Madonna would forgive her if she had done wrong.




CHAPTER XI

CHANCE--CONQUEROR

Sundown's return to the camp occasioned some indirect questioning and
not a little comment. He told the story of his adventure at the Concho
in detail up to the point of his conversation with Will Corliss. Then
he lapsed into generalities, exhibiting with some little pride the
wound on his head as evidence of his attempt to prevent the robbery and
incidentally as a reason for being unable to discourse further upon the
subject. His oft-repeated recital invariably concluded with, "I steps
in and tries to stop the first guy when _Wham!_ round goes the room and
I takes a sleep."

The men seemed satisfied with Sundown's graphic account in the main.
Hi Wingle, the cook, asked no questions, but did a great deal of
thinking. He was aware that Will Corliss had returned to the Concho,
and also, through rumor, that Corliss and Fadeaway had been together in
Antelope. The fact that the robbers failed to get the money--so it was
given out--left the drama unfinished, and as such it lacked sustained
interest. There would be no bandits to capture; no further excitement;
so the talk eventually drifted to other subjects.

The assistant cook's evident melancholy finally gave place to a happier
mood as he realized that he had gained a modicum of respect in a camp