The man caught up his rifle and slipped a round of cartridges into the magazine; saying to the girl, “Go into the cabin and bar the door; quick, do as I say!  Don’t come out until I call you.”

She obeyed; and the convict, himself, rifle in hand, disappeared in the heavy underbrush.

A few minutes later, James Rutlidge parted the bushes and stepped into the little open space in front of the cabin.  The convict reappeared, his rifle under his arm.

The new-comer greeted the man whom Sibyl knew as Henry Marston, with, “Hello, George, everything all right?  Where is she?”

“Miss Andres is in the cabin.  When I heard you coming, I asked her to go inside, and took cover in the brush, myself, until I knew for sure that it was you.”

Rutlidge laughed.  “You are all right, George.  But you needn’t worry.  Everything is as peaceful as a graveyard.  They’ve found the horse, and they think now that the girl killed herself, or met with an accident while wandering around the hills in a state of mental aberration.”

“You left the supplies at the same old place, I suppose?” said the convict.

“Yes, I brought what I could,” Rutlidge indicated a pack which he had slipped from his shoulder as he was talking.  “You better hike over there and bring in the rest to-night.  If you leave at once, you will make it back by noon, to-morrow.”

The girl in the cabin, listening, heard every word and trembled with fear.  The convict spoke again.

“What are your plans, Mr. Rutlidge?”

“Never mind my plans, now.  They can wait until you get back.  You must start at once.  You say Miss Andres is in the cabin?” He turned toward the door.

But the other said, shortly, “Wait a minute, sir.  I have a word to say, before I go.”

“Well, out with it.”

“You are not going to forget your promise to me?”

“Certainly not, George.  You are safe.”

“I mean regarding Miss Andres.”

“Oh, of course not!  Why, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing, only she is in my care until she is your wife.”

James Rutlidge laughed.  “I will take good care of her until you get back.  You need have no fear.  You’re not doubting my word, are you?”

“If I doubted your word, I would take Miss Andres with me,” answered the convict, simply.

James Rutlidge looked at him, curiously; “Oh, you would?”

“Yes, sir, I would; and I think I should tell you, too, that if you should forget your promise—­”

“Well, what would you do if I should forget?”

The answer came deliberately; “If you do not keep your promise I will kill you, Mr. Rutlidge.”

James Rutlidge did not reply.

Stepping to the cabin door, the convict knocked.

Sibyl’s voice answered, “Yes?”

“You may come out now, please, Miss Andres.”

As the girl opened the door, she spoke to him in a low tone.  “Thank you, Mr. Marston.  I heard.”