An absolutely new sense of elation sang through Gloria’s blood.  She was fully mistress of the situation, and had found within her an unguessed strength.  Physically superb at all times because nature had richly gifted her, now she was magnificent.

“Mr. Gratton,” she said swiftly, “you have made a mistake.  Mr. King has never offered me violence of that sort.  Remember that, though we are alone, and in the mountains, I am the same Gloria Gaynor that you have known.  And be sure that you treat me as such.”

He nursed his battered lips and stared at her.  The blow had dazed him.  Slowly, as his mind cleared, there dawned in it the realization that he had made a mistake.  The stick was still in her hands; a shiver ran through him.  His desire went out of him.

“I wish to God I had never seen you,” he groaned.

She had meant from the first to take the upper hand.  Now she was almost glad that this had happened.  For now she was very sure of herself; Gratton had merely been bold like other young men who had sought to presume; he had been cruder simply because the situation seemed to his mind to offer the opportunity; now a blow from her had accomplished the work of a haughty look in drawing-room encounters with those other young men.  She dropped the stick and wiped her hands.

“We have other things to think of,” she said.  She might have been a young queen who had punished a subject and now from her exalted place condescended to consider that the indignity offered her royal person had never occurred.  She began dragging the blankets from her bed, tumbling them to the floor.  “Take these,” she commanded.

“I was a fool for ever leaving San Francisco,” he muttered bitterly.  “You let me think that you cared for me, and now you treat me like a dog.  I spent time and money trying to be the one to find gold in these infernal mountains, and I find nothing but storm and starvation.  I don’t believe there ever was gold here.”

Gold! He stopped at his own words, his eyes flying wide open.  During these later hours, fleeing from Brodie’s men, stumbling upon Gloria, swirled away by mad longings, he had not thought of gold.  But here was King’s camp; straight here had King come after Gloria had brought him her father’s message and old Honeycutt’s secret.  Then the gold was here!  The cupidity which in the man never slept long was awake on the instant.  He began looking about him eagerly.  King was gone?  Then not for men to bring help to Gloria but to aid him in carrying off the gold.  Having brought Gloria here so that she could not tell others what she knew, he left her here with the same purpose; so Gratton would have done!  King would have hidden it here; at least some of it.  He began questing feverishly, shuffling about in the shadows while Gloria, busy with her plans for moving, wondered at him.  He was striking matches, running back and forth; she could hear his mutterings.  And presently, when Gloria had called and he had not heard, he came upon the bag which King had meant to take out with him that day the horse was lost.  He hovered over it; he struck other matches, he came hastening back dragging it after him.