"If I catch that Injun alone I'll cut his throat!"

"Was Miss Tuttle bad off?" gasped Porter.

"She? Naw; she looked fine. He sassed me, though, as I won't take it
from any man!"

"Tell us what happened, for heaven's sake," cried DeWitt, eying
Provenso disgustedly.

Jim told his story in detail.

"That Injun Alkus," he ended, "he tied a rag over my eyes, tied my
hands up and, say, he lost me for fair! He took all day to it. At
night he tied me up to a tree and I stood there all night before I got
my hands loose. I was sure lost, now, I can tell you! I struck a
cowman up on the range the next night. He give me some grub and a
canteen and I made out pretty good till yesterday, working south all
the time. Then I got crazy with thirst and threw my canteen away.
Found a spring last night again, but I'm about all in."

"How did Miss Tuttle seem?" asked John with curious quietness. It
seemed to him the strangest thing of all that first the Mexican, then
this coarse, tramp-like fellow, should have talked to Rhoda while he
could only wander wildly through the Hades of the desert without a
trace of her camp to solace him.

"Say, she was looking good! She thanked me and told me to tell you all
to hurry."