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why his evident embarrassment now? The girl was mystified. For a moment or

two they sat in silence, then Barbara rose.

I must run along back now," she explained. "Papa will be wondering what has

become of me."

"Yes," said Bridge, and let her go. He would have been glad to tell her the truth;

but he couldn't do that without betraying Billy. He had heard enough to know

that Francisco Villa had been so angered over the bold looting of the bank in the

face of a company of his own soldiers that he would stop at nothing to secure the

person of the thief once his identity was known. Bridge was perfectly satisfied

with the ethics of his own act on the night of the bank robbery. He knew that the

girl would have applauded him, and that Grayson himself would have done what

Bridge did had a like emergency confronted the ranch foreman; but to have

admitted complicity in the escape of the fugitive would have been to have exposed

himself to the wrath of Villa, and at the same time revealed the identity of the

thief. "Nor," thought Bridge, "would it get Brazos back for Barbara."

It was after dark when the vaqueros Grayson had sent to the north range

returned to the ranch. They came empty-handed and slowly for one of them

supported a wounded comrade on the saddle before him. They rode directly to the

office where Grayson and Bridge were going over some of the business of the day,

and when the former saw them his brow clouded for he knew before he heard

their story what had happened.

"Who done it?" he asked, as the men filed into the office, half carrying the

wounded man.

Some of Pesita's followers," replied Benito.

Did they git the steers, too?" inquired Grayson.

Part of them--we drove off most and scattered them. We saw the Brazos pony,

too," and Benito looked from beneath heavy lashes in the direction of the

bookkeeper.

"Where?" asked Grayson.

"One of Pesita's officers rode him--an Americano. Tony and I saw this same man

in Cuivaca the night the bank was robbed, and today he was riding the Brazos

pony." Again the dark eyes turned toward Bridge.

Grayson was quick to catch the significance of the Mexican's meaning. The more

so as it was directly in line with suspicions which he himself had been nursing

since the robbery.

239

The Mucker