A TAUNT AND A BLOW 97 
 
 ever it was. Pete is generally mixed in some busi- 
 ness that won't bear inspection." 
 
 A servant brought my horse to the door, and I 
 mounted. Charlie Woodworth stood bareheaded 
 out upon the avenue, pumping air into his lungs 
 at a great rate, and blowing it forth again with 
 the gusto of a porpoise. 
 
 " I'm exercising," he let escape, between fills. 
 
 "You're overdoing it," I said. 
 
 Once more he puffed up like a pouter pigeon 
 and exhaled profoundly. 
 
 "Now that's done, I'm ready to eat. Here is 
 your morning mail." And he extended a dirty, 
 crumpled envelope. 
 
 "What's that thing?" I asked, looking down 
 from my saddle. 
 
 " I found it on the doorstep, like a foundling." 
 
 My name was scrawled in pencil on the cover. 
 I reached for it, and thrust it into my pocket. It 
 was one of the kind I received the morning after 
 every " day off," poor, badly written, tear-stained 
 epistles from miners' wives, imploring me to keep 
 their husbands sober. They were little side lights 
 on sordid tragedies. I counted on having them 
 regularly, and as regularly I called up the wife- 
 beaters and rated them till they hung their heads 
 a sort of unofficial duty in which I took little 
 pleasure.
 
 98 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " Is it from a lady?" Charlie inquired, with ex- 
 aggerated politeness. 
 
 "It is." 
 
 " Fie on you and at this time in the morn- 
 ing!" 
 
 I made a cut at him with my reins, and he 
 dodged, laughing, under the portico. 
 
 " Get on in to your breakfast," I advised. 
 
 " Devilish poor taste in correspondents you 
 show," was his impudent rejoinder. 
 
 On my ride through the street of the village, 
 I came across the young sheep herder with whom 
 our party camped at Raging River. His eyes were 
 bloodshot, his face flushed, and he was very un- 
 steady on his feet. 
 
 "You look sick," I said, pulling up. 
 
 " I am," he replied, not lifting his eyes. 
 
 "Drunk?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Where's your sheep? You stand a good 
 chance of being fired if the owner learns of this." 
 
 " I know it and I ought to be." He waved 
 toward the hills north of town. 
 
 "They're over there." 
 
 " Come, get back at once," I encouraged. 
 " Don't take one slip so much to heart." 
 
 For a moment he said nothing. 
 
 " I can't go back," he said, presently. " I
 
 A TAUNT AND A BLOW 99 
 
 came to town for grub, and got to drinking, and 
 now the money's gone." 
 
 "What's the matter with your camp tender? 
 Why didn't he come?" 
 
 " I haven't any. He quit last week. I thought 
 being so near town I could leave the sheep a 
 while." 
 
 " Tell me your name," said I. 
 
 " Dave Corry." 
 
 I slipped my hand into my pocket, and drew 
 out a twenty-dollar gold piece. 
 
 "Here's a stake. Better luck next time." 
 
 He stared as if he could not believe his ears 
 and eyes, then slowly reached for it. He squared 
 his shoulders, and looked up at me. 
 
 " I'll pay it back," he said. " You're the man- 
 ager, aren't you ? I saw you that night at Raging 
 River. You're better than the rest here." He 
 scowled for an instant around at the town. " I'll 
 buy my grub and hike." He started away, but 
 turned and came back. " Shake hands, will you? " 
 
 I shook his hand as he desired. 
 
 " Pelan sells pretty stiff poison," I laughed. 
 
 " My stomach's all burnt out," he said. And 
 we parted. 
 
 At the mines where I spent the day, work pro- 
 gressed under difficulties. After their yesterday's 
 debauch, half the men were more fit for bed than
 
 ioo THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 for the gravel pits. Splitting heads, touchy tem- 
 pers, and waspish tongues were everywhere; the 
 sober half jeered the half not so sober, and quar- 
 rels ran among them like water. Only by holding 
 a strong hand on them and by keeping the work 
 driving hard did I prevent open fights. 
 
 Late in the afternoon, wrangling broke out 
 among a group of miners of which Joe Lowden 
 was one. The men scoffed at him for the jilting 
 he had received at the hands of his sweetheart. 
 Such abuse was cruel at any time, but doubly so 
 now when the boy was sick in body and spirit 
 from carousing. As I ran up to the spot, he flung 
 down his shovel, and faced them. 
 
 "You're a pack of liars!" he cried. "I can 
 whip you all come on, you cowards ! " 
 
 " Go back to your work, Joe," I said. " I will 
 stop this badgering." 
 
 He whirled round, glaring like an animal 
 goaded to fury. 
 
 " Put me in another gang. I won't work with 
 them." 
 
 Had I changed every man who asked me that 
 day, the placer would have been running to and 
 fro like a nest of ants. 
 
 " No, Joe, I can't change you," I said. " This 
 is your regular gang." 
 
 "I'll not work here," he growled.
 
 A TAUNT AND A BLOW 101 
 
 "Take up your shovel," I ordered. 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Then get your time." 
 
 He turned white. Until this minute, his record 
 in the company's books was a clean one, and, like 
 every good workingman, he was proud of it. 
 
 I made another appeal. 
 
 "Go to work, Joe. Don't go wrong when 
 there's the making of a foreman in you, and per- 
 haps something better." His rigid body began 
 to relax. 
 
 From one of the men came a low, sneering 
 laugh. It touched the boy like flame; the red 
 light flashed anew into his eyes, he clinched his 
 hands and shook them. 
 
 " I'll quit," he burst out, with a stream of blas- 
 phemy, " quit the mine ! and the camp ! and 
 Forge ! An honest man can't live in it. A damn, 
 tallow-headed Scotchman steals my girl, and the 
 camp laughs. A thieving manager steals the com- 
 pany's gold " 
 
 " Stop ! " I cried. 
 
 I caught him by the shoulder, but he tore him- 
 self loose. His fist shot out, catching me between 
 the eyes, and I staggered back, dazed and as- 
 tounded. The next I knew I had him by the 
 throat, shaking him as a dog does a rat, and, at 
 last, I flung him from me. My cheeks were white,
 
 102 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 for I always pale when angry, and for some sec- 
 onds I said nothing while holding myself in con- 
 trol. It was a crisis 1 I had been struck before 
 my men. 
 
 Joe Lowden struggled to his feet, staring about 
 this way and that in an unseeing mist, and fin- 
 gering his throat. The life was all gone out of 
 him, leaving him weak and livid. 
 
 "Go!" I ordered. 
 
 He wavered, made off slowly toward the road, 
 where he lagged, and finally sat down on a 
 boulder with his head in his hands. 
 
 A little laugh had ruined the boy; it also threat- 
 ened my mastery. I stepped to the laugher, who 
 stood still grinning, and, without a word, I drove 
 my fist squarely into his mouth. He went down 
 like an ox. 
 
 "Get up!" I said. 
 
 He climbed wrathfully upon his legs, and made 
 a swing at me. Again I shot my fist to his bleed- 
 ing mouth, and again he measured full length. 
 
 "Stand up and laugh once more, you brute!" 
 I said. 
 
 But he continued to lie, while I bullied him and 
 jeered him, until his comrades began to jeer also, 
 since most men like to be on the strong side. By 
 that I knew I had successfully passed the crisis, 
 and would hereafter be respected.
 
 He went down like an ox
 
 A TAUNT AND A BLOW 103 
 
 I gave the fellow a contemptuous, concluding 
 kick. 
 
 " Never show your face in the placer again," I 
 said. And he rose and went cursing away. 
 
 Young Lowden's remorseful figure stuck in my 
 mind. Miners are of the roughest, and require 
 a rod of iron ; and I did not regret my part. But 
 I regretted the occurrence, and so went to where 
 he sat and stopped in front of him. He looked 
 up, haggard, dull, sick in soul. 
 
 " Joe, you've made a fool of yourself this month 
 past," I said. " You've almost broken your good, 
 widowed mother's heart, and to-day is worst of 
 all." 
 
 " I can't go home now," he answered, "to have 
 her learn of this." 
 
 "That's exactly what you must do. Tell her 
 first, before some one else does, and I'll stop and 
 have a talk with her, too. Don't make a bad 
 matter worse, either, by leaving Forge. I can't 
 put you back in the mine, but I'll give you a supply 
 wagon to drive. Brace up, man, tighten your 
 belt a notch, and start over." 
 
 He brooded for a time before speaking. 
 
 ; * They had me crazy, Mr. Maitland. I didn't 
 know I hit you till it was over. I wouldn't have 
 done it on purpose for all the yellow dirt along 
 the river."
 
 !io 4 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 Shaking his head, he started down the road 
 toward home. I made a circuit of the placer, 
 ready to suppress any fresh insubordination; but 
 my one stroke had been sufficient, and discipline 
 reigned. The dove of peace might have nested 
 in the gravel pits, so obediently did the men move 
 to the foremen's orders. After fifteen minutes' 
 inspection, I mounted my horse, and set out for 
 town. 
 
 'Halfway to Forge, the road closely skirts the 
 river and dips across a lightly wooded gully. Here 
 I came on Pete Gurley talking to Joe Lowden, 
 and at the moment they drew into view I caught 
 a glimpse of a familiar figure vanishing in the 
 underbrush. The man's whole manner as he con- 
 cealed himself reminded me of a naughty child 
 trapped in a pantry and scurrying from punish- 
 ment. Long Pete and Lowden were too occupied 
 in argument to notice me until I was in earshot. 
 
 " No," Joe was saying. 
 
 " I say you will," Pete retorted. 
 
 " No." 
 
 " You'll join us, or take the worst." 
 
 "I won't!" 
 
 "Look here, young fellow " And then 
 
 perceived me and fell silent. 
 
 "What was that animal, Pete, that jumped in 
 the bushes?" I asked, with a grim smile.
 
 A TAUNT AND A BLOW 105, 
 
 He shifted uneasily: "A rabbit." 
 
 "Ah! a blue-eyed Scotch rabbit, perhaps?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 " If I had a gun, my friend, I'd wager I could 
 crease its long ears even now where it lies." 
 
 " Rabbit ain't good this time of year." 
 
 "True, they're not," I agreed, with a gravity 
 matching his own. " Well, possibly we'll catch it 
 later, and broil it over a fire." 
 
 I rode on. When I had gone a hundred yards, 
 I thought I heard the boy shouting after me; but, 
 on halting and looking back, I judged I had been 
 mistaken. The gully hid them, and the road was 
 empty and silent under the grey sky, across which 
 scudded tatters and rags of fog. 
 
 At the door of Mrs. Lowden's house I had a 
 word with Joe's mother, informing her of her 
 son's outbreak, and explaining how I intended, 
 hereafter, to take him in hand. The good woman 
 told me her fears, and assented eagerly to my 
 plan. 
 
 "You'll be proud of him yet," I said, as I 
 turned to go to Forge House. 
 
 I was glad the matter was settled. Nor did I 
 dream, as I glanced back over the road I had just 
 travelled, that it had been settled in a fashion 
 which would shake Forge to its foundations and 
 hang a sharp sword above my head.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 FREDERIC, THE GENEROUS ! 
 
 SUNDAY dawned clear and fine. The day was one 
 of warm sunshine, blue skies, and crystal air. The 
 wind of the previous twenty-four hours had dried 
 the mountains, and the road along the river looked 
 as if It had been newly macadamised. At four 
 o'clock in the afternoon, Ethys Fenton and I 
 stepped from under the portico, and put foot in 
 stirrup for our ride to Painted Canon the name 
 she had given it planning to get back to Forge 
 by seven, the dinner hour. 
 
 As we gathered our reins, she pointed at the 
 town. 
 
 "What does that mean?" 
 
 "Well, by Jove!" I exclaimed. 
 
 For a fact, something was occurring there. The 
 street was full of a crowd just before the stores, 
 a mob swaying and surging about with others run- 
 ning to join it; and I swear that every man, wo- 
 man, and child in Forge was either at the spot, or 
 hurrying to it. A low, deep noise of a hundred 
 blended voices rose from the swarm. 
 
 Charlie Woodworth and Mr. Fenton had fol- 
 106
 
 FREDERIC, THE GENEROUS! 107 
 
 lowed us out upon the avenue, and now the former 
 said: 
 
 "A row, I'll bet." 
 
 " Probably," Mr. Fenton responded. 
 
 "It may mean anything," I said. "An acci- 
 dent, a strike of a big nugget, or, as you say, noth- 
 ing but a fight between a couple of miners. I 
 fear, Miss Fenton, that I must postpone my 
 ride." 
 
 " It can be nothing serious," she answered. 
 
 " But I must go down, and probably will be de- 
 layed." 
 
 A slight frown appeared on her brow. 
 
 " If we don't take it now, I'll never take it 
 with you." 
 
 In surprise I looked twice at her, and then I re- 
 membered that for two hours past, ever since a 
 conversation she had had with Douglass, from 
 which she came with a heightened colour, she had 
 been possessed by a peculiar mood. She sat straight 
 on her horse, her shoulders defiant, and her brows 
 knitted. 
 
 But the assemblage in front of the stores 
 troubled me, as does a premonition. 
 
 " Hang it all, to happen to-day! " I said. 
 
 ; ' There are other men here capable of suppress- 
 ing riots, I suppose," was her next exasperating 
 remark.
 
 io8 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " Let us hope I'm not so great an egotist as to 
 think otherwise." 
 
 She coolly faced her uncle. 
 
 " Mr. Maitland talks of stopping his ride. 
 That's nonsense." 
 
 " I'll attend to the matter," Mr. Fenton replied. 
 " Go ahead with your gallop." 
 
 " But I want to be there, if " 
 
 "I'll take the responsibility. Charlie, get my 
 hat." And, at the prospect of some sort of action 
 after two or three weeks of idling, his grey eyes 
 snapped. 
 
 Charlie raced into the house and out again with 
 a hat in each hand. 
 
 " I hope it's a row, or a war scare, or a shindy 
 of some kind," he yelped as he emerged from the 
 portico. " I'll help. Go on with your ride, and 
 miss the fun. Mr. Fenton and I will break 
 heads." 
 
 Ethys Fenton and I swung our horses' noses 
 about, and set off down the knoll to the west. 
 We had made hardly a dozen steps when a louder 
 roar boomed up from the town. I jerked my 
 horse up short. Every face was toward Forge 
 House, a hundred hands pointed. Down to the 
 mob strode Mr. Fenton and long-legged Char- 
 lie. 
 
 "Listen!" I cried.
 
 FREDERIC, THE GENEROUS! 109 
 
 "Well, they're only making a noise," she an- 
 swered, unconcerned. 
 
 " I'm a pretty manager, riding off when by 
 Heaven, I must go back! " 
 
 " Suit yourself, Mr. Maitland," she rejoined. 
 
 " Don't think that it's because I want to go," I 
 said, with rather more warmth than was war- 
 ranted. 
 
 " That's the very thing I'm beginning to think." 
 
 I scowled I am frank to state that it was a 
 heavy, impolite, plain scowl; and the while she 
 hummed an air and pulled at her gauntlets and 
 gazed at the mountains. If ever an ordinarily 
 sweet, reasonable, winsome girl was possessed of 
 a spirit of perverseness, it was she. Her chin was 
 lifted stubbornly, her whole figure breathed con- 
 trariness. 
 
 " Very well," I said, "let us proceed; but " 
 
 " No more * buts,' if you please. You ought to 
 go back, you would say for the hundredth time. 
 And what does it all mean? also, for the hun- 
 dredth time." Which was the identical thing 
 troubling me. 
 
 What did it mean? But Ethys was more to 
 me than the happenings at Forge, and so we 
 went on. 
 
 The road was level for the first mile, and we 
 took it at a gallop. The air rushed against our
 
 no THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 faces; our horses' feet beat a steady roll on the 
 earth; and the white veil on my companion's hat 
 streamed behind her in the sunlight. Neither of 
 us spoke. Then came rougher ground where the 
 mountains crowded in against the river, barring 
 the way with their immense shoulders. As the 
 horses climbed a rise, Ethys said: 
 
 "Are you still remorseful?" 
 
 " I'm more than ever convinced that that my 
 heart is leading my head," I replied. 
 
 "Mercy! A compliment? Why, that is bet- 
 ter." 
 
 Up and down the slopes we went, almost touch- 
 ing the river at times, at others passing high above 
 it, high as an eagle's eyrie. Down in the river's 
 bed the water foamed and boiled among rocks, 
 for both river and canon were growing narrower. 
 At last, we mounted over a huge granite ledge, 
 and sighted our destination four or five miles be- 
 yond, where the canon seemed a mere crevice in 
 the mountain range, full of purple light. 
 
 " Yonder is my rainbow gorge," she said, point- 
 ing. 
 
 In front of us the ledge inclined for half a mile, 
 making one side of a ravine which ran out of the 
 northwest and sloped to the river. A green ribbon 
 of woods and bushes lay in its bottom where turn-
 
 Up and down the slopes we went "
 
 FREDERIC, THE GENEROUS! in 
 
 bled a little brook, which emerged from a thicket 
 to run across the road; the ford was a white 
 shingle of sand over which the brook spread shim- 
 mering and rippling; and then the stream gath- 
 ered itself once more together and slipped out of 
 sight under a green, leafy arch, and only the tinkle 
 of water marked its farther progress. 
 
 Our horses broke into a trot upon the lowest 
 slope, and, reaching the creek, thrust their noses 
 into the limpid water, drinking thirstily. 
 
 " Some one has left a cup," said Ethys. " Let's 
 rest a while. What a beautiful dell this is ! " 
 
 Alighting, I made a place for her on a log that 
 protruded from the thicket, secured the horses to 
 an up-thrust fork of it, and dipped her a cup of 
 the cool water. 
 
 " I'll strike a bargain with you over this bat- 
 tered chalice," said I, holding up the dipping tin. 
 " I will forget my troubled Forge if you will ban- 
 ish what is weighing your own mind." 
 
 Her eyes flashed, as if in anger, but I returned 
 her look without flinching; then she considered, 
 and her brow cleared, and her lips parted in a 
 racliant, beautiful smile. 
 
 " Keen man ! I could not mask my mental 
 vagaries." 
 
 "And the bargain?"
 
 ii2 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 She put out her hand. 
 
 " With all my heart, for to-day, at least. I had 
 some small matters that annoyed me a disagree- 
 ment with Mr. Douglass, and, besides, I was tired 
 of Forge and my own chatter, and wished fresh 
 air. Was I very disagreeable? I have my ob- 
 stinate moods like other folks." 
 
 " A divine right of princesses." 
 
 "Ah! I wish I were a real princess," she said. 
 " I'd build me a castle on Anvil Rock, like those 
 along the Rhine." 
 
 " And, as happened to them, it would probably 
 be invaded." 
 
 "I would expect that, to lend plausibility and 
 feudal atmosphere. Would you lead the storming 
 party?" 
 
 I leaned forward, and dipped a cup of water, 
 and looked into it. 
 
 " Let me consult the omens of Hydro- 
 mancy " 
 
 " How deliciously mysterious ! " 
 
 "I see in the depths of this Sibylline cup the 
 Princess of Forge in her battlemented castle; I 
 see myself, not with a storming party, but singly 
 and alone, ride " 
 
 " But that is not according to history." 
 
 " I see it in the cup." 
 
 " One man cannot take a castle."
 
 FREDERIC, THE GENEROUS! 113 
 
 " By boldness. All is fair in war and one 
 other thing." 
 
 Our eyes met. I slowly poured out the water 
 upon the sand. 
 
 "That other thing must be mining," she 
 laughed. "At least you were bold yesterday, 
 knocking down two men." 
 
 I started, for not a word of my clash had 
 escaped my lips. 
 
 "Where did you hear of that?" I asked 
 quickly. 
 
 " Why, Mr. Douglass told me you struck a boy 
 because " 
 
 " A boy ! He's as healthy a specimen of young 
 fellow as lives in Forge." 
 
 " Because he accused you of of " 
 
 " I'll have something for Douglass' ear when 
 we return," I said grimly. 
 
 " You're angry. There's nothing to be ashamed 
 of. You ought to be proud to have people know 
 you can rule the camp." 
 
 " I'm not. Go on, please. What was it I am 
 accused of?" 
 
 "The miners were saying that something is 
 wrong at Forge House, a ghost in the cellar, 
 or a skeleton in the office closet, or a some- 
 thing." 
 
 My blood began to run a little hotter at the
 
 n 4 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 thought of the Scotchman's cunning insinuation. 
 He had placed it where it would do me the most 
 injury and him the most good. 
 
 " Be frank, Miss Fenton," I said. 
 
 " After all, it's only gossip." 
 
 " I wish to know it." 
 
 " Just a mere fly-about word." 
 
 " Then one should not believe it," I said, taking 
 another tack. 
 
 " I don't believe it I " she fired up. " I I just 
 heard it." 
 
 " Nor listen." 
 
 "Are you reprimanding me, Mr. Maitland?" 
 she answered, with spirit. " Hearing is not be- 
 lieving, and when it concerns one's friends it's 
 different. I do not fear to tell you what the gossip 
 is ; they say you took company gold there ! " 
 
 "Ah I" I said, inwardly smiling at the success 
 of my stratagem. 
 
 " Is that all you have to say, sir? " 
 
 I turned to her, smiling. 
 
 "No; I'll say this, Miss Fenton, that I appreci- 
 ate your kindness in bringing me here to tell me 
 of the gossip, to warn me. It was that silly story 
 that's been troubling you since your conversation 
 with Mr. Douglass, wasn't it? You must not let 
 a little thing like that worry you." She remained 
 staring at the sand and tapping her boot with the
 
 FREDERIC, THE GENEROUS! 115 
 
 loop of the crop she carried. "The gold's miss- 
 ing, that much of the tale is true, and I informed 
 your uncle of the fact days ago." 
 
 " But it's a dreadful story," she mused. 
 
 "It could be worse. I might actually have 
 taken it." 
 
 "No one who knows you could conceive of 
 that," she declared warmly. 
 
 " Some have," I grimly retorted. 
 
 " Mr. Douglass told me the gossip among the 
 miners, and said he did not believe it, and that 
 he was worried that it was talked." 
 
 "That was very loyal of Frederic," I said 
 drily. 
 
 " He said you were too honest," she went on, 
 fixing her eyes on mine with a peculiar smile, " and 
 that while some men made mistakes by advancing 
 company's money to themselves for private gam- 
 bling debts, he could not imagine you doing any 
 such thing. Even if you had done such a thing, 
 he said, he was so fond of you that he'd rather 
 replace the shortage out of his own pocket than 
 see you caught short." 
 
 "Just like the honest, generous fellow he is!" 
 I exclaimed. 
 
 " And he thinks it so hard to explain, as no one 
 but you has the safe combination. He declared it 
 a great puzzle. And the gold being in the man-
 
 n6 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 ager's care alone, and no one else able to touch 
 it 
 
 She paused, and gazed at me with the same 
 strange smile she had worn while speaking. 
 
 "Surely, I must be the thief," I said, "with 
 such conclusive evidence against me." 
 
 "No; he says it's a mystery just a mystery." 
 
 "What do you say?" 
 
 " I ? Oh, I agreed with him that it was all very 
 mysterious." 
 
 I rose to my feet and faced her. 
 
 " Frederic Douglass makes out a very pretty 
 case against me," I said. 
 
 " He explained most carefully that he did not 
 believe you to be the thief," she answered, her 
 eyelids lowered. 
 
 " Douglass should have been a lawyer," I went 
 on, " for he's most wonderfully apt at suggesting 
 one thing while speaking the opposite. I might 
 have debts; I might have embezzled the gold; 
 I am the only one knowing the secret of the com- 
 bination; he doesn't know of any one who could 
 possibly have taken it but me; he would willingly 
 give money out of his own pocket to get me out 
 of the scrape had I stolen the gold. Why, that 
 would convict a man in a courtroom. He's tried 
 and judged me as completely as could have been 
 done by judge and jury. That's all of the mystery
 
 FREDERIC, THE GENEROUS! 117 
 
 he accuses me by implication. And a tiptop 
 case he makes out, too." 
 
 Her glance rose to my face, her lips twitched. 
 
 " How straight you stand," she remarked; " and 
 you're actually pale, and your hair is all mussed. 
 You're angry, and no mistake." And she laughed 
 the merriest kind of laugh. "To think that a 
 moment ago you said I must not let little things 
 worry me ! " 
 
 I attempted to smile. I think I only succeeded 
 in a sort of grin. 
 
 " The thought of his unalloyed and perfect faith 
 overcame me," I vouchsafed. 
 
 Catching a stray lock, she tucked it in, and 
 rose to her feet. 
 
 "Don't you think, Jack" at that, my heart 
 went thump "that I saw his purpose? He de- 
 ceived me not in the least. We must be riding on. 
 It's a good four miles yet to Painted Canon. But 
 first tell me why Mr. Douglass tried to make me 
 believe that you are guilty of stealing the gold." 
 
 " Because he aspires to what I possess and 
 hope for." 
 
 The last words dropped from my lips hardly 
 audible. For, at that instant, a stone had slipped 
 rattling down the hillside rocks, and I had looked 
 past her toward the sound. 
 
 Presently, she said:
 
 ii8 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "Why, you're gripping your hat till your fin- 
 gers are white and staring as if it were your last 
 look on earth ! " 
 
 " It may be my last," I answered. 
 
 The sight was compelling in the extreme.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 AN ANCIENT AND HONOURABLE PROFESSION 
 
 THE object of my regard was the black muzzle of 
 a revolver. 
 
 " Hands up ! " the owner commanded. 
 
 I obeyed. 
 
 "And keep 'em up," he growled. 
 
 The man stood a few yards off, a tall, wide- 
 shouldered, long-legged specimen of the outlaw 
 tribe, without a coat, and his vest hanging open, 
 a blue handkerchief concealing his features below 
 his eyes, his slouch hat tilted over his forehead 
 with a most business-like air. Two other men 
 stepped out of the bushes and levelled their guns 
 on me with a careless ease that betokened fre- 
 quent practice. 
 
 " Go through him," the leader ordered. 
 
 They all closed up, and one of them searched 
 my pockets, removing my watch and a few coins. 
 
 "That will hardly pay the piper," I said; "you 
 deserve more for your pains." 
 
 " When we want your opinion, we'll ask it," the 
 head of the trio answered. 
 
 "9
 
 120 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 I soon discovered that I was dealing with high- 
 waymen of keen commercial instinct, and the affair 
 promised to take a turn that would be far from 
 pleasant. The man going through my clothes 
 pulled out the letter which Charlie Woodworth 
 had found on Forge House steps the previous 
 morning, and which I had forgotten to open. The 
 fellow slowly deciphered my name on the enve- 
 lope, then stuffed it back in my pocket. 
 
 " Here's money what is money, men ! " he ex- 
 claimed. " He's the boss of Forge." 
 
 "Twenty thousand if a cent tie 'em up," the 
 leader responded. 
 
 " You don't mean to detain this lady," I cried. 
 
 " Cert," was the laconic reply. 
 
 "Suppose I " 
 
 74 Suppose nothin', and save your breath." 
 
 ; 'You scoundrels " I began; but ceased as 
 the man's revolver swung up to my eyes till I 
 could line the sights on its barrel. 
 
 "There's not ten thousand dollars' worth of 
 dirt in Forge at present," I said; "and I'll bring 
 you that much myself in the money market. Let 
 the lady go." 
 
 The leader laughed under his handkerchief. 
 
 "And have a posse on our trail in an hour? 
 We're not tenderfeet." 
 
 " They'll get you sooner or later, anyway."
 
 AN ANCIENT PROFESSION 121 
 
 " Tie 'em up ! " he ordered again. 
 
 One of the men came to me, a buckskin thong 
 in his hand. I put out my wrists ; but, as he stood 
 to tie me, I caught his elbows, and jerked his body 
 in front of mine. 
 
 "Ride, Ethys take your horse and ride!" I 
 cried. 
 
 Quick as my words, she flung her bridle rein 
 off the branch, and swung the animal about; but 
 the suddenness of the move startled it; it flung 
 up its head, retreated, drawing her after it, and 
 bumped against its mate, which began to kick. 
 The third outlaw caught the reins away from her, 
 and covered her with his revolver. I let go my 
 man; the game was up. 
 
 'You'll have to go, miss," her guard said. 
 " Obey orders, and you won't come to harm." 
 
 So presently my wrists were bound, though, 
 after a brief consultation, the bandits decided to 
 leave hers free. Then the leader walked to me, 
 and struck me on the mouth. 
 
 " Next time you won't try tricks with me." 
 
 I wiped my bruised lips as best I could. A 
 cold rage was roused in me by his cowardly blow. 
 
 ;< There'll be no next time for you if I get 
 loose," I replied. 
 
 After seeing us mounted, the highwaymen 
 brought forth their horses and climbed into the
 
 122 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 saddle. Escape for the present was out of the 
 question a second thong held my hands to the 
 pommel, and a handkerchief bound my eyes ; Ethys 
 Fenton remained untethered, but, as in my case, 
 she was blindfolded; and it was plain that our 
 captors would be ugly customers if aroused. The 
 situation was bad, so I sought to cheer my com- 
 panion. 
 
 " We're in for an adventure," I said. " But 
 don't be alarmed we'll come out all right. Prob- 
 ably they think to hold us for ransom; but they'll 
 be caught first and landed in jail." 
 
 "What will what will they do with us?" 
 
 Her voice quavered, and I knew she was in a 
 bad fright, now that she could not see. 
 
 " Come, be brave, Miss Fenton," I said, forcing 
 a laugh. "We're in pawn for a few hours until 
 they raise some money. Then they'll turn us loose 
 and run for it." 
 
 A slap on the flank started my horse forward, 
 and we passed round the patch of brush and made 
 straight up the ravine. As we rose higher, the 
 brook made a good deal of rattle among the 
 stones; from time to time a branch brushed my 
 body, or whipped my face; and finally we left 
 both brook and bushes, ascending the side of the 
 ravine and crossing rougher ground. 
 
 From an occasional word passed from one to
 
 AN ANCIENT PROFESSION 123 
 
 another of the men, I knew we were moving in 
 single file up a trail; first an outlaw, then Ethys 
 Fenton, another outlaw, fourth myself, and last in 
 the procession the leader who had struck me. At 
 the end of an hour a brisk breeze blew suddenly 
 upon our faces, and we passed over a summit and 
 plunged deeper into the mountains. I immediately 
 lost my bearings, and thereafter rode in the trust- 
 ful ignorance which only the blind can know to its 
 uttermost. 
 
 For the most part, the trail was up and down, 
 though we made its changes by twists and tortuous 
 lappings, with occasional stiff climbs, or steep 
 pitches. I guessed, though I did not see, that in 
 places the trail was risky, and that we skimmed 
 dangers I could only imagine. A single misstep 
 of my horse would dash me on rocks far below, 
 and more than once I held my breath and rode 
 ready for a sudden swift fall and a dizzy prayer. 
 
 Once we dipped down and across a narrow val- 
 ley, striking through a strip of pine forest in the 
 passage. The horses' feet made no sound as they 
 trod the carpet of needles, the boughs murmured 
 softly all about us, and the fresh, damp, pungent, 
 aromatic smell of the pine greeted our nostrils. 
 
 Presently the vague wisp of an idea came lurk- 
 ing at the back of my mind, gradually growing 
 more vivid and assuming tangible shape. Some-
 
 i2 4 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 thing about the leader of the highwaymen, a per- 
 sistent familiarity of his person, his rough voice, 
 long legs, set of shoulders, his trick of body all 
 reminded me of some one I knew. Could I have 
 torn off his mask and had one square look at 
 him, I would have taken oath to name the ruf- 
 fian. 
 
 As our cavalcade circled the slanting face of a 
 hill, my horse held back, blocking his. The man 
 for an instant was pressed against me by the ani- 
 mals, and he struck me a heavy blow on the head, 
 sending my hat spinning. It sailed down a thou- 
 sand feet for all I knew. 
 
 " Keep the trail, damn you 1 " he snarled. 
 
 I sat dazed. 
 
 "You untie my hands," I said, " and I'll break 
 every bone in your cowardly carcass, gun or no 
 gun." 
 
 He poured out a string of oaths, bid me close 
 my mouth, and smote my horse with his bare 
 hand. 
 
 " Get on there, or I'll pop you over a cliff 1 " he 
 threatened. 
 
 The quick start of my horse nearly unseated me, 
 but I saved myself by a strong knee grip, and, 
 swallowing my helpless anger, rode on, bare- 
 headed, and fit for murder. For now I knew my 
 man. It was Long Pete Gurley. That string of
 
 AN ANCIENT PROFESSION 125 
 
 picturesque oaths revealed his identity as plainly 
 as if he had dropped the mask from his face. 
 
 It was midnight, as nearly as I could guess, 
 when we came to a halt. The thong binding me 
 to the saddle was removed, and I was ordered to 
 dismount, which I did. 
 
 One of the outlaws the third, I discovered 
 pulled the handkerchief from my eyes. 
 
 "You're lost a-plenty, I reckon," he said. 
 
 " You're too cursed soft, Mac," the leader 
 said. 
 
 "Don't make any diff'rence with 'em seeing 
 
 now." 
 
 The leader spat. 
 
 " Shoot him if he tries any funny business." 
 
 " Right you are, pardner," Mac assured him, 
 with a chuckle; "and 'tween the eyes. I'll send 
 him out so quick he won't have time to say, * For 
 the land's sake!'" 
 
 "You're a pleasant robber," I remarked. 
 
 " I'm gettin' ready to be an undertaker some 
 day," he responded, with another chuckle. 
 
 Well, he was jovial, but I did not particularly 
 like the occasion or subject. I observed him as he 
 stood guard over us ; he was short and stout, wad- 
 dling when he walked, and his head had a waggish 
 set to it. 
 
 " What's the time ? " I asked, at length.
 
 126 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 Drawing out a watch, he held it up so that the 
 moonlight struck its dial. 
 
 "Look for yourself," he laughed; "it's your 
 
 own." 
 
 The spot where we halted was secluded, lying 
 between two low hills, around which rose moun- 
 tains on every side. A noisy stream rushed down 
 through the middle, and a few trees stood about, 
 tall and silent and black, with the moonlight fall- 
 ing through their sparse branches and flooding 
 the open spaces. Ethys Fenton sat on the trunk 
 of a fallen tree, a strange figure in the rough, wild 
 scene. Her fright had given way to fatigue. 
 
 I sat down beside her. 
 
 "As a protector, I do not merit distinction; do 
 I?" I smiled. 
 
 " I made you take the ride it's my fault." 
 
 "Think what a lot we'll have to tell when we 
 get home. I wouldn't have missed it for a good 
 deal," I lied cheerfully. 
 
 " Oh, if we were but home 1 " 
 
 "When I get these off, I'll crack their heads 
 together, and we'll ride away." And I held up 
 my confined hands. 
 
 The jovial Mac proceeded to build a fire against 
 the end of the tree on which we sat, while the 
 other two bandits tended the horses. At inter- 
 vals, our guard rolled his eyes at me over the edge
 
 AN ANCIENT PROFESSION 127 
 
 of his handkerchief, and shook his head warn- 
 ingly. But the fire engaged his attention ; it burned 
 poorly, yielding but a tiny, fitful flame that hardly 
 touched the bottom of the coffeepot. His surveil- 
 lance lessened; he stared at the fire, hand on lips; 
 he stooped and watched it; finally he knelt with a 
 grunt and peered at it. 
 
 I felt a soft hand on my wrist, a light breath 
 touching my cheek. 
 
 "Hush, I've a penknife!" 
 
 Stealthily I moved my hands nearer her, and 
 instantly the little blade began to saw the leather. 
 
 " Oh, it makes my fingers so tired," she whis- 
 pered; "and it won't cut, it's so dull!" and 
 unconsciously added a humorous touch: "A 
 woman's knife is always dull!" 
 
 Out of the notch of my eye I saw her com- 
 pressed lips, her face set with dread of discovery, 
 as she fell once more to work. Slowly she made 
 headway. I looked at the cook, at the men water- 
 ing the horses in the creek, and about the camp; 
 even if she succeeded, my work would be cut out 
 for me. Well, since she had faith in me, I would 
 strike one blow at least. The fact was she had 
 considerable more faith in me at that moment 
 than I had in myself. My eyes came back to our 
 guard. 
 
 Merry Mac had literally come to earth. He
 
 128 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 knelt with his chin almost touching earth, cheeks 
 inflated, forcing a steady draught among the sulky 
 embers. The flame flickered feebly across the 
 sticks, and he gradually crawled about in pursuit 
 of it until his side rubbed the log and I saw nothing 
 of him but two broad soles and two broader hips. 
 He puffed and puffed, and blew and blew. 
 
 And there within six feet of me, sticking up 
 invitingly on one of those broad hips, was his six- 
 shooter in its scabbard. My palms itched for it, 
 my heart began softly to thump it tempted me 
 as the apple did Eve. Meanwhile, the diminutive 
 blade sawed away at my bonds, and, at last, they 
 parted. 
 
 Then up came the men and horses splashing 
 from the creek. 
 
 " Oh, Jack, it's too late ! " came in tones of 
 despair from Ethys Fenton. 
 
 The pair of highwaymen glanced at us, but the 
 girl had slipped away from my side and pretended 
 to yawn and rub the sleepiness out of her eyes. It 
 was magnificent acting! They saw nothing to 
 arouse their suspicions, and the leader shouted to 
 Mac to hurry up the coffee. 
 
 Mac blew steadily, with the peculiar patience 
 of his nature; the revolver butt lumped up on his 
 hip unchanged. I took a long, careful, calculating 
 survey of the spot camp, creek, horses, men,
 
 AN ANCIENT PROFESSION 129 
 
 mountains. Then I worked the stiffness out of 
 my fingers, and began to edge along the tree trunk- 
 Without a sound, I covered the first foot the sec- 
 ond the third. 
 
 " Get it, Jack; get it! " I heard in my ear. 
 
 She was following me like my own shadow. 
 Her quick wit had divined my plan. 
 
 I drew on. My fingers could almost touch the 
 weapon ay, they were half stretched to it when, 
 behold ! Merry Mac raised himself and sat back, 
 grunting, from his exertions. 
 
 His whole squat shape wore an air of satisfac- 
 tion over his achievement; he rested his hands 
 upon his knees, and I could imagine him smiling 
 to himself. The flames were licking higher and 
 higher, brighter and brighter, the sticks crackled 
 and sparks flew. My triumph seemed nipped at 
 its very instant of flower, and a sickening sensa- 
 tion of defeat settled about my heart. 
 
 Slowly, as an artist puts his last touch to a pic- 
 ture, or a sculptor to his statue, Mac bent forward, 
 and gave the fire a long, final puff. Swift as 
 thought, I slid nearer, stretched out my hand, 
 closed my fingers round the gun handle, and lifted 
 it out of its scabbard. And, as Merry Mac ceased 
 to blow, I rose silently to my feet. 
 
 The two outlaws were turning from the horses. 
 They advanced a little way toward me, talking.
 
 i 3 o THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 The leader casually glanced toward the fire, burst 
 out in an oath, and clapped his hand to his 
 belt. 
 
 " Up with your hands ! " I said. 
 
 Four hands rose in the air. 
 
 "Now, three steps to the front, and remove 
 your handkerchief, Pete Gurley." 
 
 Pulling it off, he disclosed a face full of hate 
 and fury. 
 
 " You, too ! " I commanded the second man. 
 
 Off came his mask. 
 
 " Now, drop your guns on the" I began. 
 
 I heard a sudden gasp from Ethys Fenton's 
 lips; then, like a phantom, a hand reached up be- 
 fore my eyes, clutched my weapon, and wrenched 
 it away. Too late I remembered the cook I faced 
 about, to find him grinning along the barrel, 
 which pointed straight at my forehead. The bit- 
 terness of my disappointment was too strong for 
 any fear. I had made two attempts and two 
 failures; it seemed like fate. 
 
 "A man can't afford to forget the cook; can 
 he, Mac?" I said sourly. 
 
 "He can't." 
 
 I turned to speak to Ethys, when a report 
 sounded behind me, and I felt a sting in my left 
 elbow. A bullet had struck my left forearm and 
 passed through. Whirling about, I beheld Long
 
 AN ANCIENT PROFESSION 131 
 
 Pete Gurley, the smoke still curling from his re- 
 volver, glaring at me. 
 
 " You you " I began. 
 
 My disgust was too utter for speech, and I 
 could not finish. But another hurled the words 
 at him for me. 
 
 " You miserable, cowardly murderer ! " cried 
 Ethys Fenton, with ringing voice. 
 
 She stood by my side, her hands clinched, her 
 face white, her eyes blazing. All her fear and 
 fatigue had fled, and she stood there, slender and 
 defiant, outraged by the man's dastardly act. 
 
 Gurley stalked across the intervening space, 
 and shook his huge fist before my face. 
 
 'You thought you had me thought you had 
 me ! " he foamed. 
 
 'Yes, Peter, I did," I said contemptuously, 
 " but I find the devil looks after his own."
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 
 
 EVERY road has an end we came to the end of 
 ours as the white light of dawn grew in the sky. 
 Our horses wearily climbed a ridge, stood for a 
 moment at the top to breathe, and then stumbled 
 down a trail that led into a shadowy hollow, in 
 which we presently came to a halt before a log- 
 house hardly distinguishable in the dim morning 
 light. It was set in a level space among a few 
 scattered trees; near by sang a rivulet, and except 
 for this sound the spot was quiet with the hush 
 which ushers in the pallid dawn of the mountains, 
 not a leaf whispering among the boughs. 
 
 In the cabin, which showed signs of disuse and 
 long abandonment, but lately restored and made 
 habitable by persons whom I judged to be our 
 escort, Pete Gurley lighted a miner's lamp and 
 pointed to two stools by a table against the wall. 
 Ethys Fenton staggered to one and sat down, 
 shivering and exhausted. 
 
 " I'm so cold," she muttered. 
 
 Laying her arms upon the table, she let her 
 132
 
 THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 133 
 
 head fall on them, and thus remained, utterly 
 worn out by twelve hours of a difficult, body- 
 racking trail twelve hours of fear and suspense. 
 The desolate, hopeless picture she made bit into 
 my heart as nothing yet had done, and my 
 thoughts were very heavy. Finally, I believed 
 she slept. Sleep was for me out of question, what 
 with the weight on my spirits, and the wound in 
 my arm, which ached like a throbbing tooth. The 
 injury was more acute than serious, the bullet 
 having passed through the flesh without touching 
 a bone; and the pain was augmented by my 
 wrists being bound. The outlook for action on 
 my part was slim, for as an additional precaution 
 against escape the highwaymen now tied my body 
 to the table and the stool on which I sat. I 
 brooded, but had no divining flash. 
 
 Merry Mac took up his post on a stool by the 
 door. Gurley and the second outlaw, Stork, came 
 to the table, the former producing the stump of 
 a pencil and rummaging my pockets for paper. 
 He lighted on the letter which I had left so long 
 unread, laid it on the table before me, and bade 
 me write to Forge for the safe to be opened and 
 the gold handed over to the messenger in pay- 
 ment for our release. 
 
 "How can I write?" I said. 
 
 "You can write as your hands are."
 
 134 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " Well, I won't," I answered sullenly. 
 
 For a fit of obstinacy had seized me. I would 
 not scribble their message, I would not be driven 
 like a dog, I would not seek to propitiate the 
 ruffians. 
 
 "Write," said the man named Stork. 
 
 I shut my lips tightly and made no motion. 
 
 "Write," said he a second time. 
 
 H]e did not raise his voice or display any par- 
 ticular emotion, and finally in a calm, matter-of- 
 fact way he struck me a crushing blow. For an 
 instant I was giddy, the little window in the wall 
 by my head whirling as if it were a pinwheel. 
 
 At last I looked up at him. His face was ex- 
 pressionless, a shaven, unmoved face in which 
 even his eyes were lifeless. 
 
 " Write," he repeated in the same level tone. 
 
 " I will not write," I answered. 
 
 At the sound of the blow, the princess had 
 lifted her head, dully staring at us all. Dark 
 rings were under her eyes, her cheeks were wan. 
 Something of wonder grew on her face as she saw 
 the outlaw standing over me with lifted fist. 
 
 "What is it?" she asked. 
 
 "They want me to write to your uncle, and I 
 won't," I answered. "They want an order for 
 the gold in Forge House. I won't give it. I'll 
 see them at the bottom of the river first."
 
 THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 135 
 
 "Write," said the passionless voice above me. 
 
 She sprang up as if to ward off the blow. 
 
 " Don't strike ! " she cried. 
 
 " Let him write." 
 
 "Oh, write, Jack!" 
 
 " I'll write nothing," I said, setting my lips. 
 
 " Do anything they ask, anything they want ! 
 We're so helpless," she pleaded. 
 
 I considered. 
 
 " If we wait an hour a posse will take them, 
 and swing them from a tree," I replied, with a 
 flash of hatred at my captors. "No, I will not 
 write." 
 
 With sudden resolution, she seized the paper 
 and pencil. 
 
 " I'll write it Forge is mine to keep or give," 
 she exclaimed, her apathy gone. " I'll give it all 
 to leave this dreadful spot." 
 
 "Forge yours?" I asked, in wonderment. 
 
 " Of course mines, placer, town, and all," she 
 said hurriedly. 'The title's in my name uncle 
 is only guardian I can do as I want with 
 it. They shall have the gold, and we'll be 
 free." 
 
 Thrusting a finger into the envelope, she ripped 
 it open and drew out the letter. Some of the 
 words caught her eyes, and they widened as she 
 read on, till with a little gasp she hid the letter
 
 136 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 in her bosom, smoothed the crumpled envelope, 
 and swiftly wrote on its back. 
 
 " Take it to my uncle," she said. " He'll give 
 you the gold and, oh, be quick!" 
 
 Gurley and his companion slowly spelled out 
 their message, and, finding it to their satisfaction, 
 turned to the door. 
 
 My eyes followed them, but not my interest; 
 the latter was taken by a new and surprising fact 
 Ethys Fenton owner of Forge! Then I had 
 been really working for her these past weeks. 
 She was the vague thing known as the company, 
 and hers was this splendid domain of Forge ! No 
 wonder they called her the princess. My heart 
 sank down and down into my boots as I consid- 
 ered some of my past dreams, hopes, aspirations 
 for I loved the Princess of Forge, I, the mere 
 steward of her rich estate. A chasm seemed on 
 the instant to yawn between us. 
 
 At the door, the important missive was being 
 given to Mac, together with the instructions he 
 was to follow. The man, jocular as ever, re- 
 ceived them readily, while Long Pete himself 
 grew milder, even facetious, at the near prospect 
 of wealth. 
 
 " Cash the lady's note at the bank, Mac, while 
 we look after the birds," he concluded. 
 
 Little they would get for their trouble, I
 
 THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 137 
 
 thought, since I alone knew the combination of 
 the safe, but we would gain time at least. Mac 
 went out and leisurely descended the trail, cross- 
 ing and recrossing the brook as it cut the path in 
 its meandering course. Sometimes he vanished 
 behind a patch of underbrush or trunk of a tree, 
 to bob into view again farther down. Broad day- 
 light by this time filled the hollow between the 
 two hills, and I was able to trace his figure to the 
 very spot where the smaller ravine debouched 
 into a larger running at a right angle north and 
 south, where the man disappeared. 
 
 I observed Ethys Fenton looking at me. Her 
 lethargy had vanished, her eyelids were no longer 
 heavy, the colour had returned somewhat to her 
 cheeks, and I vow the corners of her mouth 
 seemed just ready to dimple into a smile. 
 
 " You're feeling better," I said. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "I am glad." 
 
 " It was the letter," she told me. 
 
 "Why, what can there be in the letter?" I 
 asked, puzzled. 
 
 ; 'You must wait till I see fit to tell you I 
 have it safe. Since you've let it go so long, you 
 can wait a little longer." 
 
 ''Then it must be worth something." 
 
 " Worth all the gold in Forge. It's told me a
 
 138 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 wonderful thing ! " And resting her cheek on her 
 hand she grew thoughtful. 
 
 "How long do you count on holding us?" I 
 asked Long Pete. 
 
 " Maybe till eight, maybe nine." 
 
 And it was now past six o'clock! Two hours 
 for Merry Mac to go and come, three at the out- 
 side that made short travel of the distance it 
 had taken us all night to ride. Afoot, too! I 
 remembered now the aimless sort of wonder with 
 which I had beheld the man go forth unmounted, 
 and in the direction opposite to the way we had 
 come. Well, other roads led to Forge, I per- 
 ceived quicker ones. I decided I should try that 
 route when we returned. 
 
 "What you grinnin' about?" Pete Gurley 
 asked, suspiciously eyeing me. 
 
 "The thought of being loose in a couple of 
 hours. Wouldn't you smile, too, Peter, at the 
 prospect of being free, after a dozen hours of 
 this?" I held up my bound hands "to say 
 nothing of the hole in my arm ! " 
 
 He burst into raucous laughter, while the out- 
 law Stork, who had taken Mac's station at the 
 door, parted his lips a trifle in a cold, mirthless 
 smile. 
 
 " In a little while your troubles will all be over, 
 Mister Manager," Pete said.
 
 THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 139 
 
 "Whereupon yours begin," I retorted. 
 
 "Will you stay to see 'em?" he scoffed. 
 
 Since he remained untouched by any suggestion 
 as to his personal safety, I wondered if he was 
 more sensitive in respect to his pocket. 
 
 " Peter, you'll never finger a grain of the gold," 
 I asseverated. 
 
 " I'll finger it all." 
 
 " If you think your master a square dealer, 
 you've learned him very badly. There's an old 
 saying, ' Borrow of Peter to pay Paul.' Well, 
 you're the Peter of the proverb, and Paul would 
 as soon steal from you as from any other 
 man." 
 
 " I'll let no fellow double-cross me," he 
 growled. 
 
 " He'd love to do it, and will. It's Paul's 
 pockets, not Peter's, that he wants bulging when 
 he flits from Forge." 
 
 My words began to wear on his assurance; he 
 pulled his long, drooping moustache; a thunder 
 cloud gathered on his brow; he eyed me uneasily 
 and wrathfully. 
 
 " If a man did that to me," he said, hitching 
 at his gun belt, " I'd cut his throat and throw 
 him to the birds." 
 
 "Exactly what he'd deserve, Pete. But with 
 this particular man?"
 
 140 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "Watch me. That's all," said Pete signifi- 
 cantly. 
 
 Walking to the door he took a long look down 
 the draw; and there more and more frequently 
 during the next hour he posted himself, moody 
 and silent, and watchful, to await the return of 
 his agent. 
 
 Distrust at length wholly mastered him, or so 
 I judged, and he stepped across the threshold 
 and paced restlessly a while before the door, and 
 in the end set off up the hillside, scrambled to 
 the top of a rock, and dropped out of sight on 
 the opposite side. 
 
 With his disappearance a new thought was 
 born in my brain. Could I now rid the cabin 
 of the remaining outlaw, the princess' penknife 
 might serve us a second time, and more to the 
 purpose. 
 
 But of wholly different calibre was this fellow, 
 as I soon ascertained, and more fit to be the leader 
 of the enterprise, possessing a cool, calculating 
 mind, void of either passion or sentiment. How 
 his employer, with his broad knowledge, acute 
 discernment, and experience with desperate men 
 should err so far as to put him in the second 
 place was quite beyond me. 
 
 When I attempted to draw him into conversa- 
 tion, he told me plainly that I could not throw
 
 THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 141 
 
 dust in his eyes as I had in Gurley's, and ordered 
 me to keep silent. Thereafter I held my peace, 
 though I watched him furtively. 
 
 After a quarter of an hour he rose, examined 
 my bonds, lifted a tin water bucket from a cor- 
 ner, and passed out and around the house, his 
 slouch hat moving across the window by my head. 
 Five minutes slipped by, and he had not returned. 
 
 "Ethys, your knife," I whispered. 
 
 She looked at me sorrowfully. 
 
 " I dropped it back at the camp," she answered, 
 " by the log." 
 
 Her words gave the last blow to my hopes ; the 
 chance had come and I had lost. 
 
 A faint sound reached down from the slope. 
 It grew louder to a rattle of a horse's hoofs on 
 stones. A shot exploded on the air; and before 
 the report had ceased to echo between the hills, 
 there broke forth a wild clatter and the sound of 
 a horse recklessly galloping down the trail. 
 
 Ethys Fenton started up and gripped her palms. 
 
 "Who comes?" she whispered tensely. 
 
 The beat of the animal's feet rapidly grew 
 louder, until its black body flashed into sight be- 
 fore the door, where, in the very midst of a 
 plunge, its rider flung it back upon its haunches. 
 Down the man sprang, and into the room Fred- 
 eric Douglass. His blue eyes sparkled, his fair
 
 i 4 2 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 hair was ruffled on his hatless head, his narrow, 
 handsome face was aglow, and the revolver we 
 had heard was still in his hand. Altogether his 
 appearance was very dramatic and very welcome. 
 
 " I've found you ! " he cried. 
 
 "You have," I said quietly. 
 
 "Yes, thank Heaven!" 
 
 "Get us out of this hole and we'll thank you, 
 Douglass." 
 
 "Yes, yes, we must be quick," he said, speak- 
 ing rapidly. " I potted one fellow with a bucket 
 up by the spring. There may be more, who heard 
 the shot. Come, we must run for it. We must 
 ride, ride fast." 
 
 The princess was all a-tremble, looking this 
 way and that, the blood coming and going in her 
 face. 
 
 "Untie this rope. I can't ride on a stool and 
 table," I said. 
 
 He made a step to where I sat, and with a 
 single slash of his knife severed the rope about 
 my body and cut the knot at my wrists. 
 
 "Why, man, what's this blood?" he cried, 
 catching up my arm. " Did you mix it with the 
 ruffians?" 
 
 "They mixed it with me. Look out, don't 
 squeeze it ! " 
 
 He dropped my arm, saying: "Come along,
 
 THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 143 
 
 Maitland," seized the girl's hand, and darted to 
 the door. Out they went. His knife had not 
 made clean work of the buckskin thongs, missing 
 a knot, and I struggled with it. In an instant he 
 had the princess' horse untied and led to her. 
 
 "Hold on, Douglass, you've left me fast," I 
 shouted. 
 
 Up he swung her into her saddle, then he 
 leaped into his own. 
 
 "Comeback!" I cried. 
 
 "What? You say you'll follow? Be sure to 
 catch up we're off I " And, with a rush, off they 
 went up the trail behind the house to the top of 
 the ridge. 
 
 I sent forth one more shout, but my only an- 
 swer was the swiftly dying sound of their horses' 
 feet. I fell upon my cords in a paroxysm of fury, 
 the sweat stood upon my forehead and wet my 
 neck, while the wound in my arm opened and the 
 hot blood trickled down my sleeve. Then I gave 
 up. The cabin became ominously silent and 
 empty and dark, despite the morning sunshine 
 that fell through the door, and I was oppressed 
 by a sense of foreboding. 
 
 Minute succeeded minute. Then a footfall 
 sounded behind the house and some one moved 
 toward the front. Suddenly my strength seemed 
 to forsake me, and a sickening sensation lay at
 
 144 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 the pit of my stomach, for I heard the low creak- 
 creak of a tin bucket swinging on its handle, and 
 directly a black slouch hat crossed the window. 
 A second later Stork stepped in and set down his 
 water. My eyes clung to him in a sort of fas- 
 cination. 
 
 At length I moistened my lips and spoke. 
 
 " Dead men walk," I said. 
 
 " Some do," he responded, with a pause, " and 
 again some don't." 
 
 An unpleasant significance was enfolded in the 
 last half of his reply, as a worm in an apple, a 
 sort of sinister suggestion. 
 
 " I rather hoped you were one of those who 
 clon't," I said candidly. 
 
 "He fired in the air," he explained. 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " And I lay on my back till they rode by." 
 
 After that I said nothing. Douglass* whole 
 kidnapping plot was plain ; it afforded him an op- 
 portunity to carry out a farcical rescue of Ethys 
 Fenton and thus step up in her graces; it also 
 enabled him to turn a penny of ransom money; 
 but it further involved a plan of which my per- 
 son was to be the important factor. What was 
 to be done with me? Would I be released on 
 Mac's return? Or was Douglass' farce now to 
 revert to tragedy?
 
 I lifted my eyes to Stork. 
 
 "I wonder if we've now done with fiction and 
 come to hard facts," I said. 
 
 "We have." His tone was business-like. 
 
 "What special form will the facts take?" 
 
 He dipped up a cup of water and drank it in 
 carefully measured swallows. 
 
 "Lead," said he briefly. 
 
 I smiled grimly. I had guessed his answer be- 
 fore it was spoken. A bullet would be a very 
 hard fact indeed ! It was the sort of fact one did 
 not survive acquiring; and I was conscious that 
 I now sat helpless in the most deadly peril of my 
 life. Well, I had been caught in the pit which 
 mine enemy had digged, and now that he had me 
 I would show him how a man could play the 
 game and lose and not whimper. This morning 
 was like to prove fatal. 
 
 I whistled softly and gazed out down the draw 
 and considered things. A figure appeared at the 
 bottom of the trail. It laboured up the path, ap- 
 pearing and disappearing with the twistings of 
 the creek. A second man hove in sight, toiling 
 hurriedly after the first, who carried a he *v 
 weight in his hand. The man behind was empty- 
 handed and unburdened. He gained upon the 
 first, whom I recognised as Mac, Merry Mac, the 
 messenger, and made after him desperately. To
 
 i 4 6 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 my astonishment the fat, short-legged gentleman 
 who followed the outlaw with such exertion was 
 none other than my amiable and polite French- 
 man, D'Urville. 
 
 Thought I, "Now, by all that's wonderful, 
 what brings him here ! "
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 PLAY AND COUNTERPLAY 
 
 Some dead men walk some do not! My imper- 
 turbable keeper was of the favoured first class; 
 the questionable honour of making one among 
 the second was intended for me. The Scot had 
 woven his net with diabolical cunning capture, 
 ransom, rescue, and my prospective death. Win- 
 ning Ethys Fenton required a trenchant stroke, 
 while my removal was imperative for his safety. 
 
 When one is about to be executed, the figure 
 of the executioner gathers importance. Covertly 
 I studied my man. 
 
 "You were one of the dynamiters over at 
 Crown City," I said, breaking the silence. 
 
 " I was," said he. 
 
 Long Pete had certain pronounced character- 
 istics; Mac, too, had his peculiarities, but this 
 fellow seemed utterly colourless a hard, prac- 
 tical machine rather than a pulsating man. I 
 imagined him dynamiting the White Dog Mine 
 without flurry or waste of effort or mistake; I 
 imagined him administering my quietus in much 
 the same way he would blow out my brains, re- 
 
 147
 
 i 4 8 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 fresh himself with a cup of water, linger a while 
 perhaps over his pipe, eat a hearty dinner, and 
 go forth open for new hire and at night to a 
 dreamless repose. Precision is laudable, but 
 under the circumstances such a level, calm, eco- 
 nomical performance of one's business, without 
 slack or loose ends, is appalling. 
 
 I turned my gaze from him to the open door. 
 Down in the hollow the two men laboriously as- 
 cended the trail, with the Frenchman shortening 
 the interval until he caught up with the messen- 
 ger. 
 
 When within fifty yards of the cabin, they sat 
 down together side by side on a flat/ rock, on 
 which Mac carefully deposited the plump buck- 
 skin bag he carried. 
 
 The bright morning sunshine flooded the hill- 
 side, the sound of their voices did not carry to 
 me, but I plainly marked their moving lips and 
 smiling faces. They laughed and talked, and 
 smiled and nodded. 
 
 D'Urville, hat on knee, polished his shiny 
 cheeks with his handkerchief and patted the out- 
 law on the back, and the pair made merry. My 
 guard, who sat with his shoulders propped against 
 the door, facing me, could see nothing of the 
 pantomime enacted in the hollow. 
 
 Fifty yards distant reposed the bag of gold
 
 PLAY AND COUNTERPLAY 149 
 
 fifty yards measured my lease of life! Let the 
 ransom once cross the threshold and I would lose 
 interest in it, and other things, with wonderful 
 suddenness. 
 
 "What does Douglass pay you for this job?" 
 I asked, inspired to business by the thought. 
 
 " Five hundred." 
 
 He concealed nothing; the secret would be safe 
 with me. 
 
 "What! Only five hundred?" 
 
 " Five hundred is five hundred," thus spoke the 
 careful, long-headed calculator. 
 
 "Yes; but not a thousand," I said, "or two 
 of them. He beat you there, like the Jew he is! 
 Why, he'd have given two thousand before he'd 
 let slip the chance to do me. Evidently you don't 
 know what I'm worth dead to him. He'd empty 
 his pockets to put me away. And in addition to 
 your share of the gold you get, one-third, you 
 could " 
 
 "A quarter," he corrected. 
 
 " No ! " I cried, as if aghast at the iniquity. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 1 Well, of all harpies! When you've had the 
 risk and done the work, does he walk up and 
 take a share of that, too? See here, Stork, if I'm 
 worth five hundred to him I'm worth three times 
 that to myself. Is it a bargain ? "
 
 150 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " Fifteen hundred is fifteen hundred." 
 
 "And you'll make by me what you lost by 
 him." 
 
 He fell into a brown study. Anxiously I 
 waited for him to come to a decision ; but he must 
 look at it from all sides, and was not to be hur- 
 ried. 
 
 Yonder on the rock the two men were still at 
 it, no longer laughing, but deep in talk, in which 
 the sleek, rotund Frenchman carried the greater 
 part. His right hand lay lightly on Mac's shoul- 
 der, playfully, confidingly, while with his left he 
 made an occasional gesture. 
 
 Mac lifted the sack of gold upon his knee, 
 where he fingered its tightly tied neck. D'Urville 
 pointed at it Mac shook his head. The French- 
 man softly thumped it with his knuckles again 
 Mac refused. Plainly the lump of ill-gotten 
 wealth was under discussion, but whether Doug- 
 lass' fat little confederate asked a share, or 
 urged a division of it all between them, or a re- 
 turn to Forge, or some other thing, it was beyond 
 my guessing. D'Urville's talk ran on steadily as 
 the brook, his fine black point of a beard jerking 
 to his rapid speech. 
 
 "Fifteen hundred is fifteen hundred," my 
 keeper computed. 
 
 " And three times five hundred," I added.
 
 PLAY AND COUNTERPLAY 151 
 
 Still the little play down the ravine continued. 
 The Frenchman grew more vivacious, his hand 
 gripped the outlaw's shoulder as if to clinch an 
 argument, but Mac was not to be persuaded, and 
 once more shook his head. He grasped the neck 
 of the sack and stood up. 
 
 D'Urville drew him back upon the rock and 
 slipped his arm yet more confidentially around 
 Mac's neck. His left hand, which the moment 
 before had been spread forth in the air, fell to 
 his hip, paused on it a little while, then crept 
 under the tail of his coat. There it remained 
 hidden. D'Urville talked on and on, the black 
 point of his chin wagged and wagged. 
 
 Fifteen " 
 
 The word escaped Stork's lips, but he spoke no 
 more, and sank again into absorption. 
 
 The Frenchman's hand crept out from under 
 his coat-tail and rested again on his hip. It held 
 something bright, something that winked sharp 
 in the sunshine as does a little mirror. His glance 
 left Mac's face, darting hither and thither like a 
 serpent's. It shot up at the house, it sped the 
 limits of the hollow, it flashed about the hills 
 all assured him, and he smiled anew upon the out- 
 law. 
 
 The object gleaming in his hand held me dully 
 for a time, then my blood seemed to turn to ice
 
 152 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 as I gained comprehension. The thing was a 
 dagger ah, God, my eyes swam till I saw noth- 
 ing of the men in the blinding sunshine! 
 
 " My life or his ! My life or his ! " my soul 
 cried out. 
 
 For it must be one or the other of us. If I 
 shrieked a warning, then would Mac be saved and 
 I die; if I sat mute, perhaps the two of us would 
 die, perhaps my lease of life would be extended. 
 Outlaw though the fellow was it made me shud- 
 der to think of him unfairly murdered and a 
 word from me would save him. To this hour I 
 know not whether I chose rightly. 
 
 At some word the other spoke, the outlaw gave 
 a start. D'Urville drew yet a little closer, slipped 
 his arm yet a little farther around the man's neck, 
 and smiled and talked and wagged his beard. 
 Mac attempted to rise, sought to shake off the 
 restraining arm, and with a laugh the Frenchman 
 yielded, and both men stood upon their feet. 
 
 The dagger in D'Urville's left hand slid down, 
 down, like a silver lizard, almost to his knee. 
 The sweat oozed cold upon my temples. 
 
 With the suddenness of a rattler's stroke the 
 Frenchman's arm hooked about the outlaw's neck, 
 his fat hand clapped over the man's mouth. 
 Mac's head snapped back, face up even from 
 where I sat I could see the instant surprised open-
 
 PLAY AND COUNTERPLAY 153 
 
 Ing of his eyes. The knife leaped forth into the 
 sunlight, then as swiftly flashed into the taut 
 breast of the outlaw. Mac's fingers jerked and 
 twisted and knotted; the bag of gold dropped to 
 the ground; his arm swung as if swayed by a 
 wind, then he toppled over and lay quiet on the 
 rock. 
 
 Picking up the bag of gold the Frenchman 1 
 made off down trail, light-footed as a cat, and dis- 
 appeared in the deeper ravine. And there on the 
 rock, with his face turned up in the bright morn- 
 ing sunshine, lay the body of Merry Mac. The 
 bag of gold had taken its first toll of blood; how 
 much more would flow before the price was 
 paid? 
 
 Striking on my ear came the words : 
 " Fifteen hundred is fifteen hundred." 
 Rising, he came to me. Deliberate as the bird 
 for which he was named, he searched my pockets, 
 thumbed my linings, felt the waistband of my 
 trousers, and pinched my sleeves. 
 " You haven't it," said he. 
 "Not on me, of course." 
 "Then five hundred is five hundred." 
 I glared at him. Our bartering was at an end, 
 and for all practical purposes my fate was sealed; 
 his first and invariable rule of business was, it ap- 
 peared, cash in advance. He moved away to the
 
 154 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 door, where the motionless figure on the rock 
 caught his eye. 
 
 Stopping in his tracks he looked at it, while my 
 breath began to come faster, and after a long ex- 
 amination he went without a word down the 
 trail. 
 
 Desperately I strained at my bonds and cast 
 about for some means of escape. My last hope 
 was swiftly ebbing, for the time I had to live, the 
 all-too-short time, could be counted in minutes, in 
 the half dozen it would take him to reach the 
 spot and return. Or if not then, at least when 
 Long Pete returned from wherever he had gone. 
 Where, indeed, had Pete gone? In all the past 
 hour of excitement, dread, and horror he had not 
 once entered my mind. Ah, as if conjured up by 
 my very question he had come at last. Down the 
 slope behind the house he came whistling whis- 
 tling a gay and sprightly tune. 
 
 A head darkened the window not two feet 
 from me. 
 
 " Hello ! " said a voice. It was not Pete Gur- 
 ley's. 
 
 I started, I could have almost burst my thongs 
 for gladness. For the voice was like a voice from 
 heaven, and the face was no other than that of 
 Dave Corry, the sheep herder whom I had staked 
 two days before. His face wore a friendly smile ;
 
 PLAY AND COUNTERPLAY 15$ 
 
 it was a face of honesty, it was the face of a man 
 who could save. 
 
 " You here ! " he cried, looking in. 
 
 "Hush!" 
 
 " Why, you're tied up ! " he exclaimed, with- 
 out moderating his tone. 
 
 I flung a look down the ravine. Stork had fin- 
 ished his inspection of Mac's body, and was now 
 coming back with hurried strides. Ominous, too, 
 he was testing each chamber of his revolver. 
 
 " Quick cut this," I said to Dave, holding up 
 my hands. 
 
 He fumbled in his pocket, while my pounding 
 heart measured the outlaw's steps. At last the 
 knife was thrust into the buckskin strings and they 
 parted. 
 
 " Your gun give me your gun ! " I com- 
 manded. 
 
 The knife was drawn out, the revolver came in; 
 and I thanked God that their business required 
 sheep herders to carry weapons. Dave himself 
 dropped out of sight. 
 
 Stork was but ten paces away now five now 
 he stood on the threshold. 
 
 Without a word of warning he flung up his gun 
 and pulled the trigger, while at the same second 
 I cast myself sidewise upon the floor, rope, stool, 
 and all.
 
 156 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 The report of his shot rang through the cabin, 
 and the bullet squirmed into a log over my head. 
 His hammer went clicking back and I fired! At 
 his figure, half hidden by smoke, I fired again. 
 His pistol clattered upon the floor, he pitched for- 
 ward, clawing at the air, and fell full length. The 
 man had made his last bargain in the murder 
 market. 
 
 "You got him?" asked Dave's voice through 
 a chink. 
 
 "Yes; come in. It's all over." 
 
 Running round to the door, he joined me in the 
 cabin and cut me loose. 
 
 " That happened pretty quick," he said breath- 
 lessly. 
 
 " But none too quick. You arrived just in 
 time, or I should be lying dead in his place." 
 
 He stooped over Stork's body. 
 
 " Never saw him before." 
 
 "He's one of the White Dog Dynamiters," I 
 answered. 
 
 " Well, you did some shooting, all right." 
 
 Ai good shot it had been, considering my posi- 
 tion and the stiffness of my hands. Both bullets 
 had gone true, straight into the man's breast. 
 
 "Never thought I'd run into anything like 
 this," Dave said, " when I came over to get water. 
 My sheep are over a couple of hills yonder. And
 
 PLAY AND COUNTERPLAY 157 
 
 I just figured I'd take a peep in the shack while 
 here." 
 
 "We'd better start, for another of the cut- 
 throats is loose," I warned. 
 
 "What'll we do with this?" He touched 
 Stork's body with his foot. 
 
 " Leave it to Long Pete he can bury it." 
 
 " Hell ! " Dave burst forth. " Is Pete one of 
 'em?" 
 
 " The leader, and he may be back any minute. 
 Come, I've been here long enough." 
 
 I restored the young fellow his weapon, picked 
 up Stork's from where it had fallen, and dropped 
 it into my pocket. Outside, I found my horse 
 tied to a tree with those of the outlaws, and one 
 minute later I was in the saddle, free, and very 
 much alive. 
 
 Dave informed me that Forge lay hardly two 
 miles distant, so we separated, and I started down 
 the trail. 
 
 Our twelve-hours' ride of the previous night 
 had been circuitous a flight characteristic of the 
 foxlike Scotchman, who had planned it to en- 
 hance his rescue in the eyes of the rescued. He 
 would have his service appear of herculean pro- 
 portions. I wondered if he would play out the 
 farce by doubling far afield on his ride back to 
 Forge, nor did I have a doubt of it.
 
 158 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 My horse picked his way down the trail into 
 the larger ravine, and turned north. I easily 
 guessed that I was in a crease in the low range 
 back of Forge, and when I at last reached the top 
 of the draw I found that I was correct. Forge 
 lay spread out before me, the whole panorama 
 town, river, Anvil Rock, and canon. Forge and 
 safety ! 
 
 My horse made good speed down, and ten min- 
 utes later I was approaching the rear of Forge 
 House. 
 
 The town was wonderfully quiet. At the mines 
 I saw that no work was going on, and nothing 
 moved in the whole canon except the river. Had 
 a plague dwelt there, the place could not have 
 been more deserted, more lifeless. 
 
 "Will somebody please explain this new 
 thing?" I said aloud. 
 
 Had all Forge gone searching for the princess 
 and me? 
 
 On I went. At the bottom I circled a hillock 
 and came to the outbuildings behind the house, 
 where, stabling my horse, I saw that all the other 
 stalls were empty. Going up the slope, I chanced 
 to glance up, and beheld the Frenchman walking 
 as if to meet me. Where had he come from? 
 He had not been in sight the moment before. 
 Well, he, at least, gave a touch of life to the
 
 PLAY AND COUNTERPLAY 159 
 
 scene. I slipped my hand into the pocket which 
 held the revolver. 
 
 The man, raising his eyes, saw me. He rushed 
 forward, extending both fat hands. Gratitude at 
 my deliverance shone upon his round and placid 
 face. 
 
 " Ah, monsieur ! " he exclaimed. " You have 
 returned to us you are not lost entirely? " 
 
 "I'm not lost at all, D'Urville," I answered. 
 
 Of the pair of villains sheltered in the Forge 
 House precincts it would have taxed my brain to 
 decide which was the more consummate. This 
 one now fairly dripped ecstasy at sight of me, 
 while his delight was simple as a child's, and very 
 beautiful. 
 
 " We have had a great anxiety for you a fear. 
 The chateau stood on end the whole night be- 
 cause you and the beautiful mademoiselle lingered. 
 We were in anguish, monsieur, desolated with a 
 great desolation ! " 
 
 He squeezed my hand between his; I pressed 
 his in turn I was acquiring skill at the game. 
 
 " Grieve no more, my friend," said I ; " but re- 
 joice with great rejoicing." 
 
 "And the lovely Mademoiselle Princess?" 
 
 He gave an inquiring lift of his brows. 
 
 "Why, is she not here?" I asked, with pre- 
 tended surprise. " She left with Douglass, and
 
 i6o THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 I lost them. I imagine they're on the road com- 
 ing. But, D'Urville, what's the reason the placer 
 is idle? It looks like a graveyard." 
 
 Dropping my hand, he spun about on his heel, 
 gazed off to the east, then turned about again. 
 
 " Mon Dleu, monsieur, it is a universal debacle 
 you have caused, a magnificent worry. How may 
 they toil when the industrious manager is absent, 
 perhaps in danger? They work not they wait 
 in despair." 
 
 " Well, well, that's exceedingly gratifying. To 
 be loved by one's workmen! I never knew that 
 I was so dear to them." 
 
 " Ah, monsieur, you are dear to us all." 
 
 He bowed low with his words, sweeping the 
 ground with his hand. The temptation was too 
 great to resist, so I also swept off my hat and 
 made a bow that equalled his own. Thereupon 
 we parted to our respective destinations, though I 
 kept an eye over my shoulder. His compliments 
 were not dangerous, but other things in his pos- 
 session might be. 
 
 The house was empty of its accustomed house- 
 hold; it was probably riding abroad in alarm for 
 the princess and me. Sure enough the Scotchman 
 had gone round the bush, when he could have 
 been home any time these two hours past. Unseen 
 by the servants, I slipped up to my apartments.
 
 PLAY AND COUNTERPLAY 161 
 
 A pretty face greeted me in my mirror. My hair 
 was matted, my face grimy with dust, my lips 
 bruised from the blow I had been struck, my 
 clothes disordered, and all my features pale from 
 weariness and loss of blood. I grinned until I 
 saw my white teeth, for I was not pleasing to the 
 eye. Then I splashed a while in my tub, dressed 
 my arm, and clothed myself afresh. 
 
 The excitement which had sustained me like a 
 drug had gone; loss of sleep began to tell, and I 
 yawned fit to split my jaws. So, bolting my door 
 and seeing to my revolver for Forge House had 
 become a house of danger I prepared for a nap. 
 Idly gazing out of a window at the last moment, 
 I beheld, a mile down the canon, a troop of riders 
 descending the shoulder of the mountain. 
 
 I snatched my field glasses from the wall and 
 focussed them on the spot. It was the household 
 returning, the princess and her rescuer riding in 
 the midst yes, Douglass rode by her side. The 
 cavalcade formed a sort of triumphal procession 
 for the handsome scoundrel. 
 
 My part in the little play was to be lying dead, 
 back in the cabin in the wood. 
 
 " Look out for ghosts, Frederic ! " I chuckled 
 through my closed teeth.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED 
 
 I WAS roused out of heavy sleep by some one 
 pounding on my door. The room was full of 
 twilight, and outside night was coming down the 
 canon I had slept a good nine hours. I sprang 
 up, switched on the lamps, and drew the bolt. In 
 walked Charlie Woodworth. 
 
 "I knew it," said he, with a wise nod of his 
 black head. 
 
 "Knew what?" 
 
 " That you were here. The others think you're 
 out in the hills gallivanting around after outlaws; 
 Ethys and the Scotchman couldn't figure out why 
 else you didn't catch up with them. I happened 
 to go down to the stable and saw your nag. Well, 
 you had a glorious time wish I'd been along. 
 You had us out of bed all last night, where we all 
 tumbled in as soon as we got back, and have been 
 sleeping like the dead ever since. Stick your 
 head into some water and come along, they're 
 gathering for dinner." 
 
 " I'll do my share there," I answered, " I'm a 
 starved man." 
 
 162
 
 PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED 163 
 
 While I made ready he lounged about the room, 
 chattering of the stir our absence had caused. 
 
 "Oho, what's the popgun for?" he said, all 
 at once. 
 
 " Paper weight." 
 
 " Paper weight ! Quit your fooling. Hello ! 
 One chamber has been fired! Fresh, too; I can 
 smell it." He lifted it to his nose, and sniffed. 
 " I say, paper weight oh, hang ! Go tell that to 
 birdies. Look at that" "S-T-O-R-K" was 
 burnt on the wooden handle. 'Your name, of 
 course? You know something," he continued 
 suspiciously. " There's something wrong with the 
 whole business, or why didn't you come home with 
 them? How did you reach here first? Mystery 
 is sticking out all over you, like needles out of a 
 pincushion, and you needn't be so devilish theat- 
 rical and close. I say, you know something ! " 
 
 "Why, what do you think could have hap- 
 pened?" I grinned. 
 
 He opened his mouth to reply; but stopped 
 abruptly, with his jaw hanging. 
 
 " Douglass ! " he flashed out. 
 
 "What about him?" 
 
 " He was in it, I'll bet a beer." 
 ' To a very considerable extent, by all appear- 
 ances," I responded. " He discovered us where 
 they had us held, pulled off the rescue, and bore
 
 i6 4 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 the princess triumphantly home. I should say, 
 Charlie, that he was in it like a royal flush in a 
 big jackpot." 
 
 " Yes, and he's cocky as a bantam over it, too. 
 But tell me how he could wander off into the 
 mountains and find you so pat that's none too 
 dear. How did he, now?" 
 
 Charlie ought to have been a detective; he had 
 a fine noe for such work. 
 
 "Ask him," I said. 
 
 " There's another thing," he went on. " When 
 the rest of us rode out this morning, he wouldn't 
 go along, but stuck here. Now, why? And then 
 there's his yarn about the coming of one of the 
 outlaws. Wasn't it lucky that Douglass hap- 
 pened to be here? I'll just bet " 
 
 Thrusting his hands into his pockets, he ceased 
 speaking, and shut his lips tight in thought, while 
 every second suspicion grew heavier upon his 
 face. 
 
 "Keep on, Charlie; you're growing warm," 
 said I. 
 
 "I'll bet he knew where to go I " And his 
 voice sank to a melodramatic whisper. 
 
 " Well, you're^" 
 
 "You're right, Charlie," I said. "He not only 
 knew where to go, but he was at the bottom of 
 the whole knavish affair."
 
 PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED 165 
 
 Thereupon, I briefly related, for his benefit, 
 everything that had occurred since my coming to 
 Forge, and disclosed Douglass' mesh of subtle and 
 far-reaching villainy. 
 
 Charlie listened thirstily, and, at the conclu- 
 sion, cried: "There's work cut out for us!" 
 
 " The first of it is never to leave Ethys Fenton 
 unprotected for a single instant.'* 
 
 "Yes," he nodded. 
 
 "The man will stop at nothing, now." 
 
 " I'll hang to her like a leech," he said. 
 
 "And always be alert." 
 
 Again he nodded, took a mighty breath, and 
 lighted a cigarette. 
 
 " We'll beat 'em at their own game, you and I. 
 Our eyes are open, and we know what to expect, 
 and some time we'll catch them napping, and get 
 back the gold and show them up. I suppose we'll 
 have to lay low until they make the next move." 
 
 " Never flush birds till you're in gunshot," I 
 recommended. 
 
 Presently, his brow clouded. 
 
 "What am I to do without a gun?" he asked. 
 " I've only my fowling piece, and I can't lug that 
 around in my bosom." 
 
 " Keep the revolver that's in your hand I've 
 my own." And I brought forth one of my pair 
 that lay in a dresser drawer.
 
 1 66 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "Good enough, Maitland; I'll feel more com- 
 fortable now when around them." 
 
 He thrust it into a pocket with all the satisfac- 
 tion in the world. 
 
 " Come, let's get down to dinner," I said. 
 " I've fasted twenty hours, and am ravenous. By 
 the way, watch Douglass' face when he sees me. 
 It ought to be worth while; for, according to his 
 book, I'm under ground long ago." 
 
 The ladies were keeping their rooms, being not 
 yet recovered from fatigue and nervous excite- 
 ment, and so we men were left to dine alone. When 
 Charlie and I came down, the other three were in 
 the library, where my entrance created varying 
 degrees of surprise. The Scotchman lost breath 
 in the middle of a word, and stared at me, losing 
 colour, as if I had, in all truth, risen from a sep- 
 ulchre. His whole countenance was a confes- 
 sion. 
 
 I crossed to him, and put out my hand, while 
 smiling upon him, and speaking the little greeting 
 I had prepared. 
 
 " Douglass, I shall never be able to thank you 
 enough for what you've done for me. Yours was 
 a brave deed; and I'm a thousand times debtor. 
 It was a deuced bad hole we were in you saved 
 us." 
 
 I gave his fingers a last grateful squeeze.
 
 PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED 167 
 
 "You arrived safely?" he replied, with an 
 effort. 
 
 " Safe, except for a scratch in my arm." 
 
 My smiling assurances worked wonders with 
 him, deceived him perfectly, and I saw his chest 
 fall with a sigh of relief. The blood returned to 
 his cheeks, his eyelids drooped, and his old dare- 
 devil insouciance came back upon him like a fine 
 enamel. He thought himself undiscovered. 
 Douglass was the bold Douglass again. 
 
 " No, no, Maitland. You exaggerate my serv- 
 ice. Any of us would have done as much." 
 
 "Not every one, old fellow!" Charlie 'ex- 
 claimed, beaming upon him. " It's like you to 
 try to make your really big deeds seem insignifi- 
 cant. It was simply immense." 
 
 To this the others added their meed of admira- 
 tion for his single-handed rescue. Charlie and I, 
 in particular, did not stint ourselves; and, after 
 a few minutes, Douglass, smiling and protesting, 
 denying and admitting, ay, and even preening 
 himself, found that he was a hero. 
 
 " But I say, Maitland," he remarked, " what a 
 scare you gave us when you didn't show up. I 
 was half minded to go back; but with the prin- 
 cess in my charge, I did not dare take the 
 risk." 
 
 " It would have been most unwise."
 
 1 68' THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " I thought," he probed, " that in my hurry I'd 
 perhaps failed entirely to free you." 
 
 " Your knife was a bit dull, I imagine," I an- 
 swered smoothly. " It took me a good two min- 
 utes to snap the cords seemed like an hour. 
 Then, when I got away and over the hill, you 
 were out of sight, and I hadn't the least idea 
 which way to go, and so wandered about until a 
 sheep herder put me straight. So here I am." 
 
 " But you're potted in the arm by Jove, we 
 forgot that ! " Arlington said, scanning the 
 wounded member. " Ethys told us about it. 
 You certainly look a trifle overtrained." 
 
 At that moment, dinner was announced, and 
 during the meal I learned the succession of events 
 at Forge House during the time Ethys Fenton 
 and I were in the hands of the highwaymen; and 
 the narrative which began with the consomme 
 lasted to the camembert. 
 
 It seemed that when Ethys and I had failed to 
 put in an appearance for dinner, the previous 
 evening, no especial disquietude had been experi- 
 enced by Mr. Fenton or the rest of the party, as 
 our destination was known to be somewhat dis- 
 tant. When, however, eight o'clock struck and 
 we were not yet come, they began to question one 
 another; an hour later, they were anxious, which 
 state of mind rose gradually to distinct alarm.
 
 PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED 169 
 
 Douglass and Woodworth volunteered an in- 
 vestigating ride down the river, promising to find 
 us; and, since the moon was up, they took the 
 road up hill and down at a smashing pace. Only 
 at the dark, forbidding entrance of Painted Canon 
 did they come to a walk, through which they 
 picked their way from end to end, and a mile 
 beyond. They got back to Forge House some 
 minutes after midnight, and without news. 
 
 Had the princess and I been lifted up to the 
 moon itself, our evanescence could not have been 
 more complete or more unaccountable. One ex- 
 planation put forth seemed plausible one little 
 to my credit that we had ventured into the hills 
 and lost ourselves. 
 
 At this stage of the proceedings, Mrs. Arling- 
 ton had gone to* bed in a panic, and on the verge 
 of an attack of hysterics. 
 
 The gentlemen maintained night watch, forti- 
 fying themselves with Scotch and black cigars, 
 while propounding theories to account for our 
 absence and discarding them one after another as 
 untenable. Theirs had been a gloomy council. 
 At dawn, Mr. Fenton, tortured by uncertainty 
 and fears for his niece, himself took saddle and 
 set off down the canon, with Woodworth for com- 
 pany, and with the Arlingtons following an hour 
 or two later. Down the river road the princess
 
 170 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 and I had gone; down the river road, therefore, 
 we must be, if we existed at all. So, thither 
 went all of them all save one. Enter Doug- 
 lass! 
 
 The conclusions of the story were necessarily 
 from his lips. When the others had departed, he 
 sat himself down in the office, much dispirited, to 
 puzzle out the vexing enigma. Thus, an hour 
 slipped by. At the expiration of that period, a 
 roughly dressed, ugly, ill-mannered, fierce-looking 
 ruffian, on whom he had never laid eyes before 
 bravo, my Frederic! appeared suddenly in the 
 office armed, and demanding money. The fellow 
 stated that the pair of us were held captive, and 
 cash must be forthcoming for our release, or we 
 should be murdered. 
 
 Was it a time to hesitate? Or to count pen- 
 nies? Or quibble? By Heaven, he would have 
 given Forge itself to the outlaw to insure the 
 safety of Miss Fenton, that he would! so de- 
 clared Douglass, with a fine display of earnest- 
 ness upon his narrow face. 
 
 And when the highwayman set off on his re- 
 turn with the bag of gold which he had given 
 him out of the safe, he had trailed the fellow. 
 He had whipped into the stable, mounted Duke, 
 dogged the bandit's heels, cut in ahead of him in 
 a ravine, galloped up a draw, come to the top of
 
 PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED 171 
 
 a ridge, discovered the house, charged it, and ef- 
 fected our rescue. 
 
 Then he and the princess had fled in haste, sup- 
 posing me at their horses' tails' fled by another 
 way to the river, where, after three hours, they 
 raced down into the midst of Mr. Fenton's search- 
 ing party. 
 
 "Turning the trick was simple," he concluded, 
 with a certain airy loftiness. 
 
 " Well, I'm your debtor, both in money and in 
 thanks," said Mr. Fenton. " They shall both be 
 paid with interest, Douglass; and you have my 
 eternal gratitude." 
 
 "There's no money due me," the Scotchman 
 smiled, twisting the points of his moustache, and 
 well pleased with himself. "You mustn't imag- 
 ine that I carry ten or fifteen thousand around in 
 my pocket as loose change. As I mentioned, I 
 paid out of the safe, gave the sack of gold, which 
 seemed the only thing to do. If I were wrong, 
 however, I " 
 
 " Exactly what I should have instructed you to 
 do had I known ; what I would have done myself, 
 Douglass." 
 
 Our talk drifted to the highwaymen. All of us 
 agreed that, by now, they would be miles away 
 and deep in the mountains, where pursuit from 
 Forge would be useless. Indeed, Forge was still
 
 172 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 in ignorance of what had occurred under its very 
 nose, and we concluded that we might as well let 
 the town continue in that state. But on the mor- 
 row a warning should be despatched to the sheriff 
 at Cold Springs, an alarm description, and reward 
 for the apprehension of the outlaws. They would 
 ride hard, and their capture would probably 
 take place in another county, if not in another 
 State. 
 
 Douglass, for his part, was extremely doubtful 
 if the men, with the start that they had, would be 
 taken at all. Well, two of them had, as I knew, 
 an exceeding long start. 
 
 "What did the fellows look like, Maitland?" 
 Arlington asked. 
 
 "One large, two medium, with blue handker- 
 chiefs over their faces, and guns in their hands," 
 I said. "That's about as much of them as I 
 made out, which is mighty little." 
 
 "Just what Ethys said we'll never catch 
 
 them on that description." 
 
 "She said what?" I exclaimed. 
 
 "That she was frightened to death, and saw 
 only blue handkerchiefs and revolvers." 
 
 I repressed a start. Ethys had seen them, at 
 close range, as had I ; but while I had reasons for 
 maintaining reticence, she had none. After such an 
 adventure, she should naturally have been eager
 
 PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED 173 
 
 to tell it to the smallest detail; and here she was 
 keeping as close as I about the matter. 
 
 This new phase of the subject furnished me 
 material for speculation until we left the table. 
 What had inspired her noncommittal answer to 
 Mr. Arlington? What cause had she to keep the 
 men's identity secret? 
 
 We returned to the library, where Douglass, 
 now that he thought all well with himself, could 
 not forego what he considered a chance to put 
 his point through a joint of my armour. He 
 leaned against the mantel, his fair, small mous- 
 tache pointing level on either side of his lip as 
 he smiled. Vanity was ever the Scotchman's 
 weak point; vanity of himself and his powers; 
 and he knew not when to leave well enough alone. 
 
 " How did it come, Maitland," he opened, 
 "that you were caught napping?" 
 
 " It would have happened to any one," I re- 
 joined, on my guard. 
 
 "Well perhaps." 
 
 He lifted a hand, and scanned its nails with a 
 pretended thoughtfulness that was an excellent 
 imitation ot the real thing. 
 
 "What else could I have done?" I asked. 
 
 " If you had had an eye open, say, for " 
 
 " One doesn't expect to run across highwaymen 
 when out on a pleasure ride," I returned pleas-
 
 174 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 antly. "At least, I didn't; possibly you would 
 have not been surprised." 
 
 Like a flash, his eyes rose to mine, eyes that 
 sought to discover some hidden meaning in my 
 words; but I showed him a face of good humour, 
 and without guile. 
 
 " If you had had an eye open," he repeated, 
 "it would not have happened." 
 
 " I had two of them open very wide open, 
 for a while." 
 
 "Still, it seems to me, Maitland, that you 
 yielded rather too easily. Now, if I had been in 
 your place " He concluded with an expres- 
 sive shrug. 
 
 "What! With revolvers covering you, and 
 sending chills along your spine ! " 
 
 " Good ! I imagined those were your feelings. 
 To be perfectly honest with us, weren't you a lit- 
 tle bit afraid?" 
 
 "A little bit afraid!" I burst out, laughing. 
 " I tell you without reserve, gentlemen, I was 
 badly scared." 
 
 The others joined in the laugh which I sought 
 to bring against myself, for he who is laughed at 
 is safest. 
 
 Douglass gave me an indulgent slap on the 
 back an affectionate, condescending slap, which, 
 twenty-four hours before, would have angered
 
 PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED 175 
 
 me, but which now only gave me secret amuse- 
 ment, since I played the deeper game; then he 
 spoke a final significant word: 
 
 "You're not the first man, old chap, who's 
 shown the white feather." 
 
 " Not by a good deal ; and that's a comfort," 
 I responded. " Misery loves company." 
 
 Later in the evening, Mr. Fenton and I were 
 discussing the hold-up apart from the others. 
 Clearly, the part Douglass had played put him 
 in rather an embarrassing position. 
 
 " I fear that we may have been hasty in sus- 
 pecting him of being the thief here. There must 
 be," he said, " some one else at the bottom of 
 the safe robbery. It's difficult to believe him 
 guilty of such a contemptible act when he's shown 
 himself a courageous man in risking himself to 
 save you and Ethys. We must look elsewhere for 
 the thief." 
 
 "So it seems," I agreed. 
 
 "And he acted not only bravely but shrewdly 
 in giving the outlaw the gold, and then following 
 him. That was brainy." 
 
 "It was; but" 
 
 I paused, as if the idea had just struck me. 
 
 "What is it?" he questioned. 
 
 "There's a point about the giving of the gold 
 I wish he had explained."
 
 176 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "State it." 
 
 " It's one scarcely worth mentioning," I pro- 
 tested. " Still how did he know the combina- 
 tion of the safe? " 
 
 Mr. Fenton gazed at me with his grey eye- 
 brows gradually growing thicker; then he turned 
 a full look on the Scotchman, to come at last back 
 to me. In his eyes was a gleam I well knew. 
 
 "To be sure, how did he know the combina- 
 tion?" he said meaningly. 
 
 That was a query I had been saving the entire 
 evening. The rescuer had made a vital slip. 
 
 Simultaneously, we wheeled about to look at 
 him again. Once more, he was in the heart of 
 his narrative, holding forth to Arlington and 
 Charlie, his tall, slender figure erect, his narrow 
 face aglow, his blue eyes fervid, his tongue pour- 
 ing lies out of a full month.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 A PROCESSION TO THE MOUNT 
 
 FORGE HOUSE lay late abed, next morning. 
 Douglass, alone, partook of an early breakfast, 
 and disappeared on one of his mysterious engage- 
 ments, while the rest of us came scattering to the 
 table. As I dressed, after having called one of 
 the Japanese servants to wrap my arm in a fresh 
 bandage, I held the boy in conversation. The idle- 
 ness of the placer on the previous afternoon had 
 recurred to me, as had the recollection of the gath- 
 ered crowd before Pelan's store on the Sunday 
 when the princess and I started on our eventful 
 ride. These matters had, in the press of more 
 immediate affairs, slipped my mind, and I thought 
 now to learn their cause. 
 
 "Why were the miners laying off yesterday, 
 Nashimi?" I asked. 
 
 " They make no more work," he answered, tak- 
 ing a stitch in the linen strip. 
 
 "You mean they've struck?" 
 
 "Yes, sir; they respectfully refuse because of 
 the murder." 
 
 177
 
 178 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " Murder what murder? " 
 
 " I have not acquired the information, sir," he 
 replied, speaking like the English books he and 
 Togo studied with assiduity. 
 
 "And that was what the row was about Sun- 
 day?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 So Forge, as well as Forge House, had a sub- 
 ject to stir its excitement. Doubtless some work- 
 man stabbed in a brawl, was my reflection ; but the 
 explanation was not satisfying, for, with a vague 
 uneasiness that somehow had a sense of personal 
 threatening in it, I recalled the scene before the 
 stores. Even a stabbing among the miners would 
 not have aroused so great a hubbub as had been 
 stirred up, nor would the miners be idle. The 
 unwonted assembly, the heat of ebullition agitating 
 it, the hoarse murmurs and shouts, the faces up- 
 turned to Forge House, and the pointing hands 
 all betokened something deeper, more critical. 
 
 "You don't know who was murdered?" I in- 
 quired again. 
 
 " I have not acquired the information," Nashimi 
 repeated again, with accuracy. 
 
 Finishing his task, he wrapped up his linen and 
 needles, carefully gathered a few fallen threads, 
 and departed. 
 
 After breakfast, Ethys Fenton joined me in the
 
 PROCESSION TO THE MOUNT 179 
 
 embrasure of a window, where I looked down 
 upon the river. Our unfortunate adventure had 
 left not a trace upon her face, and she had back 
 all her buoyancy and bloom. 
 
 " Sleep did it," she explained, in answer to my 
 'compliments. " I did not even have bad dreams." 
 
 " Those should haunt the contrivers of our un- 
 pleasant expedition." 
 
 " Well, I'm pleased you came safely home, Mr. 
 Maitland. I was fearful for a while that you 
 were recaptured, and that I'd have to return and 
 set you free again. It looked monstrously like de- 
 sertion on your part to leave me after all we had 
 been through together." 
 
 "Wasn't it rather the other way?" 
 
 A smile curved her lips. 
 
 " Perhaps I was the guilty one," she said. " And 
 I've read somewhere that prisoners ought always 
 to stick by one another through thick and thin." 
 
 " I propose that we amend that." 
 
 "In what way?" 
 
 11 By making it ex-prisoners, also." 
 
 ' Then, in the future, you mustn't stay behind," 
 she agreed, laughing. 
 
 " I promise to be among the very first." 
 
 Placing her fingers upon the window pane, she 
 looked out upon the river, drummed lightly with 
 the pink tips of those same fingers, and glanced at
 
 i 8o THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 me, then back at the river, in a way which, I was 
 beginning to learn, foreran a disguised attack. 
 
 " I began to think, when you did not appear 
 yesterday morning," she said, " that you were 
 kept." 
 
 " How could I be kept when you saw that Fred- 
 eric cut me loose ? Besides, I'm here in your pres- 
 
 ence." 
 
 "Yes but how did you come here first?" she 
 asked suddenly. 
 
 "Did I arrive first?" I responded, with a poor 
 effort to evade her penetrating question. 
 
 " You may be able to make the others think that 
 you came when we were all asleep. But I have 
 eyes." 
 
 "Yes, I came home before you," I smiled; 
 "though what a pitiless sceptic you are. I sup- 
 pose you imagine I've some wonderful tale to tell 
 how, single-handed, I fought, caught, and slew 
 the whole band of outlaws. It's very disappoint- 
 ing; but I can't squeeze even mock heroics out of 
 the situation. Everything I attempted resulted in 
 failure, of which you were the witness." 
 
 She gave me a full, open look. 
 
 " You did nobly, only the cook " 
 
 " Yes, the cook upset the broth I had made." 
 
 Though I spoke easily, my mind suddenly re- 
 called Merry Mac, dead by the hand of the
 
 PROCESSION TO THE MOUNT 181 
 
 Frenchman, lying face up on the rock. The pic- 
 ture was too vivid, too portentous of the danger 
 in which I walked. 
 
 "We should have escaped if it had not been 
 for him," she mused. 
 
 " Well, you have the satisfaction of knowing 
 that you played your part neatly," I said. " You 
 were a real heroine." 
 
 " One hero in the house is enough. Let all 
 the credit of the role remain with Mr. Douglass." 
 
 I glanced up in astonishment at the quick, gusty 
 vehemence with which she spoke. She drummed 
 on the glass, and stared out of the window, and a 
 trace of anger was apparent on her face, as if the 
 association of her acts with those of the Scotch- 
 man was displeasing. 
 
 " It was very brave of him, however, to rescue 
 us as he did," I remarked. 
 
 Turning full about, she fixed her eyes upon me 
 searchingly, and a little scornfully. 
 
 "Do you believe that?" came slowly from her 
 lips. 
 
 Her gaze was confusing; I opened my lips to 
 speak, but shut them again, while I felt the colour 
 coming hot in my cheeks. I could not fence with 
 a direct question. 
 
 'You do not believe it," she stated, with em- 
 phasis. "What is more, Mr. Maitland, you're
 
 1 82 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 concealing something that happened after I rode 
 away." And her scrutiny remained unwavering. 
 
 "What makes you think so?" I asked, my 
 curiosity aroused. 
 
 " It's your manner. You're watchful, repressed, 
 and alert, as if expecting something more to hap- 
 pen." 
 
 " I wish I knew what it was." Which was the 
 truth. 
 
 Her words had had so remarkable a resem- 
 blance to Charlie's that I wondered if she had 
 succeeded in drawing that young gentleman's se- 
 cret. Therefore, when we separated, I sought 
 him out to find whether he had been telling tales 
 out of school, and discovered him patrolling the 
 driveway. A long cigar was in his mouth, the sun 
 glistened on his jet-black hair evenly parted in the 
 middle, and his hands were jammed into his pock- 
 ets, while he surveyed the town. 
 
 " Have you been talking ' Scotchman ' to the 
 princess?" I demanded. 
 
 "Have not," he replied, with briefness. 
 
 " Some one has." 
 
 " I haven't said two words to her." 
 
 "Well, she's suspicious; and I'd like to know 
 what makes her so." 
 
 " Good for her ! " Charlie said, but without his 
 accustomed enthusiasm. " Our princess has a head
 
 PROCESSION TO THE MOUNT 183 
 
 on her shoulders. I wish she'd discover the whole 
 truth about the scoundrel." 
 
 "She's making a start Hello!" I cried. 
 
 "What's up down there?" 
 
 A procession was moving slowly out of the town 
 toward Forge House. Along the road it came, a 
 wagon in the lead, with men and women and chil- 
 dren trailing behind in an irregular line, on its way 
 to the small cemetery which was situated on the 
 mountainside, a mile to the west. A black cloth 
 was flung over the wagon, but the shape of a 
 casket was apparent underneath. The men's heads 
 were bare, the women carried a few wild flowers. 
 One man there was who rode a horse, and he 
 moved in the midst of the procession as slow as 
 the people on foot, and, as he drew nearer, I saw 
 that his face was as long as an undertaker's. 
 
 " It's a funeral," said Charlie. 
 
 "Whose?" 
 
 But he seemed intent on the picture. 
 
 " Did you ever see any one with nerve to match 
 his?" he inquired, at last, pointing at Douglass. 
 
 I had not, and I said so. My mind groped 
 about for something, and presently found it the 
 remembrance of the crowd before the stores; and 
 I knew this and that belonged together. 
 
 "Whose funeral, Charlie?" I repeated. 
 
 " Fellow by the name of Lowden."
 
 1 84 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " Good God! Joe Lowden? " I burst out. 
 
 "Yes," said he. 
 
 "Why, only last Saturday I knocked him 
 down! " I exclaimed. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Dead how did he die?" 
 
 "Murdered." 
 
 " Ah ! " I recalled Nashimi's word. 
 
 The procession reached the foot of the knoll, 
 and curved, with the circling of the road, around 
 its base. 
 
 " Death seems to be stalking loose in Forge," I 
 said. " I suppose, since I'm manager, I ought to 
 step down there and say a word. Anyway, I liked 
 Joe." 
 
 His hand restrained me. 
 
 "No; don't go down," he replied gruffly. 
 
 "Why not, Charlie?" 
 
 The answer came from another quarter, as 
 quick as it was unexpected. The wagon halted 
 with its melancholy freight, the crowd stopped be- 
 hind it and stared up at us. One, alone, of the 
 whole multitude did not lift his eyes, but sat his 
 black horse, while he bowed his bare golden head 
 in the sunshine. 
 
 On a sudden, a miner shook his fist up at us, 
 shouting: "Show your bloody hands, you mur- 
 derer!"
 
 PROCESSION TO THE MOUNT 185 
 
 " And look on the boy's cold corpse. May God 
 strike you ! " shrilly piped an old woman. 
 
 The cue had been given. Hoots and hisses and 
 cries broke forth from the mob; and, taking it 
 altogether, we were proffered an ugly, menacing 
 demonstration. 
 
 As it had begun, so it died out, on the instant, 
 and, with the straggling column following behind, 
 the wagon jogged ahead once more, passed around 
 the knoll, and down the river road to the scant, 
 stony, treeless graveyard. 
 
 I turned to Woodworth, and we looked each 
 other squarely in the eye. 
 
 " That's for your benefit," he remarked. 
 
 "And they think me the murderer?" 
 
 "That's what they believe you knocked him 
 down, you will remember." 
 
 For the space of a minute I remained thinking, 
 grappling with this new complication. I had 
 knocked the young fellow down, had expelled him 
 from the placer, but afterwards we had parted on 
 good terms. When had he been killed? By whom? 
 And why? These questions shot one after an- 
 other through my brain. 
 
 "Was that what you found at the stores, you 
 and Mr. Fenton?" 
 
 'Yes; the body had just been brought in, and 
 it lay on Pelan's platform."
 
 1 86 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "And did Douglass appear?" 
 
 Charlie flung away his cigar, and drew forth 
 his pipe, and filled it before answering. His brow 
 contracted, his mouth was set. 
 
 "He did," said he; "but, like the coward he is, 
 spoke not a word until Mr. Fenton left. I hung 
 about on the edge, however, and he either did not 
 see me or did not think me of enough importance 
 to consider. He rose up on the platform, and, 
 lifting up a hand, said: 'The murderer shall 
 hang, be he low, or be he high; miner, or man- 
 ager.' Like that he said it, pausing on the last 
 word 'miner or manager.' Then he faced 
 about, and stood gazing up here, all the crowd 
 doing the same. Then he gave them a significant 
 look, and walked into Pelan's bar. It was clever 
 acting, by Jove ! " 
 
 "An accusation," I said. 
 
 "As plain as if he'd named you." 
 
 The profoundness of the man's plan I now, for 
 the first time, recognised. He had laid a double 
 trap, and the second pair of jaws was like to prove 
 even more dangerous than the first ; the first I had 
 escaped, the other that yet remained to be 
 seen. 
 
 I confess that a thrill of something close to fear 
 passed through me. 
 
 " Douglass should know the murderer if any
 
 PROCESSION TO THE MOUNT 187 
 
 one does," I said, after a time; " for he was the 
 last man who saw the boy alive." 
 
 " You know that ! " Charlie exclaimed. 
 
 " I saw them about five o'clock in the after- 
 noon, the two of them and Pete Gurley, in the 
 gulley yonder." 
 
 " And Pete is one of his lieutenants ! " 
 
 " His chief one." 
 
 Charlie paced to and fro, his chin on his breast, 
 while I watched him with a curious feeling of 
 having, all at once, come to the end of my 
 string. 
 
 "Could we crack the lock of his door?" he 
 speculated. "There should be blood on his 
 clothes, for the body had seven stabs, and there 
 had been a struggle." 
 
 "Was the boy found in the gully?" I cried, 
 catching at an idea. 
 
 " At the mouth of it, by the river. The spot 
 was torn up, as if he'd fought fiercely for his life, 
 and blood was everywhere." 
 
 " If we only had Long Pete in our hands." 
 
 Charlie knocked the ashes out of his pipe. 
 
 " I think I'll go down and have a chat with 
 Frenchy," he said. " Look over his tools a bit." 
 And down to the shop he went. 
 
 Pondering this new turn of the wheel, I entered 
 the office. The town was bent on having a mur-
 
 1 88 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 derer, and looked to me to furnish the man; well, 
 I resolved, I would do my utmost to give them 
 one, and a handsome one at that. For, in my own 
 mind, there was no doubt as to the Scot being 
 guilty of the boy's death. I found Ethys Fenton 
 in the room, leaning one elbow on the small elec- 
 tric furnace, watching the distant procession. 
 
 " More trouble seems to be on your hands, Mr. 
 Maitland," she greeted; "more than your share. 
 Helen told me of this absurd charge last night." 
 
 "Absurd things are sometimes fatal," I stated. 
 
 " But how can they believe you killed the young 
 fellow?" she responded, incredulous. 
 
 I smiled. 
 
 "One man's imagination may serve for all, if 
 he's influential." 
 
 Continuing to gaze out toward the barren little 
 mountain cemetery, she did not pursue the subject. 
 When she spoke, however, her words carried a 
 point : 
 
 "' Trouble rides a black horse." 
 
 "That is an old quotation," said I. 
 
 " It's not too old to use you may apply it as 
 you see fit. Are you afraid of the allusion?" 
 
 " Of neither the allusion nor the man." 
 
 "Or of the villagers?" 
 
 "As to that, I must acknowledge some uneasi- 
 ness," I said.
 
 PROCESSION TO THE MOUNT 189 
 
 " I know you are not afraid," she replied, her 
 face still turned to the window. 
 
 Then, suddenly, I knew that if I was afraid, it 
 was not for what might happen to me, but what 
 might befall her at the hand of the Scotchman. 
 
 "Oh, Ethys, I fear for you, for what is most 
 precious in Forge ! " I cried softly. 
 
 Then I drew back, remembering. The news 
 she had given me in the little log cabin where we 
 were held prisoners, the news that she alone was 
 possessor of Forge, and I her servant ah, that 
 came back to me once more. Had I the right to- 
 to I stifled the words, and lifted my eyes. 
 
 She had swung about, and was looking at me; her 
 face was the colour of rose, her eyes were shin- 
 ing. 
 
 Instinctively, I put out my hands until they met 
 hers, and I heard my voice saying : 
 
 " A man fears for what his heart worships ! " 
 And the words seemed a long way off. 
 
 Slowly, almost caressingly, she drew her hands 
 from mine, while the colour came and went in her 
 cheeks, as I knew it burned in mine; and clasping 
 her hands against her bosom, she gazed into my 
 eyes. And I I remained tongue-tied, my wits 
 fled, my heart beating wildly, and with a sense 
 that something strange, something incredible and 
 wonderful, had passed between us.
 
 190 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 Presently, I heard her saying : 
 
 " I shall help you when this trouble comes ; oh, 
 I shall help you more than you can guess. If he 
 
 dares " Her eyes turned again to the window, 
 
 she raised her hand, and pointed. " They are 
 burying the poor boy. See, they stand about his 
 grave." 
 
 In a few minutes, the burial was finished. The 
 people, dwarfed by distance, began to descend the 
 mountainside in twos and threes, while already 
 part way home Douglass galloped on his splendid 
 black horse. Racing up the driveway, he halted 
 before the portico, tossed his bridle rein over a 
 bronze satyr head, planted in one of the support- 
 ing pillars, and dismounted. 
 
 He moved across the intervening space, and en- 
 tered the open door; his accustomed nonchalant 
 step was gone, while in its place was a devout, 
 grave, sanctimonious, hushed tread. He silently 
 bowed to us. 
 
 "You attended the funeral?" I said. 
 
 "Yes, Maitland." 
 
 " It must have been dreary and sad without a 
 clergyman or service," Ethys remarked. " Poor 
 dead boy." 
 
 " There was a service, Miss Fenton." 
 
 " Why, is there a miner who can conduct one? " 
 she said, in surprise.
 
 PROCESSION TO THE MOUNT 191 
 
 " I conducted it," Douglass answered. 
 
 He thoughtfully stared at the floor after mod- 
 estly giving this information. As for me, aston- 
 ishment quite overcame any other sensation, and 
 words were wholly beyond my power. 
 
 " You ! " came at length from Ethys' lips. 
 
 <( T > 
 
 " Good heavens ! " I uttered finally. 
 
 " And recited the prayers," said he. 
 
 With another bow, and a " Pray excuse me," 
 he turned to go. 
 
 "Won't you remain?" I inquired politely. 
 
 A sharp glance, gone almost as soon as given, 
 gleamed from his eyes, then next minute devout 
 lids hid it. 
 
 "The grave has made me thoughtful, and I 
 shall be poor company for some hours," was his 
 quiet rejoinder. Whereupon, bending in a third 
 slow bow, he took his funereal self off, while we 
 watched him go. Then I stared at the inner door 
 until Ethys spoke twice. 
 
 Douglass conducting last rites ! 
 
 Douglass praying over Lowden's grave! 
 
 Douglass committing the boy's body to earth 
 and the murdered soul to God ! 
 
 I gripped my palms at the enormity of the thing 
 until my nails cut into the flesh, and I knew him 
 now to be capable of all crimes and of all heights
 
 192 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 and depths of wickedness. The man was a mon- 
 ster. 
 
 At the end of a quarter of an hour, the first 
 group of townspeople reached the western foot of 
 the knoll. They halted, their eyes on the house. 
 Little by little, their number swelled until all had 
 come, when the entire company marched straight 
 up the slope, and pressed to the heavy stone arches 
 which held the portico's roof. 
 
 " Forge has risen. You had best go inside," 
 said I. 
 
 "No," Ethys replied. 
 
 " But they may " 
 
 " No ! " she said, a second time, compressing 
 her lips. 
 
 Princesses are, at times, very vexatious. 
 
 I walked to the half -open door, swung it fully 
 open, and stepped out.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 FORGE RISES 
 
 A MOB'S lust for blood is a curious thing. Even 
 those engaged in the man hunt are conscious of 
 the strange, paradoxical passion that controls 
 them, repelling while fascinating, congealing while 
 inflaming, frightening at the very instant of em- 
 boldening. If by rare chance one's own self be the 
 object thirsted after, it becomes a thing a hun- 
 dred times more hybrid and unexplainable like 
 a hairy, human-faced beast. 
 
 Some such thought entered my mind as I 
 stepped forth and looked down at the crowd. 
 Men, women, children all were packed, with- 
 out distinction, up to the line of the portico, but 
 under its arches they did not pass, as if restrained 
 by the respect, and possibly the power, which 
 Forge House had gathered about its walls. 
 
 Their faces, upturned and contorted, had every 
 colour of feeling; pale, red, or dark, according as 
 they were gripped by fear, fever, or hate. A long 
 minute of silence met my appearance, silence not 
 so much as broken by a foot shifting on the gravel. 
 
 193
 
 194 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 A whisper might have been heard all up and down 
 the canon. 
 
 Finally, a man stepped from the first rank, and 
 advanced a pace or two toward me. It was the 
 storekeeper, Pelan, who, I saw, was the coolest 
 head there, and who, apparently, was to fill the 
 office of spokesman. 
 
 I calmly took stock of his immobile face, 
 square chin, and level lips, for already I knew he 
 was a man to be reckoned with. 
 
 "Will you come down on the ground?" he 
 asked. 
 
 " I do very well here," I answered. 
 
 " You will be nearer." 
 
 "This top step is near enough." 
 
 " We have much to say, Mr. Maitland." 
 
 " I shall hear it very well from here. Proceed 
 with your speech." 
 
 He paused briefly. 
 
 " You know why we have come, sir." 
 
 " I can guess," I responded. 
 
 " Forge demands justice for the murder of Joe 
 Lowden." 
 
 I, in my turn, paused. 
 
 " Of which you accuse me," I then said. " Very 
 well, let us begin at the beginning. You act as if 
 you had already convicted me. State your charge ; 
 that is my right."
 
 FORGE RISES 195 
 
 " Yes, that is your right," said he. 
 
 " Oh, speaking of rights, so is a fair trial in an 
 established court my right but go ahead, Pelan, 
 and we'll look to the court later." 
 
 He proceeded to his statement, which was 
 made, be it said to his credit, with impartiality, 
 and not without a certain elegance and force of 
 language. Nor was it the first time I had won- 
 dered at the man's intelligence, which was far 
 above his trade of conducting the worst hell hole 
 on the river. He was not one to serve Douglass, 
 or any other, but himself alone. 
 
 " We come, Mr. Maitland, not with blind eyes 
 or heated minds," he began, while I looked at his 
 company, and smiled at his words, " but upon cool 
 and tempered deliberation. A foul crime has been 
 committed within the borders of Forge, thereby 
 depriving an aged mother of a livelihood; and, 
 what is more precious, an only son. Friends can 
 provide the former; the latter, they can only hope 
 to avenge. Moreover, the sanctity of life has been 
 violated for all. I will state the facts: 
 
 " When you drove Joe Lowden from the mines, 
 he started home. Shortly after his departure, you 
 followed him, passed him, and he was never again 
 seen alive. You arrived at Forge, but he did not. 
 At one o'clock Sunday afternoon, the day before 
 yesterday, his body, wounded in seven places, was
 
 196 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 discovered at the mouth of the gully between here 
 and the placer, and about the place you must have 
 passed him. We, the people of Forge, having no 
 courts and tribunals, have constituted ourselves a 
 tribunal, and now seek the murderer. We are not 
 directed by unreasoning impulse, but are led by 
 the cold evidence in our hands. It leads to the 
 step on which you are standing." He ceased. 
 
 "One would have thought," I said, "that it 
 would have led rather to Pelan's groggery than to 
 Forge House." 
 
 His countenance did not change. 
 
 " That is beside the question." 
 
 " So you think it leads here." 
 
 " Justice enters all doors alike. You are accused 
 of the murder." 
 
 "By whom?" 
 
 "By Forge." 
 
 " Were you ever a lawyer, Pelan ? " I asked. 
 
 "That is neither here nor there," he answered 
 steadily. 
 
 " I think you were, which makes it the more 
 surprising that you answer as you do. Forge 
 means everybody and nobody." 
 
 Everybody, surely for the concourse listened 
 breathlessly and accusingly. In fact, Forge had 
 come in person to attend its accusation; nor did it 
 stop there, for every face menaced, as well as de-
 
 FORGE RISES 197 
 
 nounced, me. No, not every face! Over the 
 crowd of heads, and some fifty yards distant, I 
 saw my one-armed partisan, Kelly, walking toward 
 us on fuddled feet, and blinking in the sunshine, 
 as if fresh from sleep, and gaping his astonish- 
 ment at this unusual assemblage. Of all the town, 
 he was ignorant of its import. 
 
 " Yes, Forge means everybody and nobody," I 
 repeated. " This charge is too grave a one to 
 rest on vague words. Mere gossip will not do, 
 both my honour and my life being involved. 
 Therefore, name a man who accuses me." 
 
 Turning his back on me, he scanned the throng, 
 and called : " Garrett Garrett ! " and stood wait- 
 ing. 
 
 Garrett ! Another enemy was added to my list 
 the man who had laughed at Joe Lowden, the 
 man whom I had struck down for that same laugh. 
 Now he was about to strike back with cruel venge- 
 ance, nor had he had long to wait. But, to all 
 appearances, the man did not possess the courage 
 of his hate, for he made no answer, and remained 
 hidden away, or was perhaps entirely absent. His 
 name went tossing to and fro among the crowd, 
 without response, and the people at last tired. 
 
 " Since you must have an accuser," Pelan said, 
 facing about, " I'll take that part. I formally ac- 
 cuse you of the murder."
 
 198 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " Now we may get somewhere." 
 
 " I accuse you, first, of knocking Joe Lowden 
 down, and discharging him." 
 
 Here I held up a protesting hand. 
 
 " That's no crime, by a long ways," I said. 
 " He was insubordinate it was my right and my 
 discipline to enforce obedience. Under similar 
 circumstances, I would do it again. It has nothing 
 to do with the case." 
 
 " It shows a motive, sir," was the ready re- 
 joinder. " Further, I accuse you of threatening 
 his life." 
 
 "I deny that." 
 
 " It is affirmed by witnesses." 
 
 " Bring them up," said I coolly. 
 
 Again he paused. 
 
 " He is not here," he announced. 
 
 " What, another ! Or is it Garrett once more ? 
 Garrett, who hopes to square accounts, because I 
 struck him also. The coward! Let him come 
 forward, or leave him out of it." 
 
 Pelan made a gesture of agreement. 
 
 " We'll leave him out for the present." 
 
 " Very well, get on with your accusation." 
 
 " I accuse you, Mr. Maitland, of killing Joe 
 Lowden late Saturday afternoon ^" 
 
 "No," said I firmly. 
 
 "With malice aforethought." 
 
 "No."
 
 FORGE RISES 199 
 
 " I accuse you of concealing the body, to " 
 
 "No." 
 
 "To avert suspicion." 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Of this I accuse you, letting your theft of gold 
 pass as not concerning Forge." 
 
 " No not guilty," I affirmed, " of neither mur- 
 der nor theft." And I folded my arms. 
 
 We had arrived at the issue. If I could cor- 
 rectly judge the minds of Pelan's cohorts, they con- 
 sidered that the time had come for action. They 
 had waited long; they had waited so ran their 
 thought, no doubt through much needless talk; 
 and, presently, they would cease to wait, taking 
 the settlement of the matter into their own hands. 
 As a puff of air from a brewing storm ruffles the 
 placid surface of a lake, so a breath of impatience 
 swept their quiet. 
 
 Pelan flung up a commanding hand, then thrust 
 it into his breast, drew it out again, and held be- 
 fore my eyes what it contained. 
 
 A silver-handled, red-stained hunting knife lay 
 on his palm. 
 
 "Is it yours?" he demanded. 
 
 I looked at it, the little smile dying from my 
 lips. This was like to be serious; very serious, 
 indeed. For, stare as I would, I could not get 
 round the fact that the knife was mine. 
 
 " It resembles it," I said cautiously.
 
 200 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " It was plunged in Joe Lowden's body," Pelan 
 answered. 
 
 I wet my lips ; they had suddenly gone dry. 
 
 " Well, a man's knife has been stolen before 
 this. I've not touched it the month past." Then, 
 with determination, I flung back my head, and 
 cried: "Let us have done with doubts! You 
 seek the murderer; then fetch Pete Gurley, and 
 place him here! Ask him with.whom he talked in 
 the gully at five o'clock as I rode by! Ask him 
 how he came by that stolen knife in whose body 
 he buried it ! Place him here before me, that I 
 may accuse him, face to face, of this murder. My 
 hands are clean I am innocent." 
 
 An angry hum rose from the mob. 
 
 " Gurley left Forge on Saturday noon ! " a voice 
 shouted. 
 
 Somewhere in the rear, the shouter was given 
 the lie in rich Irish, which raised a tumult. Kelly 
 had come to my rescue. But the throng turned on 
 him like a wounded animal; his neighbours hus- 
 tled him, fists flew about, and a deep, swelling 
 roar began to echo beneath the roof of the portico. 
 I dropped my hand into my pocket, by way of 
 precaution. For the crowd had begun to seethe, 
 needing no more than the right word to touch it 
 off in an explosion. 
 
 "Kill him!" some one cried.
 
 FORGE RISES 201 
 
 Other shouts followed, shouts to seize me, to 
 string me up, to sack Forge House, burn it, take 
 the mines. Truly, my situation had become des- 
 perate in the tick of a clock. 
 
 I dared not retreat, for neither doors nor bolts 
 would stop them, once they were thoroughly 
 aroused to action. A mob's fury is blind and 
 crushes all in its path. And behind me, in the 
 house, were friends ay, and the princess! who 
 might be struck down in maddened rage if I fled 
 beneath the roof in an effort to escape. By now 
 I was doing some fast thinking. 
 
 The minute of the first action came. With a 
 swift movement, as if all had been propelled by a 
 single giant hand, or one united impulse, the solid 
 mass of men, women, and children surged in un- 
 der the portico, hung an instant, and then, like a 
 comber that has reached forward on the beach, 
 subsided. Pelan had been swallowed up in the 
 wave; I saw nothing of him. 
 
 Again the crowd gathered itself, and again 
 surged toward me, while the noise of angry 
 voices sounded in a hollow, drumming bass un- 
 der the porch roof. The first rank touched the 
 step and hands clutched upward at my body. 
 
 I waited no longer. With the fingers of my 
 left hand still on the knob of the office door, I 
 whipped out my revolver, and pointed it straight
 
 202 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 down at the faces. The mob stiffened, and the 
 roar sucked away into a sort of gasping hush. 
 
 "Who will come first?" I asked. 
 
 Indeed, I spoke calmly, and smiled. The pros- 
 pect of a battle steadied my nerves, my pulse 
 beat evenly, and a buoying sense of power at 
 holding a hundred at bay supported me. If I was 
 to be taken, it would not be easily. Other men 
 than myself should die. And the dance should 
 be fast while it lasted. 
 
 "Who will come first?" I asked again. 
 
 " There are women ! Would you shoot 
 women?" one man, white under his beard, mut- 
 tered. 
 
 " No. Petticoats, get back among them," I 
 said. 
 
 So we stood, Forge and I, separated by the 
 trifling difference of a pellet of lead. The men 
 before me appeared not to breathe, so fascinated 
 were they by the little black hole at the end of 
 the gun; and each, I knew, was speculating with 
 a throbbing heart on whom I should shoot. 
 
 It was the infinitesimal fraction of a second 
 when the balance hung even, when reason once 
 again dominated them, when they measured gain 
 and loss, when an atom in either scale would have 
 decided the issue. 
 
 Suddenly, with a loud bang, the great hall
 
 FORGE RISES 203 
 
 doors were flung open, and Mr. Fenton stood 
 looking down at them. 
 
 At the crash, every head jerked about toward 
 him a raindrop, keyed up as they were, would 
 have startled them. 
 
 "What is this?" he demanded imperiously. 
 
 Slowly and silently the crowd fell back before 
 his eyes. For they beheld the master of Forge, 
 the man of millions, the personified " Company," 
 the arbiter of their destinies. One only of their 
 number held his ground, left alone by their re- 
 ceding. 
 
 "We've come for Mr. Maitland," he said. 
 
 "Who are you?" 
 
 " My name is Pelan." 
 
 "By what authority do you come?" Mr. Fen- 
 ton said peremptorily. "By what right? Who 
 are you to take the law into your own hands? 
 Who are you to say that he, I, or any one is 
 guilty of murder?" 
 
 "We come with evidence," answered Pelan. 
 
 "This is not a court." 
 
 "We shall make it one we demand justice." 
 
 " Justice and with a rope. Where is your fair 
 trial? Your judge and jury? Justice gives these; 
 you deny them. You come to lynch a man, know- 
 ing nothing of his innocence or guilt, thereby 
 making yourselves murderers."
 
 204 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "We have no courts." 
 
 " There are courts in another town," Mr. Fen- 
 ton replied, waving the other's statement aside. 
 
 " The murder was committed here here he 
 shall be tried," was Pelan's steadfast reply. " We 
 are the tribunal of the people." 
 
 " I know not such." 
 
 "We are Forge." 
 
 " You're only a mob." 
 
 Pelan lifted his head. 
 
 "Shall a murderer walk unpunished?" he 
 asked. 
 
 "No; neither by man nor God. I, too, as well 
 as you, the people of Forge, demand that the mur- 
 derer of Joe Lowden pay the penalty of his crime. 
 Do you think my eyes are shut to what passes in 
 your midst? Do you think I am indifferent to 
 whether you live or die, go securely, or are slain 
 by an assassin's knife? No. But neither shall 
 any man fall before the fury of a mob, any more 
 than by the sharp stroke of a knife. If Maitland 
 is accused, he shall answer; if there be evidence 
 against him " 
 
 "There is evidence." 
 
 " If there is evidence against him, he shall be 
 fairly tried, and if proved guilty he shall be so 
 adjudged and punished. But it shall be in a court 
 of the land."
 
 FORGE RISES 205 
 
 " No," said Pelan. 
 
 The two men measured looks. 
 
 " In a court." 
 
 " No," Pelan answered once more. " He shall 
 not pass out of our hands." 
 
 Mr. Fenton surveyed the throng, from which 
 a hoarse murmur was growing anew. A slight 
 frown knit his brow as he read determination in 
 the miners' faces. 
 
 " So be it," said he. " And since he is entitled 
 to prepare a defence, I appoint Wednesday as the 
 day of his trial. Further, I take him into my 
 custody, and pledge my word to keep him safely 
 until the hour. Go to your homes." 
 
 Pelan looked at him steadily for a moment, then 
 turned to his silent followers. 
 
 "Go," he commanded. 
 
 Down the knoll they went, with never another 
 word, and Pelan behind them. Forge departed 
 and I was a prisoner.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE ONE-ARMED FISHERMAN'S TALE 
 
 I PUT away my revolver and joined Mr. Fenton. 
 Behind him in the hall were gathered the rest of 
 our household, who had beheld the demonstration 
 against me, and on whose faces were still traces 
 of anxiety and dread. 
 
 " Well, I'm under obligations to you, Mr. Fen- 
 ton," I said. 
 
 " They were in an ugly mood." 
 
 "Yes, something might have happened if you 
 had not appeared just in the nick of time." 
 
 " This man Pelan " he began. 
 
 "Their leader," I said. 
 
 " He's a man of brains, and no coward, at least. 
 Will he attempt any tricks ? " 
 
 "No, I believe not." 
 
 " I shall send down word to Cold Springs for 
 the sheriff and a posse to come to Forge," he 
 said. "There shall be no high-handed lynching 
 here." 
 
 " I hope not, I confess." 
 
 "They seem set on hanging some one," he re- 
 marked. 
 
 206
 
 THE FISHERMAN'S TALE 207 
 
 " Well, I Intend it shall not be me," I said. " If 
 worst comes to worst, the rest of you must lock 
 the doors, and I'll make a run and fight of it. I 
 hate to run, though." 
 
 "Oh, it's all dreadful!" Mrs. Arlington ex- 
 claimed, with her pretty cheeks pale. 
 
 " There are forty-eight hours yet," I assured 
 her, " and a good deal can happen in that time. 
 I'm not a dead man, by a great deal." And I 
 laughed. 
 
 Much had occurred in the past forty-eight 
 hours; as much more might take place in the 
 equivalent space of time yet to come; for no one 
 can tell what the whirligig may throw up when 
 events are moving rapidly. That thought cheered 
 me as I turned to go to the office. I beheld Kelly, 
 standing under the portico before the door, hat 
 in hand, and considerably battered after his cham- 
 pionship of me in the crowd. 
 
 " A word with ye, Mister Maitland," he said. 
 
 " You're drunk," said I, observing him. 
 
 " I am not but I have been, very drunk." 
 
 " Well, one minute." 
 
 Ethys Fenton had come near to me, waiting as 
 if to speak, and I stepped to her. 
 
 "Oh, my heart was in my throat," she said 
 softly, " when you were out there, alone, facing 
 them."
 
 "That's what you were paid for remaining in 
 the office when you should have gone in." 
 
 "I wouldn't have left for worlds. The door 
 was not tightly closed I saw everything, heard 
 everything, through the crack. -You were not 
 afraid." 
 
 " I think I was," I answered. 
 
 " I I was proud of you," she said, with low- 
 ered eyes. 
 
 To that I could say nothing, so great was my 
 happiness. 
 
 "Did Douglass see the show?" I finally ven- 
 tured to ask. 
 
 " Yes, when I ran round into the hall to uncle, 
 he was standing behind the others, looking on." 
 
 "I hope he was pleased," I said savagely, be- 
 tween my teeth. 
 
 "He was smiling." 
 
 "Let him smile," I answered. 
 
 There and then I registered another oath in 
 my heart that he should pay the debts he owed 
 me. He had had his laugh ; well, he should laugh 
 to another tune. How I should accomplish it I 
 knew not, but accomplish it I would. 
 
 I drew the Irishman into the office and out of 
 earshot of the others, for the fellow's tongue was 
 no respecter of persons or sex. He was in a great 
 state of shakiness, what with his nerves just out
 
 THE FISHERMAN'S TALE 209 
 
 of liquor, and the news he had to impart. His 
 hands trembled, the veins on his forehead twitched 
 and knotted, and he tottered as he walked across 
 the floor. He almost fell before he reached a 
 chair, putting out a hand against the safe to save 
 himself. 
 
 "Wurrah, me head is cracked," he moaned, 
 holding it in one palm. 
 
 " You belong in bed, Kelly," I said. 
 
 "Not till I've told me story, Mister Maitland 
 then to bed I'll go. 'Tis the black day I was 
 predictin' that has come to Forge. The murther 
 drives me to ye." He rocked back and forth on 
 his chair. 
 
 "What do you know of the murder, Kelly?" 
 I questioned. 
 
 Removing his quaking hand from before his 
 bloodshot eyes, he stared vacantly at me. 
 
 " Didn't I see the blue-eyed divil kill him?" 
 
 "What!" 
 
 " Satan Satan out of hell killed Joey Low- 
 den." 
 
 I stood, doubting my ears, then sprang forward, 
 and caught him by the shoulder. 
 
 "You mean Douglass?" 
 
 " His name's not Douglass, but Satan. He's a 
 blue-eyed divil, I tell ye, Mister Maitland." 
 
 " You saw him you saw him ! " I cried fiercely.
 
 210 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 I shook him in my excitement. If Kelly had 
 witnessed the crime, I held the Scotchman in the 
 hollow of my hand. 
 
 "Him I saw, bedad, and that Haggard, Pete 
 Gurley," he said. " I was up the river fishin' of 
 the afternoon, sittin' with me back against a tree, 
 fishin' and nappin' and suppin' betwixt and be- 
 tween out of me jug, for fisherman's luck, and 
 they came oh, sorrer ! " 
 
 "Goon, Kelly." 
 
 "They blarneyed Joey, a-talkin' sweet to him, 
 and tryin' to get him to help in stealin' you, Mister 
 Maitland. Thin they cursed him curse the black 
 hearts and lives of 'em! and Satan turns his 
 blue eyes to Pete, and says, ' He will not, but he 
 knows too much now,' and Pete he nods his head 
 and curses Joey. Thin Satan says, ' He dies,' and 
 he pulls out a knife as long as me leg. Oh, the 
 sight of it burns me inners now ! Thin Douglass 
 says to Pete to take the knife and kill him, but 
 Pete shakes his head, and says he will hold him. 
 Joey stands still while they talks, Pete holding his 
 arms behind his back, and Joey is all pale. Thin 
 Satan says, 'He dies,' but Pete lets him go; and 
 Joey runs, and Satan after him. And Satan catches 
 him, and Joey fought and screamed the horror 
 of his screamin' is ringin' in me ears. I was froze 
 in me tracks where I sat, a-lookin' round the tree
 
 THE FISHERMAN'S TALE 211 
 
 at the murther. And they fought and rolled, 
 with Satan jabbin' Joey with his knife, until Joey 
 stops screamin', and lies still. Thin Satan stood 
 up, a-lickin' his lips and wipin' the knife; and thin, 
 the next minute, he stoops, and pushes it into 
 Joey, sayin', * Let 'em find it there, and hang 
 Maitland,' and I near fainted. Be the holy 
 saints, Mister Maitland, two little horns was on 
 Satan's head and a shiny tail on him ! And Satan 
 and Pete hid Joey in the brush what's that! " 
 
 He started up, eyes distended, his body shaking 
 like a leaf. I pushed him back. 
 
 " I smell Satan," he said. 
 
 " Go on," I answered. 
 
 Pressing him down into the seat, I held him 
 there with a steady grasp, and gazed into his 
 eyes. 
 
 " I smell Satan," he repeated, sniffing. 
 
 " Satan is nowhere round. Tell me the rest." 
 
 His eyes wavered a while, but finally came back 
 to mine, and he resumed his tale : 
 
 " Satan and Pete went out of the gully and onto 
 the road. And I crawled in the brush along the 
 river, a-lookin' over me shoulder, thinkin' Hornie 
 was crawlin' behind me, and I drank from me jug 
 that I carried oh, me soul was wrung dry by 
 me crawlin' and what I had seen! and I crept 
 under the turbine house, and I saw Satan grinnin*
 
 212 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 at me out of the water, so I smashed me empty 
 jug into his face." 
 
 A light footstep sounded on the stone pavement 
 under the portico. Up started Kelly a second 
 time, his half-turned brain endowing him with 
 superhuman strength. 
 
 " Satan ! " he cried. 
 
 " Keep quiet," said I. " I will see if any one 
 is eavesdropping." 
 
 Stealing to the window, I flung it open, and 
 leaned out. Around a jutting angle of the house's 
 wall, I caught a glimpse of a short, fat figure dis- 
 appearing. It was but a glimpse, yet the shape, 
 the vanishing coat-tails, the soft, active speed of 
 the flying man, reminded me irresistibly of my 
 good friend D'Urville. 
 
 I ran to the door, pulled it open, sprang down 
 the steps, and went in the direction the figure had 
 gone. I had lost time in putting my head out of 
 the window, but I might yet overtake the listener. 
 Dashing round the corner, I again saw, and this 
 time a good sixty yards away, the man's shape just 
 darting behind an angle ; there was the same mere 
 glimpse of a round back, waving coat-tails, and 
 a plump white hand; then my quarry was gone. I 
 ran, eager to get my hand on him. Coming round 
 the corner lo! I stopped stock-still, and stared. 
 
 No one was in sight; a hundred feet the side
 
 THE FISHERMAN'S TALE 213 
 
 wall of the house extended without a break, ex- 
 cept for an opening in the foundation, which 
 formed the mouth of a chute into the cellar. I ad- 
 vanced to it and, stooping down, peered in. All 
 was as dark as night and silent as the grave down 
 there. Yet there only could the agile Frenchman 
 have gone, to vanish so instantaneously and so 
 completely. 
 
 Shrugging my shoulders, I went back to the 
 office. How much had D'Urville heard of the 
 Irishman's confession? Had he been secreted by 
 the half-open door? His flight looked suspiciously 
 like it. I trusted to Kelly's maudlin, mixed, illy 
 connected story to carry no importance in the 
 slippery machinist's mind. In this I underrated my 
 enemy's intelligence. 
 
 " Kelly, go on with your account," I said, when 
 I re-entered the room. " Douglass is nowhere 
 about." 
 
 "Wurrah, wurrah," he cried feebly, "I've no 
 more to tell ye. Whin I woke up, I was dyin' 
 in my head and belly, and I bent down and took 
 a big drink of water. Thin I saw 'em all bunched 
 here by the door, so I came up the hill." 
 
 His excitement had died out with the finishing 
 of his narrative. I lifted him to his feet, and 
 helped him to the door. He was a very sick 
 man.
 
 2i 4 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " Go home and to bed," I bade him. 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Maitland." 
 
 " And don't breathe a word of this to any living 
 soul." 
 
 " I'll not talk," he answered. 
 
 "Be sober if you can on the day after to-mor- 
 row, Kelly, and we'll hang Satan between us, you 
 and I." 
 
 A flicker came into his eye. 
 
 " We'll stretch Satan Douglass," he mumbled. 
 
 Out onto the avenue I supported him. At first, 
 he could not stand, having collapsed in the reaction 
 which set in on him. But presently he recovered 
 sufficient strength to go staggering down the road, 
 crying weakly to God and to the Mother Mary. 
 I wondered, as I watched after him, at the great- 
 ness of his loyalty to his old partner Rogers and 
 his hate for my Scotch assistant; and in both I 
 felt a kindred sympathy, at least in the latter. 
 
 He made his way with difficulty, and when I 
 saw that he kept his legs and did not fall, I en- 
 tered the house. 
 
 " Mr. Fenton should have heard his story," 
 thought I. 
 
 Well, he would hear it, I made up my mind, be- 
 fore another day passed.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE BARGAININGS OF A VILLAIN 
 
 THE people of Forge had Mr. Fenton's pledge 
 for my safe-keeping; they made it doubly safe 
 by an added precaution on their own part. Some 
 time in the afternoon, Charlie led me forth from 
 the house, and pointed at the road, first east, then 
 west. In each direction, a man loitered, but what 
 caught and held the eye was the rifle on which the 
 man leaned. A man sat in the door of the tur- 
 bine house, also with a rifle. In the rear of the 
 outbuildings, some hundred yards north of them, 
 and in a semicircle, half a dozen more lay on the 
 ground, or sat on boulders, as I perceived when 
 Charlie took my arm, and directed me to a point 
 of the knoll where a view to the north could be 
 had. Forge House was in a ring of guards. 
 
 "They intend that I shall not run for it," I 
 remarked. 
 
 "Nor any of us. I tried that fellow down 
 yonder, pretending to go to town, and he ordered 
 me back. So I stopped and talked a while, and 
 the chap loosened up, and said the miners did 
 
 215
 
 216 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 not mean to have us sending messages down to 
 Cold Springs." 
 
 "Cut us off, eh?" 
 
 "That's the intention," Charlie responded. 
 "Who's that coming?" 
 
 Approaching from the town was the Mexican 
 girl, a yellow handkerchief showing brightly 
 about her neck. 
 
 "We'll see if the sieve strains both ways," I 
 said. 
 
 It proved to be open from the outside, at least 
 in the case of Douglass' inamorata, for, after ex- 
 changing a few words with the sentinel, the man 
 gave a careless nod, she passed the cordon, and 
 began to ascend the knoll. With considerable 
 curiosity, I watched her approach. 
 
 "Take yourself off, Charlie," I invited, "I 
 want a word alone with her." 
 
 "She's deuced pretty, and you're deuced self- 
 ish," he replied. 
 
 " Run along. This is no flirtation." 
 
 "I'd make it one if I had half a chance," he 
 said, still lingering. 
 
 I laughed. 
 
 "With Douglass' future wife?" 
 
 "Wife oh, hang! You know better, Mait- 
 land. It's a pity if he's taken it into his head to 
 play fast and loose with her."
 
 BARGAININGS OF A VILLAIN 217 
 
 " Your time's up," I said. 
 
 " Is that the princess gazing out of the window 
 at us?" he remarked. 
 
 I glanced up; the windows were empty. 
 
 " It's not the princess," I replied shortly. 
 
 With a chuckle, he withdrew, while I scowled 
 after him. I was growing touchy, I recognised, 
 on the subject of princesses. 
 
 The Mexican girl moved leisurely, but came 
 straight to me. 
 
 "Where may I speak with the lady princess, 
 senor?" she inquired. 
 
 Her question took me by surprise, being the 
 last in the world which I would have expected to 
 come from her. 
 
 " In the house, senorita. But one minute, if 
 you please. You remember the evening that you 
 led me to the cupboard in the machine shop. 
 Well, it was empty. Has the gallant Frederic 
 spoken again of the gold?" 
 
 She seemed between two minds for an answer, 
 hesitating, in the end giving an indifferent shrug. 
 
 " I care not about the gold, senor. It does not 
 interest me. He has said nothing I have asked 
 nothing." 
 
 I hid a smile. 
 
 "So your little quarrel is made up?" 
 
 Closing her lips tightly, she did not reply. I
 
 2i8 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 saw that Frederic had sealed them effectually 
 since my last interview with her. Her mood then 
 had been one of stormy passion; now it was of 
 cold, superb unconcern. 
 
 " Well, I see that you've not come to talk with 
 me, but with Miss Fenton," I said. "Is it the 
 same subject that keeps you constantly anxious, 
 sefiorita, the subject of fickle Frederic?" 
 
 " I shall say what I shall say." 
 
 "She'll not see you, I imagine," I said care- 
 lessly. 
 
 A flash of her eyes broke her stony coldness, 
 yet almost instantly she was as unexpressive as 
 ever. 
 
 " I will detain her but one minute, sefior, but 
 one single minute." 
 
 I remembered her tiny dagger. Had the flash 
 in her eyes been illuminative of a sinister object 
 in making this visit? Did jealousy bring her 
 here? I would take no chances. 
 
 "No, you cannot see her," I said. "You 
 mean her some injury, some harm." 
 
 Her head rose. " I do not stab unarmed per- 
 
 sons." 
 
 A sharp tongue was in her head, and she knew 
 how to use it. 
 
 "Then Frederic hasn't taught you all he 
 knows," I answered coolly. "If you think I
 
 BARGAININGS OF A VILLAIN 219 
 
 killed Joe Lowden, you're mistaken. But your 
 lover might find blood on his hands." 
 
 For a moment, she returned my look without 
 evidence of surprise. If this was news to her, 
 she exercised splendid control. 
 
 "Did Frederic kill him?" she asked. 
 
 " He did killed Joe Lowden, who loved you." 
 
 " I did not love him." 
 
 " One cannot doubt the Spanish blood in your 
 veins, senorita," I answered ironically. "Will 
 you be so cold when Frederic lies dead, I won- 
 der? Well, that's beside the point. You had 
 best turn about and go home, for I assure you 
 that you have Frederic wholly to yourself. It's 
 not necessary to discuss the matter with Miss Fen- 
 ton. I can promise you she doesn't care the tip 
 of a finger about the handsome scoundrel which 
 you would do well to imitate. She wouldn't take 
 the fellow for a gift, and doesn't give him two 
 looks a day." 
 
 "Is it true?" she asked, her eyes growing lu- 
 minous. 
 
 " On my word of honour." 
 
 " Then I will return, senor." 
 
 " And try to forget him," I threw in. 
 
 Scorn grew on her face. " What do you know 
 of women's hearts? And of love?" she said. 
 
 " I know he'll desert you when he tires."
 
 220 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "For this princess!" Her eyes blazed, and 
 she clinched her hands. "He will not dare." 
 
 " Oh, he would dare," I smiled, " but the prin- 
 cess will not have him. Besides, he will have me 
 to deal with." 
 
 " You love her." 
 
 "Why, as to that I do not care to speak." 
 
 "Ah, you love her," she repeated, with a soft- 
 ened manner. " It is well. You and I will work 
 
 together, senor. Now, the gold He has 
 
 told me nothing, yet I know a little. Look be- 
 neath your feet." 
 
 I did so there was only grass and gravel. 
 
 " Underneath my feet 1 " I stammered. 
 
 "Yes, senor." 
 
 A faint smile touched her lips, an inscrutable 
 smile. Next moment her back was to me, and 
 she was going with her languid, swinging step 
 down the slope. What in the name of all that 
 was mysterious did she mean? I stared at the 
 ground anew; it had not been touched with a 
 spade since Forge was established. 
 
 Surrendering to the enigma, I moved toward 
 the house. In the library, I ran across Douglass, 
 ensconced in a leather chair, and drumming the 
 devil's tattoo on the table. The exercise was 
 singularly appropriate since he appeared to be in 
 the devil's own mood.
 
 BARGAININGS OF A VILLAIN 221 
 
 "What was that girl saying to you?" he de- 
 manded sharply. 
 
 "That, my dear Frederic," I replied, with de- 
 liberation, while taking a seat, "is none of your 
 business." 
 
 He started, and his brow darkened. 
 
 " I allow no one to address me in that tone." 
 
 "Then don't ask impertinent questions." 
 
 I lighted a cigar, and lounged back in my chair, 
 much pleased. His grand manner had gone stale; 
 and, like a spurious gilded metal, the brass was 
 beginning to show through. 
 
 He drummed with his fingers, and glowered. 
 
 " For a suspect, our manager is growing bold 
 as a lion," says he, " and by to-night he will be 
 able to say ' boo ' to a goose." 
 
 "Yes, I'm suspected, that is true, my dear 
 Douglass." 
 
 A moment longer he brooded, while I exam- 
 ined his face, and observed the blood come and 
 go in the line of scar on his cheek, until at last 
 he dismissed his frown. 
 
 " See here, Maitland," he said, " weVe no 
 business to quarrel, for we're in a cursed pep- 
 pery mess here, and must face it out together. 
 We've been too long comrades to see one another 
 set on, though we may occasionally fall out be- 
 tween ourselves. It would be a notorious disgrace
 
 222 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 if Forge House were divided when threatened by 
 danger. I shall not stand by, inactive, and see 
 these beggars string you up, like any felon." 
 
 " I know you'll lend a hand," said I. 
 
 My words were broad enough to hold truth. 
 
 " The thing is to act." 
 
 "Or wait," I answered. 
 
 "Wait, no. You're taking it coolly, I know 
 and very commendable it is but there's such a 
 thing as too much coolness. No, we must con- 
 trive some means to outwit the miners." He 
 bent his brows in excellently simulated study. 
 
 " My conscience is clear, that's one thing." 
 
 "Good to have but I never heard of it dis- 
 solving a halter." He shook his head with wis- 
 dom. " Keep your moralities for another time, 
 old fellow, and let us plan a little. Your fingers 
 are in a hot flame, and you're very insensible not 
 to take them out. If the truth be spoken, Mait- 
 land, the town is mad to stretch your neck." 
 
 " Yes, by their calculation my toes are even now 
 about leaving earth." 
 
 "Exactly." 
 
 " Yet they shall go no higher, God helping." 
 
 " God may be somewhere, but if I know any- 
 thing about it, I'll venture to say that it's not in 
 Forge," he concluded. 
 
 " One can never tell," I speculated. " That is
 
 BARGAININGS OF A VILLAIN 223 
 
 the queer thing about Him. He's putting forth 
 His hand when we least expect it." 
 
 My words annoyed Douglass, who was a 
 scoffer at things sacred, and he plucked at the 
 tips of his straw-coloured moustache and knit his 
 narrow brows. 
 
 "Let us have an end of nonsense," he ex- 
 claimed. " You're not the * Leave it to God ' 
 kind, nor am I. If a fellow arrives anywhere 
 it's by use of his own wits and legs, or I miscon- 
 ceive this universe wonderfully. And, Maitland, 
 that's the very point I wish to impress on you." 
 He laid one arm out on the table, palm open and 
 up. " If you come out of this scrape safely, it 
 will be by our work, and close work at that. I 
 tell you, man, you're in a tight hole." 
 
 "Yes?" I said gently. 
 
 "A very tight hole, Maitland." 
 
 His look was fastened on me full, earnest, and 
 eager just a bit too eager. His talk had too 1 
 consistent a drift not to be moving toward some 
 premeditated end. 
 
 " I've been in tight holes before," I said calmly. 
 
 " Not so close as this, I'll wager. You must 
 admit that the evidence against you is nasty, in 
 fact " 
 
 " Only circumstantial," I interrupted, with a 
 wave of my hand.
 
 224 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " Conclusive." He leaned back, lighted a cig- 
 arette, and gazed at the ceiling, with the air of a 
 judge summing up. "The knife alone is enough 
 to hang you. Now, we must act, and act imme- 
 diately. Here an idea has struck me. Why not 
 slip over to Seattle or San Francisco until this 
 blows over? Meanwhile, we'll hunt down the 
 real man, and trice him up. You can steal away 
 to-night I'll have horses ready, and you'll make 
 a quick run for Cold Springs, and from there 
 make your own speed on a train. What say 
 you?" 
 
 I had his purpose at last. He would have me 
 damn myself in the eyes of my friends and of 
 Forge, while he would gain by having the appear- 
 ance of rendering a service. 
 
 "There's my parole," I opposed. 
 
 He snapped his fingers. " Amounts to that." 
 
 "Well, then, Mr. Fenton's promise. How 
 would he explain? " 
 
 Douglass laughed. 
 
 "Explanations are the bogies of little minds, 
 and Mr. Fenton is too wise a man to stick on an 
 agreement made under duress. A word, anyway, 
 is but a line of letters; jumble them, and you have 
 nonsense straighten them and you still have it. 
 No, Mr. Fenton is not one to fear explanations. 
 As a matter of fact, Maitland, he privately hinted
 
 BARGAININGS OF A VILLAIN . 225 
 
 to me that he desires you to go, in order to relieve 
 him of responsibility, though he would not say 
 so openly. And with us his word is law, you 
 know." 
 
 Douglass' philosophy and not Mr. Fenton's 
 views engaged me, for it was original, new, prac- 
 tical, illuminative of the man before me, and 
 would have certainly made the ancient philoso- 
 phers pause. 
 
 However, I heaved a profound sigh after a 
 time, resolved to play out the part. " I might 
 have done so, once," I said. 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 " It's the princess. I'm hanged if I've the will 
 to drag myself away and leave you here alone to 
 the conquest. I made such a mess of our ride, 
 and showed so little to advantage, that I dare 
 not go. You've such a headway there, now, that 
 I can't afford to give you further chances. I must 
 win back into her favour one way or another. 
 Your rescue has put me clean into the back- 
 ground." 
 
 He smiled, and laid a hand on my arm, speak- 
 ing with a show of fairness. 
 
 " I'm frank to tell you, Maitland, I'm not un- 
 selfish in my plan. I grant you, it's a clear field 
 I'm after, as much as your safety. But I'll tell 
 you, on my honour, that you have no chance with
 
 226 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 the princess, whether you go or stay. The kid- 
 napping finished you." 
 
 " It came nearer it than you know," I put in. 
 
 "So all that's left for you to do is to exhibit 
 a fast pair of heels," he continued. ;< You'll es- 
 cape the pain of the halter, likewise that of our 
 wedding." 
 
 "You're confident." 
 
 " I am," said he. " Now, I'll have the horses 
 at the door by nine." 
 
 I shook my head. "Too late. I'll linger on 
 here, and see what happens." 
 
 " You mean you won't go? " 
 
 "That's near enough." 
 
 He struck the table lightly with his hand. 
 "Are you going, or no?" 
 
 "Not I." 
 
 "You ride to-night," he said, in a tense voice. 
 "Do you hear? To-night! I intend to have you 
 out of my way, and it's only by this grace which 
 I allow you that you will keep a whole neck." By 
 now he had thrown off his mask of assumed 
 friendliness, and his blue eyes were hard. u Your 
 life is mine, to save or to throw to this pack of 
 wolves, whichever I choose. I've but to speak, 
 but to say that I saw you, from Inez's house, 
 riding straight home from the mines the after- 
 noon Joe Lowden was killed, or to remain silent,
 
 BARGAININGS OF A VILLAIN 227 
 
 and let you swing. I choose to remain silent, yet 
 save you. You ride to-night, or I stand up at 
 your trial, and state that I saw you enter the 
 gully with the boy." 
 
 "Why, that is a threat," I smiled. 
 
 "A bargain your safety against my having a 
 free hand with the princess." 
 
 With curiosity, disgust, and loathing, I ob- 
 served him. His preposterous proposal bespoke 
 the blind vanity and impudence of the man. I 
 folded my arms on the table, and looked into his 
 eyes. 
 
 " Douglass, I regret that I so lowered myself 
 as to discuss Miss Fenton with you," I said, and 
 this time there was no lightness in my tone. 
 " Moreover, we'll carry the pretence of friend- 
 ship, or even politeness, no farther. We hate 
 each other, have hated each other from the first 
 day we met. And it's no wonder, our standards 
 being what they are. I had the respect of my 
 father and mother while they were living. In my 
 opinion, you cut your father's throat to get a six- 
 pence and broke your mother's heart by your 
 crimes " 
 
 As I spoke of his mother, he sprang up, clinch- 
 ing his hands. 
 
 "You're not fit to associate with decent peo- 
 ple," I continued steadily. " Wait where you are
 
 228 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 i I intend to read you a little of your history. 
 By your shoulders, you've been a soldier, British, 
 I presume, and were probably broke in the service 
 for cheating at cards, or some such dirty work. 
 You been around the world, and, I haven't a 
 doubt, left a villainous mark wherever you 
 touched. One word more. You can't steal gold 
 here ." 
 
 " I ? prove it. Don't try to shift your sins to 
 me," he hissed. 
 
 "And make me your scapegoat," I went on. 
 "No, I can't prove it. But I know you're the 
 thief, and I intend to see that you get your just 
 deserts, if I give them to you with my own naked 
 hands. Keep your fist down, Douglass, or I'll 
 kill you where you stand." 
 
 I rose as I finished, while he drew a step 
 back. 
 
 "Yes, let there be no pretence," he sneered. 
 " For you're as good as a dead man. I took the 
 gold and you are going to suffer for it." 
 
 " You killed Joe Lowden, also " 
 
 "Why, yes, and you'll have to suffer for that, 
 too, my fine boy." 
 
 "You're frank." 
 
 " I've nothing to fear from you," he said, with 
 another sneer, "while the knowledge will make 
 your hanging the more bitter, damn you 1 "
 
 BARGAININGS OF A VILLAIN 229 
 
 Just at that moment the portieres rustled at the 
 opposite end of the room, and Mrs. Arlington's 
 blond head appeared through them. She floated 
 across the room to us, smiling brightly. 
 
 " I heard voices, so I came in. Do I intrude? " 
 
 She smiled more prettily than ever, taking a 
 pretty woman's privilege of interruption. 
 
 " We were both growing rather bored with our 
 talk," I answered. "You'll liven us up." 
 
 " I hope it was not the same old subject of this 
 murder. I can't sleep nights any more for dream- 
 ing of murders and kidnappings and a thousand 
 other horrible things." 
 
 "Alas, it was akin to murder," I admitted 
 cheerfully. " It was the murderer we were dis- 
 cussing. Still, Mrs. Arlington, it was rather on 
 the bright side than the gloomy that we were 
 looking." 
 
 " How nice ! Tell me about it," she said, lean- 
 ing forward, with pink finger-tips on the edge of 
 the table. 
 
 " It's this, that I'll be able to prove my inno- 
 cence, when the time comes, through the gener- 
 osity of dear old Frederic here. You see, he was 
 making an afternoon call, Saturday, upon his 
 fiancee, Inez, the pretty Mexican girl, of whom 
 we all know ; and he tells me that, from her door, 
 he saw me ride straight home from the mines. So
 
 2 3 o THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 that will clear me. Haven't I reason to feel 
 cheerful? Besides, he's agreed to tell the people 
 of Forge about it at the trial. That straightens 
 out everything, and I shall yet dance at his wed- 
 ding with the pretty Inez." 
 
 " How romantic ! " Mrs. Arlington exclaimed, 
 beaming upon Douglass. 
 
 During my recital, in which I credited myself 
 that I had picked Douglass up very neatly, the 
 man remained dumbfounded by my words. 
 
 I laughed aloud. 
 
 " He and his dark-eyed fiancee have had a little 
 tiff, Mrs. Arlington," I said. 
 
 "Which makes love the more delicious," she 
 replied, with sparkling eyes. 
 
 "Lovers' quarrels are like April clouds, you 
 know. You must comfort him." 
 
 Nodding gaily, she turned to the Scotchman. 
 
 " I will I'll find out all about it. They must 
 make it up," she said. 
 
 " Be sure and learn all the particulars of the 
 wedding," I added, from the portieres. 
 
 Thus I passed out and away from the light- 
 nings of Douglass' eyes. Many words would he 
 speak, much twisting of his level, pointed mous- 
 tache would he do, before he explained away my 
 tale of his wedding. For Mrs. Arlington was a 
 very penetrating, subtle, persistent, dainty, little
 
 BARGAININGS OF A VILLAIN 231 
 
 lady when she was determined to know all that 
 there was to be known of a thing. And this was 
 the thing dear to every woman's heart a lover's 
 quarrel. Yes, Frederic had a bad quarter of an 
 hour ahead of him.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 FIRST SORTIE INTO THE ENEMY'S CAMP 
 
 I NOW come to the last two days. If events, in- 
 stead of clocks, are the true measurers of time, as 
 has been said by some one, these forty-eight hours 
 were the equal of an ordinary year. An air of 
 suppressed excitement pervaded Forge House, 
 which would have been marked by a close ob- 
 server, though a superficial calm clothed the mem- 
 bers of our household, of which, I am sure, each 
 of us was more or less aware. The subject of 
 the murder was avoided as if by tacit agreement, 
 conventional topics replacing it; but our conversa- 
 tion was forced, long breaks of silence were com- 
 mon, and, at the table, appetites were fickle save 
 Charlie Woodworth's, which I verily believe will 
 turn up hale and hearty at the blowing of the last 
 trump. 
 
 With great elaborateness, so great and careful 
 that it hardly carried conviction, Douglass had 
 explained away my error in taking his words 
 amiss. // he had been at Inez's door if! 
 where he had not been, these two weeks past 
 added for Ethys' benefit he was confident that he 
 
 232
 
 INTO THE ENEMY'S CAMP 233 
 
 would have seen me riding straight home from 
 the mines. Well, that was considerably nearer 
 the truth than he generally got, at least, which 
 was some satisfaction; and so the matter rested. 
 
 During these two days, too, the princess shone 
 with a sort of hard gaiety, an achromatic brill- 
 iancy, that was extremely puzzling, and the more 
 unaccountable in that it appeared to be inspired 
 by the attentions which the Scotchman showered 
 upon her. And he grew prouder under her smiles 
 and favours. This was in itself enough to cast 
 me down; and, as the hour of my trial drew 
 nearer, and I realised the dangerous character of 
 the game in which I was a player, together with 
 the price of the stake if I lost, I grew more grave. 
 
 First thing next morning, after my passage at 
 arms with Douglass, I conferred with Mr. Fen- 
 ton, and disclosed Kelly's story, and then the 
 Scotchman's infamous kidnapping plot. We 
 agreed that men should be sent after the trial to 
 bury the bodies of the dead outlaws, if Gurley 
 had not already performed that work with his 
 own hands. 
 
 "We have an ugly customer under our roof," 
 Mr. Fenton remarked, tugging at his grey mous- 
 tache. " The worst of it is that we can do noth- 
 ing with him at present, therefore we must treat 
 him as usual until after the trial. My only fear
 
 234 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 is that he'll take alarm before we can seize 
 him." 
 
 "The man's too sure of himself to do that," 
 I said. 
 
 " If he knows what's best for him he'll run 
 while he has a chance." A steely gleam shone 
 from his eyes, which boded ill for the Scotchman, 
 once our hands were untied. " I'll send him to 
 the gallows, if I spend a million. To eat my 
 bread, to take my pay, to make love to my niece, 
 when he's stolen my money, killed my workman, 
 and proved himself generally a traitor and a vil- 
 lain! He shall pay well for it." He paced the 
 floor slowly and determinedly, cracking the 
 knuckles of his long fingers. "You have prob- 
 ably observed that he, alone of us all, passes 
 freely back and forth through the guards about 
 the house." 
 
 "Yes, I've noticed it." 
 
 " I must get a messenger down to Cold Springs 
 to bring the sheriff. This farce of a trial can 
 take place, but it shall go no further than a trial." 
 Then, after a pause : " I've arranged with one 
 of the Japanese to go to-night at nine; it will be 
 dark, and the moon not yet up. A dash from the 
 back of the house and along the mountainside be- 
 hind the town will take him out. He is not to 
 spare the horse. He should reach Cold Springs 
 by dawn."
 
 INTO THE ENEMY'S CAMP 235 
 
 " Have him look for a deputy named Collins," 
 I said. "The sheriff may be absent." 
 
 He nodded. " I will tell the boy." 
 
 Our council of war brought us to twelve o'clock. 
 When we separated, I bumped into Charlie. 
 With mystery written all over him, he drew me 
 into a corner, and whispered in my ear: 
 
 " I've a scheme. When I went down to chat 
 with Frenchy, I slipped one of his chisels into my 
 pocket. We'll crack Douglass' crib to-night." 
 
 "What do you think you'll find there?" I 
 laughed. " Do you think he's one to leave stuff 
 lying around loose?" 
 
 "We'll investigate his rooms on principle." 
 
 I paused. " It might be worth while." 
 
 Thereupon, I told him Kelly's account of the 
 murder, which news elated him. 
 
 "His clothes will be all bloody. We must 
 seize them," he whispered. 
 
 "Well, I've my doubts that we discover any- 
 thing." 
 
 " Oh, pshaw, I know we will." 
 
 Douglass himself interrupted us by descending 
 the stair at that moment. His chin was in the 
 air, and he hummed a gay melody. Pausing as 
 his foot touched the last step, he looked at me 
 significantly. 
 
 "You're still here, I see," he said. 
 
 "I am."
 
 236 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " There's yet time to carry out what I proposed 
 yesterday." 
 
 " It will not be carried out." 
 
 His brows lowered. 
 
 " It's the first time I've ever soiled my hands 
 by trying to help a murderer it will be the 
 last." 
 
 " I doubt both statements, Douglass," I re- 
 marked, in answer. 
 
 Just then Charlie broke into the conversation, 
 a cheerful grin spreading over his face. A su- 
 preme delight in annoying my independent as- 
 sistant had always been his, and of late he had 
 devoted himself to every opportunity. 
 
 "What's the row, Scotchy?" he inquired. 
 
 Douglass came forward a step. 
 
 " Repeat that," he said, with a white smile. 
 
 Charlie set his hands on his hips, and with a 
 tone of bedevilment repeated the offensive word. 
 "Shall I say it again?" he asked. 
 
 An angry light appeared in Douglass' eyes, but 
 Charlie's impudent grin was too much for him. 
 Disgust succeeded anger. He made a gesture of 
 impatience, walked to the door, then faced about 
 with his hand on the knob. 
 
 " I've seen gawky youngsters in my time," he 
 sneered, "but your manners would make even 
 them hoot you. You don't know how to talk,
 
 INTO THE ENEMY'S CAMP 237 
 
 walk, or eat. You let your hair hang in your 
 eyes, like a yokel " none of which was true 
 " Mr. Fenton should pack you off to a boys' 
 school for a good birching until you become a 
 man. As it is, you're but an overgrown, insuf- 
 ferable puppy." 
 
 "All right; I'll imitate your airs," my com- 
 panion sent after him, as he flung out of the 
 door. 
 
 " He's in a temper this noon," I said. 
 
 " This is too good to keep ; I must tell Ethys," 
 Charlie said, and went off to find her. 
 
 Since my adventure in the log house, I had had 
 an overpowering curiosity concerning Douglass' 
 affairs and movements, for I knew that when he 
 was busiest it was about me. I glanced out of 
 the window; he was not in front of the house. I 
 slipped through the hall and into the kitchen, past 
 the pair of imperturbable Japanese, and took my 
 station at one of the curtained windows that gave 
 upon the rear. Presently, Douglass appeared 
 around a corner, footing it rapidly toward the 
 stables, where the Frenchman stood sunning him- 
 self, like any honest man. They disappeared 
 within. Feeling to see that my revolver was by 
 me, I stole out of the house and down to the 
 rear of the outbuildings, reconnoitring until I 
 stopped beneath a square aperture in the wall,
 
 238 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 through which came the sound of their voices. A 
 hundred yards away, two or three guards eyed me 
 with interest, but made no move in my direction. 
 So, crouching close to the stones, I soon caught 
 the thread of the two villains' talk. 
 
 " Duke is fit for anything," Douglass was say- 
 ing. 
 
 "Ah, then let us use him to-night. There is 
 danger." The speaker was D'Urville. " I had 
 the sign again, oui, Frederic. Twice has my pin 
 worked loose in my scarf, it is so. Has it ever 
 failed to warn me, or proven false, mon cama- 
 rade?" 
 
 " Danger faugh ! The house is full of fools." 
 
 " But no, my Frederic. This Maitland is no 
 fool. Did he not suspect in the very beginning? 
 Aha, I felt the seal ring on his finger, and knew 
 him the night when we struggled in the dark." 
 
 " He can do nothing. He'll hang, I tell you, 
 hang." 
 
 " My friend, how came he here from the house 
 in the ravine? It is unexpected, unexplained." 
 
 " I've explained that a dozen times, D'Urville. 
 I cut him loose by mistake," Douglass replied, 
 with impatience. 
 
 "There should be nothing of mistakes, never. 
 It was a mistake, that it is a mistake, this, Fred- 
 eric, to linger. He knows too much, and he is
 
 INTO THE ENEMY'S CAMP 239 
 
 not yet hung by the neck; no, not yet by many 
 hours. If you must remain, let him die now, and 
 by a knife surely. Be content with the gold, 
 more, and let us go. It moves badly always to 
 mix love and business. You have a great weak- 
 ness, Frederic, a too great weakness of the heart. 
 One should love, but never with the heart." 
 
 Douglass broke forth in a laugh. 
 
 " You think it's the heart well, it is, but the 
 head's on top of it. No, I've a chance, man, in 
 that direction. She's bending now. And when I 
 marry her, D'Urville, we'll stand in gold to our 
 knees." 
 
 "Women cook the what you English say 
 the goose," was the calm reply. 
 
 "I'll have her," Douglass cried, "if I steal 
 her!" 
 
 "Ah, it is the heart, after all, my Frederic, 
 that keeps us," the other sighed. " It would be 
 wise to go, but we will stay, mon ami, if you wish 
 it." A pause succeeded; then, finally, "The Gros 
 Pete, where is he?" 
 
 " I haven't heard a word from him or the gold. 
 If that ruffian skipped with the bricks, I'll cut his 
 windpipe." 
 
 "The gold, I have it," quietly announced his 
 ally. 
 
 " The devil you have ! "
 
 2 4 o THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "Yes. I followed the messenger, Mac, and 
 put my knife into him a little so. He is passe" 
 
 " Good ! There's no need of their having any, 
 after all. You're a very proper man, D'Urville, 
 one in a thousand." 
 
 The Frenchman once more came hack to the 
 attack. 
 
 "Shall we not go?" 
 
 " Have done with that ! " Douglass cried. 
 
 " But there is a great danger. Listen, I have 
 not told you all. For, look, when the canaille 
 came yesterday, I waited here until they dispersed, 
 and then I walked very quietly around to the 
 front, my Frederic. Then, as I stood by the office 
 door, I began to hear a little talk, so I put my 
 ear closer. It was the Irish Kelly and Maitland. 
 Kelly saw you at the gully hein!" 
 
 A profound silence followed this statement. I 
 would have given a hand to have seen how Doug- 
 lass took the news. But chagrin that the secret 
 was out swallowed my curiosity, and I knew for 
 a certainty now that the coat tails which I had 
 pursued about the corner of the house belonged 
 to the fat little Frenchman, as I had guessed. He 
 had overheard Kelly's account of the murder. 
 Would the birds now fly? 
 
 At last, Douglass spoke: 
 
 " I stay. Let him blink."
 
 INTO THE ENEMY'S CAMP 241 
 
 Blink! What the deuce did that mean? It 
 was thieves' jargon, no doubt. And I judged that 
 Douglass had made up his mind to risk the Irish- 
 man's story, and deny it. 
 
 A new idea darted into my mind. Creeping 
 away, I ran softly and swiftly to the shop. I had 
 heard all of value that they had to tell; now I 
 would go seeking while the opportunity was mine. 
 
 The door of the building stood open. I sprang 
 in, swung it shut, and hurriedly examined boxes 
 and cupboards. They yielded nothing. Up the 
 stairs I ran, four steps at a time, into the loft. 
 Divided by rough partitions into three rooms, I 
 found myself in the first. A rapid inspection 
 showed me nothing of importance here, for it was 
 full of lumber and junk of all kinds, the leavings 
 of the shop below. I entered the second room, 
 which proved to be the Frenchman's attiring 
 apartment, if so it may be called; on nails about 
 the walls, were hung trousers, shirts, and other 
 articles of apparel. In a dark corner sat a chest, 
 its hasp unfastened. My heart gave a bound. I 
 ran to it, flung up its lid, and peered in. It con- 
 tained a lot of trash, worn-out garments and 
 gloves, tools, cloth, pipes, what not, which I 
 tossed this way and that in my eagerness to get 
 at the bottom. 
 
 All at once there came a soft tread behind me.
 
 242 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 I straightened up, moving to one side as I did 
 so, and turning about. Something heavy as iron 
 struck me a glancing blow on head and shoulder, 
 a stream of stars danced before my eyes, and I 
 staggered back. I beheld a figure advancing upon 
 me, the figure of a man, and in his hand he car- 
 ried an uplifted club. I fumbled in my pocket, 
 at last brought my revolver out, and, pulling the 
 hammer back, let it fly, without touching trigger. 
 The club descended, but weakly, while a curse 
 broke from my assailant's lips. 
 
 The little trick of gun play that I had learned 
 in Alaska had saved me. The man remained, 
 swearing and holding his wrist, from which the 
 blood streamed, while I leaned against the parti- 
 tion, and steadied myself, the report of the shot 
 ringing in my ears, the smell of powder in my 
 nostrils. Gradually my brain cleared from the 
 effects of the blow. Through the dimness of the 
 room, I recognised, in the fellow who nursed his 
 wrist, the absent witness, Garrett, the man who 
 had failed to appear and testify against me the 
 day previous. I had nipped him only, but that 
 was enough. 
 
 '"What are you doing here?" I demanded. 
 
 " Stayin'," was his surly reply. 
 
 "Hiding in D'Urville's rooms, eh? And I 
 suppose you were keeping snug here yesterday,
 
 INTO THE ENEMY'S CAMP 243 
 
 when Pelan was calling for you. What do you 
 mean by saying that I killed Joe Lowden?" 
 Anger was beginning to get the upper hand of 
 me. " I've a notion to finish you, you wretch. 
 Then you'll not swear away any more lives in 
 Forge." 
 
 " Don't shoot ! For God's sake, don't shoot. 
 Douglass told me to come here." 
 
 The fellow was in a tremendous fright. 
 
 "And accuse me^did he?" I shook my 
 weapon before his pallid face. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Get back into your burrow, you perjurer. 
 You're not fit for the work. If you swear to- 
 morrow that you saw Joe Lowden killed by me, 
 I'll shoot you down." I pointed the gun at his 
 eyes. "Take a good look at it, and know what 
 to expect." 
 
 " But but Douglass says he'll kill me if I 
 don't," he quavered. 
 
 " I'll kill you first, if you do," I said fiercely. 
 
 Hunting further for the gold or evidences of 
 crime was out of question. So I made my way 
 down the stairs, my head yet aching a trifle from 
 the blow it had received. As I set foot on the 
 shop floor the door was jerked open, and in hur- 
 ried the pair who had been talking in the stable. 
 At sight of me, the conspirators stopped short.
 
 244 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "Ah, it is only monsieur," said D'Urville ur- 
 banely. "That is well; we are relieved. We 
 heard a shot, we feared, we came with great 
 quickness. But monsieur's presence assures our 
 hearts." 
 
 Douglass, however, was not so well poised. 
 
 "What are you doing here?" he questioned. 
 
 "I might ask you the same question. And 
 since when has the door of this shop, or any 
 other, been barred to the manager of the 
 mines?" 
 
 His lip curled. ;c You're no longer manager 
 you're a prisoner. I'll have you know that I'm in 
 charge now, by Mr. Fenton's orders, to govern 
 as I see fit. I order you out." D'Urville laid a 
 protesting hand upon the speaker's arm, but 
 Douglass shook it off. " You're a prisoner, and 
 I'll not tolerate your running about loose, when 
 I'm " 
 
 "Liar," said I pleasantly. 
 
 "When I'm responsible for your person." 
 
 " I was of the opinion," I replied coolly, " that 
 Mr. Fenton was the man." 
 
 " Fenton, or I it's all one. Go ! " 
 
 " Douglass, your lies grow very tiresome," I 
 answered. " Needless to say, that I shall go when 
 I'm ready; no sooner. If you have the authority 
 you claim, why, exercise it. There's nothing in
 
 INTO THE ENEMY'S CAMP 245 
 
 the wide world that I would more love to have 
 you try." 
 
 I leaned against a work-bench, balanced my re- 
 volver carelessly upon my palm, and waited. But 
 it was the Frenchman who made the next move. 
 He advanced a step, raising a gentle, fat, con- 
 ciliatory hand. 
 
 " Monsieur, we welcome you where you have 
 every right to come," he said affectionately. " We 
 are all gentlemen; let us not speak hastily. Mon 
 ami, forgive Frederic. He is impatient, a little 
 what you say petulant? yes. The magnificent, 
 the playful, Duke made a bite of his arm, so." 
 
 " Duke has performed the best service of his 
 life," I answered drily. 
 
 "Ah? Oh, that Duke!" he said, beaming. 
 "He is a pet, spoiled the enfant terrible!" 
 
 Douglass swung about on his heel, and, with- 
 out a word, walked out the door and up the slope. 
 D'Urville watched him sorrowfully. 
 
 " Pauvre Frederico" he sighed, out of the 
 roundness of his bosom, " he has the quickness of 
 temper, alas ! It is not well to have it, n'est c'pas, 
 monsieur? Now we have it not, no. We have 
 the calm." And he smiled approvingly at me. 
 
 Of the pair of them, I was beginning to choose 
 D'Urville as the more adroit, the finer, villain.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE GENTLE ART OF MAKING LOVE 
 
 THERE is one loose end of my story which may 
 here very properly be picked up. It will be re- 
 membered that the Scotchman had led our guests 
 forth one night on an exploring expedition of the 
 abandoned mine in the base of Anvil Rock; and 
 that, as the party left the house, Douglass boasted 
 to me that he would that night stretch out his 
 hands to receive the gifts of the gods, meaning 
 by that the princess and her fortune. Something 
 had occurred during their absence which made 
 Douglass sulky and Woodworth jubilant; and the 
 former did not get the gifts before mentioned. 
 What had taken place I did not learn until this 
 day. 
 
 It happened that Charlie and I were together 
 again late in the afternoon. 
 
 " I'd like to know, by gad, why she let's that 
 scoundrel trail round her skirts," he said. " He's 
 making up to her as if he were a king's own gen- 
 tleman. Now he's just contrived to get her alone 
 in the library." 
 
 246
 
 GENTLE ART OF MAKING LOVE 247 
 
 " But she doesn't know he's a scoundrel," I re- 
 marked. 
 
 " She suspects his secrets, I swear." 
 
 " Which possibly makes him attractive for the 
 moment," I said. "Moreover, he has a glib 
 tongue when he wishes to use it." 
 
 " Humph, women are queer ! During the last 
 two days she's kept him dancing round her at 
 will, smiling at him, chatting, looking his way, or 
 calling him. Before that she was offish, yes, ever 
 since they were over in that old mine I never 
 told you about that? " 
 
 He looked obliquely at me over his pipe. 
 
 " No, but I recall that you had some secret up 
 your sleeve that seemed to give you a good deal 
 of enjoyment." 
 
 "Well, don't give it away," he said, after a 
 long puff or two, " if I tell you. I wouldn't care 
 particularly to have Ethys learn that I overheard; 
 though I couldn't help but hear. Anyway, I don't 
 think she'd care such a tremendous rap. It just 
 happened, that's all." 
 
 " Get ahead with it," I said. 
 
 "You know the mine isn't the labyrinth some 
 of them are no fear of losing one's self in it. 
 When we'd pottered about for a while, we came 
 to a parting of the ways. Douglass and Ethys 
 were for trying one direction, the rest another,
 
 248 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 and I was indifferent. Being the tail of the dog 
 leaves you no responsibility, you know. Privately, 
 I wanted to get home. They settled the matter 
 by each taking a passage, as they came together 
 somewhere farther on, and half the dog went 
 each way, so to speak. I couldn't wag after both, 
 so I considered my duty done, and down I sat on 
 a rock by the jut of the intersection, to await their 
 return. 
 
 " I experimented smoking my name on the wall, 
 succeeding so well that I finally put out my torch 
 in the occupation. I had no matches, and was 
 forced to sit still in the dark, this time without 
 any say in the matter. Pretty soon I heard voices 
 coming. Just before they reached me, they 
 stopped. I peeped around the corner into the 
 other passage to see what was up, and caught 
 sight of Ethys and Douglass standing, not ten feet 
 from me, their faces lighted by the torches they 
 carried. 
 
 "The fellow started in to say some pretty 
 things to her, upon which I drew back into my 
 hiding-place again, for it was too late by the time 
 he had spoken to let them know I was about. A 
 fine fix I was in ! For the life of me, I could think 
 of nothing better to do than what I was doing, 
 and that was to do nothing. If I started away 
 I would have got lost. So I sat like a dummy,
 
 GENTLE ART OF MAKING LOVE 249 
 
 listening to their voices. Ethys pretended that he 
 was jesting, and took it as a jest, but it was no 
 jest for our stunning Frederic. Five minutes 
 passed, the scamp growing bolder. All at once 
 he drove the jest out of the play for her, too, by 
 something he did. I heard a clatter on the rock, 
 and so, took another peep. His torch lay flaming 
 on the floor of the tunnel, her back was against 
 the wall, and she was warding him off with her 
 hands. 
 
 "Up I jumped, getting an awful whack from 
 a beam of timber just over my head. It was sim- 
 ply a stunner, putting me out of the game for a 
 minute, and stopped me from becoming a hero 
 and knocking the scoundrel down. I missed a 
 chance there, my boy, that I'll never have again. 
 Well, when he saw the fright in her eyes, he drew 
 back. You see, he had thought to sweep her off 
 her feet and into his arms by the impetuosity of 
 his love-making, the story-book kind, but she took 
 it differently. So he put tiller about, as the fellow 
 always finds it easy to do, and trimmed sail by 
 playing the sorrowful. Meanwhile, I had my 
 mouth open, and was taking it all in. 
 
 ' 1 wouldn't harm a hair of your beautiful 
 head ! ' says he, like an actor. * If I've been car- 
 ried away, forgive me, Ethys ' yes, he did. Had 
 the beastly nerve to call her Ethys. 'Your eyes
 
 250 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 and face and whole self have intoxicated me, and 
 made me forget everything but them. I've loved 
 no woman until I saw you, and I would stop at 
 neither fire nor water, no, nor death itself to win 
 your love and you. You will forgive me, Ethys ? ' 
 
 "The rascal positively had a tremble in his 
 voice, I swear to it! A thundering good actor 
 was lost in him, if I do say it. I'm not sure but 
 what he did make an impression on Ethys, fright- 
 ened as she was, and though she had only known 
 him a week or two. You know how it is with 
 women bless 'em ! if a chap tells them he loves 
 the ground they walk on, it excuses a lot of pre- 
 sumption and impertinence, and even sins of the 
 fellow. 
 
 "She finally answered, 'We'll continue to be 
 friends, Mr. Douglass, but love is out of the 
 question. I shall not love any man for many 
 years to come.' 
 
 " ' But I may love you? I must I should die 
 if I did not I ' he ranted. Think of him dying 
 for love! 
 
 " Well, that's all of the story that's important, 
 for the others hove in sight presently, and we all 
 met. I wish Douglass had gone a trifle farther 
 in his Romeo business, or that I had not whacked 
 my head, for I would have loved to walk into him 
 with both fists. And she said she wouldn't marry
 
 GENTLE ART OF MAKING LOVE 251 
 
 for many years there's my sentence. What an 
 angel she is ! " 
 
 " Cheer up, Charlie, you're not as hard hit as 
 you were a fortnight ago," I encouraged. 
 
 " I'm slowly getting over it." 
 
 " There's many another angel as good and 
 beautiful." 
 
 He puffed at his pipe, and stared out of the 
 window. " I really was never more than half in 
 love with Ethys," he said, with resignation. " I 
 knew in the beginning I had no chance. She 
 laughed at me, and said I was too young." 
 
 " You have plenty of time yet." 
 
 "I suppose so. Hello, there's D'Urville. I'll 
 go down on the avenue, and see if I can draw 
 him out a bit." 
 
 I caught him by the sleeve. 
 
 " Monsieur D'Urville is a very amiable, but 
 also very cunning, gentleman, Charlie. Look 
 out, therefore, that he doesn't draw you out in- 
 stead." 
 
 "I'll take care." 
 
 Off he went to join the pleasant, well-fed 
 Frenchman, who was walking up and down be- 
 fore the turbine house, his hands behind him, 
 placid as a landholder upon his estates. 
 
 " I will attack the rest of the enemy," I 
 thought, "and see if I can rescue the princess
 
 252 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 from Douglass' clutches. Is she studying him? 
 Or playing with him? Well, I haven't had ten 
 words with her, in an age." 
 
 The library was empty. I strolled in, some- 
 what disappointed, for by Charlie's information 
 the pair should have been present. Discussing in 
 my mind the wisdom of searching farther, I halted 
 in the middle of the room. A faint murmur of 
 voices came to my ears from a curtained alcove 
 at one side. They were there. I was in no such 
 strait as that in which Woodworth had found 
 himself in the Anvil Rock tunnel; retreat was 
 open to me, and I silently turned to depart. 
 
 " I love you," I suddenly heard from Douglass' 
 lips; impassioned words, clear and distinct and 
 rapid, " I love you, and you have led me to be- 
 lieve you loved me also, have encouraged me 
 every hour, every minute, since you came to Forge 
 House. I will will have you for my wife ! " 
 
 I stopped like a shot. Something threatening, 
 desperate, sinister, there was in his tone. 
 
 Next moment sounded Ethys' reply, full of 
 scorn. 
 
 " I have not encouraged your suit, as you say. 
 I have only sought to be friendly. Now on the 
 strength of what friendship I've allowed you, you 
 attempt to accuse me of wrong intent, and you 
 make love to me. How dare you! And that,
 
 GENTLE ART OF MAKING LOVE 253 
 
 when you're already betrothed, when you've al- 
 ready promised to marry the Mexican girl." 
 
 "One of Maitland's lies." 
 
 "/ believe it." 
 
 "A lie, on my honour," he cried bitterly. " You 
 use that as an excuse to throw me aside after win- 
 ning my love." 
 
 "You endeavour to throw her aside." 
 
 "No or if I have, you're the cause of it." 
 
 "I? No." 
 
 " I've saved your life, yet you give it not so 
 much as a thought." 
 
 "You saved my life, Mr. Douglass?" she said 
 slowly. "You mean from the kidnappers, I sup- 
 pose." 
 
 A peculiar intonation of her words seemed to 
 give them a hidden meaning. 
 
 "Yes," he said sullenly. 
 
 "You are not generous, sir, to speak of the 
 obligation you laid me under." 
 
 " So you scorn me," he answered. " I lay my 
 heart in your hand, a heart as true as the world 
 holds, yet you fiing it aside like a worthless clod. 
 I will have you! Your eyes draw me like stars, 
 your lips woo me like twin brides. I will cast 
 myself down into hell, or climb to heaven, but 
 what I will have you, have you to hold in my 
 embrace."
 
 254 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 Surely, the man had gone mad! I softly crept 
 nearer. A startled, frightened exclamation fol- 
 lowed from Ethys. Then she cried low, "Let 
 my hands go, sir." 
 
 A suppressed, menacing laugh from Douglass 
 was her answer. 
 
 " You've led me a dance, my princess, kept me 
 jerking at string ends. What? Shall one dance 
 without the wine after? Shall one love without 
 the kisses?" 
 
 " Let me go ! " she panted. 
 
 A sound of pushed chairs they were strug- 
 gling. Three steps I made to the curtain, and 
 laid my hand on it, and so waited, all afire with 
 anger. 
 
 "Sweetheart!" he said, and again he laughed. 
 
 "Oh, stop, sir!" she cried, with a smothered 
 voice. " Have you no respect or honour? Uncle! 
 Jack!" 
 
 I tore aside the curtain, and sprang into the 
 alcove. She was fending him away, while he 
 tried to push aside her arms; a villainous smile 
 was on his lips, a base eagerness in his eyes, while 
 on hers, both eyes and lips, lay a white horror. 
 He leaped back at sight of me. 
 
 "Eavesdropper," he said darkly. 
 
 I waited in silence. Ethys ran to me, shud- 
 dering.
 
 GENTLE ART OF MAKING LOVE 255 
 
 "Don't let him touch me, Jack!" she begged. 
 
 For a moment he only twisted the horizontal 
 points of his moustache, and looked at us with 
 large, mocking eyes. The smile on his lips grew 
 more sardonic. 
 
 "Ah, it is the thief," he said softly, twisting 
 and twisting his moustache. "And well come, 
 too. We have the lover, as well as the mistress. 
 You could not marry me, my princess oh, no! 
 I was not the man. My eyes are now open, and 
 thank God for it. I see now what I did not see 
 before." 
 
 With a single leap, I reached and struck him 
 squarely between the eyes. He dropped full 
 length, where he lay a while, dazed. When he 
 rose from the carpet, the pupils of his eyes were 
 enormously dilated, the whites were plain all 
 round, his face was pinched and strangely livid, 
 and on it was a sort of hollow wonder. 
 
 "Struck struck down by a puling boy!" He 
 stopped, and laughed wildly. "Oh, Christ's tears! 
 And flouted by a " 
 
 Again my fist shot out. It smote upon his 
 tongue the shameful words he would have uttered. 
 When next he looked up at me from the floor, 
 blood streamed from his mouth down upon his 
 cheek, and he was scarcely sensible. In my soul 
 there raged a burning desire of murder, a passion
 
 to tear him limb from limb, to pull the very cords 
 of life from his body; and slay him with my 
 naked hands. 
 
 " Jack ! Don't kill him, Jack ! " I heard Ethys 
 crying. 
 
 Slowly, I looked toward her. Her terrified 
 eyes met mine; she trembled from head to foot. 
 I stared from her to him, and once again to her, 
 and at last understanding of what she pleaded 
 penetrated my brain. The throbbing in my head 
 gradually lessened, my breathing eased, and I tried 
 to smile at her. 
 
 "Is he dead?" I asked, at last. 
 
 "No, Jack." 
 
 "Then I've yet to kill the " 
 
 Her finger-tips covered my mouth. 
 
 " Don't speak of it." 
 
 I took her hand, and, leaving Douglass as he 
 lay, -we went through the curtains out into the 
 larger room. There I stood, seeking to brush 
 away the red mist that persisted before my eyes, 
 while with my other hand I gripped her fingers. 
 
 " The scoundrel ! " I said, with a final pulsation 
 of rage. 
 
 "Let him be let him be," she murmured. 
 "Yet what would I have done if you had not 
 saved me." 
 
 Her look rose to mine, her eyes like stars, and
 
 GENTLE ART OF MAKING LOVE 257 
 
 her hand trembled in my grasp. Then, as if in 
 a dream, I found her in my arms, her heart beat- 
 ing against mine, her lips meeting my lips. 
 
 "Princess princess of my heart!" I whis- 
 pered. 
 
 " I love you love you ! " she answered. 
 
 And her face was radiant.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 SECOND SORTIE INTO THE ENEMY'S CAMP 
 
 IF I had been foolish enough to believe my ene- 
 mies' teeth all drawn, what occurred early this 
 same night would have taught me the futility of 
 confidence to say nothing of overconfidence 
 when pitted against such men as Douglass and 
 D'Urville. 
 
 About eight o'clock the news came up to Forge 
 House, brought by Pelan himself, very grave, that 
 Kelly had staggered into his store, with a knife- 
 thrust in his throat, and there had choked out his 
 lifeblood in a vain endeavour to speak the assas- 
 sin's name. More than a human instrumentality 
 seemed to have acted in this. Two minutes be- 
 fore the assault, Kelly had stood upon the plat- 
 form of the store with a whole throat, and 
 exchanged a word with a passer-by; it was still 
 twilight, and the near-by arc lamps made the place 
 as light as day; five men sat all the while not forty 
 feet away on the platform of the neighbouring 
 store; and yet, when the alarm was raised, noth- 
 ing had been seen, nothing heard, nothing found. 
 'Kelly had been stabbed to death, that was all. 
 
 258
 
 A SECOND SORTIE 259 
 
 To Mr. Fenton, Woodworth, and me, Pelan's 
 intelligence came with the force of a thunderclap. 
 There was something terrible in the operations of 
 such enemies as ours, in the swiftness with which 
 they executed their plans, the certainty with which 
 they chose their victims, the boldness with which 
 they struck them down, and the silence with 
 which they vanished. We knew that Douglass 
 had not left the house that evening, so, conse- 
 quently, the stroke which had ended Kelly could 
 not have been his, but D'Urville had been at 
 large. No doubt was in my mind that it was he, 
 appearing and disappearing, shadowless as a phan- 
 tom, who had sealed the Irishman's lips with 
 death. 
 
 At nine, Togo, our Japanese servant, stole away 
 from the house on the back of my horse. Listen- 
 ing, we heard no challenge, no shot, and knew 
 that, in the darkness, he had slipped through the 
 miners' net. I gave vent to a sigh of relief. For 
 with Kelly dead my case was a very ill one; I 
 might need the help of the sheriff's posse. 
 
 Toward ten o'clock, Woodworth and I as- 
 cended to Charlie's rooms, resolutely determined 
 to make the most of the last slender chance left 
 to us. This lay in entering the Scotchman's apart- 
 ments, to discover incriminating evidence of his 
 crime a forlorn hope. He had left the house
 
 26o THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 some minutes before, to go where we neither knew 
 nor cared, so long as he left us in undisturbed 
 possession. 
 
 I have already stated that the house was a 
 large, rambling structure. The portico, of stone 
 like the house itself, was supported by heavy 
 arches, that ran not only along the irregular front 
 of the building, but angled round and likewise 
 buttressed the eastern wall. Its roof was flat, 
 decorated upon its outer edge by a low parapet, 
 and it passed directly beneath all the windows 
 overlooking the town, among which were Wood- 
 worth's, and, a little farther on, Douglass'. 
 
 Through one of Charlie's windows, therefore, 
 we crept upon the roof; bent upon our burglarious 
 undertaking, with all the ardour of professional 
 cracksmen. The purloined chisel was in Wood- 
 worth's hand. All about us the night was still, 
 with only the murmur of the river and the cry of 
 some night bird; the darkness was thick, for the 
 waning moon would not be up till after midnight, 
 the sputtering arc lamp before the house was shut 
 off by a jutting angle, and the stars dropped but 
 a few feeble rays. Cautiously, we made our way 
 along the wall until we reached the first of the 
 Scotchman's windows. Under its edge Charlie 
 forced his tool, and slowly pried on it. The fas- 
 tener snapped, and our way was free.
 
 A SECOND SORTIE 261 
 
 "Easy money," he said slangily. 
 
 He was for entering first, but I put him aside 
 and raised the sash. Not a speck of light showed 
 within the room, and it was as empty, to all ap- 
 pearances, as a tomb. With Charlie to hold the 
 sash, I put a foot over the sill and crowded in. 
 As I thrust a finger into my pocket for a match, 
 two pairs of hands seized me, while a low, familiar 
 laugh sounded in my ear. I had reckoned with- 
 out my host. Neither my captors nor I uttered 
 a word, and I remained motionless, making no 
 effort to escape, and keeping discreetly silent, so 
 that they might open the ball. 
 
 One of the men's hands brushed over my face, 
 with the finger-tips touching my features gently 
 and delicately, in the manner a blind person dis- 
 tinguishes a friend or stranger. 
 
 A voice spoke, that of D'Urville. 
 
 "It's monsieur, the manager." 
 
 " Once a thief, always a thief," said Douglass, 
 with another laugh. 
 
 "You should know, it's your line," I re- 
 marked. 
 
 "He'll follow Kelly, eh, D'Urville?" 
 
 " So you've learned about him," I said. " Well, 
 it's natural your French friend would bring you 
 the news." 
 
 " Very natural, my dear Thick Pate. D'Urville
 
 262 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 has just this minute given me the full particulars, 
 and you'll agree that Kelly was very neatly de- 
 spatched. The Irishman came once too often in 
 my way. I'd warned him. So his death rests 
 on his own head. Now I shall soon have particu- 
 lars of the passage of another rare bird which 
 will not need be told me. Can you guess who that 
 rare, long-legged, blundering idiot will be this 
 time?" 
 
 " I wonder if it can be one Frederic Douglass," 
 I replied. 
 
 "No," said he shortly. And then, in a low, 
 menacing tone: "You struck me this afternoon, 
 struck me twice. We'll see how you pay the debt. 
 No man may strike me as you did, and live long 
 as more than one man has learned to his sorrow. 
 You'll be found at the edge of town with your 
 throat cut, John Maitland, and I'll aid in the 
 hunt for the miner, who, drunk and angry, per- 
 formed the deed. Oh, yes, that story will pass 
 splendidly, besides saving the trial and incident 
 expense." 
 
 " Scotch thrift," said I. 
 
 " Damn your insults about the Scotch," he burst 
 out. "There'll be an end of them now. Turn 
 on the lights, D'Urville." 
 
 The Frenchman switched them on. 
 
 "Ah, I looked for white cheeks well, they'll
 
 A SECOND SORTIE 263 
 
 be bloodless enough soon," Douglass jeered. 
 "Stick him, brother, if he squeals." 
 
 "Monsieur is considerate. He will squeal noth- 
 ing." 
 
 " So we have our pretty lover come to gloat over 
 the poor, scorned, cast-off, melancholy suitor," 
 Douglass continued. "And in the very suitor's 
 room, too. Ay, the lucky lover over the luckless 
 lover yes, the lucky lover who left the luckless 
 lover lying on the floor with never a good Sa- 
 maritan to raise him up, or stanch his blood with 
 a hanky, or comfort him, or give him a penny. 
 Ken ye that, D'Urville, ken ye that? Alas for 
 it ! That luckless lover yet shall wed while lucky 
 lover lieth dead. 'Tis a feckless world." 
 
 " I'll be walking when you're rotting," said I. 
 
 For since his insult to Ethys Fenton, since I 
 had stretched him on the carpet with a blow, I 
 cared not to make further pretence of friendli- 
 ness. I hated him with a good hate. 
 
 "Oho, hear ye that, D'Urville!" he mocked. 
 "We have a mighty boastful, brave man atween 
 us. Geek!" 
 
 " I have a rogue on one side of me, and a High- 
 land blackleg on the other," I observed. 
 
 The colour mounted to Douglass' face, but be- 
 fore he could speak, the Frenchman's suave voice 
 answered.
 
 264 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "Monsieur is brave, oui, a gentleman. What 
 a pity that thing he must endure, the trial. But, 
 ah, we will save him the ignominy. We will dis- 
 pense it from him, from the rough canaille save 
 him, from the vulgarness, yes, the worry, yes, the 
 little vexations." 
 
 Our positions still remained the same, I stand- 
 ing on the spot where I had been seized, and each 
 of the two men holding me by an arm while they 
 made merry at my expense. I calmly awaited the 
 time when I should have the last laugh. 
 
 "Do you think you'll find the gold?" the 
 Scotchman continued. 
 
 " Possibly." 
 
 "In this room, perhaps?" I held my peace. 
 "He is sulky, D'Urville. You're going to shut 
 your eyes presently, my good fellow, and sleep 
 a long time. I wonder where you'll go ? " 
 
 " It will not be in one particular warm place, 
 where you'll end up." 
 
 "Undoubtedly monsieur will go to heaven," 
 D'Urville suggested. 
 
 A faint creak came from behind us. Then 
 Charlie Woodworth's brisk voice interrupted the 
 discussion : 
 
 "Speaking of remote places, gentlemen " 
 
 My captors' heads turned round as if on pivots ; 
 their astonishment was complete. In the frame
 
 , 
 
 vjr/irw 
 
 ' ?VJ 9/ 
 
 M/W4VS' 
 
 ^imafr 
 
 wm&Mjiiin; 
 
 Woodworth appeared, drawing a fine 
 bead with his revolver "
 
 A SECOND SORTIE 265 
 
 of the window, and bulking large, Woodworth ap- 
 peared, drawing a fine bead with his revolver on 
 Douglass, and enjoying the situation hugely. Both 
 men dropped my arms and stepped back. 
 
 " Speaking of remote places," Charlie repeated, 
 "which do you gentlemen choose?" 
 
 "Stick them, brother, if they move," I said 
 grimly, using Douglass' words. 
 
 "On one side, Jack there. Now, gentlemen, 
 slowly manoeuvre to the rear," Woodworth or- 
 dered. "That's correct left foot, right foot, 
 left foot, right foot, halt. You executed that very 
 prettily." 
 
 Silence was heavy for a brief moment. The 
 Frenchman did not move a muscle of his face; 
 only his beady black eyes shone brightly. As for 
 Douglass, his hand went up to his moustache, as 
 was his habit when thinking rapidly, his blue eyes 
 opened full in a concentrated stare, and his fore- 
 head wrinkled. 
 
 "Well done, Woodworth, on my word!" he 
 exclaimed directly. "You've turned the tables 
 on us grandly, and made a joke of our joke. We 
 thought we could give Maitland a good scare for 
 creeping in here; but, by Jove, it's you who have 
 given us a surprise. Climb in, old chap, and we'll 
 have a drink all round." 
 
 Grinning, Charlie stepped through the window,
 
 266 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 still lugging his revolver. Douglass crossed to 
 him, and touched it with a forefinger. 
 
 " Put it away, my dear fellow, and let us have 
 no dull reminder of our poor joke." 
 
 "All right," Charlie answered, and stowed it 
 away. 
 
 Woodworth's presence was in itself sufficient 
 safeguard to me. If I had been alone, my two 
 enemies could have killed me, and probably would 
 have done so, but they could not plausibly kill 
 Charlie as well, even though they had the chance. 
 Their story of a miner cutting my throat might 
 pass; but it would be absurd if both of our throats 
 were slit. So there we were, at least three of us 
 deadly enemies. 
 
 Douglass brought forth a bottle of Scotch, a 
 siphon, and glasses. 
 
 " Excuse me, if you please," I said carelessly. 
 
 Douglass flushed. My refusal to drink with 
 him was notice that I did not consider it worth 
 while to fight longer behind a screen, which he 
 loved, and that I was out in the open with my 
 sword. He turned to Charlie. 
 
 " Excuse me," said my ally, with another grin. 
 " Since I've met you, Scotch doesn't agree with my 
 stomach." 
 
 Speaking not a word, Douglass turned to 
 D'Urville, poured them each a little whiskey,
 
 A SECOND SORTIE 267 
 
 pressed the clip of the siphon bottle, and sent the 
 stream of fizzing, bubbling water into the glasses. 
 Then, carefully wiping his hands, he raised his 
 glass, and looked at me, with a venomous smile, 
 over its rim. 
 
 " To the lady whom we all " 
 
 "No," I interrupted. 
 
 " I shall yet have to send you to hell," he said. 
 
 " I fear I should not like the place there would 
 be too many foreigners present." 
 
 Again, he raised his glass. 
 
 "ToEthys " 
 
 " Stop ! " I cried. " You shall not drink to her 
 whom you insulted. No, not before me." 
 
 With a swift step, I reached forward, and struck 
 his glass. The amber-coloured liquid splashed 
 out, part flying on the lapel of his coat. He 
 brushed off the drops, then set his glass down. 
 
 " Three blows two this afternoon and now a 
 third," he said, with the cold smile that had never 
 left his lips. " It does seem, Maitland, that you're 
 throwing yourself at death." And then, to Wood- 
 worth : " Never mind about dragging your gun 
 out again. The two of us won't fight yet." 
 
 " Come, Charlie, let us go," I said. 
 
 " Very well ; good night, gentlemen." 
 
 Douglass did not reply, though D'Urville made 
 us a low bow.
 
 268 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 The sight of the polite little man, who even at 
 most stressful moments never lost his exquisite 
 manner, caused me to say: 
 
 " This very pleasant occasion reminds me of 
 another night, Monsieur D'Urville, when you and 
 J met in the dark. I5y the way, have you since 
 got the kiss you asked of the Mexican girl down 
 by the gully? No? " Douglass gave a slight start 
 and turned his eyes on his confederate. "Well, 
 better luck next time. And good night to you, 
 Douglass," I concluded; "to-morrow will be a 
 busy day for us, you with your lies, and I with 
 my life, and as many things may happen of which 
 neither of us know, we should all get early to 
 bed." 
 
 "That is true, Maitland. We should all get 
 what sleep we're able, though in any event you're 
 sure to sleep to-morrow night like the dead." 
 
 " So it's not with them," said I. 
 
 My manner was more jaunty than my heart, as 
 I spoke, as Charlie and I backed out of the 
 window. When I, who went last, was halfway 
 through, I caught sight of the Frenchman, paused, 
 and finally laughed outright. There was no deny- 
 ing the humour of that cheerful, portly, deferen- 
 tial villain. 
 
 "Ah, monsieur, it is great affections we bear 
 you, oui. It is a love."
 
 A SECOND SORTIE 269 
 
 His arms were stretched wide, in an all-embrac- 
 ing gesture, his fat figure suffused tenderness, his 
 face shone. 
 
 Like the curtain man letting fall the drop at 
 the end of a comedy, Douglass lowered the win- 
 dow, and drew the shade. The 'play was done, 
 and Charlie and I sat on the low parapet, specula- 
 ting on our failure as cracksmen. 
 
 "Will they skip, do you think?" he asked. 
 
 '" It might save me trouble to-morrow if they 
 would," I answered. "With Kelly dead, I'm at 
 the end of my string. No, Douglass hates me 
 too dearly not to stay to see the finish. He knows, 
 too, that I haven't a shred of evidence to incrim- 
 inate him in any of his crimes." 
 
 " Hello, here is a ladder," said Charlie. 
 
 " So that is how they got into the room with- 
 out our knowing it. I suppose Garrett's being in 
 the shop drove them to this camp." 
 
 Presently, there came from the darkness of 
 the ground a low, signalling whistle. We could 
 see no one. The signal was repeated. 
 
 " For whom is that ? " I said. 
 
 "Why, Douglass, of course. It's under his 
 window." 
 
 ' Then let us investigate," I replied, swing- 
 ing my feet over upon the rounds of the lad- 
 der.
 
 270 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 If not for Douglass, whom? And Douglass' 
 affairs were always worth looking into. I whis- 
 tled a low, answering note as I touched the earth, 
 and directly before me I distinguished in the dark- 
 ness the figure of a man. I approached him, 
 Charlie at my back. 
 
 "What is it?" I said. 
 
 "Good, youVe come. I've lain in the hills till 
 I'm tired, and you never showed up. I want my 
 share of the gold, or I'll cut a throat. I want 
 it now, for I'm hittin' the trail to-night." 
 
 My heart gave a great thump as I recognised 
 the speaker's voice. I made one spring, clasped 
 my arms about his elbows, and locked my hands 
 about his back. 
 
 " Come on, Charlie, it's Pete Long Pete Gur- 
 ley! " I cried. 
 
 Already the man was fighting. Over the ground 
 we rolled and thrashed, dragging to and fro, his 
 huge body bending and shifting in an effort to 
 break my hold. The fellow was like an enraged 
 bull. But at last Charlie wound his arms about 
 the man's legs, I pushed the cold steel of my re- 
 volver against his cheek, and he lay quiet as a 
 lamb. 
 
 There is no doubt that a revolver has a mag- 
 netic influence upon the person at whom it is 
 pointed. Pete rose up at our command, and stood.
 
 A SECOND SORTIE 271 
 
 Charlie gripped his arm. I shoved the muzzle 
 of the weapon into his back, and thus we marched 
 him into the office, where we speedily tied him up 
 in a chair. The situation reminded me irresistibly 
 of that in the log house in the ravine, but with the 
 parts reversed. 
 
 "Now, Pete, whom will you write to for ran- 
 som money?" I asked. 
 
 He scowled, and said nothing. I turned to 
 Woodworth. 
 
 " He sought Douglass, and found us," I said. 
 " This is the night of our lives. We've filled our 
 hand beautifully, and the game is as good as 
 over. Fetch Mr. Fenton, but don't breathe a 
 word of this to another soul." 
 
 Away he went, and was back in no time, bring- 
 ing that gentleman. When I informed him of the 
 nature of our catch, he strode up to the prisoner 
 and scrutinised him with unconcealed satisfaction. 
 Neither he nor Charlie realised, however, the full 
 value of our haul. 
 
 " Lock all the doors and let me do the talking," 
 I said. " Now, Peter, we're very glad to lay 
 hands on you, as you no doubt can guess. But 
 it's not so much on account of the kidnapping 
 that's a minor matter as on another account. The 
 whole town of Forge is aching to take you and 
 swing you from an electric-light pole, because it
 
 272 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 wants the murderer of Joe Lowden you about 
 fill the bill." 
 
 " I didn't kill him," he growled. 
 
 But I saw that he paled a trifle under his coat 
 of tan. 
 
 "Don't lie," I said sternly, proceeding to lie 
 myself. "Douglass has told it all; how the two 
 of you lured him down the gully, talked with him, 
 and how you stabbed him with the knife Douglass 
 had taken from my room." 
 
 "He says that?" he cried fiercely. 
 
 " He does and he further says that he hopes 
 you swing." 
 
 "Damn him!" 
 
 " You see, he's not clean of the scrape himself, 
 but the town will let him off if they can but get 
 you, Pete, and it looks now as if they're going to 
 get you, all right." 
 
 "He killed him." 
 
 I turned to the others: "You hear?" 
 
 "Yes, by God, he killed him!" Gurley re- 
 peated. 
 
 "Very well, Pete Gurley, if you want to save 
 your life, tell us everything. To-morrow you'll 
 stand face to face before the people of Forge. 
 Which shall it be, you or Douglass ? You'll want 
 backers." 
 
 He grew paler as the imminence of his danger
 
 A SECOND SORTIE 273 
 
 struck more clearly into his mind. In ten min- 
 utes, we had the whole brutal story and the cause 
 for the murder, and, in addition, the plot to kid- 
 nap Ethys and myself, which we knew with fair 
 completeness. Douglass Douglass, the name ran 
 through it all. Douglass had planned everything. 
 Douglass had hired the bandits, Douglass had 
 killed Joe because he knew too much, Douglass' 
 hand and Douglass' brain was in it all. 
 
 " Here I stay to-night," Woodworth said. 
 
 "No, Charlie, you might as well run along to 
 bed," I replied. " For I intend to take no chances 
 with this fellow; and, while you'd doubtless keep 
 him safely, yet I have too much at stake not to 
 keep guard myself. Douglass and D'Urville shall 
 play no tricks on Pete." 
 
 " I'll stay too, then," he said. 
 
 From that determination there was no shak- 
 ing him. He went out with Mr. Fenton, but re- 
 turned fifteen minutes later with a supply of lunch, 
 liquor, tobacco, books, rope, matches, ammunition, 
 and water. Charlie always went at a picnic as 
 if he were provisioning the ark. 
 
 I stood up before Gurley, and looked at him. 
 
 ;< You did well not to lie," I said gravely. 
 
 A lie has its uses and abuses, as my previous 
 speech to him illustrates.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL 
 
 BOTH love and hate, and the vain confidence the 
 man had in himself, kept Douglass at Forge 
 Hiouse when he had long passed the line of safety. 
 He completely failed to realise the peril hanging 
 above his head, although his confederate, D'Ur- 
 ville, with -a less interested view and a cooler 
 mind, saw it, or at least sensed it. But Douglass 
 was not Douglass, if directed by another's brain. 
 Confidence he had in his own powers,, to the 
 stretch of folly, and of his plans he was no less 
 sanguine. Yet, if the sustaining reason had been 
 only faith in his prowess and schemes, he would 
 have fled that night, between the Frenchman's 
 persuasions and his own desire to make safe off 
 with the gold. But love of Ethys Fenton and 
 hate of me were passions that neither gold nor 
 D'Urville's reasoning could overcome. There 
 could be no question of his loving the princess, 
 though that it was only a transient sensation, and 
 that her wealth and station enriched the prize in 
 his eyes, it is not too much to believe, for one who 
 
 274
 
 BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL 275 
 
 knew the man. Still, he passionately loved her 
 at the moment with a love which her rebuffs but 
 fed. Add to this his hate of me, strongest of all to 
 keep him in Forge. Had I not superseded him 
 in the position of manager, which he coveted? 
 Had I not gained where he should have profited? 
 And had I not knocked him down before Ethys' 
 very eyes? Hate me he hated me with the very 
 soul of hate! Desire for revenge kept him under 
 the same roof with me when he should have been 
 fleeing. If everything had worked out as he an- 
 ticipated, it would have been full compensation for 
 the defeats he had suffered. 
 
 But the unknown future, the future so full of 
 strange tricks, has foiled in their purpose more 
 men than the Scotchman. And, as far as Doug- 
 lass was concerned, I had the unknown future 
 tied to a chair, and locked up in the office. 
 
 It was about the middle of the morning. I 
 stood looking out of one of the library windows 
 at the crowd assembled before the house, the jury 
 which was to pass upon my case. I did not hear 
 Douglass enter the room, but presently he spoke 
 behind me. 
 
 "The hourglass has but little sand yet to run 
 for you," he said. 
 
 Feeling none too comfortable with him at my 
 back, I swung about.
 
 276 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " By that poetical figure I suppose you hint that 
 I'm about done living?" I replied. 
 
 " I venture to say there is an analogy in the 
 two ideas." 
 
 "Well, if you follow it out, Douglass, you'll 
 have matter for an ode when the day is over. 
 That is, of course, if your present vein holds." 
 
 " It will hold." 
 
 " You've changed very quickly before this." 
 
 " Yes, even now I've changed my mind in the 
 last five minutes," he said. " I even break my 
 word to myself, man, to speak again on the sub- 
 ject we discussed once before. Look out there, 
 and consider." He pointed toward the people. 
 " I can save your head if you but consent to leave 
 Forge. It's a light condition I lay on you, in ex- 
 change for your life. Promise but to go, and I 
 testify for you. I do not love you, no, but I'm 
 moved to compassion at your fate." 
 
 " Douglass, you have no compassion of any 
 sort," I responded. 
 
 "You will not go?" 
 
 " I've always disliked moving under compul- 
 
 sion." 
 
 ' Think over it well." 
 
 " I'm staying because I really want to hear the 
 speeches," I said lightly. "Besides, I've one of 
 my own to deliver, and a neat one, too. Chances
 
 BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL 277 
 
 to make orations come few and far between in an 
 engineer's life. I shall not miss this opportunity 
 for eloquence if it costs me my life." 
 
 He stared at me as if I were mentally un- 
 balanced. 
 
 "A speech! My heavens, he talks about 
 speeches at a time like this I You shall hear one 
 from my mouth, Maitland, that will make you 
 regret this triviality, for it will be the last you'll 
 ever hear." So saying, he turned on his heel and 
 left the room. 
 
 " I wouldn't miss it for the world," I sent after 
 him. 
 
 Though ten o'clock was the time set for com- 
 mencing my trial, it could well have begun earlier. 
 Forge had made up its mind that no delay should 
 be charged to its account, and very plainly showed 
 its decision. By nine the first contingent of towns- 
 people had arrived on the knoll, while behind 
 this appeared the remainder of the miners and 
 their families as if they had but awaited a sig- 
 nal. By half an hour later the final person 
 ascended the slope. This was Inez, the Mexi- 
 can girl, her yellow handkerchief about her throat, 
 her long black braid shining in the sun. She had 
 not come with her father, Pedro, but chose thus 
 to come, alone. 
 
 Pelan was now, as formerly, the counsellor,
 
 278 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 guide, and master. He moved hither and thither 
 in the throng, exercising his gift of leadership to 
 bring order out of chaos; restrained the impa- 
 tient, assured the doubtful, and satisfied the curi- 
 ous. Of all the men of Forge, he alone was busy, 
 and, without him, the assemblage would have been 
 twice over its old untamed mob. 
 
 Some little time before the stroke of ten, he 
 succeeded in placing the people in a semicircle be- 
 fore the portal of Forge House, with the ends 
 of the line lapping under the portico and touch- 
 ing the walls of the building. A complete space 
 was thus left in the centre for the conduct of 
 affairs. 
 
 In the front ranks were the men, rough and 
 unprepossessing in their slouch hats, unbuttoned 
 vests, and miner's lace boots; but the scene had 
 an appearance brighter than its purpose, for many 
 of the women had decked themselves and their 
 broods in what poor finery they could boast, as if 
 for a holiday a Roman holiday. 
 
 Despite these colours, however, there were 
 signs of 'the grave nature of the morning's busi- 
 ness. The men while less excited, were more 
 determined than upon their previous gathering; 
 most of them openly wore weapons at their belts; 
 and the guards about the premises were not only 
 maintained, but multiplied, and drawn closer.
 
 BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL 279 
 
 That Kelly's murder remained a mystery made 
 them the more desperately resolved to avenge 
 Lowden's. Not a brain but smouldered, not a 
 breast but burned, in all the number, against the 
 time when the vengeance should be taken. 
 
 Woodworth's absence from the midst of our 
 party had evoked a cloud of questions, even Doug- 
 lass deigning to notice it. But Mr. Fenton and 
 I made plausible explanations. When five min- 
 utes of the time still remained before the hour 
 set, I tapped on the inner office door, to make 
 certain that all was well within. 
 
 Charlie thrust out his head at my signal. 
 
 "How is he?" I asked. 
 
 " Scared clean down into his boots," he an- 
 swered, with a grin. "And every minute I'm in- 
 venting new tortures that the crowd will give him 
 if he doesn't tell the truth. Yep, I'll have him 
 well prepared." 
 
 " Keep the curtains down and see that this door 
 is locked." 
 
 "Never fear." 
 
 "We'll win," said I. 
 
 " Of course. He can scarcely chew tobacco, 
 he's so anxious to tell his story." 
 
 He drew his head in again, and the lock clicked 
 in the door. 
 
 Two minutes later we all came together in the
 
 280 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 hall. Even Mrs. Arlington, who had wildly de- 
 clared that she would not leave her room during 
 proceedings, was there, agitated, prey to a thou- 
 sand fears, which she fought with a bottle of eau 
 de cologne. 
 
 "Oh, if to-day were but over!" she exclaimed 
 tremulously. 
 
 Douglass smiled upon her. 
 
 "It will pass, Mrs. Arlington." 
 
 " I cannot bear to think of any one dying," she 
 said, touching a filmy lace handkerchief to her 
 eyes. 
 
 " Ah, we're all but mortal." 
 
 " I feel as if I were at my own funeral." 
 
 " It may be dear Maitland's," he answered, and 
 smiled under his hand. 
 
 Ethys Fenton showed sterner stuff than Mrs. 
 Arlington. Her colour was a little higher than 
 usual, her eyes, which rested on mine with an 
 enigmatical look ( , were brighter, but she was com- 
 posed. 
 
 Sharp on the hour of ten, the remaining Japa- 
 nese servant opened wide the great doors. Mr. 
 Fenton and I passed out; Douglass slowly fol- 
 lowed us, and seated himself on one side of the 
 broad steps; while Mr. Arlington stayed with the 
 ladies and looked on from the hall. A hush 
 greeted our appearance, a breathless focussing upon
 
 BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL 281 
 
 us of eyes. I leaned against the wall, folded my 
 arms, and waited. After a deliberate survey of 
 the crowd, Mr. Fenton waved his hand, indicat- 
 ing that he would speak. 
 
 " Here is Mr. Maitland, the prisoner. I have 
 but one thing to say. Consider well what you do 
 to-day, lest your hands be stained by innocent 
 blood." 
 
 He turned about, and seated himself in the 
 chair which the servant had placed on the top 
 step. If any one had ever doubted the force of 
 Mr. Fenton's character, he would now have re- 
 linquished such doubts. He sat like a judge, his 
 clean-cut brow, his keen eyes, his stubborn, strong 
 jaw the outward evidences of his powerful will, 
 and a grave dignity clothed him not unlike that, 
 I imagined, which robed the ancient tribunes. This 
 and his words made a visible impression upon the 
 villagers. 
 
 To my satisfaction, I discovered Garrett, erst- 
 while lacking, now present to do service as a wit- 
 ness against me. Let Douglass play out all his 
 burlesque. The man's face, however, was trou- 
 bled, and from time to time he unconsciously 
 brushed his cheek with his wounded hand swathed 
 in a dirty rag. All of the actors to the play were 
 there, save D'Urville, whose part was not a 
 speaking one; nowhere among the heads could I
 
 282 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 see his, nowhere see his calm and beneficent coun- 
 tenance. 
 
 " Let us begin, Pelan. I see you have your ac- 
 cuser with you to-day," I stated. 
 
 Pelan nodded, then pushed Garrett into the 
 open. 
 
 "Speak," he ordered. 
 
 The fellow looked about him abashed and 
 shamefaced, dazed by the prominence so suddenly 
 thrust upon him, but recovered himself sufficiently 
 to mumble the lesson a smoother tongue had 
 taught him. All in a breath, he rehearsed the 
 various accusations made by Pelan on the former 
 occasion, and came to the end with a jump. There 
 was no new matter in his tale. I glanced at Doug- 
 lass. Though outwardly he was composed, idly 
 swinging one foot over the corner of the coping 
 on which he sat, I could easily imagine his chagrin 
 that Forge furnished such poor material for his 
 handiwork. 
 
 "Did you see Maitland kill the boy?" Mr. 
 Fenton interrogated. 
 
 "No, but I " 
 
 " Did you see them together after they left the 
 placer?" 
 
 "Well, no." 
 
 Under different circumstances, Garrett might 
 have lied, according to his instructions; here the
 
 BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL 283 
 
 battery of eyes was too overpowering. All the 
 company gazed at him; wherever he turned were 
 only eyes; and above him on the step were the 
 worst eyes of all, a cold, grey, calculating pair, 
 that bored him through. 
 
 Pelan suddenly advanced to the fellow. 
 
 "You told me you saw them talking in the 
 gully?" 
 
 It was a question he asked, but it was more 
 than a question a straight, level accusation. The 
 storekeeper's face was stern, and before it my ac- 
 cuser poor, arrant coward! shrank and licked 
 his lips, for he was caught in the net of his own 
 perjury. His look roved about until it reached 
 Douglass. He pointed at the Scotchman, as is 
 the way of his kind, escaping responsibility by 
 shifting it. 
 
 " He saw 'em, and told me." 
 
 " I told you ? " asked Douglass contemptuously. 
 
 The latter, though he implied a further doubt 
 of the truth of Garrett's statement, was not one 
 to shirk a burden when it must be carried. He 
 had remained impassive until this moment. Now, 
 as his unworthy instrument slunk back into the 
 crowd, and he beheld the gaze of the assembly 
 transferred to him, he ceased to swing his foot, 
 rose from his seat slowly, thoughtfully, with a 
 fine affectation of reluctance, to mend what the
 
 284 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 bungler had broken. Removing his hat, he lifted 
 his hand, to still a few buzzing whispers. It was 
 a graceful pose, and^ as he stood on the lowest 
 step, asking their attention, his was a handsome 
 figure. 
 
 " I have until now kept silent, my friends, 
 against your interests and my own will," he 
 opened, in the most approved fashion of oratory. 
 " I have done this because of the love I bear my 
 comrade and superior officer, Mr. Maitland; be- 
 cause, too, of the loyalty which I have for the 
 company. I could not speak. You, good people 
 of Forge, had you been so situated, could and 
 would have done no less. As friends, we two 
 have lived together beneath the same roof; as 
 engineers, we have laboured together, and when 
 rumours flew thick that he, my friend, was steal- 
 ing the company's gold, I credited them not." 
 
 A low mutter broke from the crowd. By cun- 
 ningly denying my guilt, he persuaded them to 
 firm belief in it. 
 
 "Justice, however, demands a duty of every 
 man," he continued. " Murder of an innocent 
 youth has been committed, men of Forge, in your 
 very dooryard. Justice calls for the punishment, 
 yes, the death, of the man whose hand struck the 
 foul blow. Friendship, loyalty to my employer, 
 these may stand a while in the path of justice, but
 
 BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL 285 
 
 in the end must yield. Therefore, I put them 
 aside, men, though it wrenches my heart to do it, 
 that I may serve justice." 
 
 He paused, faced about, and looked on me, with 
 a sorrowful face. A single gleam of malignant 
 joy shot from his eyes, intended alone for me. 
 Then once more he faced them. 
 
 " Saturday afternoon, about five o'clock, I 
 stopped at the door of the last house on the street, 
 the house of Pedro, to get a drink of water; and, 
 looking off toward the mine, I saw the prisoner 
 riding toward me. He had just left the placer. 
 When he reached the gully, he stopped, dis- 
 mounted, talked with Joe Lowden " 
 
 " One minute, please," I said, calmly interrupt- 
 ing him in the middle of his description. " Can 
 one distinguish persons a mile distant, especially 
 at the bottom of a gully ten feet deep? " 
 
 Douglass gave me a black look. 
 
 "Am I speaking or not?" he asked. 
 
 " You are, and well," I said. " Proceed the 
 thought just occurred to me." And I waved 
 him on. 
 
 He flung his hand out toward the east, in an 
 impassioned gesture, while his tone grew more 
 rapid, louder. 
 
 " I beheld them there, talking, Maitland and 
 Joe Lowden, the murderer and the murdered, and
 
 286 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 saw them go into the underbrush. One man re- 
 turned he was the man whom I had served, 
 honoured, and given my friendship to. Alone, he 
 mounted his horse and rode hither, with guilty 
 hands. That is what I saw from Pedro's house, 
 and what I have long kept silent. Where, I ask 
 you, was Joe Lowden? Where, good mothers of 
 sons, was this mother's son? Where was the boy 
 whom Maitland enticed into the gully? Go there, 
 and ask the leaves that strewed his body. Where 
 is Joe Lowden to-day? There." And with a 
 slow, sweeping gesture he pointed to the western 
 mountainside. 
 
 Every eyeball in the multitude moved with his 
 finger. All the company seemed spellbound by 
 his damning recital. The hush was broken by 
 Mr. Fenton. 
 
 "Swear to it," he ordered drily. 
 
 For a brief instant, Douglass hung at an oath. 
 His hand went up to a point of his moustache, his 
 eyelids quivered. Finally, he raised his hand 
 above his head, and spoke loudly and clearly : 
 
 " I swear." 
 
 Seating himself again upon the coping, he idly 
 swung his foot to and fro.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 A BELATED WARNING 
 
 THE hush with which the crowd of villagers had 
 accepted Douglass' story was vastly more impres- 
 sive, more significant, than if they had greeted it 
 with a shout. 
 
 "What have you to answer, Maitland?" my 
 employer asked. 
 
 I descended a step or two, until I stood di- 
 rectly before the circle of faces. 
 
 " People of Forge, I'll not try to imitate Doug- 
 lass' oratory," I began quietly. " It's the truth we 
 want, not eloquence. As what I have to say is 
 considerable, I'll beg you to be patient until I've 
 finished, for surely I'm entitled to so much favour, 
 since I'm the particular man whose neck is con- 
 cerned. There will be some matters revealed in 
 the course of my story which you don't know, and 
 which will surprise you, and which, I hope, will 
 remove suspicion from my person to the scoundrel 
 on whom it should fall. At present, you're pretty 
 well convinced that I killed Joe Lowden, so I'll 
 waste no time now denying it, but go ahead with 
 
 287
 
 288 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 my narrative. However, this I will say: Joe Low- 
 den and I parted as friends, and since he died, 
 shortly afterward, I'm glad that it was so. Now, 
 for my defence." 
 
 I proceeded to relate, in a clear, matter-of-fact 
 tone, what happened after my quarrel with Low- 
 den at the placer. I traced my ride home, re- 
 counted my conversation with Pelan in the gully 
 between the mines and town, how I had seen the 
 Scotchman dart into the bushes, and how, on my 
 arrival in the village, I had explained the con- 
 dition of affairs to Joe's mother. Speaking with- 
 out haste and without excitement, I observed my 
 listeners' faces, and perceived the tenseness go out 
 of them ; they remained attentive, but calmer. 
 
 Taking a step nearer, I narrated the kidnap- 
 ping adventure of Ethys Fenton and myself. This 
 was news to them. The last of their anger gave 
 way to surprise. When I disclosed the names of 
 the kidnappers, and drew Stork's revolver from 
 my pocket, and held it up, that they might see 
 his name burned on the butt, I had their ears se- 
 curely. When I described the murder of Merry 
 Mac upon the mountain trail by the hand of 
 D'Urville, and casually mentioned, what was only 
 too well known, that he and Douglass were hand 
 in glove with each other, Pelan's were not the 
 only pair of eyes fixed upon the Scot. And I gave
 
 A BELATED WARNING 289 
 
 the dead Stork's statement that the latter had 
 planned it, and added, with a smile, that Doug- 
 lass had opened the safe, when he was ignorant of 
 the combination, in order to pay the outlaws their 
 tribute. 
 
 " I have all the house as witnesses to his con- 
 fessing that," I said. "And, good people of 
 Forge, you who have long suspected me of rob- 
 bing my employer's safe, may now make a better 
 guess as to whose hand dipped into the gold." 
 
 Douglass lifted his head. 
 
 "Am I the one on trial?" he asked of them. 
 
 " Not yet," I replied. 
 
 " He casts aspersions on my honour, and you 
 listen," he said haughtily, to the crowd. "All in 
 good time I shall explain the opening of the safe. 
 But the murder of Joe Lowden what has this 
 wild tale to do with the murder of Joe Lowden ! " 
 
 He sank back upon his seat, and flashed an 
 evil glance at me. 
 
 I had waited patiently for him to finish, know- 
 ing that curiosity would conquer my listeners. I 
 judged correctly; voices bade me go on. 
 
 " Mr. Douglass has asked what my story has 
 to do with the murder," I continued, " and I will 
 tell you. Strange as it may seem to you at this 
 instant, yet it's a fact that Joe was killed because 
 of the kidnapping, and nothing else. You sup-
 
 2 9 o THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 posed I slew him for revenge, whereas he was 
 stabbed because he knew too much of this gentle- 
 man's plans. Friday, he was drinking with Long 
 Pete in Pelan's place, where Mr. Arlington" I 
 pointed to the man I named, standing in the door 
 " overheard Gurley offer him a thousand dol- 
 lars, and, mark you, the Mexican girl in marriage, 
 if he would join in the kidnapping. Gurley was 
 Douglass' lieutenant in the plot in which my trai- 
 torous assistant hoped to get rid of one young 
 lady, and win another." 
 
 A ripple of laughter ran through the crowd. In 
 the rear, I beheld the white face of Inez, gazing 
 fixedly at the Scotchman. My heart smote me at 
 her look of stolid pain, but what was said was 
 said. 
 
 " Stop ! " Douglass said, springing up. " Let 
 my private affairs be." 
 
 " Seeing that it concerns my life I am compelled 
 to take liberties," I answered grimly. Then, 
 to the people : " Joe Lowden refused Gurley's of- 
 fer, refused to have anything to do with the un- 
 lawful seizure of Mr. Fenton's niece and myself, 
 and indignantly threatened to inform me of the 
 plot. Unfortunately he failed to give me the no- 
 tice " 
 
 "No, he gave it," said a voice behind me. 
 
 I swung round. Ethys Fenton was stepping
 
 A BELATED WARNING 291 
 
 forth. In her hand was a piece of paper, and 
 though her face was a little pale at being the 
 cynosure of the throng, she was, nevertheless, calm 
 and self-possessed. 
 
 "Tell them," said her uncle. 
 
 One look she cast at me, a proud, happy look; 
 then in a clear, unaffected voice, told of the belated 
 warning. 
 
 "When Mr. Maitland and I were captured 
 by the spring, one of the men examined his pock- 
 ets. He found this paper" she held it up 
 "but it was then in an envelope. The man read 
 Mr. Maitland's name on the cover, saw who we 
 were, and put it back into Mr. Maitland's pocket. 
 In the log cabin, Mr. Gurley" a smile ran 
 round the circle at her innocent prefix " pro- 
 duced the envelope again, and told Mr. Maitland 
 to write. Mr. Maitland refused. One of the 
 other men struck him on the head. So I took the 
 paper and said I would write the message asking 
 for the gold. When I opened the envelope, I 
 saw some of the writing. I read it all, saw its 
 important nature, and saved it, writing the men's 
 request on the envelope. That is all I have to 
 tell." 
 
 "Who knows Joe Lowden's writing?" our 
 judge inquired. 
 
 " I," Pelan declared, stepping forward.
 
 292 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 Ethys handed him the sheet; he scanned it 
 slowly, and with expressionless face. Finally, he 
 said: 
 
 "It is Joe's." 
 
 " Mr. Woodworth found it here on the steps 
 Saturday morning," I said, "where Joe prob- 
 ably left it before going to work. I put it in my 
 pocket, without reading it." 
 
 " Read it, Pelan," Mr. Fenton commanded. 
 
 The storekeeper raised his hand to still the 
 whisperings and talk that had broken out among 
 the expectant people. I harked, eager as the rest. 
 
 Pelan read: 
 
 "MISTER MAITLAJTD: Douglass and Pete Gurley are going 
 to steal you and the girl when you go riding Sunday. They 
 are trying to mix me in, but I won't. Look out, and wear a, 
 gun. Respectfully, 
 
 "JoE LOWDEN." 
 
 I looked up at Ethys. Her eyes were shining. 
 This was her enigma, her precious secret; this 
 was what she meant when she said she would da 
 more for me when the time came than I could 
 guess. What a fool I had been ! I had carried 
 the boy's warning in my pocket, let it remain un- 
 opened, neglected. I could have cursed my stu- 
 pidity. 
 
 Douglass sat slowly fingering his moustache.
 
 A BELATED WARNING 293 
 
 Once he glanced up at the girl's slender figure, 
 then dropped his lids over his eyes. When Pelan 
 had finished, and Ethys had retired, he rose. 
 
 "This is a remarkably skilful forgery," he re- 
 marked, with pretended admiration. " By the 
 keys of Saint Peter, it's perfect." And he smiled 
 pleasantly. " The circumstances, however, must 
 be taken into consideration." 
 
 "State the circumstances," came from the 
 chair. 
 
 "Why, my good people of Forge" his smile 
 grew broader " I have only to tell you that our 
 prisoner here is this lady's lover, in order that 
 you may understand. In such a case the lady will 
 go to any extreme to save the man's head, and 
 quite properly, too. But the letter is worthless, a 
 forgery, a charming fabrication." 
 
 Down he sat again, much pleased with himself. 
 
 "Is this the truth?" Pelan asked. 
 
 " It's not a forgery," I answered, frowning. 
 
 "Do you love her?" 
 
 I compressed my lips. " That's beside the mat- 
 ter. You recognised Joe's handwriting." 
 
 "Do you love her?" he insisted, unmoved. 
 
 My cheeks grew hot. 
 
 " Speak up, man," Douglass laughed. 
 
 I should have loved to have had him in my 
 hands that minute. I was just as furious at my-
 
 294 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 self, for I had brought it on my own head. When 
 Douglass had ordered me to let his private af- 
 fairs be, I had smirked, and asseverated that it 
 concerned my life; this equally concerned it, and 
 I could not in reason refuse to answer. 
 
 "Well, what if I do?" I said. "It doesn't 
 make the paper a forgery. Douglass is lying, as 
 usual. It's his habit that, and murder." 
 
 Pelan faced Ethys, who stood silent by her 
 uncle's elbow. 
 
 " Do you love him, as has been said? " he ques- 
 tioned. 
 
 "The paper is no forgery, sir." 
 
 "Do you love Mr. Maitland?" 
 
 A rich wave of colour spread over her face and 
 throat, dyeing her cheeks a beautiful rose. Her 
 bosom fluttered uncertainly, and her eyes barely 
 touched mine, like a scared bird, and were away 
 again. 
 
 " I shall not answer," she said, shutting her 
 lips. 
 
 Douglass was still smiling his cynical smile. 
 He lazily lifted one finger toward her, with a 
 languid, scornful movement. 
 
 " Let her face be her answer. It speaks truer 
 than her lips," he announced. 
 
 I leaned back against the wall with folded 
 arms and closed eyes. His last insult against her
 
 A BELATED WARNING 295 
 
 had stirred too great a rage in my breast to do 
 otherwise, and I was powerless to resent it. I 
 could have slain him with my heel, slain him with- 
 out the quickening of a heartbeat, as one crushes 
 the head of a viper. To say her tongue was a 
 lying one, to say it before us all, before her uncle, 
 and to her face ! My breath came with difficulty. 
 But one thing I felt; he was being crowded hard, 
 and had been pushed to where he now faltered 
 at nothing, and would dare anything. 
 
 I straightened up, to finish my defence. 
 
 " You've heard the contents of the letter," I 
 began, with feeling. " Pelan testifies to its au- 
 thenticity. In it, you find the cause of the young 
 fellow's death. He knew Douglass' secret, and 
 it proved dangerous knowledge. The note names 
 the two men who last saw Joe, and who struck 
 him down. But his murder does not end the list 
 of deaths. There is yet another. And he, too, 
 was stabbed for knowing too much about Doug- 
 lass' business. You have wondered who the as- 
 sassin of the Irishman could be. Kelly was killed 
 because he saw Joe Lowden murdered." 
 
 A sort of gasp rose from the crowd at this 
 new revelation. 
 
 " Douglass killed the boy, and D'Urville the 
 man," I went on. " Kelly would have stood up 
 here this morning and told you his story, as he
 
 296 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 told it to me the day before yesterday, had not 
 the Frenchman chanced to overhear us. So Kelly 
 had to * blink ' along with Joe." And I used the 
 word which Douglass had used, with a good deal 
 of relish. 
 
 "You accuse D'Urville of stabbing Kelly?" 
 Pelan asked, surprised for once out of his reserve. 
 
 "Ay, as he killed Mac." 
 
 "Ah!" said he. 
 
 " Of course, Douglass would have seen me kill 
 Kelly, also, if he had been able," I remarked, 
 " but, unfortunately, your guards were about, and 
 so that story would not do." 
 
 Douglass strode out into the middle of the 
 space. 
 
 " What nonsense I " he cried. " Men of Forge,, 
 you have come here to condemn this man. He is 
 already condemned by the evidence, and he is seek- 
 ing to throw dust in your eyes. Will you listen 
 to his women's tales? There is his own knife, wet 
 with the blood from Lowden's breast, that damns 
 him. I swear again, as I swore before, that I saw 
 him lead the boy into the gully to kill him ! What 
 more do you ask? His hands are red, his soul is 
 black, and the rope awaits ! Up, men, and act ! " 
 
 His voice rang like a trumpet under the portico 
 roof, and his eyes flashed. But no foot stirred, no 
 horde of angry, inflamed miners flung themselves
 
 A BELATED WARNING 297 
 
 upon me, no shout answered his appeal. For a 
 full minute he stood as he was, with head flung 
 back and his hands clinched, a live statue. Then, 
 slowly, the fist he had held above his head came 
 down, and a sneer transformed his face. 
 
 "God, what fools this earth suckles," he said, 
 at length, scathingly. 
 
 "Are you done?" Mr. Fenton asked, with the 
 same calmness he had manifested throughout the 
 whole morning. 
 
 "Yes, I must be getting on with my talk," I 
 put in. "They're all impatient to learn what 
 Kelly saw." 
 
 He swung about, with a bitter smile. 
 
 "Yet you shall die." 
 
 " That rests with God," said I. 
 
 Concisely and without further interruption, I 
 related Kelly's story of his fishing, of his discov- 
 ery of the three men in the gully near by, of 
 Douglass' threats, of the boy's screams, death and 
 the concealment of the body, and then, finally, of 
 Kelly's subsequent horror and drunken sleep. Lit- 
 tle by little, I saw the minds of my hearers in- 
 clining to my words, little by little suspicion slip- 
 ping from me to the Scotchman, and conviction 
 growing on their faces. Some had missed Kelly 
 that Sunday and Monday, some remembered hav- 
 ing heard his denial of my guilt as he listened on
 
 298 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 the edge of the crowd, some even had heard him 
 declare that he had seen Satan, hoof and horn 
 and tail. And all counted in my favour, little by 
 little. At last, I was done. 
 
 "Answer, Douglass," our judge said. 
 
 "What! Answer tales from the grave?" the 
 man laughed. 
 
 "Answer." 
 
 " Witnesses, witnesses in a cloud he has," Doug- 
 lass mocked, "but, alas, all in the spirit only. 
 Mac would be a witness but he is dead! Stork 
 would be a witness but he is dead! Kelly 
 would be a witness but he is dead! Lowden 
 himself would be a witness but, alas and alack, 
 he, too, is dead! Dead, dead, all are dead! 
 Heaven defend me against the dead! For the 
 flesh cannot answer the spirit, and, therefore, my 
 lips are dumb ! " He flashed a triumphant look 
 about the ring, and up at me. " Bring me a wit- 
 ness with meat on his bones." 
 
 Back he stalked to the parapet of the steps, and 
 sat down. 
 
 It was the moment I had been waiting for. My 
 hour had come. 
 
 " I shall bring you such a witness," I said. 
 
 Striding to the office door, I struck it loudly. 
 Then, turning about, I crossed the intervening 
 space, mounted the steps, and took my stand be-
 
 A BELATED WARNING 299 
 
 tween Douglass and the hall. A slight pause fol- 
 lowed, all eyes moving from me to the office front, 
 and from its front rolling back to me. Suddenly, 
 the door swung open, and Long Pete Gurley, his 
 wrists bound before him, his sunburned face hag- 
 gard, put foot out upon the uppermost step. 
 
 Here was a witness with plenty of meat on his 
 bones.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 PRESSED HOME! 
 
 GURLEY stood blinking at the crowd. A greater 
 silence than had yet reigned under the portico 
 greeted his appearance, and very mingled feelings 
 were evident upon the people's faces as the re- 
 sult of the presence of the man whom they imag- 
 ined miles away from Forge. The Scotchman 
 came to his feet, as if he had been under hyp- 
 notic influence, and stood like a man of marble. 
 Too late, he knew that he had put his own head 
 into the noose. 
 
 Long Pete stared around the ring of villagers, 
 cowed and fearful. 
 
 " I didn't kill him, I didn't kill Joe," he said 
 huskily. 
 
 "Who did?" 
 
 It was Mr. Fenton who asked the question, in 
 quick, decisive tones. Gurley lifted his bound 
 hands, and pointed them at Douglass. 
 
 "Him. Because I wouldn't do it, when he 
 wanted me to, he cut Joe's throat." 
 
 "Who will believe Pete Gurley?" Douglass 
 cried scornfully. But I observed that he licked 
 
 300
 
 PRESSED HOME! 301 
 
 his lips, and that his look roved from spot to 
 spot. 
 
 "It's God's truth!" 
 
 Those three words spoken by Gurley, spoken 
 with such a depth of earnestness, with so strong a 
 gush of sincerity, by themselves carried conviction 
 to the startled people of Forge, and pressed home 
 the charge I had made of Douglass' villainy. 
 
 " It's God's truth ! " he repeated. 
 
 Saying the words over, as if he had forgotten 
 all others, his haggard face turned this way and 
 that to his former friends, and begged up and 
 down the line. Nothing more was needed to 
 place the crime where it belonged. 
 
 " It's God's truth," he said, for a last time. 
 
 Douglass opened his mouth to speak, but Pelan 
 checked him with a stern hand. 
 
 "Let the man speak, then may you." 
 
 The Scot cast a swift look on every side, but 
 before him was the unbroken line of miners; he 
 glanced over his shoulder, and saw me between 
 him and the door, with Stork's revolver in my 
 hand. Its shiny barrel gave him momentary dis- 
 may; then, disdainfully shrugging his shoulders, 
 he leaned against the coping of the step, and 
 awaited what might come. 
 
 " We've had more than a little of lying to-day, 
 so we might as well finish it," he said boldly.
 
 302 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 If he had counted on boldness and reckless words 
 to win him partisans among Forge, he immediately 
 discovered the error of his calculation. A harsh, 
 angry murmur answered his speech, wrathful 
 looks were turned on him, and it was easy to see 
 that friendliness was the last thing for him to 
 seek at this tribunal. 
 
 Mr. Fenton addressed Gurley: 
 
 " Put an end to this suspense. Tell what you 
 know, tell all you know, about the death of Joe 
 Lowden ; tell the truth, and nothing but the truth, 
 as you hope for mercy for your crimes at the 
 hands of these people." 
 
 Twice the outlaw opened his mouth to speak, 
 but was each time beaten down by the concen- 
 trated gaze of the multitude, and remained in 
 a tremble, with his long, drooping moustache 
 twitching on his lip. At length, he found his 
 tongue : 
 
 " I ain't always treated you square, men, but 
 what I'm tellin' you now is no lie. More than 
 a week ago, Douglass pulled me into a corner an' 
 told me how I could make money handsome an' 
 easy. It was to stand up Mr. Maitland an' the 
 girl, when they went riding down the river, Sun- 
 day. Old Morgan's empty cabin was the camp 
 where we was to keep 'em till he squeezed the 
 girl's uncle old Goldlegs, he called him for ten
 
 PRESSED HOME! 303 
 
 thousand dollars. Stork an' Mac Drawer, from 
 over at Crown City, where they helped dynamite 
 the White Dog, was in the game, an' Douglass 
 wanted Joe Lowden in, for he said Joe was 
 troublin' him about the Mexican girl, an' he 
 wanted to get Joe where he'd have him helpless. 
 But Joe said he wouldn't do any man's dirty work, 
 least of all Douglass', an' that he'd squeal to Mr. 
 Maitland. That's how it come. 
 
 " So, on Saturday afternoon, we waited for Joe 
 in the gully, thinkin' maybe he'd be ready to join 
 in the deal now that he'd been knocked down. 
 Pretty soon Mr. Maitland came along where we 
 was talkin', an' Douglass hid in the brush till he 
 went by. Then we all went down among the 
 trees, an' Douglass says, 'Sit in the game, Joe,' 
 but Joe, he says, 'No, I'm no killer, an' I'll sure 
 tell the manager.' 'After he fired you?' asks 
 Douglass. 'Yes,' Joe says. Then Douglass told 
 me to catch him, and I grabbed him by the 
 elbows, while he stood, still and white. Then 
 Douglass jerked the knife that he stole from Mr. 
 Maitland an' held it out to me, sayin', ' Snib him, 
 Pete,' but I wouldn't take the knife. Joe says, 
 ' Pete, are you goin' to hold me while he kills 
 me ? ' an' I thought how we'd worked together in 
 the same shift, an' I knew his mother, so I pushed 
 him away. He started to run, but Douglass
 
 304 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 cursed me, and run after him, an' jumped on his 
 back, and dropped him. 
 
 " Then he hid him under the leaves, leavin' the 
 knife in him. * Maitland knocked him down, 
 Maitland's knife killed him, Maitland is his mur- 
 derer, is it so, Pete ? ' he says. Lookin' in his 
 eyes, I saw the devil in 'em, and more murder, 
 an' I answers : * It is so.' * Good ! You need a 
 drink, Pete,' says he ; * you're white as a bab-by.' 
 We went up the road to Pelan's, where we took 
 our liquor. I'm done." 
 
 During all this story, Douglass chafed under 
 the restraint of silence. 
 
 '* You all know the man ; know he's the biggest 
 reprobate in Forge," he said loudly, at the end. 
 " This is infamous ! " 
 
 "What else have you to answer?" Mr. Fen- 
 ton asked. 
 
 "That I'll sit no longer under lying tongues. 
 By Heaven, no ! " 
 
 He took a step up toward the hall, his grand 
 manner once more brought forth. 
 
 "That won't do, Douglass," I said. "Take 
 another step and I shoot." 
 
 The crowd began to heave and stir. Its roar 
 began under the portico, a roar of anger lest he 
 escape, for they were with me now, man on 
 man, all round the packed line. They caught
 
 PRESSED HOME! 305 
 
 up my word, crying it fiercely at me: "Shoot! 
 Shoot!" 
 
 Slowly and bitterly, Douglass retreated to the 
 corner of the step, sitting down again for the 
 tenth time this morning to warm the coping; but 
 I think the stone was no colder than he, this sit- 
 ting. His face was set, his eyes were full open 
 and round, and he made a strange, stilted gesture 
 that he yielded. 
 
 "Describe the hold-up, Gurley," the judge of 
 the impromptu court said. 
 
 Pete rubbed his draggled moustache with his 
 hands and proceeded: 
 
 "Sunday morning Stork an' Mac an' me goes 
 down the canon, where in the evenin' we stands 
 up Mr. Maitland and the girl at Indian Creek, 
 and runs 'em off to Morgan's camp. Mac went 
 off to town with the lady's letter to get the gold 
 which Douglass was to give him under show of 
 bein' forced. After a while I grew anxious, an' 
 went over the hill to find Douglass. 
 
 " He was to pretend to save 'em, takin' the 
 girl home to marry, but leavin' the manager to 
 be shot. Stork had that job, Douglass payin' him 
 five hundred cash. I wasn't in that game, by 
 God, I wasn't! It was between him and Stork. 
 When I went away, I didn't see or hear anything, 
 an' when I come back about ten o'clock I found
 
 306 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 Stork lyin' dead on the floor. Him an' Mac, I 
 figgered, had fought over the gold, with Stork 
 gettin' the short end. I thought Mr. Maitland 
 was lyin' dead somewheres in the bushes, but I 
 didn't hunt none to see, an' I took to cover in the 
 hills, thinkin' maybe to run on Mac. Last night, 
 when I was starved out, I came in to find Doug- 
 lass an' get my stake, for I knew he savvied Mac. 
 I couldn't reckon what men was doin' round the 
 house here watchin', so I slipped in without their 
 knowin'. Maitland an' a young feller caught me, 
 tied me up in the office till now. That's all I 
 know, an' it's the truth. But I tell you again, 
 boys, I didn't kill Joe. I wouldn't kill a boy, 
 just a boy! Douglass put him out." 
 
 He thrust out his hands, fettered as they were, 
 in a rude, rough, noble sort of plea. A tool, an 
 outlaw, a ruffian he was, but hardly a murderer; 
 he did not fall to that depth of infamy. That 
 was left for Douglass. And on the latter dwelt 
 the gaze of all Forge, a gaze of horror and 
 rage. 
 
 " Let him hang ! " one miner shouted, shaking 
 his fist. 
 
 Pelan quieted the rising tumult with a master- 
 ful word. Afterward, he directed his speech to 
 Douglass. 
 
 "What answer do you make?"
 
 PRESSED HOME! 307 
 
 "Answer? I make none." 
 
 " Do you accept judgment without offering de- 
 fence?" Pelan questioned. 
 
 The Scotchman was no longer hot or domineer- 
 ing; on the contrary, he had become very cool and 
 watchful. Before replying, he smoothed a crease 
 in his sleeve with great deliberation, and, indeed, 
 he did not answer the storekeeper at all. He rose 
 to his feet, and faced Mr. Fenton, sitting in his 
 chair on the top step. By no means had the agile- 
 minded scoundrel exhausted his resources. 
 
 "You are the judge of this self-appointed 
 court," he said quietly. " It is both irregular 
 and biassed. I do not recognise or accept its 
 rights or authority." 
 
 "You thought it sufficient for Maitland, and 
 have participated in the proceedings." 
 
 "Yes; for he, himself, accepted it." 
 
 "Under compulsion, as you will do." 
 
 The Scotchman was but leading, during this 
 skirmish, to his real purpose. 
 
 " So be it," said he. " It's Maitland's trial 
 why is it not finished? Yet, when I consider how 
 it has been conducted, the question answers itself. 
 Without interference on your part, your honour, 
 you permit the suspicion and the charge to shift 
 from him to me. It is plain to see how the mind 
 of the judge inclines, and has inclined, all the
 
 308 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 morning. Where is your procedure? Where is 
 your justice?" And he negligently, almost indif- 
 ferently, awaited reply. 
 
 Mr. Fenton kept for a while a steadfast silence, 
 notwithstanding the insults cast in his teeth. For, 
 though insults they were, yet they had point. 
 
 "It is true to a certain extent," he conceded, 
 without loss of dignity. 
 
 "Well, then, I demand no less than was 
 granted to Maitland a fair trial." 
 
 Pelan advanced a step. 
 
 " We are here, we have heard all of the evi- 
 dence; it can be decided now. It is as fair for 
 one as the other." 
 
 " It is not," the Scot responded, with no emo- 
 tion. 
 
 "What would you have?" the storekeeper 
 asked. 
 
 " What he had." 
 
 A low, swelling cry of anger and disappoint- 
 ment from the onlookers escaped at his effort to 
 gain delay. Not a particle disturbed, not even 
 acknowledging their protest by sign or look, 
 Douglass stood firm and composed, with his slim, 
 straight back to Forge. 
 
 " Name it," Pelan said, at length. 
 
 "Two days to prepare a defence," Douglass 
 stated. " That is an accused man's right, accord-
 
 PRESSED HOME! 309 
 
 ing to the decree of Mr. Fenton. I ask but my 
 right." 
 
 Two days, two whole days to scheme, and plot, 
 and dig his way to safety! The man had seized 
 upon the one thing left him, the one thing which, 
 in fairness, could not be denied him; he had with 
 wonderful clearness seen and seized it. His ras- 
 cally brain had not been asleep. I saw him slip- 
 ping out of our fingers. 
 
 " No ! " I thundered. 
 
 "Shall I have less than my brother?" quoth 
 the Scot. 
 
 " Now ! Try him, now," came from a hundred 
 throats. 
 
 " I demand my right." 
 
 "Are you not ready?" Mr. Fenton asked. 
 
 " My right," Douglass insisted. 
 
 "We are here, ready," Pelan said. 
 
 "My right; I demand but my right." 
 
 It seemed as if the crowd would burst upon 
 him and work justice at that minute. Gurley's 
 confession, together with the knowledge that 
 Douglass had perjured himself in trying to swear 
 away my life, had inflamed their minds almost 
 past control. Cries and shouts rang under the 
 porch roof; the throng jostled and swayed and 
 tossed like angry water; the line of miners con- 
 tracted, and the clear space grew smaller and
 
 3 io THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 smaller; but half a dozen feet separating him 
 from the outthrust, brawny fists. Yet, he held his 
 place on the lowest step, calm and unmoved, if 
 not unheeding. 
 
 " My right," he said, with a thin smile. 
 
 " It is the people of Forge, not I, who are 
 judging you," Mr. Fenton rejoined. 
 
 " Shall Pilate wash his hands a second time ? 
 Give me my right." 
 
 The taunt struck true into the judge's honour. 
 Mr. Fenton rose, and, by the very suppressed 
 energy of his uplifted, authoritative hand, and by 
 the white indignation of his face, checked the im- 
 pending rush. 
 
 "Justice you shall have the two days you de- 
 mand, and then justice. Make such defence as 
 you are able, for justice shall, at last, take her 
 own. You are between the millstones." 
 
 Pelan nodded. " It is fair two days, no 
 
 more." 
 
 "Two days are two days. We shall see," 
 Douglass said lightly. 
 
 "Take him away, and keep him safely," Mr. 
 Fenton ordered. 
 
 The Scot lost countenance at his words; but di- 
 rectly regained his insolence. 
 
 "Am I not to be a prisoner in Forge House? 
 Are you not to be my keeper, uncle, as you were
 
 PRESSED HOME! 311 
 
 dear Maitland's ? " He paused. "Well, I sup- 
 posed that part of the bargain; but I shall strive 
 as best I am able, and by the use of the poor wits 
 God has given me, to get along." 
 
 Mr. Fenton motioned to the storekeeper. 
 
 " I put him in your charge, Pelan, and you will 
 keep him in the town, guarded night and day. 
 Saturday morning bring him here." 
 
 With an impudent laugh, Douglass lighted a 
 cigarette. 
 
 " Really, Pelan, I prefer your company to the 
 old man's." 
 
 Before taking the new prisoner, the storekeeper 
 pointed at Long Pete Gurley, who still remained 
 up on the office step, under surveillance of Charlie, 
 who had joined him. In the excitement which 
 had gathered round the person of the Scotchman, 
 the outlaw had forgotten his own dilemma; but 
 now he recalled that he, himself, was yet in 
 jeopardy, and drew back. 
 
 "What shall be done with him?" Pelan in- 
 quired. 
 
 " I assumed the responsibility of promising him 
 immunity, if he told the truth," Mr. Fenton 
 stated. "The real conspirator was the man I 
 sought. So, men of Forge, I ask you to indorse 
 and ratify my promise." 
 
 This the miners readily did. They retained no
 
 312 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 particular resentment against Long Pete, seeing 
 that he had been only an instrument of the crafty 
 Scotchman. Gurley was one of them, of their 
 own flock and breed, and they, therefore, looked 
 upon his crimes with a lenient eye, especially since 
 he had confessed them. 
 
 "Wait; I am yet charged with murder, and 
 unjudged," I said, to their leader. 
 
 A hundred voices declared my innocence. 
 
 "Is that sufficient?" Pelan asked, with an ap- 
 proach to a smile. 
 
 " Both sufficient and gratifying. I bear no 
 malice to Forge. Now, let some of you catch 
 Kelly's assassin, D'Urville, and lock him up along 
 with Douglass. One is as guilty as the other." 
 
 A score of men ran to the shop and other out- 
 buildings, but their search was in vain. The 
 Frenchman had vanished. Then, it appeared that 
 no one remembered having seen him the whole 
 morning, neither in the town nor about Forge 
 House, nor at the trial. One of the horses was 
 missing from the stable; the man had taken him- 
 self off. Wise, fat, far-sighted D'Urville ! 
 
 When this was known for a certainty, Pelan 
 turned, and placed his hand on Douglass' shoul- 
 der. 
 
 "This man we have. The house beyond Ben 
 Anderson's is empty; we'll keep him there."
 
 PRESSED HOME! 313 
 
 " Lead ahead," Douglass said, with a shrug. 
 
 I had drawn near to him. 
 
 "Who knows what a day may bring forth," I 
 said. 
 
 " It is barely noon; who knows? " he answered, 
 with a full look. 
 
 "Let us hope they do not change their minds 
 and lynch you." 
 
 "Ah! There spoke honest Maitland," he 
 sneered. 
 
 Down the knoll went the man with all the 
 crowd about him. Among his guards walked 
 Charlie and Pelan and I and Gurley; Gurley, of 
 all men! For the fellow, now that he had turned 
 virtuous, felt it incumbent upon himself to play 
 the role to the extreme, talking loudly, and urg- 
 ing the others to vigilance. To Douglass, this 
 must have been the irony of fate; and once he 
 turned to the man with a sardonic smile, though 
 without words. In general, he was little affected 
 by the contempt and jeers that the villagers freely 
 heaped upon him. He went carelessly, almost 
 scornfully, to his prison. 
 
 One time only, during his march, did he lose 
 colour and visibly quail, when some voice mock- 
 ingly asked him for the prayers he had recited 
 over Joe Lowden's grave. A sudden mad roar 
 was wrung from the throng that threatened to
 
 3 i4 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 start the miners into action against his life, then 
 and there; but the storm passed. He came to the 
 house, entered, and the doors were bolted. Two 
 there were, and guards were placed at each. 
 
 As Charlie and I passed up the street, on our 
 way back to Forge House, I was greeted on every 
 hand by smiles and pleasant words. How many 
 other men have thus gained friends, gaining them 
 over another's defeat? Charlie proposed a visit 
 to Pelan's bar, where I had not been, or scarcely 
 dared go, for many days. So in we went. The 
 proprietor, and erstwhile leader of the forces of 
 Forge, was now engaged in his more humble and 
 customary occupation of dispensing liquor. I ob- 
 served that he dispensed it with the same fair 
 hand with which he had dispensed justice. After 
 a moment, he joined us, and handed out a 
 bottle. 
 
 "You have never been a friend of mine, 
 Pelan," I said, "and less in this whole business 
 of my trial than in the rest." 
 
 His face expressed nothing. 
 
 "Shall I leave Forge?" he asked, finally. 
 
 " Oh, I hold no grudge against you for it. But 
 I recommend that you pick your patrons with 
 
 more care." 
 
 " I have already made a start with you," he re- 
 turned. And I thought that his eyes twinkled.
 
 PRESSED HOME! 315 
 
 " Well, keep it up. There's no reason for your 
 running the worst saloon in town." 
 
 "I judge no man's actions or morals, so long 
 as he pays for his drinks." 
 
 "Well, I don't know but what you're right, 
 Pelan," I said. " If you came no nearer the mark 
 than you did in judging of my crimes, you would 
 miss it regularly." 
 
 "Hereafter, I shall judge neither morals nor 
 crimes," he said. "No money; the drinks are on 
 the house."
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 A GHOST IN THE CELLAR 
 
 MANY wild stories were rife in Forge the rest 
 of that day, each more extravagant than its fore- 
 runner, born of the disclosures of the morning, 
 and accepted with wonderful credulity. Had 
 Douglass known how the common imagination in- 
 flated his iniquities, I think the versatile scoundrel 
 would have extracted as much entertainment from 
 this new reputation, which ascribed to him son- 
 ship of the devil, as did we who computed more 
 exactly his status. In the mouth of gossip, his 
 one-time innocent past now became, by the light 
 of later revelations, black with sinister meaning; 
 a hundred of the Scotchman's idle words were re- 
 membered, a hundred of his actions, and his con- 
 federate's, were magnified by wagging tongues 
 into a hundred additional crimes; and the most 
 impossible pasts were attributed to the two men 
 before their arrival in Forge. The climax was 
 reached toward evening, when the tale was talked 
 among the most ignorant miners that Duke, black 
 and shiny, was Satan himself, in a horse's shape, 
 and that he could blow fire out of his nostrils. 
 
 316
 
 A GHOST IN THE CELLAR 317 
 
 The placer continued idle that afternoon, as it 
 had done since the Sunday when Joe Lowden was 
 found dead by the river. Work was out of ques- 
 tion, with excitement so gripping the men and 
 women of the town, and could be resumed only 
 when quiet was wholly restored to the canon. 
 
 After a hurried lunch, I led a number of men 
 carrying picks and shovels to the log house in 
 the ravine where the princess and I had been held 
 for ransom. So unchanged was it since the morn- 
 ing I had come down the trail, following in the 
 footsteps of the Frenchman, that it seemed that 
 I had been absent but an hour. Hanging from a 
 branch behind old Morgan's cabin were the strap 
 ends of two or three bridles; under the spur of 
 thirst and hunger, the outlaws' animals had 
 snapped the leather and gone. 
 
 Inside the house, Stork's body lay upon the 
 floor where the sheep herder and I had left it, 
 face downward and one hand outstretched, claw- 
 ing at nothing. Near the flat rock and in the 
 bushes where I had hidden it, we found all that 
 was left of Merry Mac. And by the rock, the 
 rock which had been Mac's last seat and jesting 
 place, the rock where D'Urville had so traitor- 
 ously stabbed him, we buried the two men in one 
 grave, and rolled a thick boulder to mark the 
 spot. When we had finished and set out for
 
 3 1 8- THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 home, the sun was dropping behind the western 
 heights, and, by the time we reached Forge, it 
 had entirely disappeared, and the purple light of 
 evening lay in the canon. 
 
 My workmen passed on down the knoll to the 
 village. But, with a sigh of relief, I entered the 
 house, looking right and left in the great hall, 
 and hoping for a word alone with Ethys before 
 meeting the others. But dinner was just being 
 announced by Nashimi, and my pretty plan for a 
 tete-a-tete with the sweet girl I loved must needs 
 be postponed. 
 
 Ten minutes sufficed me to rid myself of the 
 dust of my day's battles and buryings. When I 
 entered the dining-room, Charlie was graphically 
 relating our adventure in Douglass' room the 
 night before, and our subsequent capture of Gur- 
 ley. One of the customary company was absent, 
 one whose handsome, narrow, scarred face we 
 missed thankfully. 
 
 "Well, I searched his effects through and 
 through this afternoon," Woodworth informed 
 me. 
 
 "Find anything?" 
 
 " Nothing. Wherever he hid the gold is more 
 than my mind can decipher; and it seems safe till 
 he comes to earth again in his next reincarna- 
 tion."
 
 A GHOST IN THE CELLAR 319 
 
 " Charlie, you give me shudders," Mrs. Arling- 
 ton remarked. 
 
 " Douglass could give you a good deal more. 
 Yes, I went through his possessions upstairs, 
 which were not many, and finished where I began. 
 The man is a mystery. There is a sword, an 
 officer's sword, of the English army. There are 
 photographs of women, and beautiful women, 
 too, which were taken in Cairo or Calcutta, or 
 Buenos Ayres or Hongkong or elsewhere. There 
 was a creese, a Malayan creese, an ivory set of 
 chessmen, a woman's slipper " 
 
 " Then, it appears he had a streak of sentiment 
 in his make-up, after all," Mr. Arlington re- 
 marked. 
 
 ' Yes ; and there were dice and cards and car- 
 tridges, clothes, and a blue kimono, French 
 novels, and a heap of other things. Toward the 
 last, I came across a roll of drawings, which, as 
 near as I could make out, were of a German for- 
 tress. Perhaps he expected to raise money on 
 them some time. He certainly had dipped into a 
 good many things before he put his head into 
 these mountains. But I never found trace of the 
 gold." 
 
 "How about the shop; did you try there?" I 
 asked. 
 
 " Cracked every bolt and box in the place, with
 
 320 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 no better success. The Frenchman must have 
 abandoned Douglass last night, and taken to 
 flight, for his portmanteau was gone with him." 
 
 " Then, the gold is gone, too." 
 
 " It looks mightily like it," Mr. Fenton said. 
 "No doubt that will console Douglass some- 
 what for his incarceration. Anything to beat 
 
 us." 
 
 "What an awful man he is! And to think 
 that only this morning he sat here at my left ! " 
 Mrs. Arlington exclaimed. 
 
 Woodworth brooded darkly. 
 
 "Would Douglass leave the gold to D'Ur- 
 ville?" he said. "I doubt it. I'm in favour of 
 applying a red-hot poker to the soles of his " 
 
 "Charlie!" 
 
 The word burst from Mrs. Arlington. 
 
 " Why, that's one of his own tricks," Wood- 
 worth grinned. " It was his own practice on the 
 Gold Coast, and elsewhere in Africa, he once told 
 me, to make natives reveal where they had buried 
 their ivory." 
 
 " Don't mention it," she said faintly. 
 
 " I'll spare you the finer tortures that followed 
 the first." 
 
 "Do!" 
 
 "There's one thing we'll have, hereafter, gold 
 or no gold; and that's a wire running down to
 
 A GHOST IN THE CELLAR 321 
 
 Cold Springs," Mr. Fenton declared. " Sixty 
 miles we might as well be on the moon. If we 
 had had a telephone " 
 
 " I'm glad there was none," Charlie inter- 
 rupted; "it would have spoiled everything." 
 
 "Well, my boy, this sort of an affair such as 
 we've just been through may be to your liking; 
 but, at my age, I don't care for it. As I say, if 
 we'd had a 'phone, we'd have had up the sheriff, 
 and all this trouble would have been avoided. 
 When they do arrive, Douglass goes into their 
 hands at once, if it's at midnight. I want him 
 packed out of the canon. I'll take no risk of a 
 lynching. The New York papers would jump up 
 and down with glee if that happened. They'll 
 say enough when they know what's been happen- 
 ing, as it is." 
 
 "You might catch it; but I'm sure the ladies 
 would not suffer," I laughed. " They'd get col- 
 umns of the heroine business, with front-page pic- 
 tures OA. Sunday, and whole issues about their 
 toilets. Perhaps the sacrifice on your part would 
 be worth while, Mr. Fenton." 
 
 " If they dare do anything like that ! " the prin- 
 cess cried. 
 
 "You'll all we'll all, most certainly catch it, 
 when they learn," I said. 
 
 " As usual," Mr. Fenton said. " To change the
 
 322 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 subject, and get back to the one we were discuss- 
 ing earlier, about a new manager " 
 
 I started. 
 
 "A ' " I began; then stopped. 
 
 "Yes; we, the princess, who is owner of Forge, 
 and I, have decided to have a new manager, and 
 let you act as assistant." 
 
 He thoughtfully stroked his grey moustache, 
 and scrutinised me with a steady gaze. I cast a 
 glance about the table, completely surprised at the 
 news, a little piqued that I had failed in their 
 estimation, and in my office, and secretly growing 
 angry that Mr. Fenton had thus made a matter of 
 common discussion my failure as manager. Mrs. 
 Arlington smiled consolingly, I thought, while 
 Ethys sat blushing. 
 
 "If my successor finds Forge as full of sur- 
 prises as I've found it, he'll have busy nights as 
 well as days," I said quietly. "Losing gold, I 
 acknowledge, is rather a blot on a man's record." 
 
 "I judge you don't like it here, then?" 
 
 " Oh, as to that, Forge is good enough," I re- 
 plied; " it's the breed of assistants that caused me 
 insomnia. But I'm not sure that I shall care to 
 act in the capacity of second. I've one or two 
 offers still open to me. However, I wish the new 
 manager the best of luck. May I inquire the 
 gentleman's name?"
 
 A GHOST IN THE CELLAR 323 
 
 " You've heard it Rogers. I must do him the 
 justice of replacing him. The man was innocent 
 and faithful. As soon as I can locate him, I'll 
 bring him back." 
 
 "Perfectly right," I said. "From all I've 
 heard, Rogers was square and honest, and a good 
 engineer. I only regret that Kelly isn't alive to 
 know it. Forge will welcome him, too." 
 
 I looked instinctively at Ethys, and met her 
 eyes. She bit her lip. 
 
 ; ' You people should be ashamed of yourselves, 
 so to annoy Mr. Maitland when he has barely 
 come from his trial," she said. 
 
 Smiles began to run around the table, and she 
 blushed. Then suddenly Mr. Arlington broke out 
 in a laugh, in which the others joined, even Ethys. 
 
 But it was no laughing matter to me. I was 
 tired, disappointed, and down-hearted; moreover, 
 indignant. My cheeks gradually grew warm. 
 At last, their laughter became too much for me 
 to bear. I set my jaw, and raised my head, and, 
 when I spoke, I had a manner nearly as cold, as 
 haughty, as grand, as Douglass himself would 
 have worn. 
 
 " If you will be so kind as to grant me a fa- 
 vour at this late hour, Mr. Fenton, I will ask you 
 to postpone discussion of my dismissal until we're 
 alone."
 
 324 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 Yes, I must have been very chilling and digni- 
 fied. For, this time, their laughter was a shout; 
 it burst all bounds, and filled the room. 
 
 " You you blind man," said Mrs. Arlington, 
 bubbling with fresh laughter. 
 
 " You lucky fool ! " said Charlie. 
 
 Fortunately, we arose from the table, just then, 
 I with the rest; and my sensations were in a very 
 complex state, anger mixed with bewilderment, 
 doubt with umbrage. Their enjoyment of my dis- 
 comfiture followed me into the drawing-room. 
 
 Mr. Fenton clapped his hand on my shoulder, 
 and looked me in the eyes. 
 
 " What was it you said when Pelan asked you, 
 to-day, if you loved Ethys?" he said. 
 
 My blood began to flow hotter. 
 
 " I said, more or less, that I loved Ethys," I 
 returned doggedly; "and I do. What's more, I 
 don't care who knows it." 
 
 "Does she return your love?" 
 
 " Stop ! " Ethys cried. 
 
 " I thought so until this evening," I answered, 
 a trace of bitterness escaping in my tone ; " but I 
 find that I was mistaken. No, she does not, and 
 wisely, no doubt. Her wealth is very great, while 
 I'm an ordinary engineer or mechanic " 
 
 " Oh ! " cried Ethys. 
 
 " Only a mechanic," I went on, looking past 
 Mr. Fenton at her, whose cheeks were slowly los-
 
 A GHOST IN THE CELLAR 325 
 
 ing their colour. "If I made a mistake in ad- 
 mitting I loved her, I most humbly apologise." 
 
 "Oh! " said she, again. 
 
 "And I shall go away from Forge." 
 
 "Tut tut! I had nothing to do with your 
 dismissal as manager," her uncle stated. "That's 
 her work. I was satisfied; but she is not. She 
 wants you to manage her if you can." 
 
 He gave my shoulder a squeeze, his eyes 
 gleamed with mirth. Then I beheld Ethys' 
 cheeks once more growing a beautiful rose, while 
 her lips smiled. She turned, and ran away into 
 another room, hiding her face in her hands. 
 
 And then light broke into my benighted mind. 
 In truth, I had been what Charlie called me, a 
 fool. 
 
 " Go and find her," he said. 
 
 His hand dropped to mine, and closed about 
 my fingers in a final strong, friendly, sincere grip. 
 
 I found her in the library. What we said and 
 did, though of the most importance in the world 
 to us, really does not matter to any one else. Suf- 
 fice it to say that there, in the shadow of the 
 window, we again sealed what we had already 
 confessed in that same room. So, presently, we 
 went forth to the others, who said we had been 
 gone long. But I deny that; indeed, it was no 1 
 time at all though the clock had, somehow, 
 slipped forward half an hour.
 
 3 2<5 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 Toward nine, there came a pounding of horses' 
 feet on the driveway outside. Woodworth made 
 for the door, and a shout from him announced 
 that the sheriff and his posse had arrived. Like 
 a troop of children, we set off to see them where 
 they sat in the saddle, jaded and hungry, after 
 their forced ride. I had hardly taken a step when 
 I felt a touch on my elbow. It was Nashimi. 
 
 "There is a man in the cellar," said he. 
 
 "A man!'* I exclaimed softly. 
 
 "Yes, sir. The cellar door was open I ob- 
 tained a footstep. He was moving about. Now, 
 I hear it no more." 
 
 "What is it?" asked Ethys, who lingered. 
 
 "Nothing worth troubling about. I'll have to 
 look into it; but you go out with the rest." 
 
 My smile did not deceive her; she had seen 
 the grave change the servant's information had 
 worked on my countenance. She came nearer, 
 anxiety visible on her brow. 
 
 "Is something wrong, Jack?" 
 
 "Why, no. There's only a ghost in the cellar 
 that must be laid. I'll be back in three seconds. 
 Perhaps Nashimi was wrong." 
 
 " I'm afraid for you." 
 
 "Why, dear?" 
 
 " I don't know ; I can't tell ; only I feel here " 
 and she touched her bosom "that something
 
 A GHOST IN THE CELLAR 327 
 
 is wrong, and that there is danger. See, you've 
 taken your revolver out." 
 
 I soothed her fears. 
 
 " Merely as a precaution. I may be attacked 
 by a troop of rats. What is there to be afraid 
 of? And, haven't we a whole guard now, out in 
 front?" 
 
 Pressing her hand, I left her, and stole down 
 into the cellar. At the bottom of the stair, I 
 halted. I had no light, and strained my eyes at 
 the murky darkness about me. 
 
 I saw nothing, I heard nothing but the steady, 
 regular pulsations of my heart. A cool breath 
 blew against my cheek, and I guessed by the 
 draught that the outside basement door was open, 
 and that thus, whoever had entered, had come. 
 Clutching my revolver, I stole noiselessly across 
 the floor until my outstretched fingers touched the 
 door jamb. Into the next room I passed, through 
 it, and into a third. Hardly had I advanced a 
 step in this when I halted. A fourth room opened 
 off at right angles, and the connecting door ap- 
 peared before my eyes, lighted with a faint illu- 
 mination, like a dim yellow, rectangular panel. I 
 crept closer, cautiously, slowly. Who could the 
 intruder be, I asked myself; who the man? 
 
 At last, I could see into the room. The sight 
 that greeted my eyes held me spellbound. In the
 
 328 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 middle of the floor sat a lighted candle, its flame 
 standing up straight and quiet with a halo about 
 it, in the heart of the darkness. Here and there, 
 its mild beams touched the edge of a stone pillar, 
 or brought out, in dim relief, the shapes of liquor 
 cases. Between rafters, there faintly glistened 
 spider webs, and on a long shelf glimmered a line 
 of round, flat flasks. Yet, the light was but a 
 spot in the blackness of the room, leaving the cor- 
 ners and walls unreached. 
 
 But it was the centre of the picture that fas- 
 cinated me. Down on his knees beside the candle 
 was the man whom I had come to find, one of the 
 liquor cases dragged before him, two empty bot- 
 tles on their sides on the dirt of the floor, a third 
 bottle in his hand, and yet a fourth a little way 
 off, shining ruby-red. The last the man had 
 opened to quench his thirst as he attended de- 
 liberately to the business that had brought him 
 here. By his knee rested a buckskin bag, into 
 which he poured from the heavy bottle in his 
 hand a shimmering, yellow stream of gold dust. 
 Two or three lumps in the side of the bag be- 
 trayed the presence of bricks. The man poured 
 without haste, and with care and the man was 
 Douglass ! 
 
 Amazement mastered me for a time. He, here? 
 I could scarcely credit the evidence of my own
 
 Down on his knees beside the candle was the man 
 whom I had come to find "
 
 A GHOST IN THE CELLAR 329 
 
 eyes. Had he, as the people whispered among 
 themselves, the powers of the Evil One, powers 
 that enabled him to laugh at locks and bolts, to 
 fly out of chinks and keyholes? Douglass in the 
 cellar of Forge House! It was beyond belief! 
 But I swiftly lost my astonishment in a feeling 
 of chagrin at my own lack of penetration. He 
 had hidden the gold where first he had secreted it 
 when Rogers had gone, and I not yet come. He 
 had told me of the place with his own mouth, and, 
 like the cunning rogue he was, had counted on 
 my never giving it a second consideration. The 
 trick was so simple, so old, yet so profound. 
 
 Through the door I crept, stealthily approach- 
 ing him, until I stood a short eight feet away. 
 His back was to me. Placing the bottle of slow- 
 running gold dust on the floor, he took a drink 
 of wine, lighted a cigarette, and thoughtfully 
 puffed at it while he rested. Then, once more 
 lifting the treasure bottle, he proceeded to empty 
 the last of its contents into the bag. 
 
 In the light of the candle, the slender, shining 
 stream flowed and flowed, without a sound. But, 
 at last, he was done. He drew the neck of the 
 bag together, and tied it with a thong, and once 
 again sat back to smoke and ponder. 
 
 Then happened a strange thing. I made no 
 sound, I made no movement, I betrayed myself in
 
 330 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 no way; but, all of a sudden, Douglass lifted his 
 head, and turned it about until his eyes met mine. 
 Both of us were, I think, startled by their unex- 
 pected meeting. He continued to kneel, with the 
 fingers of his right hand on a moustache point, 
 and I continued to stand with my revolver hang- 
 ing by my leg. So, for a long minute, we stared 
 at each other in this strange exchange of looks. 
 
 At last, a single word escaped his lips, a word 
 spoken past and beyond me : " Destiny 1 " 
 
 That word broke the spell. 
 
 " I see we'll have to keep you in Forge House, 
 after all," I said. 
 
 "That will make us brothers again," he an- 
 swered, getting back his impudence. 
 
 " Brothers ! Thank Heaven we were never 
 that! With your heart so crowded with crimes, 
 I should think the blood would burst out of your 
 skin like wine out of a rotten wine sack." 
 
 " Fine words," said he, unperturbed. " Your 
 presence, however, Maitland, puts me out of 
 countenance. You've a devilish inconvenient 
 knack of turning up at the wrong minute." And 
 he twisted his moustache with impatience. 
 
 ; ' The right minute, I should say." 
 
 "We'll not squabble over a phrase. What's 
 the next move?" 
 
 " Pick up the candle." He did so, and, in
 
 A GHOST IN THE CELLAR 331 
 
 addition, the bag of gold. "Let that be!" I or- 
 dered. 
 
 " I love to please," he said, letting it fall. 
 " You have always charmed me, my dear Mait- 
 land, by your high-handed manners. And how 
 is the dear young lady upstairs? And dear uncle? 
 Tell him he still owes me a couple of months' sal- 
 ary, and that I'll be round some day to collect it 
 with interest." 
 
 " Stand up on your feet, like a man," I com- 
 manded, " instead of squatting on your heels like 
 a Zulu or Hottentot. The sheriff and his posse 
 are awaiting you at the door, and I want to see 
 you in handcuffs. I've waited two months for 
 the pleasure." 
 
 He rose, as I had bid, and regarded me with 
 a singular smile. 
 
 " Time was when we moved friendlily t side by 
 side, Maitland," said he, " instead of as foes." 
 
 " I don't care for your sentimentalising. 
 Come; hold your candle in front of you, and 
 follow." And I began backing toward the door 
 of the room, while keeping him covered with my 
 gun. 
 
 'Yes; but to think we walk separated "by a 
 trifling matter of gold." 
 
 "It's not gold, but lead, at present. Come; 
 make a start! " For he had not moved.
 
 332 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 Suddenly, his hand shut down over the candle, 
 and darkness enveloped us. I did not fire. In- 
 stead, I groped swiftly to the door, and, crouch- 
 ing there, waited. He could not pass out of this 
 one room, save he passed over my body, and I 
 had no intention of permitting that. 
 
 Out of the darkness came his mocking voice: 
 " Maitland, you coward, here I am ! Why do 
 you skulk? Come and take me, you cavy! Come 
 in, for the honour of your mistress 1 " and he 
 laughed evilly. 
 
 I neither moved nor answered. 
 
 " Come on come on ! " he mocked. 
 
 Then he was silent again. With every nerve 
 alert, I hearkened for his footfall, yet so noise- 
 lessly did he advance that I was not aware of him 
 till his coat brushed my face as I stooped. Round 
 the waist I seized him, shutting his arms to his 
 sides, and, lifting him clean from the floor, sought 
 to press him down. 
 
 I failed. Squirming in my grasp, he struggled, 
 hand and foot, cursing fast and furious all the 
 while, until he got his left hand free and closed 
 it on my throat. Left hand though it was, it was 
 a hand of steel, and slowly it tightened, until I 
 could no longer breathe, and my temples com- 
 menced to throb in beats of fire, and my lungs 
 were in agony. I staggered where I stood, gulp-
 
 A GHOST IN THE CELLAR 333 
 
 ing for the living air that was denied me, while 
 a great roaring swelled in my ears, and a giddi- 
 ness swam in my brain. Still, his hand clamped 
 my throat, like an iron band. By a single mighty 
 effort, a gathering of all the strength in my arms 
 and bones and marrow, I lifted his body, :and 
 hurled it through the darkness at the wall. Then, 
 reeling about until I found the door frame, I 
 leaned against it, and filled my lungs ,in great 
 gasps. 
 
 I feared Douglass no longer, for his body 
 struck the^ stones with the soft crushing thud that 
 an orange makes when thrown against a rock. 
 All the life in him, I hoped, had been driven out. 
 I listened. Not a sound came from the spot 
 where he lay. Striking a match, I perceived his 
 body stretched full length on the ground a little 
 distance from the door. He was quite still. 
 
 I crossed to the middle of the room, finding 
 the candle where he had dropped it, and holding 
 my match to its wick. That done, I looked up ; 
 I even took a step toward the spot where I had 
 left him. A low, triumphant chuckle came from 
 the door. , 
 
 "That was a cruel slam you gave me, Mait- 
 land," he said, " and a rib or two are broken; but 
 I shall fare on." With a sudden move, he placed 
 his hand on his side, in pain. " Oh, God ! "
 
 334 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 His figure was dimly outlined, and remained 
 motionless a minute, as did I. For, in his other 
 hand, he held a revolver. Slowly, I let the can- 
 dle slide down through my fingers until they were 
 at the flame; I quenched it, and leaped aside. 
 
 A blinding flash exploded before my eyes, 
 a roar rang in the room, and I stood dazed, 
 hearing a muffled running to and fro of feet over- 
 head. Then I sprang forward. Douglass' foot- 
 steps sounded before me; and so we raced, care- 
 less of obstacles, blindly, from room to room. 
 My rage was bitter; I had let him slip from me 
 without firing a shot. 
 
 At the stair I hesitated all was uproar in the 
 kitchen above. Outside the house, there came a 
 whistle. I sprang to the basement exit, and ran 
 out into the night. Which way had he gone? 
 I halted, gripping my weapon, and looking right 
 and left.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 AT THE END OF THE STREET 
 
 AFTER the close warmth of the pent cellar, the 
 cool night air struck my face like a damp mist. 
 My ears still rang with the shot Douglass had 
 fired; though, after experiencing its muffled roar, 
 the open space about me seemed very quiet. Down 
 in the town, the line of electric lights sparkled 
 sharply, a string of flashing diamonds. Here, 
 however, the darkness was complete; and I cast 
 about me, at a loss to choose which direction to 
 pursue. Perhaps the time I stood was but a few 
 seconds, for I soon heard, immediately ahead of 
 me, the Scot calling softly. A guarded answer 
 was returned by some one. 
 
 Down the slope I ran, without noise, until, all 
 at once, in the starlight, a darker shape loomed 
 before my eyes, and I caught the sound of creak- 
 ing saddle leather. Two men with horses were 
 before the stable door, and were mounting, Doug- 
 lass cursing the pain of his broken ribs as he did 
 so. They did not instantly take flight, but coolly 
 sat a while, arguing ways, notwithstanding they 
 
 335
 
 336 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 knew danger crowded them. Treading lightly, I 
 circled them, and reached the door. 
 
 "What do I care for the risk I'll see her in 
 spite of it ! " Douglass exclaimed vehemently. 
 " Didn't she pull me out of the hole down yon- 
 <der? I'll not run without a word to thank her." 
 
 After all, Douglass had a small grain of grati- 
 tude tucked away somewhere about him. 
 
 " But, mon Frederic, through the street we can- 
 not go," came from the second horseman. "Let 
 it be down the river." 
 
 The Scotchman laughed recklessly. 
 
 "Why not? Who's to hinder? We'll ride the 
 beggars down who try to interfere. Curse Mait- 
 larid! I feel the bones grind at every move. I 
 tell you, D'Urville, I want a last shot at some- 
 body." 
 
 " It is greatly foolish, yes, that." 
 
 But the speaker's expostulation was given re- 
 signedly, as if he recognised the uselessness of 
 argument with Douglass in his present mood. 
 
 "Wise or foolish," said the latter, "I'll have 
 a last shot, and a last kiss, if it costs me my neck." 
 
 Their conversation was carried on in low tones. 
 In my eagerness to hear it, I took a step forward, 
 scraping the gravel, and betraying my presence. 
 D'Urville's keen ears heard the little noise, and 
 he cried out to Douglass, asking what it was. I
 
 AT THE END OF THE STREET 337 
 
 could imagine the pair of them leaning forward 
 in their saddles, and peering into the darkness. 
 Well, they should hear something worth while, I 
 decided, and, throwing up my revolver, fired into 
 the vague, indistinct mass of men and horses. An 
 oath rang out. By a queer chance, the bullet had 
 found a mark. 
 
 " By Heaven, in my knee ! " Douglass ex- 
 claimed. 
 
 Leaping back into the stable, I slipped off my 
 horse's halter, and led him quickly to the door, 
 flung on a bridle, and sprang upon his back, almost 
 before the two men had recovered from their sur- 
 prise. But the pebbles flying from their horses' 
 hoofs told me they had recovered from their sur- 
 prise. Fiercely, I struck my steed with my re- 
 volver, and he bounded forward. 
 
 Slanting down the slope, the pair before me 
 galloped, I after them ; and, all together, we swept 
 past the house fifty yards to the east, and down 
 to the village road. I fired a shot to warn the 
 men of the sheriff's posse, who were swinging 
 around the building at a sharp clip to investigate 
 the report which they had heard a minute before. 
 And, to my satisfaction, I saw their shadowy 
 forms whirling about between me and the win- 
 dows and falling into the race. 
 
 On we went. Before me, I distinguished the
 
 338 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 two villains, bobbing up and down against the 
 electric lights, as they forged on at tremendous 
 speed. I was not thirty yards behind. Down by 
 the river, the drone of the turbines was clear and 
 loud; but it rapidly fell behind as we, pursued and 
 pursuers, swept into the road. Past the huge 
 boulder, which marked the path to the boats, we 
 went; past the gully where D'Urville had sought 
 to ensnare Douglass' sweetheart; past the circle 
 of shadow cast by the first arc lamp; with the 
 roll of hoofbeats pounding on the hard earth. 
 
 The riders behind me dropped farther and far- 
 ther back, their jaded beasts unable to keep the 
 furious pace we set. Once twice a man of them 
 fired at us, unable to guess whether one or all of 
 us were fleeing, and the bullets whizzed past my 
 head with a whine singularly unpleasant. 
 
 Bending forward, I called to my horse, and 
 the noble animal stretched his neck in response, 
 making a burst of speed that lessened the interval. 
 He rose from the earth scarcely at all, flying along 
 the way level as an arrow. The air rushed against 
 my face a gale, while my hair blew about my 
 bare head. I had cut the space between me and 
 the pair to twenty yards; but this I could not re- 
 duce. 
 
 Out of the cover of darkness, we shot into 
 the mouth of the lighted town, clattering loudly
 
 AT THE END OF THE STREET 339 
 
 along the stony street. The first houses flashed 
 by, and, under one lamp, I flung a shot after 
 them; under a second, another. Douglass looked 
 over his shoulder, and, with a laugh, he flung up 
 a mocking hand. 
 
 '"Follow, follow; I will follow ever,'" floated 
 back to me from his lips, wildly sung. 
 
 Past the stores we raced, where I saw men 
 starting up on the platforms, to stand and stare. 
 Past houses, past lamps. From end to end of the 
 street seemed but a minute's flight; and, in the 
 darkness beyond, they would be safe. Strive as 
 I would, I could not gain. In desperation, in 
 despair, I struck my horse again and again with 
 the weapon I clutched. I called and cursed after 
 the men. 
 
 And then came the crowning act of Douglass' 
 life some may call it the crowning folly, some 
 the crowning glory. Just before Mexican Pedro's 
 house he swerved, and brought his horse, Duke, 
 to a plunging stand. The girl, drawn as were a 
 score of other villagers to their doors by the 
 clatter of our ride, had stepped out upon the 
 ground. D'Urville and I swept on, carried by 
 the impetuous rush of our animals. By the time 
 I had pulled round and galloped back, I beheld 
 Douglass stooping in his stirrups and, wounded 
 and broken in body as he was, swinging her up in
 
 340 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 his arms, where he pressed her lips to his. Then, 
 he set her down, whirled Duke about, and trium- 
 phantly faced me. 
 
 "Aha, I've had my kiss; now, for my shot!" 
 he cried. "You, Maitland, are booked for a 
 passage to hell ! " 
 
 The thunder of the posse galloping down the 
 street grew louder. Yet he barely turned his 
 head while speaking, listened and smiled. But, at 
 the same instant, came an interruption which 
 neither he nor I had counted on. The sharp re- 
 port of a Winchester cracked west of us. One of 
 the deputies shot from his saddle as he rode, and 
 Duke shivered, as if with cold, and dropped sud- 
 denly on his side, dead. 
 
 Only by a quick spring did the Scotchman save 
 himself from being pinned under the fallen ani- 
 mal, a spring upon his shattered leg. What it 
 cost him in pain I knew by the white twisting of 
 his face. He licked his lips once, looked at me 
 covering him with my six-shooter, looked up and 
 across the street, where his negligent guards were 
 running toward us from the house in which he 
 had been imprisoned, gazed up at the dozen rid- 
 ing officers, and then turned and took a step 
 toward the door of Pedro's cabin, his teeth set, 
 and his broken leg dragging. But the agony was 
 too much for him, and he gave up. 
 
 " The game is over, Douglass," I said.
 
 AT THE END OF THE STREET 341 
 
 " Yes," he answered. 
 
 "You had best surrender at once." 
 
 "No!" 
 
 With quick, hot hatred, he spoke the word, at 
 the same time flinging up his pistol and firing. 
 The bullet went wide; he laughed, and let the 
 weapon fall, while I steadily held him covered. 
 The Mexican girl flung herself before him, her 
 body a shield. All her strange passion, all her 
 fierce love, was in the act. 
 
 " You shall not kill him," she said. 
 
 " No, I'll not kill him," I answered. 
 
 " He is not armed see ! " 
 
 She pointed at his weapon on the ground, and 
 caught his hands and spread them wide. 
 
 "I see; and the men will be here in a momenF 
 to take him prisoner." 
 
 Douglass again turned his face up the street, 
 frowning. 
 
 " Kiss me, Inez," he said finally. " And when 
 you have, then get me a bandage. My knee is 
 cracked." 
 
 She kissed him, and turned to enter the house, 
 while he looked once more with anxious eyes at 
 the approaching posse. I laid my weapon on my 
 pommel, and wiped the sweat from my brow ; one 
 minute more, I thought, and he would be under 
 guard. 
 
 With the most marvellously rapid movement of
 
 342 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 its kind that I have ever seen, he stooped, caught 
 up the revolver, and fired straight at me, at the 
 same time trying to run to my horse and seize it. 
 The bullet grazed my scalp. What the difference 
 of half an inch lower in its line would have meant 
 in my affairs, I do not like to consider, even at 
 this day. 
 
 "Drop it!" I ordered. 
 
 His eyes never left mine, a smile hardened his 
 face to a mask. 
 
 " That was near," said he. 
 
 " Drop it, or I shoot ! " I cried. 
 
 " Do you wish your old pal to dangle from a 
 gibbet? Well, you're to be rarely disappointed, 
 friend Maitland ! " 
 
 He pricked up his ears, and listened. Out of 
 the rim of darkness came wailing his name. 
 
 "Why, there's good old D'Urville, yet," he 
 laughed. "What a fool he is to hang on out 
 there, waiting! " 
 
 A twinge of pain in his side gave a new turn 
 to his thoughts, and he uttered a curse or two. 
 
 " Drop your weapon, Douglass," I said, for the 
 last time. 
 
 " If I were only in the house, I could last it out 
 a bit longer; but I venture to say here's where I 
 leave the world. Damn you, Maitland, you've 
 spoiled a nice basket of eggs I "
 
 AT THE END OF THE STREET 343 
 
 He deliberately pulled back the hammer of his 
 revolver, still smiling as he did it. The posse was 
 now near at hand, coming rapidly. And, by 
 Heaven, the man courted death! For the space 
 of a second, he waited; then, at the instant he 
 flung up his hand to shoot, the foremost deputy 
 fired again. 
 
 I could have believed that he missed him clean. 
 For Douglass continued to rest on his sound foot, 
 smiling and pointing his pistol at me. But, all at 
 once, he let go the gun, and clutched his breast, 
 swayed, and sank upon the ground, catching and 
 supporting himself on an elbow as he fell, with 
 his chin on his bosom. 
 
 Out of the night and the darkness came, once 
 more, that wailing call, like the cry of a night 
 bird: 
 
 " Frederic ! Frederic ! " 
 
 Inez ran from the door, and caught him in her 
 arms, and laid him back with his head on her 
 shoulder. The troop of riders pounded up, pulling 
 rein, and forming a half circle about us, their 
 horses blowing hard. 
 
 No word was needed to explain to the men what 
 had happened, and they sat by, silent, rugged, and 
 observant. 
 
 After a little time, Douglass opened his eyes. 
 They wandered mistily about from one form to
 
 344 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 another in the ring surrounding him, until, at last, 
 they settled on me. 
 
 " This is a fuddled ending, Maitland," he said, 
 with a white shadow of his old smile upon his lips. 
 "How have you worked this miracle, man? " 
 
 He slipped farther down upon the earth, twitch- 
 ing his brows restlessly, as if in pain, and flung 
 back his head across the girl's arm. So he lay a 
 while staring up at her, as she wept softly. 
 
 "No greetin', lass," he said, in Scotch; and so 
 he died, though we knew not when the spirit left 
 its body. 
 
 From far up on the hillside a bullet whined past 
 us, spent with distance. I awoke to the fact that 
 work yet remained. 
 
 "There is the other," I said, pointing into the 
 darkness. 
 
 "A night run is a blind run," the sheriff an- 
 swered. 
 
 Nevertheless, wheeling about, they galloped 
 away on the hunt for D'Urville. The villagers 
 who had gathered, crowded up in the space the 
 officers had filled, awed at the rapid flight and en- 
 counter. I sat looking down at the girl, and the 
 inanimate form which she supported, recalling, 
 one by one, his crimes and villainies. 
 
 Ah, he had had both his last shot and his last 
 kiss!
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 STILL WATERS 
 
 WITH a last glance at the scene, I turned my 
 horse about, passed through the midst of the on- 
 lookers, and went at a walk up to Forge House. 
 There remained in my mind the last sight of the 
 man's face, the look of wonder on the dying coun- 
 tenance that Fortune should play him so scurvy a 
 trick, him who, till now, had diced with danger, 
 and never lost. It was the last illumination of 
 that strange vanity which was part and parcel of 
 the man, fibre of his flesh, and marrow of his 
 soul. But it gave me no tinge of regret far from 
 it for he had been a base, unscrupulous, faith- 
 breaking scoundrel, who knew not the meaning of 
 the word honour. Indeed, now that he was dead, 
 I experienced a sense of lightness, of calm security, 
 such as had been unknown to me for days. 
 
 On the road, I met Woodworth, and, a little 
 way behind him, Mr. Fenton, both hurrying to 
 the village; and, on the steps whither they re- 
 turned with me, I found the others. 
 
 "He is dead," I said. 
 
 345
 
 346 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 "Thank God!" Mr. Fenton responded. 
 "Thank God for that!" 
 
 "He escaped a felon's reward, and he died 
 with the same careless assurance he showed while 
 living. Well, he might have expected to die in 
 some such fashion," I concluded. And I swung 
 down from my horse, and we all went into the 
 house. 
 
 How Douglass escaped from the house in which 
 he was confined we learned later. D'Urville, with 
 the appearance of a deserter, had, in fact, only 
 withdrawn a little way off into the hills, where 
 he lay hidden during the day, and whence he 
 came under cover of night back into the town. 
 He joined the Mexican girl, and the rescue was 
 contrived between them. 
 
 Inez, with a resolution born of love, succeeded 
 in attracting the attention of the guards for a mo- 
 ment, while the Frenchman put his cunning fingers 
 to picking the lock play for them and released 
 the prisoner. Then the men slipped the bolt again 
 into its socket to carry out the deception. Out of 
 the house and concealed in the shadow, the rest 
 was easy for them to accomplish. They made 
 for Forge House, leaving the cage empty behind 
 them, and its keepers none the wiser. Indeed, 
 the latter did not learn that the prisoner was 
 missing until they saw him and D'Urville racing 
 down the street.
 
 STILL WATERS 347 
 
 When the pair came to the knoll, the French- 
 man brought up his horse from the place where 
 he had concealed it, and made his companion's, 
 Duke, ready, while Douglass descended into the 
 cellar to secure the gold which he had been 
 systematically stealing. That they should thus 
 coolly proceed to execute the plan so long held in 
 hand, when common adventurers would have been 
 content to make off on the instant, shaking in their 
 saddles, marked the desperate character of the 
 men. Liberty did not suffice them; they must 
 have the gold as well. 
 
 Any minute Douglass' escape might be discov- 
 ered, any minute the hue and cry might be raised 
 after them; but they calculated the risk, and would 
 not abandon a grain of the prize for which they 
 had played long and daringly. The accidental 
 hearing of Douglass in the cellar by Nashimi, our 
 Japanese servant, alone had wrecked their 
 scheme. 
 
 Our party must have the whole story of Doug- 
 lass' dying, accepting no refusal; and for half 
 an hour I had to turn story-teller, and give them 
 an account of the struggle in the vault, our wild 
 ride, and the final exchange of shots. And, while 
 I talked, my nerves grew more and more on edge, 
 my story difficult, and my mind uneasy. When I 
 was done, Charlie brought me the decanter and 
 a glass.
 
 348 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 '"You're restless as a cat," said he. "Try 
 some of this." 
 
 I laughed, took the drink which he poured out, 
 then started even as I held it to my lips. 
 
 " Maitland, you're quaking at shadows," Mr. 
 Arlington remarked ; " and that, too, when every- 
 thing is over." 
 
 "It's not shadows," I answered. 
 
 "What is it?" Mr. Fenton inquired. 
 
 I drained the liquor, and frowned. " I'm afraid 
 of another ghost," I replied. 
 
 For what was worrying me was that while 
 these good people crowded round and would not 
 let me go, there lay down on the floor of the 
 fourth room of the cellar a round, flat, heavy 
 sack. In the sack was some fifty thousand dollars' 
 worth of gold ingots and dust. It lay there on 
 the ground, plain to any eye that looked, and free 
 to any hand that itched. Whom might not curi- 
 osity lead to poking about down there ? The outer 
 basement doors stood wide open. Were not serv- 
 ants often thievish? Ours might be that, and 
 more. And, yes, might not D'Urville, himself, 
 come flitting back through the darkness, like a 
 bat, to get it? 
 
 " I must be excused for a moment," I said. 
 
 "There's no more trouble?" one of them 
 asked.
 
 STILL WATERS 349 
 
 "No; but there may be if I linger here. Doug- 
 lass' bag of gold is lying down there, unpro- 
 tected." And I pointed through the floor. 
 
 " His gold ! " they cried. 
 
 " Yes, what he came for when I found him." 
 
 So down I went, with Charlie and the whole 
 household at my heels. 
 
 This time, the vaults were lighted by the incan- 
 descents. There on the ground lay the candle, 
 and, in the middle of the floor, the heavy sack, 
 just where Douglass had dropped it at my com- 
 mand. The ladies gathered their skirts about 
 them, and peered at it with fascinated eyes. 
 
 I picked up the candle. " See, he was afraid 
 the lamps would betray him through the windows. 
 He had this. Those three bottles held the gold 
 dust, and out of the bottle yonder he was drink- 
 ing wine." 
 
 I smiled, and looked about the room. Its walls 
 seemed to exhale his presence, as if directly he 
 would step from behind a pillar, to advance into 
 our midst the same old careless, mocking Doug- 
 lass. 
 
 " Let us go," Ethys whispered, with a shiver. 
 
 I lifted the sack, and, heavy as it was, bore it 
 quickly out and up the stair, through the house, 
 and into the office. How the two thieves would 
 have carried away such a weight, I could hardly
 
 350 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 guess, though, possibly, they planned to bury it, 
 and return at a later and safer day. By dividing 
 it between them, they might even have won away; 
 yet even that was doubtful. I dropped the bag 
 on the floor by the safe; out of its steel box the 
 precious metal had come; into it it would go 
 again. Only the gold which Douglass had de- 
 livered to Merry Mac as ransom, and which the 
 Frenchman had secured, was missing a tidy sum, 
 ten thousand dollars. 
 
 "With it in D'Urville's saddlebags, we can 
 count on its being gone for good," I said. " I 
 hope it will weigh him down like a millstone." 
 
 "Yes; though, before the rascal is captured, he 
 will probably have hidden it." 
 
 I opened the safe, and stowed away what lay 
 at our feet. 
 
 " Now, I must report to my princess," I smiled; 
 "that I have all that was lost, save what Doug- 
 lass, himself, gave away; and that I can report 
 my stewardship complete." Which I did. 
 
 "Let the Frenchman ride off with what he 
 has," Ethys replied to me. "What do I care, so 
 long as I have you safe?" We were alone, and 
 her arms were about my neck. " Yes, let him go. 
 I hope never to see either him or that gold again." 
 ' The chances are very slim of finding either, 
 dear."
 
 STILL WATERS 351 
 
 In this, I calculated correctly. The town, full 
 of excitement over the tragedy, the coming of the 
 sheriff's posse, and the escape of D'Urville, waited 
 into the early morning hours for news of the lat- 
 ter's capture. Toward daylight, the officers rode 
 into Forge empty-handed; their pursuit, if so 
 blind a scramble over the mountains could be 
 called such, had not taken them within sight of 
 the fugitive. 
 
 Everything was in the man's favour. His start, 
 though short, was as good as a mile, because of 
 the darkness and the long hours to dawn. A thou- 
 sand ravines opened before the flying French- 
 man, a thousand peaks among which he might 
 hide, a thousand loopholes through which he 
 might steal away. 
 
 After an hour's rest and a hearty meal, the 
 sheriff and his posse saddled fresh horses, and 
 dashed away on their return to Cold Springs, 
 where they would set the wires humming in every 
 direction about the country, in the hope of taking 
 D'Urville in their net. 
 
 Forge lent itself to another matter. Did Doug- 
 lass' spirit look down upon the funeral procession 
 which accompanied his body to the grave, that 
 morning? If so, it doubtless rejoiced with that 
 gratification, that vain satisfaction, which had 
 been so indispensable to it on earth. Brooking
 
 352 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 no rivalry in life, it led undisputed in death. His 
 cold-smiling lips seemed to bespeak this final 
 achievement. It was almost a triumph. For 
 Forge, save one pallid, dry-eyed girl, sitting at 
 her father's house alone, the girl who had held 
 him at the last, followed en masse f as if he yet ex- 
 ercised the charm which had proven so potent 
 with them in days gone by. Some walked with 
 wonder writ large on their faces, unable to grasp 
 the truth; some moved in a sort of stupefaction 
 that so much wickedness could have been bound 
 up in one frail form of flesh; and some were, I 
 think, dragged after the corpse by a strange, ir- 
 resistible attachment for the man, which neither 
 knowledge of his crimes nor their own will could 
 break. And so vanished Douglass, who had for 
 the last time flung down his gauntlet at the foot 
 of Fate. 
 
 With the conclusion of this sombre duty, a 
 fresh breath had swept the canon, were it to be 
 judged by the altered faces of the people. On the 
 road back to town, heads were lifted, steps quick- 
 ened, while cheerful words ran from mouth to 
 mouth. Already, they planned resuming work in 
 the placer. 
 
 I alighted at the door of Forge House, and 
 went into the office, where I flung myself down 
 in a chair with an odd depression of spirits. Idle-
 
 STILL WATERS 353 
 
 ness was new. So much had happened, so much 
 either to wreck or to right me, the Scotchman's 
 plots and hidden schemes had kept me so con- 
 stantly on the alert, that I now looked about 
 with a dull emptiness of purpose. Until now, I 
 knew not how much I missed Douglass. 
 
 Here Ethys came looking for me. 
 
 "Ah! Jack," she said, with her hands tight in 
 mine, "you can never know how my heart cried 
 out for you during your wild ride." 
 
 I looked into her tender eyes. 
 
 " I think I know a little. I know how the dear- 
 est heart in all the world stood up before Forge 
 and spoke for my life." 
 
 " That is nothing to what I shall do for love of 
 you " 
 
 " It was more precious than all the gold that 
 the canon holds," I smiled. 
 
 " I would have spoken to the world itself, if 
 necessary," she replied stoutly. " Yet, what I said 
 was unnecessary you had Gurley locked up all 
 the while in waiting." 
 
 'Your story is what made the people be- 
 lieve his." I caught her in my arms. "Oh, 
 sweetheart, I love you as never man loved be- 
 fore!" 
 
 " And you, Jack," she answered caressingly, " I 
 love you love you! See, I cling to you, for I
 
 354 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 love you as the stars love. Kiss me, my rny 
 prince." 
 
 Love magic word! Love that is so great a 
 thing that it makes all else little; love that is so 
 great a thing that it makes beyond price the 
 voice it inspires, and the heart it quickens; love 
 that lays a halo on the dear head beloved and 
 kindles a divine fire in the soul it touches; love 
 wed our lips in bliss and our lives for eternity ! 
 
 A single word in postscript. One afternoon, 
 the next autumn, Ethys and I stood before a 
 florist's window in New York, when Charlie 
 Woodworth's cheery voice hailed us. He came 
 up, smilingly, and raised his tall, shiny hat. 
 
 "Where do you think I saw somebody this 
 morning, and who do you think it was?" he in- 
 quired. 
 
 " On the boat, and Betty," said Ethys. 
 
 " Well, yes ; but that was not whom I meant," 
 Charlie confessed, blushing a little, " though that's 
 how it happened." He spoke somewhat con- 
 fusedly. " You see, I went down to say good-bye 
 to Betty, and her father, and take her some 
 flowers and books and the like, for " 
 
 " Betty is one of the nicest girls in New York," 
 Ethys interrupted pointedly ; " the very nicest, and 
 you are growing quite old enough."
 
 STILL WATERS 355 
 
 "Yes, she is," Charlie agreed submissively; 
 "but what does she want to run away down to 
 Cuba for? Just because her father happens to be 
 a minister, or a diplomat extraordinary, or some- 
 thing equally splendid, is no reason why she 
 shouldn't stay at home, by my thinking. Well, 
 I'm not telling my story. When our good-byes 
 were spoken, and the last warning sounded, I 
 went for the gang plank in a hurry, my time being 
 cut rather fine. On the way down, I bumped into 
 a gentleman whom I somehow overlooked. I 
 begged his pardon, caught a peep at his face, and 
 stopped dead in my tracks. 
 
 "'D'Urville!' I shouted. 
 
 "'Ah! Have we met somewhere, monsieur?' 
 he asked, bowing. 
 
 " 'At Forge you know well enough,' I said. 
 
 " 'Ah ! Forge, the iron immense. A smithy, is 
 it not, monsieur? No, I know not that Forge.' 
 
 "My time was short; I spoke plainly. 
 
 " ' You are a fat liar ! ' I said. 
 
 " ' Oh, monsieur, you speak in greatness of 
 haste,' he said. 'Aha! Yet have I seen your 
 long legs, your such long legs, oui, your name is 
 Woodworth. I recall, I remember, you are the 
 gargon in Mascalle's cafe, yes?' He felt in his 
 pocket, and pulled out a dime, the impudent rascal. 
 'A pourboire, a teep, yes,' and held it out to me.
 
 356 THE PRINCESS OF FORGE 
 
 " Well, I couldn't stay longer to give him a 
 piece of my mind. As it was, I made the pier 
 only by a jump. I'm going to cable the authorities 
 to arrest and hold him until he can be returned." 
 
 "Indeed? That is a South American liner," I 
 said. " Perhaps you're not aware, Charlie, that 
 we've no extradition laws with the country to 
 which he's going." 
 
 " The deuce we've not ! " 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Then he'll continue to run loose?" 
 
 "I fear so." 
 
 " Why, if that's the case, I wish I'd gone along 
 with Betty! " he exclaimed. " What do you think 
 the scamp shouted as I ran down the gang 
 plank?" 
 
 "What?" I asked. 
 
 " 'Aha, you and your Maitland I will see 
 again!'" 
 
 Thus we had our last news of Douglass' com- 
 panion, that portly, placid gentleman, D'Urville. 
 Would we ever see him again, as he declared? 
 Well, at any rate, he had not yet paid for his 
 sins. May he sweat for them beneath the tropic 
 sun!
 
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